One afternoon as I dutifully attended a meeting for the local public school, I was surprised to discover they were discussing the need for donations to be given by the families for the school. The state (štat [pronounced shtot] is their word for country, so "state" is usually used in English) doesn't give them enough funds, so they ask the parents to give money to the school. This in and of itself would be unheard of in the States, but then I found out what the money was going to be used for this year - drinking fountains and hot water in the bathroom sinks. Imagine little children washing their hands in cold water in the winter. Quite honestly, they probably don't wash their hands!

I also found out that same evening that they had no balls for P.E. class. The parents in P's class were discussing who was responsible to buy them as they felt it was important for the school to have them. 

This is when I am reminded that this country is still trying to recover from Communism and still trying to make democracy and capitalism successful. It was a good reminder of all we have to be grateful for in the U.S. It is easy to take so much for granted.