Czech-in' Out

Well, I guess this is it! My bags are packed, the apartment's cleaned, and my passport's in my backpack (I quadruple-checked - don't worry).

It was really sad to say good-bye to all of my students yesterday. The day was a flurry of  long hugs and handmade cards. A few of my favorite moments:

• After I said good-bye to the second grade class, one of the girls wrapped herself around my legs and hung on me for about five minutes. I finally had to pry her off of me when it became clear she wasn't planning to let go anytime soon. 
• When I told the fourth grade class that this was the last time I would teach them, they all started booing and (fake) crying. They gave me an uncomfortably long group hug after class and continued to beg me to stay. 
• One of the fifth graders, Filip, came up and hugged me for a realllllllly long time after class. Getting a drawn out hug wasn't so unusual today, but Filip is usually such a stinker in class. Despite his misbehavior (or maybe because of it), he's one of my favorites. I hope my next students are as wonderful as the ones I had here!

I can't believe that after looking forward to this trip for so long, it's already over. This has been a wonderful adventure, and I am so grateful for all of the experiences I've had. I am so thankful that God has watched over me, led me to meet some wonderful people, and helped me grow as a teacher.

I need to catch my flight, so it's time to say good bye (or "na shledanou"). Good bye to my fellow teachers and new friends; good bye to my adorable, fun, and crazy students; good bye to the owners of the neighboring grocery store who are always so patient with me as I fumble with my money and mispronounce their language; good bye to all of the socks and sandals, gravy and dumplings; good bye to the school and city that have been my home for the past two months.

And good bye for now to you, reader. Thank you so much for following me on this adventure and keeping me in your prayers!

How are all of you? I'm sick of talking about myself. :)

Prague, Cathedrals, and the Blue Danube

I will officially be leaving in less than a week! Unbelievable. I knew the time would go fast here, but it honestly felt like I just got here.

This last week went really well. I taught three lessons a day and observed for the rest of the time. It was nice to have the luxury of putting a lot of time into preparing my lessons. Sarah from the international school (Riverside) in Prague observed me on Wednesday, and as before, she had great feedback, encouragement, and tips.

On Friday I made another visit to Riverside. My visit was wonderful. If I could teach anywhere, I would pick this school. I won't bore you with the teacher talk, but they are doing great things there! After school I went to Prague for a couple hours before heading home. I was really sad to go; I'm going to miss the easy access I've had to this city the past couple months.

On Saturday I visited Regensburg, Germany. I love what I've seen of Germany. The people are so friendly and everything - the cars, food, buildings - is so nice. Really great descriptive adjective, right? Let's just say that it contrasts quite dramatically with many parts of the Czech Republic. For example, in Plzen, I have learned not to smile at people on the street. In America, when I run by other runners or walkers, I always nod, smile, or say hi. But here? If anyone actually returns my eye contact, they definitely don't smile back. I was a bit wary when everyone was smiling at me in Regensburg on Saturday! Over-generalization? Perhaps, but there is definitely some truth to it.

It was a two and a half hour train ride from Plzen to Regensburg, and I happily read, looked out the window, and relaxed in my compartment. I spent about five hours in Regensburg, and it did not disappoint. It's beautiful - right on the Danube River, and there is an incredible cathedral there.

 Above: One-one hundredth of the cathedral. You'll have to take my word that the rest of the cathedral was pretty cool too!

A comment on the food: firstly, all of the food looked (and tasted) amazing. Secondly, everyone was eating gelato or ice cream, and practically every other person was eating a pizza - like a large 16 inch pizza - by him/herself. It looked pretty hilarious (and delicious).



Now that I'm starting to imagine going home, I'm getting really excited! I can't wait to see my family and friends and read the signs and know the ingredients in my food. :)

I am planning to write one more post at the end of this week to wrap up the blog. Can't believe the adventure is already coming to an end! Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Have a wonderful week!

P.S. Pastor Petr gave me a book called "Dinner with a Perfect Stranger." It's an interesting premise and a very quick read. Highly recommended!

Teaching, Basketball, and Hot Mineral Water

I can't believe that October is just around the corner, and that I leave in less than two weeks! I'm sad that it's ending so soon, but I am excited to see my friends and family back in America. Again, this week flew by. Teaching went really well, and I felt more confident and relaxed each day.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, some of the adults I teach took me to see the U.S. women play the Czech Republic. I was probably the only person in the stadium without a Czech flag sticker on my face, but that's fine - I didn't look foolish after the U.S. beat them by 40 points. :) Despite the gap in the score, I had so much fun! I didn't realize how much I missed basketball until we sat down in the stadium. I haven't been too nostalgic since hanging up my jersey last spring, but I definitely felt twinges of sadness while I watched.

On Saturday I went to Karlovy Vary (aka Carlsbad). One of the teachers recommended I go there, but my expectations weren't too high. I'm happy to say I was proved wrong! Karlovy Vary is a famous spa town, and people come from all over to go in the thermal baths and drink the mineral water. The spa treatments are said to cure everything from diabetes to neurological diseases. I of course had to try the "miraculous" mineral water, but I quickly found that hot semi-salty water isn't really my thing. I forced a couple sips before discreetly dumping the rest back into the fountain.

Above: Two of the thirteen fountains scattered throughout the city.

Besides exploring the city center, I hiked up a hill on the outskirts of the city and shopped a bit in the outdoor markets. I had a lot of fun, and I conked out on the two-hour bus ride home.

The fourth graders sang in church today, so the chapel was actually full - a stark contrast to the previous Sundays. It was nice to see, but also depressing to think that they probably won't be back.

I learned a sad statistic last week: The Czech Republic is the third least religious country in the world. Thirty percent of the people in the Czech Republic are atheists, compared to 31 percent in Japan and 47 percent in China. Please keep these people in your prayers!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Thank you for reading! Just a couple more blog posts to come...!

Below: A few snapshots from yesterday's excursion.

....And Exhale...

This week went unbelievably fast. It blurred by in a flood of lesson plans, several pots of coffee, and a few hours of sleep.

Although this week definitely had its stressful moments, it was one of the greatest weeks of my life. I feel more confident than ever about teaching. At the same time, I saw how much I have to learn.

Sarah (the teacher from the school in Prague) observed me on Wednesday. It was so good to get her perspective. After my lessons, we talked for about an hour about what I did well, my concerns, and how I can improve. I was really grateful to get her input, and I've been trying to implement some of her ideas and strategies.

I'm really loving my students. I taught grades 4-8 this week, and I like something different about each class. Right now, my favorite class is grade 7. I love that I can joke around with them and take a more relaxed approach. The fourth graders are definitely interesting too. When I taught them on Wednesday, I apologized to one of the girls because I mispronounced her name. After class, she came up to me, grabbed my face in her hands and said, "Miss Melanie, you can call me anything you want. If you want to call me a different name that's fine." She then proceeded to list names I could call her as she stroked my hair. Haha...Shortly after that, a boy named Sebastian gave me some of his candy bar and started burrowing his head into my stomach. Kids are so strange.

I taught the adults and did the after-school basketball program this week too. The basketball "practice" is pretty hilarious. There is one boy who just cracks me up. He doesn't even know which way to run down the court. Throw in a few more kids that have never played basketball and speak limited English, and it makes for an interesting hour. One girl told me that it was the best sport ever, though, so they must be enjoying something!

Unfortunately I'm not traveling anywhere cool this weekend. I have to get ahead for next week, so I'll be holed up in my apartment for a lot of the next 48 hours. After this next week, though, I'm going back to observing part-time, so hopefully I can get away next weekend. I would love to make it to Budapest, but we'll just have to see.

On Tuesday, some of the adults that I teach are taking me to a basketball game in Prague. The US women are playing the Czech Republic. Really kind of them! More incentive to work hard this weekend, too.

I'm going to the market today with Linda after we get some planning done. If you have a request for an authentic Plzen present, let me know! :)

In case you've been feeling overwhelmed (like I was this week), here's some encouragement. Hope you all have a good weekend!

Prague - I Can't Get Enough!

On Friday, I toured Riverside, the international school in Prague. Besides two Czech classes, everything is taught in English. Quite a relief to visit - it was like stepping into an English-speaking bubble. Most of the teachers have lived in Prague for five to ten years, and few of them know the language - definitely made me feel better about my tiny vocabulary! The school reminded me of an impressive American private school, complete with after-school activities like in-line skating and judo.

After my visit, I headed to my hostel. After checking in, I ran/walked/took pictures for a couple hours on Petrin Hill. It's a beautiful maze of paths on a hill in downtown Prague, complete with towers, gardens, and statues. At the top of the hill is a tower (Petrin Lookout Tower) that was inspired by the Eiffel Tower. It was so much fun to run there (besides the cobblestones - ouch). When I got back, I met some of my roommates. They were all really nice, and one of them actually went to school at Madison in Wisconsin. Small world!

Mini Eiffel Tower!

By the time I got food, went back to my hostel, and showered, it was after nine. I went to eat down in the common room, and after a few minutes, a forty-some-year-old man approached my table. He stopped about five feet away and stared at me for about 10 seconds before I looked up. Slightly creepy, but we ended up talking for about an hour. It got pretty deep - we mostly talked about religion. He had a liberal view of God, so our discussion was quite interesting, but I tried to share my faith as best as I could. 

After that, I wanted to go to the city center just to walk around a bit before going to bed. When I walked out to the tram, an old man approached me and asked if I spoke English. I joyfully said, "That's the only language I can speak!" He had no idea where he was, or where his hotel was. He also didn't know the name of his hotel....yikes. His name was Patrick, and he was from Dublin. It must have been the night for religious discussions, because almost immediately after meeting, he brought up the topic. He was an atheist, and he had some strong views about Christianity. I tried to respond lovingly, but I definitely had to bite my tongue a few times. After an hour or so, we finally found his hotel, and we parted ways agreeing to disagree.

The next morning, I met with my friend Christa's friend Zdenick. He is an adorable old man who lives near Prague, and he kindly gave me a tour of the city. He took me mostly to places that I've already seen, but he pointed out unique details and filled me in on the history behind the buildings. For two hours, Zdenick spoke almost unceasingly about Prague. I learned a ton! He reminded me of my dad because of his depth of historical knowledge and uncanny ability to recite dates. This is probably sounding more like a history class than a fun morning to you all, but I had a great time. After we parted ways, I spent a few more  hours in Prague before heading home. It's sad to think that that may have been my last visit to Prague!

Today I ran a 6K with two of the teachers at school. It was a terrible day to run - really rainy (the course was a mud slide), but the entry fee was only $3, and we got free food...so I can't complain!

OK, time to go. Back to reality...back to lesson plans. My first day of teaching is tomorrow, so please say your prayers for me! 

Beautiful Fall Days

The weather has been foggy and gray for the past few weeks, so it has been really exciting to have some nice days recently. After school, I went on a run through the city center. I've been taking Plzen's beauty for granted, so today I stopped to walk and soak it all in. There was an orchestral concert playing in the city square - they were amazing, and I'm happy I stumbled upon it.

In other news, they just installed a carousel in the city center, and it is not the typical carousel...Think giant, creepy skeleton-like animals. They also have four sculptures in the city center, and they each represent a different animal, or in the case of the one shown below, an angel. Not quite seeing it, but I was never the artistic type.

Some more random tidbits:

In the Czech Republic, each day of the year (except national holidays) has a corresponding name. For example, Linda (the teacher from South Africa) had her name day ("svatek") on September 1. It's actually a pretty big deal here. Sometimes they even get gifts, so I would be fine with implementing that in the U.S. :)

On Saturday, I took a day trip to Klatovy, a small town south of Plzen. It has a really cute Old Town, but there's not much beyond that. It was also my first time on the train, so my inner Harry Potter geek came out a bit.

A teacher from the international school in Prague will be coming to Plzen to observe/advise me in the coming weeks, so I will meet her on Friday and tour the school. I'm very interested to compare the two schools! I'm going to stay the night in Prague and spend Saturday there as well. My friend Christa told me about a great hostel that's only 70 Kc a night (less than $4!).

I'm still gradually making progress with the language. I get very excited when I pick up random words in conversations. (Today I caught "prase" - pig. Can't ask for directions, but I can say pig. Helpful.) It's been pretty amusing to see the other side of it - the frustration of the Czech native speakers as they learn English. ("Though...thought...tough...makes no sense!") I must say, they have a point.

To conclude this entry, I present a few Czech tongue twisters:

zmrzlina (ice)
sprcha (shower)
ctvrtek (Thursday)
vlk (wolf)
krk (neck)

Sorry for the disorganized post today. :) Dobra noc!

Week 1 Update

One more day until the weekend! It's time for...highlights of the week!

In no particular order:

1. Getting my first gift from a student
A first grader gave me a handmade bracelet today. Sweet! Another girl in the same class tried to give me her apple, but I told her she should save it for her lunch. I don't know if she understood me, so I  hope she didn't think I was unimpressed with her gift!

2. Teaching adult English class
Pastor Petr approached me on Sunday about teaching a class for adults. The class takes place once a week; the first hour is strictly English, and the second hour is a Bible class. Petr strategically placed the Bible class after the English class. Most want to continue practicing their English, so they stay for the Bible class despite  their disinterest in religion. Tricky, Petr!

Four adults showed up on Wednesday. (Five to seven typically came last year.) I had several activities planned, but we ended up only getting through a couple in that first hour. One student, Jara, was particularly talkative! "Jara" is the shorted version of his name by the way; after butchering his real name several times in a row, he said I could use a nickname. :) Jara is a professional opera singer and classical pianist. When I teased him that he should perform for us, he jumped up and started pounding on the piano. He played and sang for us, and it sounded amazing! When I told him that I play the piano a bit, he told me (jokingly, I hope) that I have to perform with him next week.

The other students weren't quite as skilled as Jara. One woman, Sonja, had actually never studied English before. She understood a good amount of English, but she lacked speaking skills. Thankfully, Petr was there to act as a translator when we needed him. Overall, everything went really well. I was nervous to teach adults, and I had no idea what to expect with their abilities, but they gave me positive feedback at the end of class.

3. English teacher get-together
We have been trying to get the English teachers together for the past week, and we finally did on Wednesday. My apartment is the biggest, so everyone came there. We talked, snacked, and played Scattergories. (And, ahem, you're talking to the winner. Take that, non-native English speakers!) We had a good time, and I am feeling very blessed for the great group of people I work with.

This week has flown by. I've been bouncing around all of the classrooms from kindergarten through ninth grade.It's not always exciting to simply observe, but I usually get the opportunity to interact and participate in their classes. I have one more week of observations, and then I'll start teaching.

My frustration for the week is, once again, the language. Foolishly, I didn't foresee it being so big a barrier. The younger children (kindergarten through second grade or so) have really limited English. Our conversations are limited to "What's your name?" and "How are you?" It's easier in the upper grades, but it's definitely still a challenge.

Even so, I have had a great week so far. Kids are kids, no matter what their language, culture, or background. The students I've seen and met are wild, funny, moody (I'm talking to you, ninth grade), bright, and talkative. I'm excited and nervous for the quickly approaching day where I'll be teaching them! Thanks for keeping me in your prayers. Love and miss you all!

Unfortunately. pretty accurate.