employment

yesterday was a monumental day in the life of “cynthia abroad”, for i have been hired by a language school as an english teacher.  as clients come up, they will assign me classes and slowly my open schedule will fill.  i have already been assigned a course with an employee at a local firm here that will start the week after next, as this next week is the czech “spring break” holiday.  the czechs LOVE skiing and usually plan ski trips for their families to nearby ski resorts in the south of the country or in the austrian alps.

i also had my first paying gig last night– first lesson teaching weekly english classes to two young girls which was actually a lot of fun!

the way being a freelance english teacher seems to be is that initially your schedule is pretty empty and it begins to fill and fill as you get out there, meet people, and take opportunities.

first whole week of living in České Budějovice has been entirely successful! alex just completed his last week of training alongside the teacher he’s replacing and meeting all of the children, and after the holiday next week will begin teaching all the classes by himself.

in other news: not a lot of people speak english here.  even the littlest things like leaving the house at all can feel daunting if i’m not in the mood to be a foreigner today.  i am starting to forget how it was to be among americans all over the place and how easy it was to get by when everyone speaks the same language.  (then i remember how i used to be bored by this and wanted a challenge so…. here’s my challenge?)

there is an english library here in town!  alex has a year’s membership to it and although the fiction selection apparently isn’t the biggest, i can now read boooooooks!  just started rob roy, by the revered scottish author sir walter scott. also, it’s february!  i love february!  happy groundhogs day!

next up: exploring the town, mentally preparing for more snow, my triumphant return to Cesky Krumlov (only 30 min bus ride away), convincing the landlords to stay in this flat because it is SO GORGEOUS and central and we can’t bear to leave it in four weeks, and perhaps more……..