Charting a Friendship

I am fortunate to have one of those rare friendships that transcends the years and miles.  Here is the story of my friendship with Alice.

Hermanus (near Cape Town), Nov. 19, 2012

1991: Czech and Slovak Federal Rebublic

I am living Pribram, a mining town about 60 km south of Prague.  I work for a mining company, teaching English to the directors and engineers.  The company puts me up in a dormitory that lies vacant over the winter holidays.  Nobody supposes anyone will be living there, so there is no heat.  I catch pneumonia.  The company doctor takes pity on me, and brings me home to live with his family while I recuperate.  His daughter, Alice, is home for the holidays and becomes my interpreter and friend. I remain friends with Alice and her family long after my recovery.  They become my surrogate family, and include me in their family celebrations and outings.  Alice welcomes me into her social circle in Prague, where I am inducted into the weekend dorm life of Czech engineering students.

1992/ 1993:  Czech and Slovak Federal Republic / Czech Republic

I have finished another teaching job in the Spanish Pyrenees, and travel to Pribram to spend Christmas with Alice and her family. We eat carp and open presents on Christmas Eve. On New Year's Eve, Alice and I join throngs of revelers at Wenceslas Square in Prague witnessing the creation of a new country. I stay until Easter.

1994:  Canada /USA

I meet Alice in Montreal and we rent a car for a road trip through Quebec and New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, where we meet my family for my paternal grandmother’s memorial service.  We then travel through Prince Edward Island and Maine en route to Boston, for Alice’s first experience with an American city.  We drive up through New Hampshire back to Montreal.  After a visit to Ottawa and Toronto, Alice returns with me to Edmonton for weekend visits to the Rocky Mountains and a jaunt to the West Coast with my parents.  Alice calls this her “all and nothing” tour of North America.  She saw it all, but in such a whirlwind, that she retained nothing.

1995:  Czech Republic

My parents travel to Europe with a friend, to celebrate my father’s retirement.  They put Prague and Pribram on their itinerary so they can visit with Alice and meet the kind doctor and his wife who were so good to me.  One night, Alice takes my dad to a pub frequented by engineers.  Alice translates a conversation between my father and a handsome young man, who is sitting at the same table.  She doesn’t translate everything he tells her.  He asks her out.

1995:  Thailand / Malaysia / Singapore

When we last met, Alice I agreed that our next visit would be somewhere neither of us had been before, about equi-distance from the both of us.  We looked at a globe and chose Thailand.  After a series of mishaps involving a hurricane and flight delays, we meet in Bangkok.  Along with a couple of Alice’s friends, we back-pack through Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore for 4 weeks.  Alice is missing the young engineer she has been dating since my parents’ visit.  Standa meets Alice when she returns home with a single red rose.

1997: Canada

Alice brings Standa to visit us in Edmonton.  We go to an Oilers hockey game for my birthday and go for a ski holiday at Lake Louise.

1998: Czech Republic

I travel to Pribram for Alice and Standa’s wedding.  Alice’s parents walk her down the aisle as the hall organist plays “Hey Jude”.  They invite me along on their honeymoon at their family cottage.

1999: Czech Republic

On March 31 (my birthday), my mom answers a mysterious phone call from a woman announcing that baby Anna has arrived.  The next day, April 1, Standa calls to let us know that Alice has given birth.  He is spooked when my mom tells him, "Yes, we already know.  How is baby Anna ?".  She had just been born, and they had not yet named her.

2000: Canada

Alice and Standa bring baby Anna to meet her surrogate Canadian family.

2001:  Turkey

I have just toured Turkey with two friends.  Alice brings her father and two-year old Anna to visit us in Istanbul.  Alice is protective of Anna, who attracts a lot of attention due to her blond hair and blue eyes.  Blue eyes are considered lucky in Turkey.

2002: Czech Republic

Baby Ludmila (Lida) is born.

2003: Czech Republic

I travel to Prague with two friends, one of whom is running in a marathon.  We learn that Alice is recovering from a miscarriage.  I mind little Lida while Alice gets medical attention.  She is well enough to help cheer on my friend in the Prague marathon.

2007: Canada

Alice, Standa, and both girls come to visit us in Edmonton.  They also pay a visit to my brother and his family in Paris, Ontario.  Their girls and my nieces are age mates.  We are planting the seeds for another generation of international friendship.

2008: USA

Alice and I meet in New York City for a girls’ getaway.  We stay at a hotel overlooking Ground Zero.  I book a room for us on the 34^th floor, not knowing that Alice has a fear of heights.  We keep the curtains closed. We have a great time seeing the sights, picnicking in Central Park, getting mani / pedis, and shopping.

2009: USA

We meet again in New York City.  This time, I bring two friends and Alice brings Standa and the girls.  We watch the Easter Parade on 5th Avenue.

2011:  Canada

Our plans for a 20-year reunion this year are put on hold.  My mother has passed away.  I am touched to see a bouquet of yellow roses from Alice and her family at the funeral chapel.

2012:  South Africa

I visit with Alice and Standa in Cape Town.  I am greeted upon arrival at the guest house with a sumptuous champagne brunch they have prepared .  We visit the waterfront, listen to live music, enjoy some fine wine, and take a day trip to Hermanus to watch the southern right whales nursing their babies offshore.  We discuss plans for a summer 2013 visit in Prague.