“ I will cross the bridge when I get there.” – Me, 2009

I am now finding myself swimming in cold water.  In this new place I now call home, I find it hard to ever do anything because of my inability to speak Czech.  This past week has been rough.  Combined with all the hormonal changes I was experiencing and the pressure to adapt into my new environment, I found myself experiencing bouts of enormous sadness.  Without my husband, I can pretty much not go anywhere because I don’t speak the language.   If I get lost, I will not be able to get home.  Out here, almost nobody speaks English.  Even the American movies shown on TV are dubbed in Czech.  If I wanted to define myself in this country, I have to start with learning the language.  Český is the key.

I had been forwarned.  When Jiri and I got married, he had been bugging me about learning Czech.  I started but never finished.  It seems like there has always been an excuse whenever I sit down to do so.  I was always stuck at Chapter 4.  I thought learning Czech was easy because I already speak other languages.  I always prided myself of being a fast learner.  However, Czech language is very foreign to me.  I had to re-orient myself with everything I already know.  But it is a very beautiful language.  It has 36 alphabets, 26 of which are the standard Roman alphabets.  There is almost a word for everything.  Though some words are almost spelled the same, they can mean different things if you are not careful.  For instance, I told my husband:  “Hey hon, the sign says Horky.  It must be hot out there.” (Knowing that “Horký” means “hot.”) He then explained to me that “Horký ” means  “hot” but “Horky” means “Hills.”  I guess a whole lot of challenges are awaiting me as I try to learn Czech.