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My Two-and-a-Half Year Maternity Leave in the Czech Republic
In mere days, the curtain falls on my two-and-a-half year long maternity leave here in the Czech Republic. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more. How it actually works is that there is a six-month-long maternity leave if you are an employee (read: not a freelance worker) that you are granted through your organization and the state, then after this six month period you previously got to choose a two, three or four year parental leave which can be divided or taken by either parent. For the purposes of this post and because I am the parent who took the leave, I will refer to it…
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Week 49-52 of 2024 (Year in Review) – Year of Life and Travels
Wow, y’all. The year 2024, the year in which I had a one and a half year old to now a two and a half year old was not a great year to try to blog more – big oopsies to try something ambitious as blogging every week but I tend to be the type to say yes to too much, bite off more than I can chew and all that. It’s not for lack of trying! In October things heated up when M stopped napping and I am fairly confident that I say that never in my life have I ever had less free time than I do now.…
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Week 45-48 of 2024 (Year in Review) – NOVEMBER + Reflecting on Being in the Czech Republic for 12 Years
Been thinking a lot about this whole life adventure this blog is named for lately, which is something I do obviously quite a lot, maybe too much. But I think, now, after twelve years of living here, for right now I’ve made peace with the fact that this, this right here, the adventure that I named this blog after thinking it was just, well, an adventure is actually my honest-to-god real life. It took me twelve years to get to this realization or at least feel it fully. I’ve lived in Ceske Budejovice in this flat longer than in any one residence in my entire life. It’s getting real. This…
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Week 29 & 30 of 2024 (Year in Review)
It’s time to go on vacation! I haven’t been on a vacation or holiday really since last summer in the USA so I am so looking forward to heading to Germany and Denmark for the next two weeks. Boy, would I benefit from a change of scenery, as nice as summer is in South Bohemia. It’s funny: when you tell a Czech, American or most anyone that you’re headed to Germany’s North Sea coast for your summer holiday, you’re met with shrugs or polite interest. When you tell a German that you’re headed there? Totally different – they are really excited for you! I think that’s how I know I…
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A Year of Life & Travels: 2023
Here we are at the beginning of another bright new year! These yearly recap posts are my absolute favorites to read (on other blogs) so I hope you will enjoy catching up with my year and seeing little Mouse grow before your eyes! It was a big year for our little family and we are so lucky to have had the travel opportunities we did! If you’re on the fence, I cannot recommend traveling with a baby this age enough, truly. New Year’s Day, January 1st, 2023 was unbelievably warm – we’re talking 18°C (64°F)! We took a long walk with friends & no coats with our six month old…
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Summer, Lately: Celebrations & Life With a 12 Month Old
We had a beautiful month of June here in South Bohemia. I have to say that I feel like I was so tired for at least half the month and had no idea why… until I realized that the allergy meds I am taking every other day for hay fever make me terribly drowsy. I am quite ready for allergy season to be over (still sneezing) but at least June was spent in a dreamy sort of daze. It started with a beautiful choir concert performed at a little festival in an apple orchard near Lišov. What an amazing setting and reminder (just when I really needed it) of how…
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To Pass or Not to Pass: An Evergreen Language-Learning Struggle
It is getting more and more embarrassing to tell people that we have been living in the Czech Republic for a whole decade… generally, because of the state of our Czech language ability. That is not to say that it is absolutely poor exactly… it’s just not… “living there ten years” quality. The other week our baby’s cardiologist said, when I reminded him that we usually speak English together, replied with a benign but just as soul-piercing, “oh sorry, I forgot that you don’t speak any Czech”. Ouch! I got through sixteen days in Czech hospital and can’t bother to try during one doctor appointment? Now, I am a language…
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Having a Baby in the Czech Republic? (non-EU national) Legal Steps You Need to Take
First off, this is an informational post particularly written for all of us confused non-EU foreigners living in the Czech Republic that are not able to get the straight answers that you need about what exactly to do and in what order after having a child here. I am writing this just for you, to save you the hassle that we ourselves had to go through. Please take heed of the steps because there is a very specific order they need to be accomplished in, even though this order cannot be found anywhere online that I’ve seen. In short, there are 5 things you need to obtain on behalf of…
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The Moments That Remind Me Why I’m Here
I’m on my way back from a lesson with a student (who is also my friend, gynecologist, etcetera, etcetera) where I’ve just successfully got her to use the present perfect unasked for the first time, and it’s a moody but refreshingly cool spring day. The clouds are sort of shifty characters and look like rain could spring forth from them at any minute. Without thinking much about it, other things on my mind, I cross the blue bridge across the river where one of my favorite spots in Budejovice is. I like it because it reminds me of the banks of the Seine in Paris. But you know, in southwestern…
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A Little Ray of Sunshine: The Next Phase Begins
Our life adventuring abroad has occurred in big phases. Stepping onto a plane bound for Glasgow, Scotland with no return tickets. Moving to Ceske Budejovice and becoming gainfully employed in Europe. Getting married and coming back to the Czech Republic with renewed commitment. The post-wedding years really coming into our own here. It’s time for what will be the beginning of the next phase: We’re expecting our rainbow baby in July and we’re so excited! You might be wondering some details, so here are the questions I could think of… How are you feeling? Really great, now, at twenty-one weeks. Truly, every single day feels different. I don’t think anyone’s…
