I'm no good at titling my posts.

Czech word of the day: neperlivá
Meaning: non-carbonated. (It might seem random, but trust me, you do not want to end up with carbonated water. Happened to me once. You think, "I don't know what this label says, but they can't screw up water, can they?" Oh, but they can. They most certainly can.)
Pronunciation: "ne-pair-lee-va"

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They say that when a person moves to a foreign country, they go through stages of culture shock. At the beginning, everything seems new and exciting and intriguing, but after a while, homesickness starts to set in and the differences between cultures can leave one feeling isolated.

I've always been skeptical of the idea of "stages" of culture shock. I think these things come in waves. A wave of isolation when the tram drops you off in a part of the city you've never seen before and you can't find the next bus stop or ask anyone where it is, followed by a wave of appreciation when you spot a sign written in Czech and realize that you actually know what it says. I've felt that isolation before - just trying to find my way from Prague to Brno without knowing a word of Czech was pretty frustrating - but yesterday was the first time it really hit me.

They also say that most expatriates reach a point where they start to hate everything about the foreign country they're in. I've only been here a week, so maybe it's too soon to judge, but I don't think I'll reach that point. I've always been someone who appreciates the little things in life, and if nothing else, the sky here is just as blue and the stars just as shiny as they are back home. Last night I looked up and saw the Big Dipper, just like at home, and I realized that no one is ever really as far from home as they might feel. Earth is a really small place, and all the variations that sometimes seem so big are really just details.

Anyway, enough soliloquizing. Today I feel much better. I returned to my dorm last night to find a new refrigerator waiting for me. At UWG, it takes the maintenance staff weeks just to change a lightbulb. I should let UWG know how spectacularly they're being outdone by a post-Communist country.

It's definitely getting warmer now. No idea if it'll stay this way, but today it's warm enough that I only need to wear one coat instead of three.

I also talked to Ms. Kameníková today. I told her how much I adore her and how sad I was to be moved to another class. I felt it was important that she know what she meant to me as a teacher. I saw to it that I was put in the "advanced" Czech class for students who already speak a Slavic language. I'll be the only American in there, but I only have one semester to study Czech, so I want to learn as much as possible.

And now I come to a dilemma.

I don't have another class until 6 tonight, which means that I find myself in downtown Brno with four hours to kill. What ever shall I do?

Study? Nah. Shopping? You bet.