"Ode to Appliances in My Hallway"
If you didn't know, we have a penchant for collecting major appliances in our flat. I had three fridges in my flat for a long time during my first year. We have had at least two fridges since January of 2003, and still do. (If you want to hear the "3 Fridge Story" post a comment and I'll write about it. It is entirely too long to post today.) I've been having major damage with my oven for about a year now. The temp can't be regulated and it was getting too hot too fast. We finally got a new stove delivered last week. It has been sitting in the entry hall of our flat for a week now, until yesterday. They installed it yesterday. But guess what? Yeah, we still have the old one. They just swapped them out. We have a washing machine and the old stove in a hallway that is about 4 feet wide. Sarah has to move the oven out of her way to get to her clothes in the wardrobe. It's a blast! We have no idea when they will cart the old stove away. Ahhh, life!

Running Errands
We all have to run errands and we all hate it, except Angela who has made it an art form! Image doing them in a foriegn country where it is easy to get yelled at if you don't speak the language. I usually get very nervous if I have to visit the post office for any reason. Yesterday was no exception. I had a package to send to my family for Christmas. I looked up the word for package because I wanted to make sure I didn't get yelled at for being in the wrong line and not speaking Czech. I prayed the whole way there that it would be a plesant experience. I guess it worked! Not only did I notget yelled at, the lady was quite patient and helpful. She helped me fill out the customs form and gave me two different prices to choose from. And the best part is I did the whole transaction in Czech. I had no problems understanding her and vice versa. I was quite proud of myself. So what did I do? I decided to tackle the lekarna (pharmacy.) I've had a really bad cough and have run out of medicine. I went to my normal pharmacy where a few of the staff speak English. But none of them were there and I got this jerk who refused to help me because I didn't understand him. I told him I needed cough syrup and he started asking me questions that I didn't understand. I asked him if he spoke English and he told me to go to a different pharmacy if I wanted to speak English. I get really tired of that kind of treatment. So I went around the corner to the bigger pharmacy and immediately told the pharmacist that I didn't speak Czech well and that I needed cough medicine but I didn't know what kind. This was all in Czech, of course. She asked if I spoke German and I told her no, English. She said she didn't speak English but she was very helpful and showed me 3 different syrups. So I picked one and went on my merry way. After living here for over two years, I still don't understand why it is so hard for people to be helpful. I guess I never will. I am thankful and surprised when I am helped like I was today. But it still gets to me when I get the jerky guy, too.