Speaking Czech in Chicago!

We recently had the privilege of attending the christening of my cousin's daughter in Chicago. Not only were we able to connect with Allison, her family, including her mother who I hadn't seen in years, but it was at the Czech Mission Catholic Church. We have long heard of Paul's Czech heritage and how many in his community still speak Czech as their first language. To see it first hand was to believe it. Our family was able to speak Czech with the guests, the priests, and the family. We sang Czech hymns and sat down to Czech food and drink (rizek, bramborovy salat, buchty, Zlaty Bazant a Pilsner Urquel pivo, Becherovka, Slivovice) Nepili jsme vsechny tech piti!

We even met a woman who had lived near Vlasim and knew where we lived by our description of the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun to talk with her and her husband who are going to Czech for two and a half weeks next month. We were invited to Moravian Days next weekend to see dancing, eat more Czech food, and speak Czech. We all enjoyed the day and it made us miss many things about the Czech Republic.