Dec. 20, 2004
Lost in Translation
I am sorry, friends, that it has been so long since my last entry. I have been fairly busy, which is such an obvious blessing for sure! But as I think back on how these past months have come and gone, one thing has consistently remained the same: Many days where I am completely lost in the utter confusion of language, new surroundings and a new culture. All in all, I have relished that these moments have truly allowed me to go outside of my comfort zone and completely trust the Lord. And in return I have had some funny moments and incredibly rich times with teammates.
A few nights ago, the Sparta girls gathered in my apartment around a tiny table, piecing together graham crackers, gum drops and licorice. Can you guess what we are making: that's right? Gingerbread houses of course, which happened to be a new learning experience for the ladies. As the sugar from the frosting was increasing the hyperactivity, we began to think back on some of the more funny moments we have had as we have been lost in translation.
For instance, one practice I began to shout out, "Go hard ladies!" I hoped that this comment would inspire them to pick up the intensity. However, my pronunciation may have not been all that clear. You see, I added "Go hard, go hard, go hard," as quick as my mouth could spout out the words. What I thought would encourage them ended up confusing them as they tried to decipher the meaning. Their final decision on what I said, "Gothaj," which is a kind of sausage or pepperoni. That's right; they thought I was yelling a brand name of sausage at them. I might as well have said, "Pizza toppings!" or something like that. I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh. So throughout the rest of practice, the encouraging word for the day became about sausage.
Just wait, I have much more. To me these stories and memories are what is imprinted in my mind and will be as I grow older. Sure, the wins are memorable and the losses surely forgettable, but these goofy moments remind me that basketball is just a game.
One day before practice I was sharing with the girls my incredible knowledge of Czech, (which is just a few short sentences and some vocabulary!). Nonetheless, each girl leans their ear to hear my poor pronunciation and my all-out effort to speak their language. After I took my bows and received my applause, one of my teammates offered me what looked like a potato. I gave her a confused look and said, "A potato?" Darina erupted in laughter-as did the rest of the girls-as she explained to me that it was chelba, which means bread. As the girls finished having their laugh, I pulled out some Telka crackers for a pre-practice snack. While I was munching away, Lucie explained to me that telka was short for t.v. I guess it may have been a blonde moment when I answered, "So it means the crackers are called televisions?" In my head the comment made sense, but as the words came out I then realized how silly I sounded. I then calmly spoke up, breaking the laughter for a moment, and said, "Man, you all have a weird country, where your bread looks like potatoes and your crackers are called televisions." I began to join in their laughter. And now, if someone is eating bread while I am around, they are sure to tell me that it is not a potato.
Okay, so one more last embarrassing moment. Maybe this one might be easier to imagine. About a month ago, I was practicing my reading skills with my teammate Lucie. She, Steffy and I were all crowded in her dorm room while I was struggling to finish just one sentence. I then came across a rather tough word, "kdyby." I studied it a while and bravely spoke up saying something like, "Kidy-bye." Both the gals almost fell to the ground in hysterical laughter. I kind of shrugged my shoulders and looked at them with a gaze of sheer confusion. The word is actually pronounced "gdib." Don't worry; the rest of the team was filled in on my mispronunciation! All for a good laugh, right?
All in all I continue to laugh at the encounters I have on the metro or the tram and even in the grocery store. Sometimes life is more frustrating than others when I am trying to catch on to their culture and understand their ways. But I have realized there is still room to add a little of my own culture into this foreign world....
One afternoon at practice, I decided to mix up my English vocabulary a bit and add in some new words. So a slew of adjectives flew out, "Beautiful, awesome, super, and PHENOMENAL!" The last word echoed throughout the gym...then a few questions followed, "What was that word? What does it mean?" By the end of the practice, the team was all practicing the new word of the day, "Phenomenal." Since then we have added it into our huddles as we break from timeouts or at the end of practice. On top of that, the word has totally caught on to clothing accessories as well. The cool fan accessory to have here is a scarf, printed with your favorite team name and logo. (Since the weather is more on the colder end, the scarf totally makes sense. Well for out-door sports at least!) Well, just the other day our coach printed our very own Sparta Praha hat and scarf collection. On one side of the scarf says our name and the other...you guessed it! PHENOMENAL! I definitely had to grin at that one!
When a habit is implemented, it is hard to break it. In this instance I am talking about a good habit. Since I have starting playing here, I continue with the habit of standing while a teammate comes to the bench. This is something that I have learned from my time with the Lady Bears! (Thanks, Coach Mulkey!) In the match the other day, it caught on...everyone started to stand. One of the girls spoke up and said, "American style!" These simple things make it feel more like home and it adds some spark...a little bit of Jess style!
As I wrap this up, I have to share a few final thoughts. The Lord is continuing to do amazing things here and in my life. I thank you all for your prayers as I try to be a light and share the love of Jesus! I pray that during this holiday season you will delight in the birth of our Savior.
Merry Christmas-
Jessika
(If you want to check out more about Sparta basketball on the web, here are two sites, but you have to kind of play around since they are both in Czech! www.blcsparta.com is our team site and www.cbf.cz is the Czech Basketball Federation site to check out stats and our position in the league.)
