Farní charita Česká Lípa

Do you have any associations with word «Saturday»?  Rest, fun, lazy day? For us last Saturday associated only with Czech word «Vsudybud»! What is it and how we spent this day read below.

Vsudybud it’s a multi-genre musical festival which is held already for 12th time in Ceska Lipa. To this open-air come a lot of musicians and bands from all Czech Republic and even from some neighbor countries. So it was a big event for Ceska Lipa with many visitors. Why we were so interested in?

For us it was a great opportunity to promote EVS and to tell everyone how it’s amazing to be EVS volunteer. We had a lot of fun especially because we had special guests, workers from National Agency, who brought with them a big EVS bus, many leaflets and nice video about EVS volunteers. But not only they who were prepared to such event, we also didn’t sleep at nights and brought with us many funny activities for everyone: we had lovely stuff for making photos, many different dishes from different countries, and lottery with an amazing prize – big kchachepuri from our best cook Salome Nemsistveridze!

It was a great day with a lot of good emotions and perfect weather!

Road to Serbia 

Last week, we had holidays because schools were closed and we took the opportunity to visit Belgrade (Serbia). 

It was not an easy trip, because it was a 15 hours trip by bus and the conditions were not the best. But although the travel conditions were not the best, the company could not be better.

So we were spending the journey playing games, watching movies, etc. and the trip was more enjoyable.

 Serbia is full of surprises

​​Once in Serbia, we met with our friend Uros, who is partner of our association and is in Serbia for several months preparing to return to Czech Republic, and his adorable family that I have only good words to define it because they were friendly, polite, grateful and worried all the time if we were comfortable or if we needed something. 

 Uros had many plans prepared for us, so we could see the most important places in Belgrade, as the longest 

It was not all monuments​​

We also had the opportunity of attending EUFA futsal Championship. The tournament had a happy ending because Spain won the championship and Russia that made a great tournament could be second. Serbia was not so lucky and ended up fourth.

 What about fun?

We also knew Uros´s friends and they showed us some of the most important pubs of Belgrade and we had a great time with them.

Today I want to tell you the difference in the traditional cuisine of the Czech Republic and Russia. When I came to the Czech Republic, I realized that they different in many aspects.

Let's look at the main meals of the those countries.

Czech cuisine is considered heavy and very filling, with meals centered on meats and starches. Traditional Czech food is not dietary, however it perfectly goes with the Czech beer. It mostly consists of pork or beef meat with sauce and a side dish, the most common and liked being dumplings (Knedliky). Czech people really love Svičková, a somehow interesting combination of meat with sauce and whipped cream. Chicken, duck, turkey, fish, rabbit and lamb are also used in some very tasteful Czech dishes. My favorite Czech classical meal - Smažený Sýr (fried cheese). 

Russian food is delicious yet quite rich too. It is typically hearty, with potatoes, bread, pastry and sour cream featuring as common ingredients. Russian food has changed a lot in the last century. The Russian cuisine has been influenced by dishes of other counties. The old Russian cuisine was greatly influenced by Christian orthodox traditions: most days of the year were fasting, so most Russian dishes were made of vegetables, mushrooms, fish and various grains. One of the most famous soups is Borsch - beet and cabbage red soup served with or without meat, potato, herbs (usually dill) and a dollop of smetana. Accompanied with a piece of rye bread. Other common Russian soups to try are ukha, a seasoned fish and vegetable broth, and schi, a cabbage-based broth. Russian pancakes - Blini - typically made with buckwheat for savoury fillings or white flour for sweet toppings. And accompaniments of smoked salmon, creamy mushrooms, sour cream, jams. Another Russian pancake is the cottage cheese version called Syrniki.

Russian dumplings (Pelmeni) are really different from Czech ones - the tasty herbs added to the packed meat fillings of lamb, pork or beef and the thinness of the dough. Another kind of dumpling are Varenniki but they're usually stuffed with mashed potatoes, cabbage, meat, hard-boiled eggs or different fruits (cherry or plump). Russia's mini pies (pirozhki) use similar fillings and herbs to dumplings, except they are encased in pastry and either pan-fried or oven-baked. Besides the typical meat or salmon fillings, however, you also get the additional choice of cabbage, potato, egg, cheese and even sweet fillings.

 Czech and Russian cuisine is very different as you see!

The workshop, like one of the kinds of informal education, is the best way to learn, create and develop. Games with discussions, when no one afraid to share with others his ideas or thoughts, much better than one formal lesson with teacher and books in a class.  It gives you the chance to show others what is the person you are and how nonstandard thinking you can.

Farni Charita EVS team decided to make an experiment and checked is informal education really so good for trainers and pupils or not.  Our suggestion supported students from Euroschool.

Euroschool Ceska Lipa provides knowledge, skills and abilities required for further student’s works. They use modern educational devices, new technologies in the learning process, that is why students are encouraged to work independently and to be more responsible for their studies. One of the specializations at this school is «Hotel management and tourism», where students learn how to make the most comfortable conditions for foreigners, begin from dressing table and finish with touristic information for guests.

 So, with these talented students, we organized one «International kitchen day».  We cooked, touch each other different multicultural recipes and just had fun together. It can only seem that nothing special happened that day and you even can’t call this activity lesson.

But actually due to this one day we and students from Euroschool have learned a lot of things: we practiced our English conversation skills, we learned new words from 6 (!) different languages, we tried many various dishes, and we became better acquainted with Czech culture and cultures of ours countries.  It can be compared with an ordinary day at school with English and Czech, Geography and History lessons, but it was more interesting and funny that even no one understood when our time was finished and we were needed to go home. 

«The atmosphere in this school was really friendly and nice. I didn’t feel myself unwanted, opposite, we were very welcomed there. Students prepared for us great daily program including presentations about the Czech Republic and amazing Czech traditional menu. Cooperation between all of us during this activity was like we are all old friends and have known each other for many years», - commented this event one of EVS volunteers, Salome Nemsitsveridze.

A the end of our «Intercultural Kitchen day», in spite of the fact that we cooked during 4 hours, we and students still were full of energy and wanted continue to share our experience and thoughts.

We are not sure that after an ordinary day at school we will feel ourselves the same, but we sure that we want to repeat this day again and again. And how said the headmaster of Euroschool «In this difficult time it’s very important to build together a little bridges from one country to another, to learn how to be tolerant and open-minded, and that is great that today we have built one of this bridges».

During our school activities we speak a lot about our countries, our customs and traditions.

At the beginning of lessons we usually ask students what they already knew about our motherlands and every time we hear the same stereotypes, which we try to debunk then.

The most funnies and popular myths about Russia, which I heard here in Ceska Lipa, always contained such words like «vodka», «bears» and «the biggest country».

The last thing is true for sure, we are the biggest country in a world, and actually Russia is bigger than Pluton. It has a size of 17 million square kilometers, and Pluton has a size of 16.6 million square kilometers! 

But what about «vodka» and «bears»? I should say that is nothing like this. Yes, vodka still is our favorite alcohol, but we don’t drink it EVERYDAY, only at holidays and not everyone, I, for example, have never tried it.

And now the second myth – bears. I don’t know why people think that bears can freely walk around the city in Russia, who started it? Of course we have bears, but only in a ZOO, national parks or in deep-deep forests somewhere in Kamchatka.

With High school students we discuss not only funny facts or stereotypes about Russia, but also speak about some serious themes like politic and economic. It’s not a secret that now in Russia is not the best time, but it’s a pleasure for me to found out that many of students support my country and my government. 

I hope that the rest of students who still hadn’t a class with us will read and remember that Russian people don’t drink vodka every day and don’t dance with bears after this)))

Hi to everyone! My name is Natasha. I’m from Ukraine where I graduated from university and tried my hand in the economic sphere. As time goes by I understood that the scheme work-home-work with one vacation per year is not for me. So I started looking for the adventures and found the EVS project in Czech Republic.

The first thing that catches the eye is the standard of living. For such pretty small town as the Česká Lípa, there are a swimming pool, gym, cinema, theater, music school, restaurants, a lot of pubs, supermarkets and much more. In comparison, in Donetsk I lived at district which has 100 000 inhabitants, and we don’t have even a half of what is here.

The second is the large number of cars. Just remember the phrase of one of my coaches: "When the weather is rainy the Chech will takes the car, not an umbrella". I think it may be truth!

What about people, they are very nice here. They are always attentive and friendly to us. For example, everybody are constantly inviting us to various concerts and sporting events. And all of this makes us truly happy.  

In this article I will list some of the differences I have found in the last two months between Spain and the Czech Republic. It is true that both countries have much in common, for example both are Catholic and belong to the European Union. But, there are also some differences.
For example, one of the biggest differences I have found is the weather. Last Monday, I was in Spain with a temperature of 16 degrees and the next day when I came to Czech Republic the temperature was minus 8 degrees. Luckily, I had brought a lot of winter clothes and was not a big problem for me.

In terms of traditions, I have also found differences, for example Spanish people have ​​lunch at 2 or 3 p.m. and in Czech Republic at 12 a.m. In the same way, Spanish people have dinner at 8 or 9 p.m. and Czech Republic at 6 p.m. At first, it was a bit strange for me and I was hungry all day.

Now, it is time to write about my experiences as a volunteer in Czech Republic.
 First of all, I wanted to thank my colleagues, friends and all the people who works in the organization “Farni Charita Ceska Lípa” for to make this time so easy and full of good experiences. I did not know if I was going to adapt well to living in another country, a new culture, new food, traditions, etc. but thanks to them I am very happy to be living in Czech Republic.

As many of you know, I am a teacher in Spain and was very interested in the Czech educational system. The methodologies that teachers employ, the number of students per class, materials which teachers have, among others. Now, I am happy with the methods and the treatment that students receive from teachers. ​​Almost all teachers are enthusiastic and make students learn while having fun.

So, until now my work in all schools has been satisfactory and I want to continue working with them. Who knows if in the future I can join any of them.

Already more than 2 months how we are here in Ceska Lipa. And for this 2 month, we have had so much time to compare our countries. And I should say that we have a lot of differences between Russia and Czech Republic, but today I will tell you a little bit about my notices in Czech schools.
For me, for example, it’s unbelievable to see how every morning, no matter what is the weather, in every controlled pedestrian crossing stay a policeman and stop cars for children, who are going to school at this time. 

Another one example, which is also related with schools, is that every school in Ceska Lipa is equipped of video observation and you can’t come in if you don’t have a special card. In Russian schools, you can come in and out in any time, but I prefer more Czech system, that is how you will sure that your children are in safe. 

Or what was a surprise for me also is that one teacher can teach two or even more subjects in a school. I really can’t understand how it’s possible to teach informatics and biology at the same time! It’s totally different subjects! In Russia, we have one teacher for every one subjects.

Maybe it’s only, for now, a patentable novelty for me, maybe in 10 months it will not so surprised me =)

Hello for everyone!!!

After spending a really good holiday in Spain celebrating Christmas. I´ve come back and I´ve started all of my activities again.
When I arrived here the Christmas holiday in Spain hadn´t finished yet, so it was a little bit strange not being there with my family celebrating our last celebration, ´The Three Kings Day´, but we have it each year and I am going to be here only one year so, it is important to enjoy the moment, and it was very surprising for me to discover that ´The Three Kings Day´exists here as well!! So I spent that day in school doing activities with children about this topic, we draw a lot of kings with their crowns. 

The weather has changed a little bit for me in those last two weeks because when I arrive on Monday, I was able to see snow for everywhere and the temperatura was about 10 degrees less than in Spain, so it is my first time living in a `white´winter, because in the town where I live in Spain we don´t have snow, if you want to see it you have to go to the mountains. I had never seen before parents taking sledges with their children on them.

For this week my activities have already finished, so it is time to enjoy the weekend making plans and speding the time with the others volunteers.

See you!!