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Czech School Curiosities
What a month! In the middle of February, it was supposed to have been our half-term break week, but several months ago we agreed to teach most of the week at a primary school waaaay out in the countryside, about an hour from where we live. I mean, we didn’t really have any plans and we have an ambitious travel year ahead, so why not? The wind storm Sabine which ripped through Central Europe made it impossible to start teaching there on Monday as absolutely no trains or buses were leaving the city, but for most of this week we were up on the early train north. Although Alex isn’t…
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It’s November (Life Lately)
Hi friends, happy November! For the first time in awhile, I did not manage to make the annual ‘Spooky Movies to Watch in October’ list. Shame, that. Just for anyone interested, we did continue with our October Movie series and watched in the following order over the course of the month: The Raven (1963) – A Vincent Price classic. Hokey but perfectly Halloweeny, and containing one of the funniest spooky scenes in cinematic history: a magic duel between Price and Boris Karloff (not in a monster role) from thrones. It has to be seen to be believed. ᇫᇫᇫᇫ The Babadook (2014) – Creepy, a bit dystopic, that feeling of losing…
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A Local’s Guide to České Budějovice
When I moved to Budějovice (international alias, Budweis) in 2013, there was almost no information online about this place, save for an extremely scant Lonely Planet blurb (and thank goodness for that!). Moving somewhere sight-unseen without knowing any information or what is actually there is a little unsettling, which is why I have for you this “visitor’s guide to České Budějovice” (pronounced chess-kay bood-yay-yo-vit-suh), written by a “new local”. As tourists have started to discover this city, more and more info is thankfully online, but I still present to you this guide I have written and keep updated. Whether you are looking into studying here, moving here, or maybe even making…
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What I Do Now
in my opinion, what one does for a living certainly shouldn’t define their worth as a person in any way. no, i’m not really a fan of the question, “so, what do you do?” {referring to their occupation} when meeting someone new, although it does provide you with more insight into their daily lives (for ever-curious people like me) and perhaps what their skills and interests are, i have to admit. and these days, i am much happier answering this question than i used to be. but before wasn’t terrible or anything; i have so many fond memories of being downtown seattle barista extraordinaire chick. a video of me “on…
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Christmas + A Big Surprise
veselé vánoce, friends! my second czech christmas is technically still underway (as people traditionally get the 24th-26th off work) and it’s magical. this year my mother has joined us from far away washington state and we’ve been doing a whole lot of wandering the cobblestoney budějovice city streets, last chance advent markets, and of course: eating a TON of food (i may have gone overboard with grocery shopping, perhaps to make up for what is now known as our poor czech christmas last year) and a lot of relaxing before our trip to salzburg tomorrow. and, oh yeah……. i got engaged! alex and i have had a few chats about marriage before, both…
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A Word on Christmas
i’m now approaching my second christmas abroad here in the czech republic. for me, being away from home for christmas isn’t such a big deal since i’m from quite a small family anyway, and a christmas of two or three people feels normal. of course i really think quite fondly about christmases spent at home on fidalgo island and how lovely the christmas season is back in the city streets of downtown seattle or the polar bear plunge at golden gardens and i know i’ll have more to look forward to in the future. honestly, how i celebrate the holidays abroad really isn’t so different from back home in WA–…
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Jindřichův Hradec (or as we call it, Henry Castle)
i haven’t even begun to write and i’m getting distracted by czech kids singing “we wish you a merry christmas”, echoing in the hallway. adorable. CHRISTMAS IS COMING, PEOPLE! HOOBOY! it shows in the amount of lessons i’ve been having lately (ehhh…. 10 out of the normal 15 per week) because of cancellations galore. but that’s alright since it gives me ample time to do what’s important in life, like bake cookies! make homemade decorations! write this blog post! cook dinner! and visit the town square, which is an absolute hot-spot of yuletide activity right now. i can’t walk by it without wanting a glorious vanoci punč– the aroma always…
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Living in Europe, pt II
there’s this weird phenomenon that starts to happen after about a year of living abroad: it becomes harder and harder to imagine returning home. the thought is scarier and scarier…. not only because we still are not confident about where we would work, where we would live, and what we would do…. but because that would also mean leaving life over here. which is pretty great. i mean, gosh! i live in europe! every day i feel lucky to enjoy life here. meeting other expats that have stayed here for years is quite interesting too; to hear their take on living in a small czech city vs. prague vs. the…
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Bohemia Autumn
when you move to sobo (southern bohemia), the first thing everyone tells you to do is go to the top of klet’ mountain. at 1,084m (3,556ft) it is the tallest mountain of the blanksý forest, southwest of ĈB and northwest of ĉesky krumlov. to put it in comparison, mt. erie in anacortes is about a third of the height at 388m (1,273ft). they say on a clear day you can see the austrian alps! so, it wasn’t exactly a clear day…. but we finally made it there. we took the train 35 minutes south to holubov, a hamlet popular with outdoor enthusiasts and mushroom collectors (ie, pretty much all czechs). on the…
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The Five-Petaled Rose Festival in Český Krumlov
one of the biggest festivals of the year in this region, held in little ĉesky krumlov. it’s a city-wide renaissance fair with many stages and areas of interest for acts like juggling, snake-charming, renaissance songs, sword fighting, falconry… and a band that claims the genre “castle rock” (awesome). many festival goers wander around in traditional medieval dress– especially since free admission with a costume as an incentive. what is not to love about wandering around a cobblestoney old town drinking a mojito? as well as this, we ate at the ever lovely vegetarian joint laibon, snacked on ice cream cones, watched the canoers wipe out at rougher points in the river…