Jdu na procházku
The two schools both agreed that I did not have to come in yesterday (Friday/Pátek). Moreover, on Thursday, I was only at the konzervatoř for about an hour total. So going into Friday, I already felt pretty well rested. I thought about looking through any of the nine resources the konzervatoř gave me about Ostrava to find something to do, but I had already inadvertently seen many of the notable sites by ambling through the city centrum and I was more in the mood to socialize than to site-see. So, I did what I've done every day here: I walked.
My first walk of the day was potentially going to be a run; however, I effectively prevented that from happening by wearing yoga pants in 20 or so degree Celsius weather (68 F). I still wore my running shoes and sought out a nearby forest of which I had been told. I think I found the forest, but I could not find any sort of path leading through it. I merely saw a lot of trees surrounded by a fence. I took the path that went along this fence and found it quite pleasant, and it led by some quiet neighborhoods. The rest of the day was spent studying Czech, reading my Bible, journaling, and so forth. I did force myself out of my housing again to go for another walk and perhaps pick up some groceries. For this, I took what's become a regular route to hlavní třída (main street--it's actually the name of this street), pictured below.
This photo is taken from a path that runs along the median. It has a walking and biking lane, and many benches lining the walkway. During my walk I also attempted to find the gymnázium at which I will be teaching. I failed miserably, but got some good kilometer-age. I then decided to get some food-stuffs (the literal translation of "potraviny" which is what they call their small food markets). Considering that I have been subsisting on mostly fruit, yogurt, and granola, I needed to get some of the former. I stopped in one of the local Vietnamese places (there's a notable Vietnamese immigrant population) that had some promising-looking peaches.
Afterwards, I sought out a local healthfood store that one of my colleagues had recommended. I looked around, and noted that all the breads they had were gluten-free. I knew this because another mentor from one of my school's had talked with me about celiac disease while at Globus, and I noted a symbol on food that indicated that it was gluten-free. I mostly went into the store because I wanted to see what they had there, but felt I ought get something. So I decided to get some apricot yogurt made from goat's milk.
I was eager to try out the goat yogurt, but instead finished the plain yogurt I had last night. This morning I also delayed the pleasure of the goat yogurt for some plain yogurt--which turned out to be sour cream (#LanguageBarrier). Awesome. So now I have sour cream in my fridge with which I don't know what to do. Any suggestions with minimal ingredients?
Anyhow, I followed up my interesting breakfast experience with a walk to hlavní třída. I purposed to find the gymnázium this time. While walking, I noted how much less foot traffic there was compared to previous incidences. It then occurred to me that there might be shorter hours at shops due to it being a Saturday. As I observed shops, I noticed that this was the case. Most posted something like this:
Po-Pá: 8:00-18:00
So: 8:00-12:00
Ne: zavřeno
The Czech week begins on Monday (Pondělí) and ends on Sunday (Neděle). Both of these words have roots related to the verb dělat, which means "to do," so Sunday is "do nothing" day and Monday comes after. Anyhow, there were some shops that had some extended Saturday hours and some that were open for Sunday morning, but by and large most shops on that street were open Monday through Friday from somewhere in the 7-9 range till about 5 or 6 PM, open from 7-9 to noon Saturdays, and closed Sundays. This quiet on the street gave me enough peace of mind to sit and read a while. While walking home I decided to pick up some actual plain yogurt and bananas. While in the potraviny, I took a look at the coffee (99% instant) because the coffee I picked up before was just plain awful. I opted for an iced coffee kind, which already has cream and sugar in it. I am sipping on it now and see to the bottom of my kitty cup.
I think next up will be some sedentary studying until I spend sometime with a colleague and her friends tonight.
Hezký den!
My first walk of the day was potentially going to be a run; however, I effectively prevented that from happening by wearing yoga pants in 20 or so degree Celsius weather (68 F). I still wore my running shoes and sought out a nearby forest of which I had been told. I think I found the forest, but I could not find any sort of path leading through it. I merely saw a lot of trees surrounded by a fence. I took the path that went along this fence and found it quite pleasant, and it led by some quiet neighborhoods. The rest of the day was spent studying Czech, reading my Bible, journaling, and so forth. I did force myself out of my housing again to go for another walk and perhaps pick up some groceries. For this, I took what's become a regular route to hlavní třída (main street--it's actually the name of this street), pictured below.
Afterwards, I sought out a local healthfood store that one of my colleagues had recommended. I looked around, and noted that all the breads they had were gluten-free. I knew this because another mentor from one of my school's had talked with me about celiac disease while at Globus, and I noted a symbol on food that indicated that it was gluten-free. I mostly went into the store because I wanted to see what they had there, but felt I ought get something. So I decided to get some apricot yogurt made from goat's milk.
I was eager to try out the goat yogurt, but instead finished the plain yogurt I had last night. This morning I also delayed the pleasure of the goat yogurt for some plain yogurt--which turned out to be sour cream (#LanguageBarrier). Awesome. So now I have sour cream in my fridge with which I don't know what to do. Any suggestions with minimal ingredients?
Anyhow, I followed up my interesting breakfast experience with a walk to hlavní třída. I purposed to find the gymnázium this time. While walking, I noted how much less foot traffic there was compared to previous incidences. It then occurred to me that there might be shorter hours at shops due to it being a Saturday. As I observed shops, I noticed that this was the case. Most posted something like this:
Po-Pá: 8:00-18:00
So: 8:00-12:00
Ne: zavřeno
The Czech week begins on Monday (Pondělí) and ends on Sunday (Neděle). Both of these words have roots related to the verb dělat, which means "to do," so Sunday is "do nothing" day and Monday comes after. Anyhow, there were some shops that had some extended Saturday hours and some that were open for Sunday morning, but by and large most shops on that street were open Monday through Friday from somewhere in the 7-9 range till about 5 or 6 PM, open from 7-9 to noon Saturdays, and closed Sundays. This quiet on the street gave me enough peace of mind to sit and read a while. While walking home I decided to pick up some actual plain yogurt and bananas. While in the potraviny, I took a look at the coffee (99% instant) because the coffee I picked up before was just plain awful. I opted for an iced coffee kind, which already has cream and sugar in it. I am sipping on it now and see to the bottom of my kitty cup.
I think next up will be some sedentary studying until I spend sometime with a colleague and her friends tonight.
Hezký den!
How about pečené brambory for the sour cream? A couple minutes in the microwave might do it. If not, try a few more.
ReplyDeleteI took a liking to the cold coffee-milk drinks when I was there. I don't know that I tried pouring them into a cup, but I thought they were milky enough that I couldn't see the bottom.
Thanks for the Czech lessons. I didn't know that about Sunday.