Bleeding Black and Gold

Sunday I set out with Beliza to see the Steelers game. We went first to a place that was recommended by some people on expats.cz called the Dubliner. We settled in, took one look at the menu, and left. It was purely for expats - that is, expats who don't earn Czech salaries. 245Kc for a burger? Are you kidding me? I said a big "whatevs" to that and we headed to another pub/restaurant called Jama.

We got in there and settled down in a back room with two TVs with two different games that would be on that night. We ordered beer and food and happily waited for the game to start. The owner, a really nice guy in his late 30s or so, came back and explained that they'd have three different games total in the place. I asked him, "Which TV will have the Steelers?"
"Are you sure they're playing?"
"Yes!"
"They aren't listed...I don't think they're playing."
"Trust me, they're playing!"

He explained that they get one or two satellite channels and the armed forces network. He said another place called Golden Star got more channels than they did at Jama, and that we should try there. To be nice we stayed and had our food (which was awesome - total American food! - wings and burgers!) and then headed over to the Golden Star.

We got there and looked through all the rooms at the different TVs, but there was no black and gold anywhere. As we were standing around looking, a nice older guy said, "Hey girls, these seats are free if you'd like to join my friend and me."

So we sat down. His name was Leslie and he was from Canada, and his French friend was Thomas. We had a nice conversation and when I told him that I was really there to see the Steelers, he called a guy who was a big Lions fan over to heckle me. Of course, a Lions fan has no chance of heckling a Steelers fan, because which team has the most Superbowl wins in NFL history? That's right. So he can shut up. But no, really he was very nice and didn't say anything nasty. Plus we ended up winning, so.... anyway, next week we'll go back and hopefully they'll be showing the game.


And yesterday (Monday) was uneventful until after work. My magic jack arrived in the mail from Dad, who sent it to his wife Sheila, who gave it to Mom, who mailed it to me. After a lot of trouble and a late-night run to Tesco for batteries (which I ended up not needing), I was finally able to make and receive calls :) I talked to Maira, my dad, my mom, Sheila, my little sister, and my little brother :) I couldn't be happier - the quality is just perfect and I just used my headphones and a microphone. It's just like talking on the phone normally - no lag, clear voices, it's just the greatest thing ever.

Hooray for getting to hear my family's voices!!!