Our Trip to North Carolina: Part 2

The next big event of our week was homecoming and the events that surrounded it. The Czech students got to be involved in putting together floats, which was a first for them.

On Friday morning, Tonya and I were asked to pick up some convertibles from a local car dealership so that the homecoming candidates could ride in them. We drove to the dealership and on the way there we decided to only pick up one of the cars. When we saw what kind of cars they were, we decided we could get both. "I want to drive that one," Tonya said, pointing to the JAGUAR that was parked there. I had to settle for a Porsche. 

The parade was fun. The seniors added the Czech flag to their pirate ship themed float. It was a very nice gesture I thought. 

At the homecoming games that night, Tonya and I were able to reconnect with some of our favorite people the whole world: our former players. Not all of them were there, but it was still wonderful to see them. We laughed, we reminisced, and cheered as a basketball player won homecoming queen. All was right in the world. 

Saturday evening my family met us for dinner at Champps resturant at Southpoint mall in Durham. Our students got an auhentic USA restaurant experience, with oversized portions and free refills. We finished the night racing go-karts. it was a blast.

Sunday we met for lunch and said our goodbyes to our host families. As we drove off in the bus to the airport, a student said, "I love these people." It was such a simple and perfect response to the hospitality shown to us that week.

If you helped in any way, thank you so much. We could not have done it without you.

Special Thanks to:

GRACE Christian School, Mandy Gill, Isaiah Whelpley, Don Payne and Sean Blesh.
Red Branch Baptist Church for giving us a van to drive, free of charge.
My parents, for all your generosity.
AJ and Dottie, for loaning us your van.
Jennifer, for having your baby while we were there so we could meet him.

 

Our Trip to North Carolina, Part One

When we last left off, we had boarded the plane and made it to North Carolina. We were all exhausted from having to sleep in the airport. When we got to RDU, the principal and assistant principal from GRACE Christian school were there waiting for us. We were able to use the school buses to make our way to our first true NC experience: Bojangles. For me, it was a wonderful welcome home meal. For the students, it was pure culture shock. I never thought I would have to explain what the word "fixins" meant. Some of them liked it, some not so much. One thing is for sure though, we were really grateful that the school picked up the tab. It was truly a blessing.

That night, we were able to take the students to their first NHL game. This was very exciting for them because hockey is the national sport in the Czech Republic. There were several Czech players on both teams, so the students waved their Czech flag proudly. It was a great experience. We even got to interact with some inebriated hockey fans just to give them a true experience (Lots of swearing and inappropriate comments to ignore. Good times.).

The next day was Wednesday, and the students spent most of it at school. They went to chapel with the GRACE students. That was certainly a very different experience for them, as most of them do not attend church services here in Prague. I am sure some felt very uncomfortable, but it was another authentic NC experience. Tonya and I were really overjoyed that the Czech students could experience something that we really value highly: our faith.

That is it for part one. Join me again in a couple of days for the conclusion to our USA trip with the Czech students.

Before I end this one though, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the host families, the teachers, students, and staff of GRACE Christian School. This trip was amazing, and it was amazing because of you. Thank you so much.