Last week was a fairly difficult week for me. Since Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday to be home, I was missing my family a bit extra and wishing we had the time off work as well. I could not sleep very well at all. I would be busy with work or waking up cold in my room for lack of a functioning radiator, my kittens played games whenever I woke them up that kept me up, and I slowly turned into a zombie throughout the week.
On Wednesday, I went shopping to get some things to contribute to the Thanksgiving meal my flat mates and I were invited to by another American teacher here. I bought things for mashed potatoes and decided to buy some gourds or squashes and see what I could do with them. The gourds/squashes were unmarked and usually you have to weigh everything in the produce section, but the guy I asked for help was pretty rude and said one thing and walked away. I couldn't find the gourds in the register for pricing, so I asked a young woman who worked there who asked another guy who asked the same rude guy from the beginning who started saying something in an angry voice, made a seen, and again turned his back on me... I just started walking slowly away from the produce section as a woman said "excuse me, they said the price is by the item, and I'm sorry about that." I was happy for the help and kept shopping when a guy with an unidentifiable English accent came over, outraged and apologetic for what had occurred. He said that the workers were unprofessional and should not have treated me that way...apparently, the guy yelled that I should learn Czech...I thought, fair play, but it was unprofessional, too. The guy wanted to go with me to report what I had suffered, but I said that I was pretty tired and had good experiences with the store and would wait for a second offense. The guy continued to talk to me for a half an hour, saying he's finishing up studying English at the University and needed to work with some students to complete his degree. He ended up giving me his email address and I got him the hours at my school.
On Thursday, I was so out of it that I missed two private lessons and was panicking while cooking with Laura. We ended up making great food. Laura made stuffing from scratch, and I made some sort of mashed/baked squash thing that was delicious and mashed potatoes (also delicious!). We went to our friend's place and had a great time with friends, but I was antsy to get home and talk to my family on skype. When I finally did, I cried a little bit when I was talking to them and my mom, sisters, and I all cried for a few minutes straight. It was a good time, but I probably didn't get to sleep until 2 and had to wake up early yet again. At school the next day, I finished the mural of a Christmas tree, gifts with all the third graders' names on the tags, and a window with a snowman and snow outside....the kids loved it.
After my private lessons on Friday, I slept for 4 or 5 hours before visiting with grandma and knitting before watching a movie with Laura and going back to sleep. Yesterday, Laura, Kat, and I went to see Nicole, our good Canadian teacher friend who decided to go home for Christmas and not return after. We had a great time with her at her old place, and went on to our friend Lucas's for a what we thought was a display of his photographs..in fact, it was a photo shoot in which we drank a lot of wine, played some music, and got our photos taken.
Laura and I left there to get some nachos at a bar, moved on to a classy cafe with live music where Laura said I'm a singer and the waitress said I could sing a song. Nicole joined us and we joined a birthday party that some guy invited us to join. Nicole sang the girl happy birthday and we we both sang killing me softly with the singer who was there backing us up. We moved on to several other bars and ended up eating some delicious kebabs. Overall, it was a great night. Now, we're having a farewell brunch for Nicole, so I must go!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
A Wednesday Night Out
Yesterday, (Thursday, the 17th of November) was a national holiday in the Czech Republic. Because schools were cancelled, Laura and I decided to take advantage of the excitement in the air and see how the Czechs celebrate their days off. (I had really wanted to join my friend Jana on her trip to Slovakia, but I was unable to get Friday (today) off of work.)
We started by trying out a new bar for a beer and get a feel for the night, as is our current MO, and ran into one of my friends in the pub. We left shortly after in pursuit of a good social venue where we could find refuge from the brisk night air. We were walking up one of the main streets in the center of town when we heard music radiating from one of the buildings on our right. I was able to guess which window it was, and we decided to see what was going on.
The door was open, so we hiked up to the top floor and stood in front of the door as it vibrated with life from within. I knocked on the door until it was opened by a girl who saw no problem with letting us in. After asking the first person who seemed unengaged in a conversation what was going on, we learned that we were in an architectural firm and they were having an office party with live music and friends. The artistic, musically inclined group was really interesting and fun to hang out with. We started dancing along to the live music, Laura was offered some wine, and we were never short someone to talk to. There was some homemade food (including soup, freshly fried bacon, and chips) available to us, as well as homemade rum. We were welcomed by everyone we spoke to, and found that several of them knew English very well.
By the end of the night, we were invited to attend a large Thanksgiving meal in Prague, climbed up on the roof with the others and watched our hosts' light off fireworks at midnight, and I sang some songs with the musicians in one of the microphones. Overall, it was a fun night =) Now it's Friday, and will soon be time to meet up with some people we met last weekend, so I must take a bath.
We started by trying out a new bar for a beer and get a feel for the night, as is our current MO, and ran into one of my friends in the pub. We left shortly after in pursuit of a good social venue where we could find refuge from the brisk night air. We were walking up one of the main streets in the center of town when we heard music radiating from one of the buildings on our right. I was able to guess which window it was, and we decided to see what was going on.
The door was open, so we hiked up to the top floor and stood in front of the door as it vibrated with life from within. I knocked on the door until it was opened by a girl who saw no problem with letting us in. After asking the first person who seemed unengaged in a conversation what was going on, we learned that we were in an architectural firm and they were having an office party with live music and friends. The artistic, musically inclined group was really interesting and fun to hang out with. We started dancing along to the live music, Laura was offered some wine, and we were never short someone to talk to. There was some homemade food (including soup, freshly fried bacon, and chips) available to us, as well as homemade rum. We were welcomed by everyone we spoke to, and found that several of them knew English very well.
By the end of the night, we were invited to attend a large Thanksgiving meal in Prague, climbed up on the roof with the others and watched our hosts' light off fireworks at midnight, and I sang some songs with the musicians in one of the microphones. Overall, it was a fun night =) Now it's Friday, and will soon be time to meet up with some people we met last weekend, so I must take a bath.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Update:
Things have been pretty interesting in this chilly town I reside in. I have been to a few local concerts, am learning to crochet and horseback ride, and will most likely buy a violin tomorrow to start practicing as well.
The lady who lives downstairs (who I have been referring to as my Czech grandmother up until this point) and I started hanging out a lot this past week. I speak very little Czech and she speaks so little English, but we have somehow been able to communicate a bit about our families, favorite hobbies, laugh together about Julie the dog, go shopping together, etc. Two weekends ago we had a run-in and it led to her showing me her collection of dolls and crocheted garments that she had made, which soon led to her teaching me how to crochet. I really love that woman. She was alive and here while the town was under German occupation and English was outlawed in schools, yet she somehow managed to pick up some words along the way. Her husband has passed away and she lives with her dog, but she has so much energy and life in her...it's inspiring.
I resigned from the Czech band I joined last month...it's simply going to be too hard to learn new songs I have never heard before in a language I can't speak yet. I didn't want to slow the band down or stress myself out, plus, I really wanted to learn the violin for my band back home. Now I will have more time to devote to other things and less worries during the weak...they were a great group of guys, though, and I look forward to going to their concerts when they play out.
I've pretty much decided that I want to go back home after this. My thoughts are that I would like to lease a house that I could rent out if I do more traveling in the future, get a good job (as well as go back to work at the juvenile correctional facility), and get my masters in Anthropology. Sociology and social work would be other options, but I think Anthropology is pretty all encompassing... I will start looking into the application progress and programs in the next few weeks.
I guess that's it for now =).
The lady who lives downstairs (who I have been referring to as my Czech grandmother up until this point) and I started hanging out a lot this past week. I speak very little Czech and she speaks so little English, but we have somehow been able to communicate a bit about our families, favorite hobbies, laugh together about Julie the dog, go shopping together, etc. Two weekends ago we had a run-in and it led to her showing me her collection of dolls and crocheted garments that she had made, which soon led to her teaching me how to crochet. I really love that woman. She was alive and here while the town was under German occupation and English was outlawed in schools, yet she somehow managed to pick up some words along the way. Her husband has passed away and she lives with her dog, but she has so much energy and life in her...it's inspiring.
I resigned from the Czech band I joined last month...it's simply going to be too hard to learn new songs I have never heard before in a language I can't speak yet. I didn't want to slow the band down or stress myself out, plus, I really wanted to learn the violin for my band back home. Now I will have more time to devote to other things and less worries during the weak...they were a great group of guys, though, and I look forward to going to their concerts when they play out.
I've pretty much decided that I want to go back home after this. My thoughts are that I would like to lease a house that I could rent out if I do more traveling in the future, get a good job (as well as go back to work at the juvenile correctional facility), and get my masters in Anthropology. Sociology and social work would be other options, but I think Anthropology is pretty all encompassing... I will start looking into the application progress and programs in the next few weeks.
I guess that's it for now =).
Monday, November 7, 2011
Hedgehogs and a Weekend
The day after I wrote my previous post, I had a great few days at school and socially and simply felt more uplifted and happy to be where I am. On Thursday, the third grade music class I co-teach was cancelled in order to watch a presentation on hedgehogs! It was funny to me, since I had crossed paths with such a hedgehog by the museum on my way home from Prague with Laura the week before. The lady who was giving the talk had brought a hedgehog along with her at school, and I saw one in the grass on my way to school or something the following day, so I am pretty psyched about that.
Also new at school, two of the grade levels I teach in have acquired two sisters from Russia, one in the third grade and one in the sixth grade. I can't imagine how hard it must be go into a country when it is not your choice, where you don't speak the language and be expected to learn things so quickly. The girls are very sweet, though, and seem to have positive attitudes. The 6th grader knows some basic English which is helpful and apparently Russian is close to Czech so they should both be ok, but I'm spending as much time as I can working with the third grader and trying to subtly push her into the social sphere of our third grade class...so far, so good.
This past weekend, I went out seeking adventure with Laura. We were extremely tired and almost did not leave our house, but we did and decided to go to the first bar that looked half decent that we haven't been to yet. We looked through the windows of the first promising one and thought it might be alright. We slowly walked by while continuing our debate when some guys in the window knocked waved us in. They looked friendly enough, and everyone's a stranger when you travel, so we decided to join them for a bit. It ended up being a group of about 6 or 7 guys in which a few of them knew a lot of English, while most of the others knew only very basic things. Only one guy knew practically no English. We ended up going to the disco that's close to our house with them and had a great night, accidentally staying out until 4 or so. On Saturday, I woke up at 9:30 and went rock climbing with Dustin for a few hours. In the afternoon, I went to the soccer/football game with Matěj. Laura and Katrina went as well, and so did the guy from the bar/disco who speaks next to know English but would like to learn from me. I saw all of them there and it was an easy win =).
After the match, Matěj and I joined Katrina and Laura and their friends for a birthday celebration in a restaurant/bar for a few hours before meeting up with Matěj's group of friends from athletics along with a few others. We usually all meet up after every football match, so it was good to see them all again. I was going to go to a hookah bar with one of them last week and rock climbing with another one tonight, but I was/am too tired on both occasions. I did, however, go horseback riding with one of the girlfriend's who I have hung out with several times before yesterday. I help her practice English, and she is teaching me how to ride properly =). I am very excited about it. I also met up with Ivo and Jana (a couple among the doctors that I am friends with here) separately this weekend for drinks and some coffee, respectively, and very much enjoyed that.
Yesterday, I was invited into the woman downstairs' (who we call grandma) living space, and she was enthusiastic to show me a picture of her husband and two black labs when they were still alive, all of the dresses she crocheted for her old dolls, the Christmas presents that she was working on for her grandchildren, etc. She then proceeded to show and then teach me how to crochet. Mind you, she speaks about as much basic English as I know Czech, so...it was mostly through visuals repetition, and laughter that we communicated...but it was one of the most surprising and relaxing hour and a half's that I have had here, and I look forward to visiting her at some point this week to show her what I have made with the materials she gave and lent to me.
Speaking of those, I think I'll practice now.
Yest
Also new at school, two of the grade levels I teach in have acquired two sisters from Russia, one in the third grade and one in the sixth grade. I can't imagine how hard it must be go into a country when it is not your choice, where you don't speak the language and be expected to learn things so quickly. The girls are very sweet, though, and seem to have positive attitudes. The 6th grader knows some basic English which is helpful and apparently Russian is close to Czech so they should both be ok, but I'm spending as much time as I can working with the third grader and trying to subtly push her into the social sphere of our third grade class...so far, so good.
This past weekend, I went out seeking adventure with Laura. We were extremely tired and almost did not leave our house, but we did and decided to go to the first bar that looked half decent that we haven't been to yet. We looked through the windows of the first promising one and thought it might be alright. We slowly walked by while continuing our debate when some guys in the window knocked waved us in. They looked friendly enough, and everyone's a stranger when you travel, so we decided to join them for a bit. It ended up being a group of about 6 or 7 guys in which a few of them knew a lot of English, while most of the others knew only very basic things. Only one guy knew practically no English. We ended up going to the disco that's close to our house with them and had a great night, accidentally staying out until 4 or so. On Saturday, I woke up at 9:30 and went rock climbing with Dustin for a few hours. In the afternoon, I went to the soccer/football game with Matěj. Laura and Katrina went as well, and so did the guy from the bar/disco who speaks next to know English but would like to learn from me. I saw all of them there and it was an easy win =).
After the match, Matěj and I joined Katrina and Laura and their friends for a birthday celebration in a restaurant/bar for a few hours before meeting up with Matěj's group of friends from athletics along with a few others. We usually all meet up after every football match, so it was good to see them all again. I was going to go to a hookah bar with one of them last week and rock climbing with another one tonight, but I was/am too tired on both occasions. I did, however, go horseback riding with one of the girlfriend's who I have hung out with several times before yesterday. I help her practice English, and she is teaching me how to ride properly =). I am very excited about it. I also met up with Ivo and Jana (a couple among the doctors that I am friends with here) separately this weekend for drinks and some coffee, respectively, and very much enjoyed that.
Yesterday, I was invited into the woman downstairs' (who we call grandma) living space, and she was enthusiastic to show me a picture of her husband and two black labs when they were still alive, all of the dresses she crocheted for her old dolls, the Christmas presents that she was working on for her grandchildren, etc. She then proceeded to show and then teach me how to crochet. Mind you, she speaks about as much basic English as I know Czech, so...it was mostly through visuals repetition, and laughter that we communicated...but it was one of the most surprising and relaxing hour and a half's that I have had here, and I look forward to visiting her at some point this week to show her what I have made with the materials she gave and lent to me.
Speaking of those, I think I'll practice now.
Yest
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
High/Low
I am playing high low with myself and whoever is reading this, because I have experience some very different sentiments towards my job in the past month or two and would love to hash things out a bit. Two weeks ago, I was very high on life. I loved my job because of the relationships I am developing with the teachers and students, the experience I'm getting with the language and teaching in a classroom, and all of the doors it is opening for me to experience another country's education and social structure. I very much like my flat and flat mates, the people I have been meeting are great and I have an exciting and interesting social life, finances are solid, and there there are countries and to be searched and plane tickets to be used in the upcoming months. I joined the band Industrial Engineers (though I'm the only female of 7 who also happens to not be an industrial engineer) and I really like the group, think they're fun people who are great to work and socialize with, etc......
On the other hand...
This past week I've been missing my family, friends, the beach, being a student, intelligent conversation, my dogs, clam chowder. etc. I am really excited to being reunited with my band from home and making beautiful, funky, out of this world music with them. I really think if we invested enough into it we could do very well. I would like to try to invest in an income property so that I can live in Rhode Island with who I want to while I'm there and rent it out if/when I travel for long periods of time in the future, to go back to school for my masters degree (I'm thinking in Anthropology or Social Work), and maybe even to go to some casting calls in Boston and try to do some acting like I used to want to do when I was little. As much as I love meeting new people and trying new things, I would like to be semi-established somewhere and be able to have something to fall back on and to come home to that is my own.
On the other hand...
I am still young and unattached... This is the best time for me to travel and learn things experientially. I am working a steady job, providing for myself, and traveling as I've always wanted. I was looking into volunteering at an orphanage around here for the year and recently have been offered a volunteering position for the year and a paid position for all of next year, working far less, earning a lot more, and spending only a month in each village in the Czech Republic at a time...It's kind of a dream position that I wish was available now, but the project is starting up next year. There are other countries to be explored to if I stay here...
On the other hand....
I miss home.
Temporary conclusion: Put these thoughts out of my head, enjoy the here and now, and begin to think about next year over Christmas break.
On the other hand...
This past week I've been missing my family, friends, the beach, being a student, intelligent conversation, my dogs, clam chowder. etc. I am really excited to being reunited with my band from home and making beautiful, funky, out of this world music with them. I really think if we invested enough into it we could do very well. I would like to try to invest in an income property so that I can live in Rhode Island with who I want to while I'm there and rent it out if/when I travel for long periods of time in the future, to go back to school for my masters degree (I'm thinking in Anthropology or Social Work), and maybe even to go to some casting calls in Boston and try to do some acting like I used to want to do when I was little. As much as I love meeting new people and trying new things, I would like to be semi-established somewhere and be able to have something to fall back on and to come home to that is my own.
On the other hand...
I am still young and unattached... This is the best time for me to travel and learn things experientially. I am working a steady job, providing for myself, and traveling as I've always wanted. I was looking into volunteering at an orphanage around here for the year and recently have been offered a volunteering position for the year and a paid position for all of next year, working far less, earning a lot more, and spending only a month in each village in the Czech Republic at a time...It's kind of a dream position that I wish was available now, but the project is starting up next year. There are other countries to be explored to if I stay here...
On the other hand....
I miss home.
Temporary conclusion: Put these thoughts out of my head, enjoy the here and now, and begin to think about next year over Christmas break.
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