The Cyber Kazbá

 This blog post is in a series of posts that I am doing on a Biblical Theology of Salvation. It will make much more sense if you read the preceding posts before you read this one. You can find the posts here:

http://cyberkazba.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html

The Fall tells a story of man’s first sin. But what exactly is sin? We theologians throw this word around and often times people have one idea in their head when we theologians mean another.

I have heard one person say sin is any thought, word, motive or deed done in commission (doing something you shouldn’t) or omission (not doing the right thing) against the law of God. This I believe is a good starting point but it often is too wordy and many people are still stuck on the last three words. The Law of God, what is the law of God? Did Adam and Eve have the Law of God? Sure God told them not to eat from the tree, but does that mean they never had a selfish motive?

I think the Fall narrative gives us a clearer and even more simplified idea of what sin is. There are two important points in this narrative that will allow us the reality of sin as it took place in the Fall.The two keys I believe are the nature of the garden/cosmos and the nature of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

If you will remember in my previous point on creation that the heavens and the earth were created as a temple (dwelling place) for God. The earth was His sphere of reign, His dome of kingship, His Kingdom. This kingdom was declared by God as “good” and was characterized by Peace (heb. Shalom).

Peace, did not necessarily mean absence of war, or a quiet relaxing night (though certainly that was included!) but peace was how things are supposed to be; it’s when God’s kingdom is manifesting itself entirely.

Adam and Eve were to be co-rulers of this kingdom. They were to “keep” it. They were to reflect the relationship of the trinity to one another and to all of creation. They were to bring the glory of God by displaying it to all the earth as it reflected from their relationship with Him.

This is why Paul says: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (rom. 3:23) Sin is in essence falling short of the glory of God in the manner that we no longer reflect it properly to others and the world around us.

Dallas Willard once said that a possible reason Adam and Eve discovered their nakedness was because the glory of God literally fell away from them. They stopped glowing.

So sin is anything that stands in contrast to character of God and properly transmitting it to creation. Or sin is anything that is in contrast to Shalom.

Also, the tree is a fascinating part of this story. Why did it have such a mysterious name? What exactly does it mean the knowledge of good and evil? Shouldn’t any moral responsible agent have access to the knowledge of what is good and what is not? Why is it so bad to have this knowledge that it will bring sudden death to the one who has it?

I would argue that in fact the knowledge of good and evil is not something a created being should have. For one thing, knowledge often times is much more than just intellectual gain of information. It is more often experiential. We say things like, “Yeah I know how that feels.” “Do you know  how to drive a car with a stick shift?” etc. So experiential knowledge is not always something we should value. We should never have to know what it feels like to bury one of our children. Or know what it’s like to kill a man. etc.

But I would like to take this knowledge a little further than that even. Certainly it was not good for Adam and Eve to experience a fall from the glory of God. But even further than that is they did in fact gain the knowledge of good and evil.

The serpent in essence didn’t lie to them on that. They did become like gods in a sense here. They gained ability to decipher (for themselves) what is good and what is evil. And this, I am telling you, may have been the biggest disaster that occurred at the Fall.

The responsibility of calling the shots on what is good and what is evil is not a responsibility that a created agent can handle. First and foremost, humans’ perspectives are so limited. Its near impossible for us to decipher all the layers of motives, thoughts, actions and words that take place in one moral decision.

But never mind that we are convinced that our opinion is right or our cause is just. We rationalize and justify our actions so that we can declare them good. We judge others based on our own analysis and declare them evil. In essence we have seated ourselves on the throne of judgment on all that is good and evil. God is no longer consulted as we make decisions that are convenient for ourselves all the while we are mostly ignorant to almost everything but ourselves.

Perhaps the worst is when this “gift” of judgement enters into self-reflection. We judge ourselves either too well or far too poorly. Pride or self-deprecation are essentially the same thing. We make a judgment call based on our limited amount of information/experience and act like it’s the golden truth and often times we are trapped in it.

The knowledge of good and evil is like giving a package of C4 to a 2 year old.

Adam and Eve did not have this prior to the Fall. All of their judgement on reality was solely based off of what God declared to them. They had to accept these judgements not because they didn’t know anything different but because they had faith in them and trust in Him. The is why Paul can say; “Anything that is not done in faith is sin.”

So sin is not just an attack on Shalom but is also living without faith. Us humans who have the knowledge of good and evil have to learn how to not trust our judgments, and learn how to accepts God’s judgments of reality on faith.

We have to accept that many things we do are destroying ourselves and others. We have to stop pressing our judgments on others. We have to humbly release our seat on the throne of truth and submit to God.

We have to accept that we are made in the image of God and have incredible worth even when nothing in our mind/experience tells us this. We have accept that God loves us when we feel unlovable. We have to trust that God’s judgment on reality is the best thing for us because He really does have the proper perspective on everything.

This is salvation. When we are rescued from our own trap of reality that we have created for ourselves and submit it to the reality of God’s judgements. When we staring living in accordance with the Word of God by faith then we can begin to reflect His glory to the earth.

The Bible begins with creation and thus so does our quest of outlining God’s plan of salvation. Immediately one may ask, Why are we talking about salvation in creation? Isn’t salvation relevant only after the fall? This, I would argue, is too narrow of a view of what salvation is.

I’d like to begin with a different question: Why did God create the universe anyway? Now I am by no means in a position to answer this question 100% conclusively. Who can know the mind of God??? Yet, I think I might lend some interesting thoughts to get the conversation starting.

First, we must assert that God is completely self-sufficient. In other words, He doesn’t need anything, apart from himself to exist, have meaning, and enjoyment. So He doesn’t need creation at all. Yet we know that God must relate to himself in some way in order for this self-sufficiency to be true.

God, who is loving, loves himself first, wholly and completely. His love is a self-sacrificial love. But to who does “sacrifice” to? God is worthy of all glory, honor and praise. But who is there to give glory, honor and praise to God? God shows kindness, compassion, and justice. Yet who is object of these characteristics of God?

In a strict Monotheistic/Unitarian view of God, one must conclude that God would “need” some creature/creation to manifest these characteristics to. Thus, a Unitarian God is not self-sufficient. In essence God could not BE God without some external creation.
The Bible teaches not a Unitarian God but rather a triune God, consisting of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God, three Persons.

It is not in the scope of this study to go into too much on the trinity here but it is necessary to mention it in the scope of soteriology and of course creation.

Because God is triune, He is able to manifest the fullness of His character utterly self-sufficiently. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit can express the character of God within themselves in a beautiful dance. Creation is not necessary in order for God to be God. Yet, it is in this beautiful expression of God being God with in the trinity that creates the occasion for creation.

Because God is love, and His love is often characterized by self-sacrifice; and because God so enjoys this sacrificial love He desires to share it. God then creates the universe so that His creatures can enjoy the same fellowship and love that occurs in the Godhead.

This is the occasion for creation, and the basis of salvation. Creation is thus, “saved” so long as it is expressing the nature of it’s Creator. When this happens creation fully enjoys the character of God and, in the case of Humanity, is able to mimic this character unto Himself and others.

So God creates the heavens and earth. I don’t have time to exegete all the interesting points of Genesis 1 & 2, nor do I have to patience to enter into the creation/evolution debate, but I would like to focus on two points.

The first point has already been touched on, this is the concept of the image of God. The image of God is assigned to only one of God’s creatures: Humans. As image bearers of God, Humans are to reflect the character of God, live in the character of God, and express the character of God to the rest of creation. Humans are not God, but rather Images of God who uniquely express God’s character in the realm of God’s creation. They are to submit to God, learn from God and act in accordance to God. Humanity is to think, feel and act like God. When this is achieved creation reaches its pinnacle of purpose and enjoyment.

The second point I want to mention in the creation narrative is the idea of God’s rest on day 7 of creation. Why does God rest? Is He tired? Did His rest ever end?

The language of the Old Testament and that of the Ancient near East is very different to modern conventions of communication. The creation narratives reflect language that is often connected to temples.

In the Ancient Near East (ANE) temples were the center of all religious, social and political endeavors. Temples were the places where the gods dwelt. Many temples took the form of a ziggurat, which looks like a flat top pyramid with stairs on one or many sides. People used to think that these were steps going up into heaven, but later archeology and cultural studies revealed that the stairs are not going up, but rather coming down.

The temple was the place where the god would descend from heaven and dwell in the midst of the people/land. When the temples were completed and “invitation” ceremony would initiate the arrival of the god to the temple. When the god took residence in the temple, he rested there.

The rest here does not mean sleep or relax. They didn’t believe that the gods were tired from their journey, but rather the rest of the god meant that the god was taking control of the people and the land for his own will and plan. It’s like entering the cockpit of plane and taking the controls in hand. This is how gods “rested” in the ANE.

So God creates the world as a temple for Himself. He is pleased with creation and calls it good and then takes residence there in order to carry out His plan for His creation.

Both the image of God in humanity and the idea that God desires creation to be His temple in order to dwell, express his character and carry out his will set the foundation of understanding what salvation is.

It is when Humanity is able to submit to the will of God, reflect God’s character to others and carry out God’s plan that Humanity is saved. Consequently, this also includes all of creation as Man is God’s viceroy in ruling the earth, he is to subject it to the reign of God. The role then of one who is/is being saved is manifest this picture and spread it around.

Salvation, therefore is not just limited to being saved from hell. It is much more than that. Salvation is bringing all things under the reign of God, where in which creation can enjoy the character of God and be truly blessed.

Starting such a endeavor as to write a Biblical Theology of Soteriology seems to mix two academic exercises in one. In my field of study there is what we call Systematic Theology (or systematics) and biblical theology. The first is a study that entail developing “systems” of doctrine that are generally derived from the bible to be sure, but seek “fill” in some gaps as to how certain doctrines can be formulated and eventually practiced.

A good example of systematics is the Trinity. No where in the Bible  is the word Trinity mentioned, yet it stands as a foundational doctrine for orthodox Christianity. The development of the ideas we have around a triune God are developed systematically once the text suggests such a principle. The exercise in systematic theology then goes into using proper language, principles, and logical outcomes of such biblical concepts such as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Biblical theology is limited to the text, and only allows the text to form and create concepts, ideas and doctrines. It is concerned with the literary, historical and cultural devices the text uses to outline God’s truth, actions, and plans. It seeks to place theology in the larger context of biblical narrative and God’s History.

I will start briefly with a systematic introduction to soteriology, and then proceed with biblical theological approach to this idea.

This idea of creating a biblical theology of soteriology came to me after I had finished my theological studies at two schools. I learned so much about the Bible and was very pleased with the quality of education that I received. However I often questioned why I had to go to a paid university to get such a degree.

The information and truths I learned were foundational to what most Christians should learn, think about and study. Yet what I saw in the church was that most Christians were very uneducated when it came to the Bible and Theology.

Very simple things like understanding the general flow of history through the Bible, who are important characters  and understanding very basic ideas like covenant and justification were (and still are) foreign concepts to many in the church. Even to those who had been there for years!

So a quest to educate the people of church is sorely needed. I don’t know if a blog is a good place to start but its as good as any.

What compounded my urge to write this biblical theology is my fascination with the doctrine of soteriology. Which, by the way, if you don’t know what it means, means the theology of salvation.

Salvation is such foundational idea to all Christians. Yet, many haven't taken the time to sit down and understand what it means to be saved. What does it mean to be saved? From whom? From what? How is someone saved? What are the minimum requirements to be saved?

You may think that these answers are easy. I am saved from hell. I am saved by belief in the Lord Jesus. Are good answers to start. But when it’s pressed further, are there other forces/places/people I am being saved from? What does it mean to believe in Jesus? What exactly must I believe? If I don’t believe in the resurrection, am I saved? If I don’t believe in speaking in tongues, am I saved? How can I tell if I am saved?

When do I “get saved”? Is it something in the past? Does it happen in the future? What role do I play in my salvation? in the salvation of others? What role does God play in salvation? If I am saved do I “go to heaven”? Are humans the only creatures who are/will be saved?

Many more questions could be asked to confuse the topic, but I think you get the point. It’s not so easy. So instead of pontificating about the answers to these questions, as a systematic approach would be, I would like to look at the Bible as a whole and take a walk through it identifying the key points in the literature and history as it relates to God’s plan of salvation.

There are 16 areas, thus 16 blog posts  (17 if you include this one) that I will look at when it comest to a biblical theological of soteriology:

1) Creation
2) The Fall
3) The Flood
4) Calling of Abraham (formation of Israel)
5) The Exodus
6) The Law
7) Judges
8) Prophets
9) Kingdom of Israel - rise and fal
10) Christmas (Incarnation)
11) The teachings of Jesus
12) The works of Jesus
13) The Work of Jesus (atonement)
14) Resurrection
15) The Holy Spirit
16) Eschatology (the end)

The aim is to educate and invite a conversation as we seek to understand God’s plan of salvation as its laid out in scripture as well as applying these ideas to our everyday lives. I also as we gain understanding of who God is and his plan for the world it might open up doors for us to share this with others who don’t yet know Him.

When someone gets married it is no doubt that it's a life changing experience. That one ceremony symbolizes and realizes the lives of two people becoming one. A name change occurs, addresses change, tax brackets are adjusted, bank accounts are joined and even new family members are acquired. It's a lot to take in in just one day!

In this sense, marriage changes everything. You have a new legal status, spiritual status, relationship status, financial status, social status and in some cases a new citizenship/visa status. With all of these external changes in some one's life going on almost simultaneously its a wonder how we handle it.

Like the title of this post suggests, marriage changes everything. But, on the other hand, marriage doesn't change anything. Here is what I mean by this: Although there are a lot of external changes that happen in your life when you get married, internal changes don't occur in the same way.

This can be a really good thing and a really bad thing at once. It means that when you get married you are marrying the same person today as they were yesterday and as they will be tomorrow. This is a good thing, at least it should be. You fell in love with that person and one would hope that such drastic changes don't occur overnight so that they wake-up to be someone completely different the morning after the ceremony.

The nature of the relationship shouldn't change all that much either. Although it has gone to a far more serious and intimate role, the things that were done prior to marriage shouldn't stop once you are married.

I think for men this is really important to remember. Often times we men go into marriage thinking of it as a licence to let loose. "Well, I've won my prize, now I can just sit back on the couch, unbutton my pants and relax for the rest of my life." Though we don't necessarily think this way literally (though some do!) we think this way relationally. We no longer feel the need to woo or impress our wives because we already have and she is already wooed! Truth is, a woman's heart is in constant need of being wooed. Just because you're her husband doesn't automatically mean you've won it over today. Before we got married, us men, pulled out all the right moves to catch the attention and love of our girls. Why does it seem to change after the wedding? Go on dates, buy her flowers, wear cologne, take a shower and kiss her a lot! That's a start at least.

On the flip side sometimes we want change to occur but it just doesn't happen. Often times for men they think that being married will "make them into a man." This isn't true. If you're a boy on the day before the ceremony, no matter how much magic the pastor can muster, you'll be a boy the next day. What is manhood? I believe that will be a topic for another post...

But let me continue this thought a bit more. Some of us go into marriage carrying baggage of past hurts or past sins (or continuing sins) and we think that getting married will bury all of this. This also isn't necessarily true either. The sin you struggle with before you get married will still be there after you get married. One sin that you may not even know you had was selfishness, if anything this sin gets magnified after marriage.

Also, people often hope for a change in their mates. Let me recall a classical line I heard someone say, "If you want to alter her, don't bring her to the altar." The altar doesn't change the person, and if you're hoping it will, you will be in for a big surprise. In this sense marriage changes nothing.

The changes I have experienced in my marriage thus far have been good. I told my wife, it's like waking up every morning to Christmas! Right next to me is the most beautiful present I will ever get! I still have to work hard to maintain focus and try to impress my wife, too often I get lazy at this... I am glad that there hasn't been any really drastic change in my wife. I married her for who she is, and to me she's beautiful.

Being the procrastinator that I am, I put off everything that is important. This would include things pertaining to my wedding. Particularly the legal issues that surround it. Coming from a foreign land it isn't as easy to line up all the legal paperwork as it would be doing it in the homeland. So about 5 weeks before the wedding I find out that I need a special piece of paperwork called an apostille. This is a legal certification that attaches to the birth certificate (BC) and certifies it as legal document. I suppose to make sure there aren't any fake BCs going around.

The problem was that I had my BC but could only get the apostille in the USA. After some help from the family I found out I could just mail it in and the Secretary of State would mail it back to me. No problem right? I just send in my BC and get it back in about 2 weeks time leaving me 3 weeks of breathing room. Well... there was a problem. I sent my BC and it never arrived!

Now of course I am getting nervous because I can't married without this document. So if I don't figure it out soon we have a serious problem on our hands. Also, I heard a very interesting story that occurred in this country that raised my suspicion about what may have happened to my BC. Here is the story:

My friend (lets call him Andy) who is American and has been living in CZ for about 3 years. One night while he was on a tram, he gets jumped and three burly dudes who take his bag containing his passport. Meanwhile, my friend has another business partner/friend (lets call him John) who is actually quite wealthy and conducting some serious business here in CZ. John was awaiting a large sum of money being transferred from Canada. The bank was giving him the runaround and telling him that the transferred never cleared. He raises a big complaint because the money should be there. Well, after about 3 weeks the man gets arrested.

Here's where the story gets weird. My friend Andy goes to the US embassy to renew his passport. He is speaking with the lady behind the counter and going through the process, and he sees his (Andy's) passport sitting there next to the woman! On top of that the woman refuses the give him a new passport! As he (Andy) is leaving she smiles and slides through the window John's passport (the man who is now in jail).

Long story short, Andy spent 3 months in CZ without a passport until one day the US ambassador himself picks up Andy from his flat and police escorts him back to the embassy and issues him a new passport. Shortly after John is released from Jail, the ambassador retires, and the bank dealing with John goes down.

So what is happening with my BC? Here is how my friend "Andy" responded when he heard my BC has gone missing:
"Due to increased conspiracies involving Czech Republic, you are now officially named Boris Rusky and you have 5 mortgages 3 cars 2 business leases and 5 bankrupt hotdog stands in your name. If i were you i would lay low til the wedding!"

This had me laughing, albeit a nervous laugh.

The Good news is my mom being the hero mom that she is runs all over the Twin Cities Metro Area, gets a new BC, goes the Secretary of State's office, receives the apostille and sends it to me. Shortly after I receive it, get it translated and head to the government office. All goes smoothly there and my wedding is saved! :)

Ps. it has been approx. 22 days since I sent my BC and still hasn't arrived in USA

So I went to my heart doctor again this last week. I have to say its a huge blessing to be in a country with universal health care. I paid less than $2 for what usually costs around $1,000 in US. I have an English speaking doctor who is under a team of cardiologists who are world renown.

Since this was only my second visit to this doctor I think she is still in the get to know the patient stage. And with the complexity of my condition and its long history (hallelujah) there is still a lot for her to go over. But upon my recent echo cardiogram she spotted something unusual. Now, when I say unusual I don't mean like an unusual cancerous growth, I mean unusual in a good way.

She said to me, "Now I know you don't have any blood going to your left lung, but I do see a possible connection that we could pursue."

I said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, there seems to be some sort of connection that would possibly bring blood to that side."

I said, "My doctor's tried something back in 1995 but it was unsuccessful. Are you seeing the same thing?"

"Not sure, but from what I see there is something definitely there. I'm going to bring this to my surgeon team to have a look."

Basically what she told me then is that, first the team will have a meeting to discuss what she is seeing. If they agree with her findings we may proceed with a catherization to get a closer look at the situation. If all goes as it seems we could proceed then with a surgery. Perhaps for the first time in my life I would use both lungs!

She told me that many of her colleagues are in and out of the office so an answer probably won't come until the end of August. But something to be praying about anyway. Could be nothing, could be something amazing!

Apart from this she said that basically nothing has changed since my last check-up, which is good. I feel good and am in good health. Praise the Lord!

So most people who read this (who am I kidding I have one reader) know that I am in the process of planning a wedding. Now usually this is a time where the couple gets their first glimpse of what the other is like in a pressure situation. This is a time of stress, planning, budgeting, shopping and organizing.

Now I know that most people view planning a wedding as a big project (and an expensive one!); imagine doing it in a foreign country! Not only is the coordination a bit more difficult because of the language barrier but there is also a balance of keeping traditions of the culture. Americans already have their share of the wedding traditions and can you imagine compounding those with another set of cultural traditions? Obviously it's not possible to do all the traditions at the same event, so some traditions have to be left out. For example groom's dinner and wedding rehearsal are unheard of here and these probably wont be a part of our big event. Also bridal showers are a foreign concept so despite Ola's best wishes I just don't see her bridesmaids getting it together.

Then there those cultural things that we evaluate and think OK we are not doing that because we can do this instead! Example, American weddings have usually between 150 and 300 people. When they have the reception, they serve a "meal" and when you leave the wedding you are probably starving and stop at McDonald's on your way home. In Czech their typical weddings have between 30 and 60 people. There is also a special meal that is served to the immediate family (sometimes to everyone depending on the size). This meal is supposed to be an intimate time for the families to be together after the ceremony to celebrate the union. And we are talking FOOD people! Not some skimpy, mass produced, semi-warm food, but a four course elegantly prepared meal that is sure to fill you up. And if that isn't enough food, there is usually an extended party/reception with dancing where they serve lots of food too throughout the night.

So for our wedding we had a bit of a dilemma. We want to invite around 60 people total (that is assuming that most Americans won't make it). But we don't want all the people to come to the family meal, yet we want everyone to come to the ceremony. I suggested to have the meal before the ceremony and I guess that was a ridiculous idea... So we are having the ceremony and reception in two different places. Everyone is invited to the ceremony, then the immediate family will travel to the reception place and have the traditional meal. After that the rest of the people will come later for the Party!!!

Now we get to the rings. And this is where I become a little ignorant. I thought that I was through with rings. You see I already got the beautiful diamond engagement ring, isn't that enough? I knew that I would eventually need a ring, but lets be hones I would be fine with a lifesaver as long as it stayed on my finger. But apparently we were not through with rings as the woman also wears not just an engagement ring but a wedding ring too!

As some of you know the diamond industry really isn't one of the burgeoning trades in the Czech Republic. The diamonds here seem to be lacking in quality, selection and price (way too expensive!) So when I got the engagement ring I actually bought it in London. When I realized that there was another ring involved I was a little nervous about buying another diamond... But Ola seemed be looking for something more simple- bless her heart.

We went to the a few places and it seemed that either the shop assistants didn't want to help us or worse they were rude! There was a time when Ola asked to see a set a diamonds under the glass and the sales person said, "Oh? But those are brilliant diamonds." As if there was no way we could ever even think about buying one. Ola, with as much smugness as she could muster replied, "I know, and so is this one." Pointing to the ring on her finger. Needless to say Ola was quite offended and we left rather quickly. Then one day we stumble into a shop and the lady was quite nice and even spoke English. She must have been a good salesperson because we left the shop after we placed orders for our rings. The salesperson said that Ola got a Ferrari ring, because its not one that you should be driving just anywhere. Mine will be a simple stainless steel band, its more like a KIA ring or something I guess. Needless to say we are both excited the time is getting closer and details such as these are wrapping up.

Ok so usually I write theological ponderings on this blog and for the most part I have really enjoyed it. But to be honest I know I do a terrible job at keeping it up. Part of it is that I'm busy and the other part is that it takes a lot of thinking and concentration to punch out one of my ideas. Not that they're so great but lately it has seemed like a lot of work to put one forth. Plus when no one comments it's a little demotivating. So I have moved my theological thoughts to a differnet blog where I won't be the sole author. Feel free to check it out, it's under the fellow bloggers list Concert of Thought. There is already a post there so enjoy!

So this blog will then become my way to update and entertain those who are curious about my life here in Czech Republic. I try to keep in touch with people as best I can and am not the best at it. Often times when I do communicate with them I leave out many aspects of life here in Czech. So I will do my best to try to update this blog with quips and updates from my expereince here.

Unlike in USA, I rely heavily on public transportation to get around. Not using public transportation much before coming to Europe my adaption to this lifestyle wasn't always easy. I couldn't just leave and go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. I have to follow someone elses schedule; and forget about traveling anywhere far after 9:00 pm. You lose control to be on time as you have to hope that your bus or train arrives on time.

Sometimes this can drive me up the wall. Like today, we got up at 5:45 in the morning so we could catch a bus from Strakonice to Prague. We really wanted/needed to go to church so we could give some "homework" (or as I like to call it our 'relationship investment project') to the pastor who is giving us premarital counseling. The bus was scheduled to leave at 6:25 and the next bus was leaving at 10:00 am much too late to make it to church.

So, Ola's mom, bless her heart, woke up at the crack of dawn just to drive us to the bus station. When we arrived we are shocked that there is in fact a line of people already waiting for the bus.

Now it's quite common for lines to form waiting for the bus to Prague. In fact there have been many times when the bus was so full that I had to stand all the way there.... 90 minutes standing in a bus aisle is not fun.

But this morning there was a line, but not too many people, nonetheless I was quite shocked to see anyone there. So we waited... then we waited and waited some more. 7:00 still no bus. One by one the line dwindled down until it was just us. By that time we resigned our fate to going back home and getting some more much needed sleep. We called Ola's mom and she was ready to come pick us up. Just as the phone lines disconnected the bus came around the corner. There were floods in the surrounding cities and that caused the delay.

On top of all that can go wrong with public trasnport there is also a language barrier that I must overcome if I am to travel alone. Usually it's ok unless things don't go according to the plan. One of my favorite moments was when I was traveling alone to a town outside of Prague alone becuase of work. I boarded the bus and the told the driver where I needed to go and paid my fee. The bus driver gave me back double the change I was supposed to get, except I didn't realize until I sat down (near the back of the bus). Having my conscience pricked because I noticed the error so early I was compelled to go up there but a bit nervous as to how to explain in broken czech what happened. I was a little nervous how the driver would react if I just stuck money into his face again.

But I did and even though I don't understand czech that great I couldn't believe what I heard! Here is my translation of what happened:

Me: Excuse me sir, I have too much change .

Bus Driver: Huh, (seeing the money) Aha, ok good! I can see you're not a czech and you're not black, so that's great. Thank you very much!