Preparing for the New Year

Back from a great time in Budapest. Most things were closed in the city, but we were still able to find a few places to eat and of course, we walked, and walked, and walked, seeing all the things one can see on the outside. Midnight mass at St. Stephen's Basilica was very beautiful, and was actually given by a Cardinal. Pretty cool stuff. The place was packed, but it was a very nice, and actually pretty short, mass.

Bottom line, though, it was a weird Christmas. Not bad, not necessarily great, just different. The hostel was kinda cool, and the people working and staying there were fun and very social. It was my first hostel experience, and very positive.

So, the trip back to Budapest was problem free. The bus was actually quite comfortable, for a bus, and there were really no problems. It was actually very nice to be back in Prague, as it almost felt like home. Budapest was a pretty city, but not quite as nice as Prague. Even though i don't know really any of the language, it was nice to hear the familiar words on the metro, see the park i walk through near my house, and honestly, return to what has become my own bed. It is still somewhat of an adjustment for me to be here, but i didn't realize how accustomed to this new place i have become until i travelled somewhere else.

So the next big step is the New Year. We're gonna try the big celebration thing, starting with dinner at home, going to hopefully some jazz club for a while, then heading to Wenceslas Square for the big celebration. Who knows what to expect, but from what i've heard, it's going to be a rocker unlike any other i've probably been to. Should be fun.

The other big news is the arrival of another visitor, Rob. Rob is actually someone i've known since high school, and who i went to college with, and who spent a lot of time with Fitzy in college, as they studied together. He's here for about 10 days total, and arrived two nights ago. He and Fitzy have gotten to see quite a bit of the city in two days (i've had to teach a lesson, but also do some sightseeing with them), and have also partaken in the old Czech custom of beer drinking. Very, very good times.

As usual, i'll try to get some pictures up later. Happy New Year to all!
JC

And now...Budapest

So, a lot has happened, again, since my last post. For starters, i have a job. i don't quite know what that means nor what it looks like, but i will be working full time in some form or another after the new year. So that's cool. Very cool.

Fitzy came into Prague on Friday night. His plane was a bit late, but it was very good to see him again, and be the guy who would show him around. I wasn't the best host, as I was feeling a bit sore and we were supposed to have an early morning the next day to catch our bus, but I took him around a little, got him a sausage and a beer, and then went home and had some more beer and bread and cheese as we just chilled out.

Due to the delay with the plane and everything, we ended up not getting to bed until almost 2am. Not bad for a Friday night (actually, rather early relative to most of my previous ones), but given the fact that we had to catch a 6:30 bus the next morning to Budapest, it proved to be a bit too late.

i know i set my alarm, but for some reason, it didn't wake me, and i awoke when Jessica, our third travel partner, called to find out where we were. I told her we were at home still, and she informed me that it was 6:20. As there was no way we were going to get there by 6:30, we missed our bus.

So, we still hurried and got our stuff together, and met Jessica at the metro station. We figured the next option would be the train, and we were able to get a train ticket, one way, for about $55 or so. Not bad. Fitzy and i also split Jessica's ticket. We ended up at Budapest close to our scheduled time, and actually got pointed in the right direction by a Hungarian friend of Jessica's also on our train.

We made it to the hostel, which is actually quite nice, and then walked around a bit, found some dinner, and then walked around some more, taking some night pictures. Budapest is a nice city (i'm a bit more partial to Prague) and very pretty at night. Lots of history, amidst the buildings, bridges, and the beautiful Danube.

Being that it's Christmas (and Sunday today), a lot of stuff is closed. But we're here 'til Wednesday morning, so hopefully we can check out some museums and such. The sights we can see no matter when, so we'll do some of that tomorrow. Budapest is known for its baths, and we hit up one of those today, which was cool. Planning midnight mass at St. Stephen's Basilica.

Merry Christmas! Vesele Vanonci! (i think. my czech lessons are still at the very basic level...)

JC

Wild Week, and I’m now TEFL Certified!!

So, the madness that is my intensive TEFL class is now completed. I can take my certification anywhere in the world (at least to a country that doesn’t already speak English) and theoretically get a job teaching English. So, with the world as my playground, i’m deciding to stick around in Prague, and see what kind of trouble i can get into.

I won’t bore you with the details of the week, but will say that my training has been successful in allowing me to meet many new people. Beyond my classmates, all of whom are very cool, i’ve also gotten to meet several of the students we have to teach. The most fun, of course, is when you can get to meet people outside of the classroom setting, and there are a few students that have come out with their “teachers in training” after classes, and we’ve all had a good time. It’s always fun meeting new people, and one of the great unexpected benefits of the class has been the people i’ve gotten to know. Some of my classmates are staying in Prague, which will be fun, and the rest are going all over the place, which means contacts, now, throughout the world. Pretty cool stuff.

The last two weekends have consisted of getting familiar with the night life in Prague. Clubs and bars here don’t have to close, and it’s very easy to lose track of time. Needless to say, i’ve experienced a couple of late nights the last two weekends, and even though i’m near dead the next morning, they have thus far been a good time.

This week, after my late night on Friday, i got on a bus at 10:15 Saturday morning to take an almost two hour bus ride to a town called Turnov, which i think is in the Eastern Bohemia region. It’s a very pretty area, with some small mountains, and lots of spire-like rocks similar to those found in the Black Hills, and also (of course) castles. I got in early afternoon on Saturday, and met up with Greg and Stania, and we hiked around the hills til dark (which is like 4pm now), and went to our hotel place.

The hotel thing was actually a house, in a neighborhood near Turnov. No one apparently lives in the house, and there are like a few rooms, two bathrooms, and a common kitchen and dining room. Greg and Stania got their own room, and i got my own as well. There was also another couple staying there in a different room. My room was very spacious, very comfortable, and all this only cost 350 Kc, which is about $17 or so. It was a much needed break from the city, almost retreat-like. Too short, of course, but nonetheless very refreshing.

So, Monday i have a job fair at my school. Hopefully, i’ll be able to connect with an English teaching school or something. One of my teachers already connected me with some kind of job for a couple of hours a week but supposedly well paying. Still waiting to hear from the guy, though.

My friend Fitzy is coming this Friday, which should be a lot of fun. We have our bus tickets and hostel booked for our trip to Budapest with Jessica over Christmas. Should be a good time.

I’ve got lots of free time this week, so i’ll try to get back to people with e-mails and maybe even send out some postcards (not gonna make it to the states before Christmas…). ‘til next time.

JC

Ballet? No way...

So, the biggest experience i’ve probably had since i last wrote was going to the ballet last Saturday. It was my first ever such experience, and i gotta say, i was impressed.

The ballet was Romeo and Juliet, which was pretty cool. I’m not totally sure, but i heard it was done by Tschaikovsky, but i may be wrong about that. Whoever wrote it, they did a good job. I even recognized one of the songs, which was kinda weird. Musta been from a movie or something. But anyways, the dancing was really incredible. Some weird things, like seeing a dude dance and flutter around right before he dies, but some pretty neat stuff, too. I started to get a little bored towards the end, but i suppose i would do it again.

I would definitely do it again, though, if i was told it was at the Czech National Theater. The theater was incredible. It was extremely ornate and incredibly beautiful. I was amazed when i got out of the tram and saw the outside, and then even more amazed when i went in and saw what was inside. Unfortunately, i have no pictures of either, but hopefully will get a chance to take some shots of both at a later date. The tickets were cheap, too. 280 korunas for the show (about $14). It was a matinee, but that was all the better. Went with some of my classmates and my roomies.

Sunday, we went and played some ultimate Frisbee. Was fun, but it just happened to be the coldest day out of the last 10. But, hypothermia be damned, we went out and did it anyways, and had a good time. Prior to that, i went to church at the Cathedral located in the center of the Prague Castle. It is a very, very impressive structure. Rather simple and undecorated inside relative to many other European Cathedrals, but that seems to make it only the more incredible. It was very cold during mass, but it was cool to be in such an old building. I kind of zoned out while the priest was giving his homily, ‘cause he started in Czech. When i finally decided to try and pay attention again, he was speaking in German, then seemed to go to Spanish, which made me wonder if i missed the English part of the sermon. If i did, oh, well. The church was fun to look at, and i was off in my own place, anyways.

School this week has gone fast. Monday and Tuesday were our only in-class days. The rest of the week we’ve been giving lessons. Yesterday i taught my first advanced class, and had a good time. I talked about racism, and more importantly, racism in the Czech Republic. I had never taught any of the advanced students, and only knew one of them through Greg, so i was a bit worried that they might get offended, but all went well, and they seemed to be very into the discussion. Today, i taught my grammar lesson (we have to do one during the four weeks, and it is observed) to a beginner class. It was a bit challenging going from an advanced class, where they can follow you almost no matter what you say, to a beginner’s class, where if you say something they don’t understand or if they get confused, you’ve lost them for at least the next 10 minutes. The beginners are a fun group, so that’s good. I had to teach them possessive pronouns, and only got tripped up once when a student asked why sometimes there was an ‘s’ after ‘their,’ and why sometimes there wasn’t. I fought the urge to say, “because i’m the teacher, and i say so,” though that may have cleared things up for her better than what i ended up telling her. At the end of the class, my teacher who was observing me had to come up and clear things up for her, but i still got a better than passing mark, so i guess i did everything else okay.

That’s all i got for now. You should have received an e-mail with my address on it. If not, it’s on my blog now, so you can send me a postcard. I’m gonna try to get some out for Christmas, but i haven’t sent any yet, and that probably means they’ll show up after the fact, but i’ll do what i can.

‘til next time…
JC