With two of my precocious students, sisters Teresa and Bara Balatkovy, I decided to do a photojournalism project in the style of Humans of New York. This is the third installment. We walked around Liberec and Bara interviewed strangers on the street about memorable moments in their lives and Teresa photographed them during the interview. Both … Continue reading Humans of Liberec Part III
Kutna Hora. Winter 2015. There's an eerie spirit about this place. It's quiet and mysterious. Peace is felt in silent reverence for the dead, on flowers placed atop cemetery graves, and whispers. 40,000 skeletons of forgotten humans decorate and furnish a church that gives this small town fame. We are here to see and believe it. The Church of Bones is a sacred … Continue reading The Church of Bones: Kutná Hora
"Glacial corries contrast with bare-stone ridges, large alpine meadows with timber cottages down in the valleys, the murmur of waterfalls with the mysterious silence of peat bogs, while regal Mount Sněžka, queen of the peaks, lords it over her lofty realm. All this awaits you in the Krkonoše." [CzechTourism.com] After reading the passage above, how can … Continue reading Tramping in the Krkonoše Mountains
It was one of those days where the sun does more than warm the earth or your skin. Winter was long and hard, and this sun is almost hot enough to melt the memory. Almost. Sweat feels good streaming down my cheeks. In Český ráj, or Bohemian Paradise, I lift my head in reverence and let … Continue reading Sun Worshipping in Malá Skála
I took a long weekend to explore the southern part of the Czech Republic--Moravia, known for its warm weather, plentiful wines, and laid back culture. I went bowling, watched a kamikaze-like air show, got motion sick on an unbelievably scenic bus ride, cartwheeled around a chateau, and drank Moravian wine as the sun melted and softened everything in shades of honey and I … Continue reading Cartwheeling through South Moravia
A perfect day in the mountains of Bedřichov.
With two of my precocious students, sisters Tereza and Bara Balatkovi, I decided to do a photojournalism project in the style of Humans of New York. We walked around Liberec and Bara interviewed strangers on the street about memorable moments in their lives and Tereza photographed them during the interview. Both sisters helped to translate, … Continue reading Humans of Liberec
The ice cracks and winter lifts its veil with a swift flick of the wrist and a giant game of Tetris reveals Nature’s sacred geometry Led dispersed, disarmed, clinks in a glass made of storms and the things no one wants while they are frozen in time, powerless, preserved as stagnant as they were It … Continue reading The Ice Cracks and Winter Lifts Its Veil
As I skip around the globe teaching English, one of my favorite traditions is coordinating a pen pal program between the Soulshine kids in Atlanta, Georgia and my international ESL students. As a child, I remember writing to my pen pal in Hawaii and being ecstatic every time I found a new letter for me in the mailbox. Now, … Continue reading Pen Pals: Dear America, From the Czech Republic
Joc Cousteau 