February? Already? And the Bears are in the Superbowl??

Well, i was doing well posting on this thing. Then i realized i only updated this twice in the month of January. As the Czechs would say... "pity."

There is lots to tell. Lots to tell indeed. For the sake of time and length, i will start with some stuff that has already happened, and get to some more recent news in a later post.

First, i must say that the weekend following my previous post was highlighted exceptionally by the Bears' entrance into the Super Bowl. Twenty-one years in the making, and i'm out of the country. Fortunately, there are sports bars that will be showing the game. Unfortunately, i have to wait until midnight for it to begin. Good thing i didn't take a monday morning class!!

Speaking of classes, i must say that the teaching thing actually has gotten better. Much better, in fact. My students are all great people to work with, and i'm having a good bit of fun. Haven't had any plum liquor for a while, but that's bound to change, i'm sure. I have another class that seems to perpetually involve drinking, which is with a couple of computer guys. It's a night class, 7pm to 9pm, and the last thing they want to do is sit in a room and read through a book, or do much of anything that requires a lot of thought (they've put in a rough 10 hour day, you know?). So, last week, to my enjoyment, they declared that it was going to be a "special class," and they took me to a nearby pub where we had a few drinks and spoke for two hours. i'm not sure if it's what my employers have in mind for a class, but it's what the students want, so i'm not going to argue. This week was also a "special class," and i'm sure next week will be as well.

Fitzy left this week, and as a good-bye, we took a weekend trip to a town three hours outside of Prague called Olomouc (pronounced Oh-la-moats). College town. Cool place, not too large, but not tiny (they use the word 'villages; quite a bit here, but not in reference to a place like Olomouc). Found a pretty nice hostel, and also met some good local folks. On the train, we shared a cabin with a young man who was from Olomouc. We spoke with him, and he pointed us in the right direction of good pubs and places to see. We ended up meeting with him later that night at one of the pubs. On our way out, Fitzy asked him where we might find some good food. He mentioned this place that he said was really good, and that he enjoyed a lot, that had some burgers, fries, and other good stuff. In asking more about it, we finally realized he was sending us to McDonald's, though he pronounced it "Mac-Doh-nads." "McDonald's?" we asked. "Oh, yeah, McDonald's. You like, don't you?" We laughed, and said sure, but ended up somewhere with a bit more local flavor.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for another update, which i promise will not be far behind. Hope all is well with everyone who is reading this. Also, i will be moving soon, so if you were inclined to send some mail, please hold off, as i may not get it!

JC

Might need a cup of tea and a comfy chair for this one...

So, it’s been quite a while. I had been doing a pretty good job of giving semi-regular updates, but, as is typical of me, life happens, and writing took a back seat. But, now that it’s Thursday night, and the official beginning of my weekend, i finally have some time to catch the rest of the world (or at least as much of the world that cares), up on what’s been going on in my life.

It is the end of my second full week of teaching. Quite honestly, it’s been a rough two weeks. Teaching is not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s a very tough job, and, at least in TEFL, you only get paid for about half of the work that you actually do. The relatively easy part is the time spent with students. The incredibly difficult part is planning what the heck you’re going to do with these people for one to two hours. And planning it to a point where at least you feel comfortable, and the students are at least somewhat content that they’re getting what they’ve paid for.

I’ve been told by many people that it gets better, easier, as you go. You can reuse lessons, get more efficient at spending time planning for lessons, and feel less overwhelmed the more you do it. I’m giving it the chance to do just that, but i’m not totally convinced yet that that’s the way it is. I’ve reached my 20 hours a week minimum for scheduling, so as of now, i’m not taking any more classes until i figure out what the heck i’m doing, and at least feel comfortable teaching the load i have. I think even if i do take on more classes, it’s gonna be hopefully on a private lesson basis, as that’s where the money is. I could easily make two-and-a-half times the rate i make at the school, teaching private lessons. And it’s cheaper for the student, too. So, we’ll see what happens.

But there’ve been lots of good stories to tell of things that happened over the last two weeks. First, two weekends ago, we went to Plzen, where the ever famous Pilsner Urquell is brewed. The best beer in the world, after Guiness. Definitely the best pilsner in the world. After taking the tour, we got an opportunity only given to those who go to Plzen to see the brewery: we got to taste unfiltered, wooden-barrel-aged, Pilsner Urquell. It was even better than the stuff you get in the pub. Don’t know how, don’t know why (i’m not too good with that technical stuff, and my brain’s shutting down right now anyways), but all i can say is that it was just really damn good. It was the only beer we got to sample, but we got to sample a good amount.

Plzen is also home to the tallest church tower in the Czech Repubic, at 102 meters. We took the 306 (or something like that) step journey to the balcony, which was something like 63 meters high, and looked out over the city. Very nice view. Also saw the synagogue from the outside. Apparently it is the third largest in the world (the first being in Jerusalem, and the second in Budapest). All i’ve gotta do is go to Jerusalem, and i’ve seen the outside of the three largest synagogues in the world. Yep, that’s all i gotta do… : )

The week that followed Plzen was my first full week of teaching. It was probably the most hectic week i’ve known for some time, and quite honestly, i don’t remember a whole lot from it, save for the fact that Friday night we met with our friendly neighbors below (the guy who really likes vodka, and sharing copious amounts of it with people who come visit), and had a pizza party. It was a Greg-inspired evening, which meant we were all likely a bit unsure how it would work - or if it would even happen at all - but all our fears were quickly put to rest as it turned out to be a really fun evening. Greg and Fitzy went to the store and bought all sorts of toppings for pizzas, some already made dough to put it on top of, and some tomato sauce, and there was a whole lot of pizza making going on. Every small pizza that came out of the oven got cut up and shared amongst about 8 or so people, and they all tasted great. Mine were of course layered with meat, and others’ had a good mix of everything else. It was a blast. Of course, there was a good amount of vodka consumed, though i managed to control myself a bit better this time and avoid the hangover the next morning.

Last weekend was more relaxed, but felt busy. Don’t exactly know why. Sunday we played some Frisbee in the park, which was cool, but it was a bit windy to have a good game. The unpredictability of where the Frisbee would go got old rather quickly, but apart from that, the weather was great and it was a good chance to run around.

This week has been crazy as well. I’m getting more accustomed to my students, and finding out what they want. I have a class on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm with three guys who work for a software company. They’re great guys, really good at English, and, i found out, not too keen on bookwork. Apparently, the way they used to study was at the pub with their teacher, just talking. So, i think my Tuesday evenings will be fun and relaxed, as i try to create some interesting lessons that at least cover something from the book in a conversational way, all at the pub. Whether or not i teach them anything is yet to be seen, but it will at least be a good time.

Had another interesting experience just today, involving alcohol. There’s nothing like being drunk at 10 am on a Thursday, especially when you’re doing it at work. My student this morning was telling me a story about how he had a friend over to his house over Christmas and they went through a half of a bottle of some Czech spirit. He was talking about it, and then asked if i wanted to try some. I naturally said of course, and he poured us each a half a shot. Good stuff, actually. Distilled plum alcohol, 110 proof (they would say 55 voltage). One half of a shot turned into another half of a shot, and we eventually finished off what was left, about one-third to one-half of a liter, between the two of us. Needless to say, it was an entertaining lesson. We talked about a variety of topics, and, given the fact that he wants simply conversation and has no book, it really wasn’t much of a problem. I had something prepared on nuclear power, but we didn’t get to it at all. So basically, i got drunk, saved myself some prep time next week, and had a really good time. All by 10am. What have you done today? : )

That’s about all i got. Congratulations to anyone who made it to the end of this. I hope it wasn’t too unbearable. The pictures take so much work which i’m feeling too lazy to do right now, so instead of making another unfulfilled promise about them, i’ll just say that i’ll put some up when i really have time, and can resize them, and have a steady internet connection. Which translates to it may be a while. Fitz and Greg have some, though. They must have a lot of spare time.

Hope all is well with all of you. Sorry to the many of you i owe e-mails to. Someday i’ll get to them…

‘til next time!

JC

Wow, 2007 already?

i apologize, as again, i have no pictures. Internet has been tough to find, but i wanted to at least supply some dialogue. Also, the rest of this post is a bit outdated, as of the time of this writing, i have visited Plzen, which was cool, but i'll share about it in my next post. I wrote this one a few days ago, and wanted to get it up before it became too outdated! Fitz and Greg have a few pictures, though, so if you're dying for some visuals, you can try their blogs. Thanks to the many folks who have sent mail and more! Postcards are written, and will soon be in the mail. There's more to write, too, so don't feel forgotten if you don't get one soon!

So, the Czech way to ring in the New Year is quite different than that of the states’. It involves a lot of drinking (as does most everything else in this country), and a lot of fireworks, and not a lot of restraint. We made it into Wenceslas Square about 30 minutes or so before midnight, and the fireworks had already begun. It’s a bit atypical to see so many fireworks shooting off between so many large buildings. As midnight approached, the show only got bigger. Further off towards the opposite end of the square there was a band of some kind playing, or music at least playing.

Midnight came, and while the fireworks seemed to get bigger around the time of 12, there was no sign or anything that it was midnight, just a clock behind that no one really seemed to look at much. The fireworks went wild for several minutes, people cheered, sang, kissed, whatever people do in a large group when the new year comes around. We waited around for a while, then decided to try to go closer to where the music was as there was a stage and a concert earlier in the night. As we were walking, it was the closest i ever hope to being in a war zone. Fireworks were going off everywhere. There were street fires in the middle of the square, and people would just toss fireworks into them, and they’d go off all over the place, very near to where there were crowds of people. Sometimes someone would even toss a firecracker onto the sidewalk, and folks would just scatter. It wasn’t too bad, sometimes a bit unnerving, but more exciting to watch the reactions of the girls walking with us as mortars exploded 30 ft away. The street in the square was littered with broken glass, exploded fireworks, fires, and people. It was hard to imagine that anyone would drive on it again, let alone that by the next evening it would all be cleaned up.

We made it through the fireworks, and got to a point that was being blocked by security, so we ended up walking out of the square and tried a couple of places on the way that had outrageous covers (1800 Kc for one). A couple of us ended up back at the apartment, just chilling, while some others tried another dance club that turned out to be full. It turned out to be another very late night, but a good one, and a good way to ring in the New Year.

The biggest news as of late has been that i started work this week. I am working for the Caledonian School, and i taught the first class for them on the 4th, to a group from a kind of telecommunications company. Nice people, and i think it should be a fun class. It was an early morning, and i think they weren’t too excited about it, as they asked if we could change either our Tues. class or our Thurs. class to the afternoon. I was happy to oblige where my schedule would allow. Right now, i only have 15 hours, but will likely get more, up to 20. We’ll have to see what happens.

So yeah, that’s the latest. Gonna try to go to Plzen tomorrow, possibly tour the brewery and try some of Czech’s best beer closer to the source. Still some uncertainties about this whole thing, but the amount which i seem to trust is the amount by which they seem to disappear, which is kind of reassuring in some ways.

JC

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