summertime

it’s past the halfway point of my favorite month of the year. (okay, actually that’s december but this takes a close second) that means it’s time to step back and think about how i best want to enjoy my summer. really, i want things to sloooooowww down a little bit, but between hanging out with czech kids for ten hours a day every day for three weeks (i’ve just finished week two!) it’s kind of hard for that to happen. on one hand, it’s inspirational since kids are all about just enjoying a simple moment. on the other hand, i often come home exhausted, but doing something simple like eating a popsicle or reading a book in the evening sun on the balcony helps to mellow things out and enjoy the moment.
however, when i can find a proper minute to read these days, it’s always a travel guidebook (yep, i went for it and got a lonely planet ebook on sale) as i plan a massive trip to poland for next month. i haven’t read for pleasure in several weeks– it’s just a constant information cram. because how can i read my novel when there’s things to be learned?!?

working at an english summer camp is such a breath of fresh air from my usual job. i love following the routine of the school year set by alex’s job, and then taking the summer off to do things like three weeks at summer camps and traveling. i couldn’t ask for a more ideal schedule. my two weeks at summer camp have been fun and pass by with the speed of a freight train. the highlight of all of it is the fact that because the camp is space themed this year, we are teaching the kids david bowie songs (specifically space oddity) and to say certain lyrics from the song at certain times. at the end of the week, we have a space themed party with green food in which we listen to ziggy stardust over and over. the kids are hilarious. and kind. some of them are duds but i think there are plenty of great memories.

below, you can see an egg drop “launch” out of one of the windows in the school. the kids had to say “ground control to major tom!” and a couple other things satisfactorily to proceed. (they are wearing their construction paper space helmets)

every thursday, we take them to an outdoor play in a tiny town on the edge of the nearby šumava forest called hořice na šumavě. this play is about two hours long, takes place along a forest path, is entirely in czech, has tons of dry humor, and deals with aliens and UFO sightings. the play is low-budget, but it’s full of locals and has got so much heart. i won’t mind seeing it one more time next week, so long as there are no crying children again. hey, aliens can be scary! below is kuba, who brought a beer for one of the actors in the play. ‘cause that’s totally cool here in the czech republic.

a scene from the play in which they dress up a kid from the audience in a “young pioneers” costume, tie her to a russian rocket along with a german woman named helga.

i love this rules sign that the kids made (and we translated into english). i think the best rules are obvious.

we also eat SUMMER CAMP FOOD. this means, typical hot lunch foods fed to school kids. it’s definitely pork heavy (even though i have a “no pork in 2014” thing going on, boooo), very potato heavy (boo), but always unpredictable. the czechs have a penchant for sweet lunches or dinners. for example, a meal of strawberry jam-filled dumplings covered with some kind of ricotta, heaps of powdered sugar, and heaping spoonfuls of melted butter is a standard lunch. i had issues with this last year, so i’ve been sure to bring along snacks.

rarely, we get something awesome like schnitzel or “czech lasagne” (what alex and i call the typical czech baked pasta casserole, usually involving ham, egg, and cheese). then on the weekends i try to eat just veggies and such to detox from this. yeah, sorry…. i do need to detox from all the czech food. body can’t handle it.
if you’re interested in hearing more stories about our funny czech camper kids we hang out with every day (and there are some cuties!), alex wrote a funny post about it.

now that the weekend’s here, it’s time to concentrate on enjoying summer! that means loooong breakfasts (like last weekend’s pancakes & honey with our spoils from the annual blueberry festival) with the windows open and the birds singing. just found out today that i’ll have an entire week of summer free at the end of july, so i’m pretty happy right now. what do you like to do in the summer that really makes the season for you? i hope you find some time for it this weekend. cheers!

linking up this week with kate for daily diaries.