Real Life

I am officially a resident of Prague, at least for now. I have a room in a flat in a beautiful neighborhood within easy walking distance of the city center and close to where many of my friends from the course live. I have a job, possibly two, and a place that I instantly knew would be where I will go whenever I start freaking out about things (more about that later). My first month here, my month with TEFL, didn't feel like real life at all. We were definitely students and our forays into the city were fleeting. We knew our way around, but we didn't belong, not yet. For that month we belonged to Vsyocany, the attic/villa, the school, and each other. But not anymore.

We're real people now. I'm pretty sure that everyone who stayed in Prague has found some sort of job, and I know that everyone has a place to live. I, at least, am figuring things out, like where the nearest grocery store is, how to renew bus passes (any help with that would be appreciated, by the way), how exactly to open the door to my flat, and the various tricks needed to coax the stove to work. I'm dealing with real problems, and I'm dealing with them mostly on my own, because that's what real adults do.

In all honesty, most of my first week revolved around school. As I've already posted about that, I'll only mention it briefly. Because it was the first week, they wanted to have all hands on deck, so my days were long. Really long. Like from 8 until 6. When I got home after chasing children around for 10 hours, grocery shopping was about the only thing I was up for. I have yet to make a trip out to Ikea to get a few things for my room. It's exhausting.

I have managed to cobble together some sort of social life for myself though. Last Wednesday, a group of us went to the Globe, an expat hangout in the city centre. There's an English bookstore, and they serve food like you would find in a typical American middle-tier casual restaurant (like the Chatterbox pub, for those of you familiar with it). They had milkshakes, and burgers, spinach and artichoke dip, nachos, smoothies, macaroni and cheese, delicious soups, and glorious desserts like New York cheesecake and brownie sundaes. On weekends they serve brunch with waffles and blueberry pancakes. I had the spinach and artichoke dip and carrot and ginger soup and it was amazing. Granted, I had yet to figure out the stove in my flat, so any warm food would have been greeted with enthusiasm, but I'm sure it would hold up under higher standards than mine were at that moment. Anyway, the food was not the primary reason we were there. Wednesday night is Trivia Night. We had a blast. We were a team of 6, and although we didn't win anything, far from it, we had a blast. It was a fantastic way to break up the week, and to relax a bit.

Friday night we met up at Courtney, Julie, and Kathryn's flat with the intention of going out to a club. But, and here's a shocker, kids spread germs. I knew I had a cold. How could I not, all Thursday and Friday I was so congested it was impossible to breathe through my nose. But I wanted to see people who weren't under 10, so I dragged myself the three blocks to their flat. It became immediately apparent however, that going out was not in the cards for me, so I went home after hanging out for a bit, which ended up being one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Saturday morning I woke up around 10, showered, and headed out the door around 11:45 with vague plans for a day of sightseeing. I wanted to explore the neighborhood I had ended up in, so that was at the top of my list, but I also wanted to get some pictures of Charlie at places of real importance, which would require going, at the very least, to Namesti Miru and the church of St Ludmilla. I started my adventure at the grocery store where I got two pastries, two freshly baked rolls of bread, two apples, a smallish slab of Camembert cheese, and a bottle of tea, all for 100kc, or about 5 dollars. I took my picnic to the park near my flat because I hadn't been there yet, and a picnic in a park sounded just about perfect. Well, it was. This park is gorgeous. It's built around a vineyard and wine garden, with a chateau, beautiful lawns, and views out over Prague. My favorite part though, was the part just inside the gate I entered by. It's a wonderland. It felt like I had stepped into a fairy tale forest, complete with tall, graceful trees, ponds, quaint wooden bridges and quietly giggling fountains. I spent a good three hours in that park, wandering around, writing in my journal, watching the people walking their dogs, or taking their kids out for a Saturday stroll. It was exactly what I needed that day, and it was perfect.

The rest of the day I walked around Prague on my own. I visited Wenceslas Square, and halfheartedly looked for the restaurant that had played such an important part in my previous visit to Prague, but didn't end up finding it. I'll go back again sometime when I have a map, because I'm determined to find this place. The second half of the day was not nearly as wonderful as the first half. I enjoyed myself, but in the midst of all the bustling tourists, I felt slightly out of place. Not only because I was alone, but because Old Town Square is part of where I live, I can come back to Wenceslas Square whenever I want, walk along the river at sunrise if I want to. It didn't feel right, striding impatiently through the slow moving throngs of tourists. I've moved beyond that part of my relationship with Prague, and I'm ready to know it better. We're friends now, Prague and I. Friends who, having met and realized how awesome each other is, still have lots to learn. I wanted to learn about Prague, I wanted to look inside her and find myself, which is, I think, one of the marks of a real friendship. I've seen Prague. Now I want to know Prague.

Toddlers and Tiaras

     Never in my life did I think I would end up being a teacher, at least at any level lower than college. But then last year with Reading Corps got me into an elementary school, and now I'm a full-blown preschool teacher. And while I'm not sure this is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, I'm actually really enjoying it.
     My job unofficially started with my visit to the school last Saturday. It was an absolute wreck. There were pieces of IKEA furniture scattered all around the place, and the upstairs classrooms looked like a bomb had just gone off with toys and art supplies as the casualties. But Chris assured me it would all be pulled together by Monday when the kids were due to arrive. I put together 6 drawers and met three of the other teachers: Chris from South Africa, Gale from northern Scotland, and Kristof, a Czech. Besides them and me there's Eric from Indiana, Stephanie from Florida, and Flavia, an Italian. These Czech kids are going to be exposed to so many different accents they won't know what to do. At least they'll be able to understand practically anything.
     Monday morning I showed up at 8, not really having any idea what to expect. I ended up spending nearly the whole week with the Ladybugs, kids 2.5 to 4 years old. Some of the older ones actually speak English really well, and the Dragons (4-6 year olds) are basically at the same level as their native counterparts. Others of them can barely speak Czech, and can hardly be expected to speak English, which is why Kristof hangs out with the babes. It's incredible how much effect a reprimand in Czech can have when all the scolding in English accomplishes nothing. I spent the week doing art projects, helping kids wash their hands, and feeding them snacks. There was very little formal teaching going on, but that will be starting in the next week once things settle down a little more and the kids are a little more used to being in school. Next week they'll also be starting their after-school program for former students who have moved on to 'Big School'. They get lessons in science, history, and whatever else we can come up with.
     The biggest joy in this job is connecting with the kids, and knowing that I'm really making a difference in their lives. One afternoon, I taught a four year old the word 'empty', and her face lit up when she understood it. Monday morning they were all a little wary of the new teacher, but I'm pretty sure I got through to them, because by Friday I had kids clambering to sit on my lap, and giggling at my faces. One of them made me a rainbow crown out of pipe cleaners that I wore for the rest of the day. I got many compliments from students and staff alike.

     I realized this week that one of the reasons I love kids is that I'm able to open myself up to them much more quickly than with people my own age. Interacting with children requires a certain amount of silliness and imagination that adults just don't get. They have an inherent joy; easily hurt, but easily restored to good spirits. They can be brutal, unforgiving, and deeply selfish, but they're also more generous, creative, and open to new ideas than most adults I know. I love my job.

*I've done other things this week than play with kids, things that brought me into the beautiful city I live in now, I promise. I'll get an update in on that in the next couple days. I didn't want to skimp on either aspect of my life, which is what would have happened if I tried to fit it all into one post. Stay tuned for week 1 as a real Prague-ian!*