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A Unique Experience in the Rural Sudetenland

by Connor Ragan, on Dec 13, 2018 10:36:15 AM

Do you ever just wake up during a moment and think, how did I get here?

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Like suddenly you realize that you’ve just helped winterize a stable for alpacas Dominic and Burk, and you will soon sit down to a traditional Indian meal while the first snow of the year falls outside in the Czech countryside?

No doubt too specific to me, but nonetheless I’m sure many of us have had these surreal moments. Mine tend to happen when I travel. My IFSA group was fortunate enough to enjoy a weekend trip to the town of Jelení in the northwest Czech Republic. The booming, bustling town is really on the rise: its population has skyrocketed in recent years from 0 people in 2011, to a family of 4 in 2018. Oh, and both alpacas.

Jana, our program director, had briefed us before the trip that this weekend would include both hiking around Jelení and a day at the beautiful natural springs in Karlovy Vary. I would have never guessed that our stay in Jelení would one of my favorite memories from the Czech Republic so far. We arrived late on a Friday night, and darkness limited what we could make out of the town around us. Our hosts, a lovely couple whose home we  hared, greeted us. We also had the privilege of hearing their story, about how a Czech-Indian couple came to own a nice little bit of land and a large house in the Sudetenland. After we wrapped up the night with card games by the fireplace, we went to bed excited for the hike the next day.


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1-1And what a hike it was! I think the total distance came to 22km, with a nice meal at a pub across the German border spaced in between. There were factory ruins, spacious trails, streams, and of course the beautiful fields and forests of the Sudetenland. With all that walking under our belts, we were quite ready to enjoy the feast of rice, curry, and naan for dinner. That dinner was what made this trip so special. A handful of students, a family, their friends, and a few other guests all crowded around a table to talk and laugh and eat like we belonged there. It didn’t matter that most of us were strangers; at that table we were all friends relishing in good food, a warm house, and great hospitality.

 

As I find myself looking back on that trip, as an American, I can’t help but feel like it was the embodiment of Thanksgiving. A month or so too early is true, but all the crucial elements were there. Strangers, with little in 1-2common (or so we thought), sit down to share the space and time for a meal. Finding that sense of belonging with others, almost like one would with a family. Enjoying the gracious hospitality of others. Eating, drinking, and being merry! If you cut away the fat from the Thanksgiving holiday, this is really what is at its core. So, for anyone missing good friends, good food, or just a good time, you don’t always want to look where you expect to find it. Good people and great times can sometimes be found in places that Wikipedia lists as uninhabited, go figure.

Connor Ragan, IFSA Student 2018

Topics:Living Futures

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