November is traditionally our "M" month. As in previous years, we have prepared meetings of Czech families with families of foreigners from third countries on the last Sunday of November.
We have realized two-thirds of the total number of 30 meetings, ten meetings were postponed to December for various reasons (most often due to illness, as the flu season started at that time), but we will surely realize our total quota by the end of this year.
The meetings took place according to the already proven format. One of the families decided whether or not to be the host. Registered families were matched based on specific criteria (age, profession, job, interests, number and age of children, etc.), which ensured common topics of conversation and a friendly atmosphere. After all, this was also confirmed by the Ukrainian Mashi, who took on the role of hostess:
"My husband Taras and I welcomed the Bernáš family and their children (from two to ten years old) to our home. The guests surprised us with their knowledge of Ukraine as they had visited Ukraine several times before their children were born. During this visit, we discussed many topics and our guests were very sorry that they cannot visit Ukraine again at the moment. Mr Bernášek does business in three companies and would like to open an Ukrainian restaurant with Ukrainian staff in Prague. We liked this idea and we hope it will be realized. We will definitely continue to maintain friendly ties with this family. I can only warmly recommend similar meetings."
The Family Next Door project creates a space for the exchange of cultural experiences, the establishment of new long-term friendships, and especially the creation of relationships between families from different countries in the form of joint dining between Czech families and families of foreigners. Foreigners have the opportunity to learn about Czech culture and customs better, which will help them integrate into mainstream society. Czech families have a chance to taste new foods and get to know different cultures, which is priceless these days. In previous years, families from Syria, India, Belarus, Turkey, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Algeria, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Vietnam, Mongolia, New Zealand and, of course, the Czech Republic participated.
