The Christmas season is in full swing and Eastern Europe certainly wins the award for best decorations, food/drink and festivities. Most of Europe holds Christmas markets in and around the old town city squares, each unique and touched with a regional and cultural twist and flare. As a self-diagnosed shopaholic (Europe’s chic fashion is a true threat to my bank account), I have already visited six of these markets in three different countries (six cities but five with Česky Têšín/Cieszyn combined) over the course of three weeks: Dresden, Prague, Česky Têšín/Cieszyn, Wroclaw, and Vienna (Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and Austria). I have also visited a quaint Gingerbread shop in Česky Têšín that sells homemade, local products. It seems a sin for me to do my Christmas shopping at a commercialized shopping mall when I am surrounded by unique cultural finds and experiences!
My little sister Grace calls me “a fashionista” and professional shopper and as a true fashionista/pro shopper I can’t just buy typical souvenirs and goods. I have to scout the scene and keep an eye out for unique products that can’t be found in the city stores. Naturally, my eye is aided by a nice warm mug of regional mulled wine and sweet flavors 🙂 I have found special German/Austrian sweets, handmade goods, and intricately designed ornaments and jewelry. Of course, I love shopping and have definitely enjoyed walking around and exploring these festive markets and beautifully historic cities. However, while traveling to and shopping and walking around these places I have had an abundance of time to reflect upon the most important aspect of the holiday season. And that is being surrounded by family, friends and loved ones – no matter how far away you are or feel from them.
Thinking about this reflection, as I planned and conducted this week’s lessons for my students I thought about how I wanted them to view and experience American Christmas. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my two favorite holidays so I really hoped to share memorable presentations and lessons with my school. When I was a kid I loved making Christmas cookies with my siblings and parents while listening to classic Christmas tunes. I loved watching It’s a Wonderful Life with my family on Christmas Eve night and then nervously going to bed, hoping Santa would visit and bring some of my favorite toys. I loved waking my parents up at the crack of dawn, explaining to them that I was positive I heard Rudolph’s hooves on our roof. Now, I simply enjoy remembering and cherishing these memories and love the joyous and wholesome atmosphere that follows this holiday season. Therefore, for my seminars, I decided to share with my students Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol followed by a discussion about the importance of self-reflection and goal setting for the New Year.
I even had the students write out New Year’s Resolutions on sticky notes. I collected these sticky notes and will use them to create a poster for our classroom to keep everybody accountable for their goals. As the students wrote out their resolutions I also thought about mine. I want to be more mindful of others, learn Czech and be able to confidently have simple conversations in the community, have more patience with myself, and stay in better touch with my family. Today at lunch the headmaster, who doesn’t speak English too often, had a basic conversation with me. I typically eat lunch quietly by myself because I am not able to contribute to the conversation so this act meant so much to me and really made me feel welcome. And I want to be able to do the same in Czech. These are goals I believe will only benefit and help me grow as a stronger and more confident individual here in the Czech Republic in 2020.
I also explained to the students that it is important to reflect upon the ways in which you have changed during the year. This was a challenging concept for the students to grasp and think about so I gave them some examples from my own life. Thinking about myself, even just within the past four months, I know I have become more confident, adventurous and a bit easier going. I know I still have much to work on and learn but these qualities have made me feel stronger about the potential to keep growing and embracing surrounding opportunities – no matter how foreign or scary they might seem.
I began climbing with Roman in September and am now learning how to lead, belay, and boulder on the artificial wall, prepping for more challenging climbing on the rocks of Bohemia in the spring. This week I also went shopping with Pavlina in a very quaint, local craft shop. This was definitely one of my highlights of the week as it was a surprise and felt very festive and was also very relaxing. I loved searching for local goods and then enjoying warm coffee and gingerbread in an antique looking café. Climbing with Roman this week and shopping with Pavlina are two prime examples of experiences I am incredibly thankful for this holiday season. They are also both examples of how I have grown so far in the Czech Republic. We always recap our adventures together and laugh and learn from each other. They also help me with everyday tasks without question and with lots of thought. There seems to be something new to ask every day and they are always willing to lend a hand within seconds of me asking.
My time with Roman and Pavlina thus far is worth more than any Christmas gift I could receive. I mean I would probably be lost in Krakow or running in Liberec without their Czech rails expertise. I am excited to have a mini Christmas with them. Even though I won’t be in the Czech Republic on December 25th, Christmas wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t celebrate in some way with them so we will have a mini celebration in my flat at the end of this week.
In about one week’s time I will be flying back to the US for Christmas. This even seems a bit surreal to type. I have been talking with family over the phone, discussing some plans and it still seems crazy and a bit out of reach. I know my return to the US may feel a bit disorienting and it will definitely catch me by surprise hearing everything in English when I ask questions and talk to people. It takes me a while to adjust to change so I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried that this trip will make my adjustment to Czech life harder in the new year. Additionally, I have been stressing about how to best fill the time to ensure I see everybody while I can.
However, I now know that I have nothing to worry about. Conversations from home have helped me realize that this trip is supposed to be a reboot and time to spend Christmas with my US roots/loved ones to be reunited for our favorite time of year. The week can be spent in any way that I choose and doesn’t have to be decided now. All I know is that I will see my family and those that are incredibly important to me. In the span of two weeks I get to spend Christmas with both my Czech family and my American family. This is the most priceless gift and again is worth more than anything that can be placed under the tree.
Wroclaw Poland Markets 
As I mentioned earlier in this blog I visited Wroclaw for the Christmas markets this weekend. I was there for Christmas markets and was traveling with some of my older students. This was not an English trip and while it’s nice spending time with the students outside the English classroom, being surrounded by conversations in a language you don’t understand is exhausting. I really appreciate the students and the times they spend with me and hold some conversations in English. It is unreasonable for me to expect that they speak English all day when the trip is not affiliated with their English class. Of course, they are going to want to speak to their friends in Czech. I would want to speak to my friends in my native language on a fun trip like this one. So, at times I felt lonely, overwhelmed and just completely wiped of mental energy. This is another reason why after some reflecting I think my trip back to the US will be rejuvenating. It will be very refreshing (as it was when Alex came to see me) being surrounded by and able to converse with people who share my native language and cultural norms. I can’t quite imagine how nice this will be yet because it still seems so far away but am sure I will have lots to write about and share upon returning to Czechia.
To add to my weekend exhaustion/Christmas market tour, I also visited Vienna with the primary school teacher I work with on Fridays the very next day. Again, I was definitely very tired but as this teacher told me on the bus to Vienna, “sometimes you just need to be in a different country for a mental reboot.” Together we aimlessly wandered around the city and markets and shared lots of laughter and reflective conversation. Vienna was absolutely beautiful and while it was definitely a lot to squeeze in over the course of one day, I am very glad I decided to go on this spontaneous trip.
And what’s next? I spent Sunday Christmas shopping, planning and resting. I will continue shopping for family and loved ones in the US and Czech Republic this week. I will be giving more Christmas lessons at the gymnasium and there should be more class parties. As mentioned, I will host a Christmas in my flat with Pavlina and Roman, will try some Christmas carp, travel for one last trip to Ostrava before the new year to return and share Christmas lessons with primary school students, and finally pack for my return to the US 🙂
Holidays are a tough time of year for many, myself included. The first Christmas without my father my family traveled to Walt Disney World for a very special week. Since I was surrounded by crazy Disney attractions, crowds, and fireworks it was very easy for me to distract myself and escape from all the change ahead in my life every holiday season. I didn’t have to think about or imagine my father not passing out the gifts Christmas morning or reading a Christmas story/watching a film with me and my other siblings because we were all packing and traveling to the airport.
Since this Christmas in Disney, every year I struggle and find myself a bit more emotional and easily flustered. That said, keeping with the theme of this blog, every year I also work on redefining my escape from past Rothmann Christmas traditions. As I said earlier, I have learned to be patient with myself and to appreciate new memories, while holding old memories close. Patience is key. Be patient with yourself, cherish old memories, enjoy new traditions, and simply soak in the beauties of wherever you find yourself this holiday season!
Redefining Escape 