Mi Familia

A dear friend of mine arrived in Prague yesterday with his girlfriend and some family. He used to live here, in fact I met him here. We have no history outside of Prague and he is a part of my Prague family. And that's a big deal. It's hard to explain to anyone who hasn't packed a suitcase and boarded a plane (alone) bound for a foreign country where they speak a different language. You don't just make friends here - you make family.

Prague Family is rare because you are all sharing common experiences - your entire histories together are shared. You know ALL of the same people, have seen all of the same things and a lot of times, you even share the same job. It's easy to become completely attached to people like that. You depend on them and they you. Just like family. You share holidays together - cook the turkey, try hard to find cranberry sauce or a Halloween costume, make room for a little Christmas tree in your flat. You do all of the same things that families do - you fight, you laugh til you cry, you take weekend trips, you spend days doing nothing - but doing it together, you forgive and you forget.

And, as is the case with families - you move apart. A lot of my Prague family has moved on, some back to the states and some off to new lands having new adventures. But that doesn't keep them from being family. Most romantic relationships that BEGIN in Prague usually don't survive the transition back to America. Maybe its the pressures of living in America, or the pressures from old friends and family that just wasn't an issue back in Prague - but for whatever reason the magic spell ends.

My Prague Family has expanded and drifted, but we are still FAMILY. I now boast family in Germany, Georgia, Oregon, Italy, Nebraska, Washington DC, New York and well...all over the world. And that's cool. So, to my Prague family - and you know who you are - Thank you for the everlovin' bad ass moral support and most fun times I have ever had in my life.

XXOO