Slavko is a great friend that we met in Prague. Originally from Macedonia, he had moved to Prague for university and then took a TEFL class and became an English teacher- he worked at the same school as Jason. He was a member of our close group of friends in Prague and we shared all too many great stories and funny moments with him around.
Back in October we got word that Slavko was coming to Texas- El Paso/Juarez more specifically- for Christmas. I know, Juarez and El Paso?? To travel halfway around the world to go to one of the most dangerous and least desirable places on earth! I tried to warn Slavko of this, but he was going to visit a friend and was convinced it would be fine.
In the end, it was, of course. He stayed there for the holidays and then made a weekend trip to visit Brandon, Sarah, Jason and I in Austin. It was so much fun to see our old friend and relive some of our favorite memories from the good ol' days. We greeted Slavko at the airport wearing t-shirts designed by Brandon, special for his arrival.
We all wore our t-shirts out on the town that night and got plenty of good laughs and great photos. What a fun night of catching up it was! We spent the rest of the weekend showing Slavko as many Texas sites as we could- everything from BBQ to walking around Town Lake and 2-steppin' at a real country bar.
It was a great visit, but I couldn't help but to think how strange it might have been for Slavko. Slavko still lives in Prague and has a good job (much better than when we were all English teachers...). But still, the disconnect from life in Prague and life in the States is unreal. When we all lived there, we had small (but nice) apartments and owned basically just what we could fit in our backpacks and took public transportation everywhere. Now, both Jason & I and Brandon & Sarah have bought big houses and have two cars with tons of stuff. How different can life be?? Whenever I think about how much stuff I have now it makes me want to take a step back and simplify my life. While I do enjoy being able to buy a new shirt without having to wonder how I will take it back home, I miss the lack of materialism I had while living abroad. Anyway, I just realized how strange it would probably seem to an outsider... especially since we all were in the same boat just a short time ago.
Ahhh... the simplicity.
Back in October we got word that Slavko was coming to Texas- El Paso/Juarez more specifically- for Christmas. I know, Juarez and El Paso?? To travel halfway around the world to go to one of the most dangerous and least desirable places on earth! I tried to warn Slavko of this, but he was going to visit a friend and was convinced it would be fine.
In the end, it was, of course. He stayed there for the holidays and then made a weekend trip to visit Brandon, Sarah, Jason and I in Austin. It was so much fun to see our old friend and relive some of our favorite memories from the good ol' days. We greeted Slavko at the airport wearing t-shirts designed by Brandon, special for his arrival.
We all wore our t-shirts out on the town that night and got plenty of good laughs and great photos. What a fun night of catching up it was! We spent the rest of the weekend showing Slavko as many Texas sites as we could- everything from BBQ to walking around Town Lake and 2-steppin' at a real country bar.
It was a great visit, but I couldn't help but to think how strange it might have been for Slavko. Slavko still lives in Prague and has a good job (much better than when we were all English teachers...). But still, the disconnect from life in Prague and life in the States is unreal. When we all lived there, we had small (but nice) apartments and owned basically just what we could fit in our backpacks and took public transportation everywhere. Now, both Jason & I and Brandon & Sarah have bought big houses and have two cars with tons of stuff. How different can life be?? Whenever I think about how much stuff I have now it makes me want to take a step back and simplify my life. While I do enjoy being able to buy a new shirt without having to wonder how I will take it back home, I miss the lack of materialism I had while living abroad. Anyway, I just realized how strange it would probably seem to an outsider... especially since we all were in the same boat just a short time ago.
Ahhh... the simplicity.
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