How it all started

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Dita and I am in my late 30's with husband and two children. I was born in then communist Czechoslovakia in the mid 70's and raised partially in the era marked with compulsory Russian classes at school, queuing up for bananas and other "exotic" fruit, and the omnipresence of Marxist-Leninist ideology.  It all changed when I was 14 and for the first time I could travel to other than socialist countries and ostentatiously swapped Russian for English at school not because of my love for the language or as part of some big plan, but because I was driven by the newly gained freedom to make my own decisions.

Following the "Velvet revolution" in 1989 and the fall of the iron curtain I quickly got used to living in a democratic country and just as quickly forgot about my communist "heritage".  My adolescence and young adulthood was as normal as that of any other fellow European youngster who struggled through identity crises, broken relationships and later, while at university, partied in place of studying and preparing for exams.

I was having a ball as a student of the prestigious Charles University in Prague where my curiosity and existential disposition, and love for life in general had been fulfilled through intellectual discussions and openness to experiences that were so typical for that context.  To take a full advantage of my position, I decided to sign up for a programme known as “Work and Travel” designed for university students who had a common desire to see the world without necessarily having the finances to do it in their private capacity.  In 2000 I was allowed a four-month visa by the US government followed by my setting off for a stunning holiday resort high up in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado where I would perform the duty of a housekeeper.  To no surprise I had fallen in love with this place marked with beautiful vistas and friendly people that I decided to repeat this pursuit in 2002. It was my second time “at the lodge” when I met my South African husband.

To be continued…   

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