World Blog Surf Day Topic is....

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for taking part in the WBSD poll to choose the topic we'll all be writing about on October 31st! It was surprising to see the outcome of our voting...really...and interesting! Can you make a guess as to which topic came in #1? Drum roll please..................

Well...maybe I should do a break down of the poll for you...that might be more interesting! We had a total of twenty-six votes--this includes some bloggers who have signed up, but whose blogs are currently in the review process. Here is the break down of votes:

Fifth place, with one vote: How do people in my new country work to change the place for the better?

Fourth place, with one vote: What is your favorite kind of music that you've discovered in your new country, and why do you like it?

Third place, with five votes: My new country's strangest custom.

Second place, with six votes: Festivals & Celebrations-how does the new country deal with death, ghosts, and other worldly, creatures?

First place, with six votes: Religion & Society-what role does religion play in your new country? (This the one I voted for!)

Now, the winner that will be our topic for October 31st....

Drum roll please...I can't stand the suspense.....well, you should have figured it out by now...so here goes....

And the winner is, with seven votes: Holidays and Celebrations-what is your favorite new holiday and how is it celebrated?

You can see the voting was hot and furious...and very close on the last three topics. It was a toss up a couple of moments! Thank you all for participating in the vote!

That's all for now...I'll go over the next set of details (for those of you who are new) in the next post!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath

World Blog Surf Day Topic Poll

Hi Everyone,
The World Blog Surf Day poll is finally ready! We have an eclectic bunch of topic choices to choose from. Any of these will provide very interesting topics for our next WBSD. Please visit the poll here:WBSD Poll or by clicking the title of this post. Vote for your favorite topic of choice! And if your idea isn't chosen this time, it will be included as a topic choice for our next WBSD. The poll will close on Monday morning (Prague time), and I will post the results here! So be sure to come back on Monday to see what our topic will be. Remember, you need to have your post ready to go live on Oct. 31st--but more about that in upcoming posts!

That's all for now...you all have a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath

Poll for WBSD

Hi Everyone,
We have ten bloggers now confirmed to participate in World Blog Surf Day! The countries that are represented, so far, are Argentina, Bali, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Turkey and the US. That's a great start! We can use more bloggers, though...so keep getting the word out to all your expat friends and contacts!

So far we have only a couple of topic suggestions for WBSD. The suggestions so far have been Religion & Society, and Celebrations/Holidays. Last week, I said we could take suggestions till Thursday, but I'm leaving it open for more suggestions till this coming Thursday, September 24th. I'll put the poll up over the next weekend and have the results posted on Monday, September 28th. Spread the word about WBSD--get your friends and contacts to sign up, and leave your topic suggestions here, in the comments--or email them to me at czechoffthebeatenpath at gmail dot com--or you can Tweet your suggestion on Twitter--look for czechoffthebeat.

One more note, I'm making a list of WBSD participating blogs--you'll find it in the right side bar. You'll find the name of each blog is also a link that to specific blog.

That's all for now! You all have a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Czech Off the Beaten Path Website
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World Blog Surf Day
Sher's Stuff

(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath

World Blog Surf Day Update

Hi Everyone,
World Blog Surf Day sign up has begun. We have five bloggers who are confirmed to participate in the next WBSD. Here is a list of the first six to sign up:

Sezin	Sezinia	Czech Republic
Chaplain	Rickyyates	Czech Republic
Tanja	Czechmate Diary	USA
Hans	Internation Musing	Turkey
Sher	Czech Off the Beaten Path	Czech Republic
Hospitalera	Workingnomad	Czech Republic

The topic for our upcoming WBSD is still up for a vote. So far, we have one suggestion--religion/society--for our theme. Please feel free to offer other suggestions--you can send them in via email to czechoffthebeatenpath at gmail dot com; send a Tweet on Twitter to czechoffthebeat, or leave your suggestion in the comment section on this blog. The deadline for topic suggestions will be this Thursday, September 17th, and I will have a poll ready here on Friday. Everyone can cast their votes from Friday to Monday, September 21st, when I'll have the results recorded here.

Just a reminder--the sign up deadline for the next World Blog Surf Day will be October 24th. Be sure to spread the word about WBSD to your expat friends and readers! The goal is to create a chain of expat bloggers that goes around the world! The more bloggers we have the better!

That's all for today...you all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

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World Blog Surf Day Website
Sher's Stuff

(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath

World Blog Surf Day Sign-Up Ready

Credit: Art by Beka

Hi Everyone,
Are you expat bloggers ready for the next World Blog Surf Day? I am! Sign-up is now open for the next WBSD, which will be held on October 31, 2009. You can visit the WBSD site for more information on what World Blog Surf Day is and how to participate.

The theme for this coming WBSD is still under consideration. This time we'll hold a poll (next week) so participating bloggers can vote on what our next theme should be. If you have any suggestions for the theme, please leave them in the comments here, or send me an email...or you can also Tweet them to me on Twitter! We've had a couple of bloggers suggest the theme of religion and society--which would be very apropos for October 31st! So, please send in your comments and suggestions for a theme. The deadline for submitting theme ideas will be next Thursday, September 17th. This will allow me to get the poll up on Friday (here on Czech Off the Beaten Path), September 18th--then everyone can vote over the weekend--and I'll post the results on Monday, September 21st, here on this blog.

All expat bloggers who sign up for WBSD will need to have a blog that is active and has frequent posts. Each blog will be reviewed to ensure that this rule is followed. So, be sure that your blog meets these qualifications before signing up. Most expat blogs are accepted--so don't worry about being rejected. We just have to make sure the blogs are active. If an inactive blog is included, then there is a high probability of that blogger not posting on October 31st--and this would break the chain (of blogs around the world) we are trying to create for our readers. Once your blog has been reviewed, you will receive a confirmation email that your blog's been accepted for WBSD. You'll also receive an email if you blog is not accepted, with an explanation of why it was rejected. We need this rule in order to keep WBSD the best experience possible for our bloggers and our readers.

This is an added note: it has been brought to my attention that Google Sites is banned in Turkey. Is it banned in any other countries, too? That's a problem, but if you would like to sign up, and can't get to the sign-up form, then if you would feel comfortable with it, send me your information via email: your blogging name, blog name/address, email address, and your home country and your new country of residence. Also, if you would like to have the WBSD logos, let me know...I can email those to you. We have several color schemes to choose from: blue, brown, pink (my daughter's favorite color), and green. If you need/want a different color scheme, let me know. Beka will come up with it and I can email it to you. Sorry for this inconvenience!

That's all for today! This WBSD will surely be interesting and fun...and the sign-up is now ready...and we will vote on the theme! Once we have the theme, we can all get to working on our posts and be ready for the fun traveling around the world from blog to blog! I'm really excited and looking forward to our next WBSD! And if you'd like to get the word out, there are logos available for you to use...and if you use social media, then please tell all your friends and followers about World Blog Surf Day!

You all have a great day and a great weekend!

God bless,
Sher :0)

PS I have been watching the stats on this blog for quite a while, and have found there is one post that continuously brings in the most search traffic. That is the post "Garlic Soup--Cure for the Common Cold." For those of you interested in the recipe for traditional Czech garlic soup, you can find it by clicking the link in the upper left-hand sidebar! Enjoy!

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(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath

Health Emergency & a Czech Hospital

Hi Everyone,
Wow, it's been a whirlwind lately with traveling home to Prague and dealing with health issues. Things were very crazy last week after I came home. A week ago Sunday, Jiri ended up at the emergency room (where his mother lives) for severe abdominal pain. They found it was his gallbladder causing the problem and gave him some shot (what--he doesn't know) and sent him home. Monday, Jiri was back in Prague and trying to get ready to meet me at the airport. The whole day he was ill and in great pain. When we met at the airport (he hadn't yet told me about the Sunday emergency room visit), I could tell that he was sick and urged him to go to the doctor. But no--he's a very stubborn guy--and said he was fine.

Tuesday morning Jiri went to work, still feeling pretty bad (though he said he was fine). But something made him visit his doctor, and his doctor immediately sent him to the hospital for tests. At the hospital, they discovered a stone was causing the problem...it was blocking bile from leaving the gallbladder. The bile was very infected and the infection and inflammation were spreading to other places in the abdomen. Not a good scenario. Jiri had to stay at the hospital and began receiving high doses of antibiotics and other meds. Everything was getting better, until Thursday morning when blood tests seemed to show more trouble. Thankfully a sonogram showed things were OK, and surgery was averted--for the time being. Friday Jiri was able to come home. The doctors have urged that surgery is necessary, but Jiri has some things at work that need to be taken care of before he will have the surgery. Ach jo...now it looks like the surgery will have to wait till November. I'm hoping and praying that Jiri's gallbladder will cooperate and wait to be taken out in November!

This is what I walked back into last week when I got home here, to Prague. It's been a very interesting experience--one of the first health emergencies (dealing with one of us) Jiri and I have had to deal with as a married couple, and this was my first experience with a Czech hospital. Last week was very stressful and then dealing with my own current health situation--has left me kind of drained. However, everything is going OK and things are gradually improving (including me)...so I can't complain at all!

Jiri was in Bulovka Hospital, in Prague 8. This is a typical Czech hospital in that there are many buildings on a "campus" setting. We have similar settings in the US. However, the difference comes when looking at the age of the buildings. Jiri was in a very old building that actually looked more like a former castle or hotel. I'm not very good at judging the age of a building, but it looked like this "castle" might have been built in the 1700's or 1800's. It was a nice, grand old building. Once inside, the building was kind of dreary, but immaculately clean. Jiri was in a ward for internal medicine, and there were probably about six other patients there, in the same room. Actually, Jiri had a small side room (with three beds in it) all to himself. That was really nice. Private rooms are available, but they are very expensive. So, Jiri stayed in the ward.

All the beds in the ward looked as if they were from the 1940's--no kidding. They were adjustable, but only with hand cranks...no electric beds. There were no TVs in the ward, and a single window. Of course, I'm used to US hospitals where we have two people to a room, or even a private room, with TV, a bathroom for that specific room, privacy curtains, everything is very modern, etc. This is all I've known, never having lived outside of the US before moving to the Czech Republic. What surprised me more was what was necessary to pack for Jiri's stay in the hospital. The list included soap and shampoo, a towel and wash cloth, and toilet paper. These were surprising for me! These are automatically part of a stay in a US hospital. Of course, you end up paying for these, but they are supplied at the hospital. Czech hospitals, in asking patients to pack even their own toilet paper, are trying to keep the costs down for the hospital and patients. This is a good thing--just something very different than what I've been used to in the US.

Jiri's small room off the ward was not depressing--it was painted with nice, bright colors and was so clean you could eat off the floor! There was plenty of light, and a small sink near his bed (that served the whole room of three beds). All the medical equipment was very modern (aside from the beds, and each bed did have a call button to call a nurse), and the doctors and nurses were all very nice and helpful--very pleasant people. One nice thing, too, was that Jiri was able to keep his cell phone and use it there, in the ward.

All in all, it was a good first experience with a Czech hospital. Now, I'm not sure how I would do in such a setting--I'm used to privacy and am a very modest person. But for a first experience with a loved one in the hospital it was OK. Jiri was very well taken care of and looked after...and everyone was very nice to me, too. I can't complain at all, and am happy that the doctors were able to "patch up" Jiri till he will relent to have the necessary surgery!

Well, that's all for today! I'm working on the WBSD sign-up, and will have that ready later this week. I'm also getting back into dropping Entrecards--and will get that caught up this week, too!

You all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

PS My health situation is still unfolding...but is slowly improving. My doctor said it will take another five to ten days before I'm really feeling better. He is ordering more tests since my blood work showed some signs that need further investigation. I still have no wrinkles in my face...but am hoping some will show soon...I'm tired of the "moon face!" :0)

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(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath

Back in Prague

Hi Everyone,
I've not fallen off the face of the planet! I'm back in Prague once again, and have managed to walk directly into a health emergency situation--not my own. I'll tell you more about that next week once we have an outcome...things are a bit up in the air right now, but will hopefully come out OK in the next day or two.

My trip back to Prague was a bit of a trial since I'm still sick, but the main thing is to have returned home safely! I had to see my doctor and he's in the process of sorting me all out. It will take some time due to the amount of prednisone I was having to take. The prednisone has caused some other complications...one of which is fluid retention. My face looks very round...one good thing, however, is that the prednisone has puffed my face so much as to get rid of my wrinkles! I guess a round face, with no wrinkles, is OK at my age! I'm enjoying the no wrinkles, but I don't recommend this for anyone wanting to have a more youthful look!

Otherwise, I will be working on WBSD and preparing the sign-up form. I'm hoping to have that up and ready next week. And then we'll need to vote on the topic for this upcoming WBSD, too. I'm looking forward to this--it will be fun!

And dear Entrecard droppers, I'll be back to dropping in a day or so. Things are so busy right now with the health emergency I've not had time to get caught up. Thanks for still coming by to drop and visit.

Well, that's all for now...you all have a great day!

God bless,
Sher :0)

Czech Off the Beaten Path Website
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Sher's Stuff

(c) 2009 by czechoffthebeatenpath