Outside of Praha...

Some pictures from outside of Praha... The first couple of pictures are from camp. The first is of the field behind the camp at sunset, and makes it look deceivingly peaceful there. The next is of the kids and I in the nature by the camp when they were being rather calm and collected. The kids were awesome and hilarious! They gave me nicknames like Miss America and Miss England and Miss English Teacher Lady, it was a rare thing for them to actually call me by my name. The next pic is a lesson I was giving on giving directions and they had to take a bunch of pictures. They told me that I was a magician and that they were the rabbits, I think that it turned out rather well. 

The skulls are from a town called Kutna Hora, look up the history on the Bone Cathedral... All for now... Heading home on the 12th. Talk to you all then...

Before I leave...

I am off to a town called Humpolec, CZ for the week to go to camp! I am teaching in a German summer camp for a week. The camp is half way between Prague and Brno, so is about an hour and half away... I am catching the bus this afternoon. 

Sorry that I have taken so long to post! I have been really busy with class and exploring Prague. But now that class is over, I really have no excuse. The second picture is a place called Petřín Hill, and is the biggest park in all of Prague. The rest of the pictures are from the top of that tower and the last one is most of my TEFL class at our graduation party. The park is absolutely amazing and so quiet and away from the city. Hiking up that tower took FOREVER, as Czech people really don't believe in lifts unless they are totally useless. The view was amazing though, so worth it I suppose. My new big thing to do is go and watch the matched every night at this really cool outdoor beer garden near my new flat (pictures of the new flat to follow when I get back from camp). The night life here is so laid back and everything moves so slowly... It is wonderful. There is no pressure to hurry up and eat or finish your beer. Czech people are fantastic and very hospitable, although they are terrible drivers. 

My new flat is in Vinohrady, which is one of the most ideal locations in town (if you want my address, leave a comment and I will e mail it to you). I am right behind a beautiful park that is only a five minute walk, and there are cheap restaurants everywhere. My roommates are really cool and we cook dinner together almost everyday. We have a gas leak in our bathroom, which means we can't shower for the next few days! Yuck! Luckily I have friends in the city with working showers who are letting me shower, for a small fee. Just kidding, but they thought did cross their minds. 

I have to go pack for summer camp now, but I will have pictures and stuff up when I get back on the 4th of July... 

Invasion of Prague

Prague is being invaded by tourists!!! There are English speaking people everywhere, and now I know why the Czech people don't like Americans so much!!! Everyone is rude and loud (although not as loud as the Scots), and just assume that everyone speaks English, when in fact most people do not. It is no wonder the V.A.T. is so high when waiters know you are an American... Other than that the city is still wonderful and most of the Czechs really nice (the old women in my favorite bakery have tried to take care of my fingers countless times, and give me remedies in Czech... according to Chris, who could just be yanking my chain). 

Class is quite an adventure, and teaching even more so. I am teaching the beginners for the first week, and they are truly beginners. The first day they cooed out a broken 'Heeeelllllooooo'. They are adorable and try really hard to pronounce the words correctly and get the correct form. Today, we were teaching fruits and vegetable and Lídía kept saying banyana (instead of banana). She eventually got it right... Onto the pictures...

The first one is a very blurry picture of Prague Castle at night (I have no tripod, and was trying to act as one rather unsuccessfully). We were at a sweet outdoor pub right on the river that had a great Beatles cover band and even better views. The next is of the National Muzeum which is filled with natural history, so I have yet to be in, but the history behind it is really cool. It is one of the only buildings in Prague that was not cleaned after the Velvet Revolution to preserve the building. The big white patches you see on the pillars are actually bullet holes from when the Russians opened fired on the Muzeum during the Prague Spring. The guy on the horse is a HUGE statue of Good King Wenceslas who when, rumor has it, the Czechs are in their darkest hour will rise up from the statue, and ride to the mountains are rise and army to protect the Czech people... Although, when is their darkest hour going to be, considering they were under a Communist regime for 50 some odd years... The memorial picture is a memorial to two students who were trying to preserve the movement of the Prague Spring, and who burned themselves alive in that spot as the Russian tanks were rolling into Wenceslas Square to open fire on the National Muzeum.... they are considered national heroes, although, a lot of good it did the Muzeum and the Prague Spring movement, as both we destroyed. 

I am off to lesson plan, and will hopefully post more soon...

Pedestrians do not, I repeat, DO NOT have the right of way

That is no joke. Pedestrians have absolutely no right of way, unless at very specifically marked intersections. It is because of this reason that Czech people (or anyone else in Prague), does not Jaywalk. Even if there are no cars, trams, or busses in sight, people do not Jaywalk. Cars drive ridiculously fast and dangerously, and after having been in a car with a Czech driver twice, I can safely say that I am going to stick to the Metro. That being said, the public transportation around here is glorious in that the Metro is fast, comes every 10 minutes max and will get you anywhere you need to go. No Metro? Then the tram (above ground cars on rails) will take you to obscure destinations like Prague Castle where I saw........................THE Window that started the 30 years War, or the Window out of which the Catholic man got defenestrated. That is right. I saw the Defenestration of Prague Window. (More to come on Prague Castle and pictures to follow all at a later date).

After a somewhat confusing series of events, school is all worked out and the new school is fantastic (I start teaching on Thursday). All the students were taken on a brief tour of Prague after the first day, and although the city is beautiful and such, there should not be this many Steps on the FACE OF THIS EARTH, let alone in a single city. The tour was rather short and I did not have my camera on me at the time, so I must go back. We went to a bar called Hell, which is ironically enough, right next to the biggest Jesuit church in all Prague. Lol. So, the bar was really cool (it is underground and carved out of bedrock), but pricy, about 70 crowns! Usually Gambrinus is only 27 crowns... granted 70 crowns is only around 3.50, well maybe 4 USD. 

My Czech has gotten good enough that I can ask for things in restaurants, and ask directions. Exciting news of the day! Someone asked me if I spoke English, and then asked me for directions, which I could successfully give!!! I have visually mapped out the city pretty well, but it is now time to conquer the street names. AHHH! The pictures that I am posting are of my apartment, views from my apartment, Charles Bridge at 6:20 a.m. and Old Town Square. All for now... I will hopefully have another post in the next day or so... Oh, and the first picture on the first post is the street my apartment is on. I will have a mailing address in the next post.

First few days...

My first few days in Prag (Praha, Prague), have been fantastic, albeit too short. The city is spectacular and on the plus side, very clean. For the most part the natives are very nice and always willing to help when you need it, or look confused (which I have been for the past day). It has been very interesting to see the cultural differences between Prague and the United States. Being like an American is not really an aspiration like in some countries, but the influence of the U.S. is everywhere, especially in the music. Every cafe or bar that you walk into is blaring U.S. music from one era or another (90's music is especially popular), and advertisements for LIVE JAZZ are everywhere. 

Not unlike other parts of Europe, it is not uncommon to go sit in an outdoor beer garden for hours on end, or just take your beer on the go and walk around with it... Everyone is very laid back and seemingly never in a hurry. Virtually everywhere you walk is a photograph waiting to happen as the city is so well preserved. There are fewer Americans here than I thought, but it is probably just early in the season... However, there are TONS of people here from other European countries because Prague is so cheap (not on the Euro for another 2 years)... I am surrounded by a milieu of languages and it is rather rare to hear English. 

The pictures with the shiny rubbings are on Charles Bridge, and, depending on your religion, are supposed to be touched for good luck or a blessing and have been rubbed for hundreds of years...

All in all, it has been a great past two days. Class starts tomorrow and I don't know when I will get to explore more, but I am hoping that it will be soon!