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two years abroad
so, that snuck up on me. just back from my extended trip to realize that today is my two year europe-versary. two years abroad, two years since the day we came across from toronto to glasgow (ah, we were like wee bairns then), unsure of what the future would be like here in europe. well, far better than i could’ve expected, for starters. i never would’ve dreamed i could live as good (or better) in a small czech city than i did in a massive american metropolis. and when things are going good, why mess with it? we are really enjoying life in europe and are keeping an open mind…
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i was inspired to take part in the day in the life project because i’m one of those curious individuals that loves to take a peak into the daily routine of someone else. also, i think it would be really nice to look back on sometime and hopefully, interesting or insightful for you! for this day, i chose friday, july 25, 2014, the last day of summer camps. all events take place in either české budĕjovice or český krumlov in south-west czech republic. … 5:40am: the alarm goes off. since it’s summer, it’s light enough to get ready without having to turn on a lamp. shower & get dressed in red…
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best commute
honestly the best commute to work i ever had and probably will ever have. i worked in nearby český krumlov this week (like last year– summer camp!). all the czech food and bus ride combination is starting to make me really nauseous (very easily car-sick) but my days are full and good. and the walk to work is pinch-me beautiful. oh, south bohemia, you’re so lovely.it’s the end of week three (my last week at camp) and i’m starting to seriously lose my mind. i love kids and playing with them, and i’m a bit convinced that there aren’t very many better jobs than hanging out with some kiddos, but the…
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june prague festing
another thing i love about living in czech republic: days in prague. because i’ve lived in prague for two months and been there dozens of other times, the activities i find most enjoyable these days involve taking advantage of festivals and trying out new cafes and restaurants. and yesterday it feels like we did it all. after the exotic food festival got moved back a day (booooo), we hit up the italian food festival happening in havlíčkovy sady, a large park south of namesti miru in vršovice (prague 10). i have to say, i wasn’t expecting to find such a beautiful parisian style park with lovely views from the top…
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the little things pt. I
happy moments both big and small deserve to be celebrated, and may was full of both of these. the month started out with a bang of happiness, as it was a public holiday and i began the day with a morning bike ride along the vltava river to give a lesson for two of my favorite little students. there is absolutely nothing like a bike ride along the river to give me really positive feelings about life here in budějovice, and to just generally boost my mood with all of the visuals of the river and blooming flowers. on the second day of may, what’s better than to hang out with…
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this bohemian life
i had one of my landlords over for tea the other day. she’s real sweet– in her sixties and working part-time as an english teacher at the czech-english high school here in town. i love her curiosity about english and english speakers, and how she always wants to know what textbooks i’m using to teach or what methods. she’s the reason we got this great flat in the first place… and the reason we pay much less for it per month than the list price suggested. she often says that she would never “kick us out on the street” and that there would always be a place for us here,…
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american in a czech german class
it might seem a little strange but i’m taking german classes in the czech republic… even though i’ve lived here for a year and a half and speak very little czech. but it to me it makes perfect sense, and here’s why. when we moved to czech republic, we decided to play things by ear, and even now, we re-evaluate every six months what we would do for the next six months. unsure of how long i would stay here, i never wanted to commit to any long-term czech classes, even though i love language learning. i was a bit concerned about the usefulness of knowing czech after leaving the…
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liebster award
i have to be honest that i had no idea what a liebster award was before amy bestowed it upon me. (thank you!!) it’s a blog award given by other bloggers to highlight quality, entertaining blogs (usually, that have less than 1,000 followers). and with this honor, i get to nominate a couple blogs that fit this description that have been on my radar for awhile and deserve recognition. then, the nominees can choose to answer eleven questions from me on their blogs. you can also choose to pick eleven random facts about yourself, but i figured answering eleven questions was good enough for me. my nominees? on the road…
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may noms
normally i like to write travel related posts on tuesdays. ah, but not this week. i’ve been concentrated more on blowing my nose and drinking “fizzy drink” (vitamin tablets). herbal tea with local czech honey has been a mainstay the past weekend… then i ran out of herbal tea. i purchased this aptly named herbal tea (for 10czk!) yesterday, and it’s been doing the job alright. may has had some great noms, so far. on my birthday, a stop at starbucks inspired me with one of the breakfast sandwiches on offer: a fried egg on belgian toast with ham and gravy. yes, yes, and yes. what makes the dish is…
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spring, lately
happy may, all! this week was rife with student cancellations (more than half of my students cancelled, for real), odd occurrences, and happy times. i chose this week to participate in daily diaries because of all the weirdness and happiness that has surrounded this week. on monday i had the strangest experience. i went to the university as usual in the afternoon, where i was about to have two lessons in the same building. unfortunately, there was a GIANT puddle of water on the floor in the lobby and the receptionist spoke very limited english, but enough to tell me that no students (and apparently, myself) were being let in. however,…
