Teaching English to Zombies

In honor of Halloween today, I'm sharing a video created by The Language House in Prague, where TEFL students get to try their stuff on zombies rather than Czechs. Click on the title for a laugh.

I'll probably be continuing my twin postings on Colorado and the Czech Republic until I leave for Prague on November 5th.

A Spectacular Hike to Gem Lake

Do you need a break? Join me on a spectacular hike to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The aspen trees are at their peak, and there is enough of a breeze so the leaves quake gently back and forth in the wind. It's not a long hike: about 1.7 miles one way. If we're quiet, we may see some wildlife.

The glorious aspens await you.

A view of Long's Peak, with Estes Park below it.
The locals like to come up here and watch the
fireworks on the 4th of July over Estes.

Elk scat

A beautiful side view of the mountain as we ascend.

Liquid gold

You can see why some people call this their church

Who saw who first?

The top of the mountain reveals Gem Lake

A beautiful spot for lunch

Expat Life: The Truth About Unpleasant Things

Before every grand adventure, somebody has got to make you doubt your decision. I don't actually doubt my decision to move to Prague, but this woman did made me laugh. Click on the title to hear her experiences.

10 Words of Survival Czech

Type "Czech" into YouTube and all sorts of useful things come up. Click on the title to become polite to 10 million new people.

Planning for Prague

I've had a fantastic time in Colorado this month enjoying the mountains and wildlife and my family. I'll try to do a few posts about this magnificent spot before I leave. But at the same time I'm enjoying this fabulous Western state, I've started to get excited about PRAHA!

I have purchased my plane ticket to Prague and I'm leaving November 5th! I was going to leave earlier and my mom said, "How can you bear to miss the election coverage?" She's right. I can't! I put it off to November 5th to at least get a full 24 hours of watching history being made.

How does anyone ever edit everything down to one or two bags when going overseas? It's impossible! Just in shoes alone, every woman must need one whole bag just for them.

This morning I spent rereading letters from my two Czech pen pal families that got me all excited to see the Czech Republic in the first place. How lovely to keep an enthusiasm for over 18 years! That's how long I've had this "thing" for the Czech Republic!

I'm off to find luggage!

How broke is Illinois?

I finished off my visit to Springfield with a visit to the current state capitol (somebody, please move the smokers out of the doorways) and the Museum of Funeral Customs (very interesting actually, especially the video about Lincoln's Death Train).

President Harry Truman had a phrase that "if you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog." The current governor of Illinois might want to make sure he owns one! Every state employee and food server in Springfield had nothing nice to say.

They're angry that so many jobs will be lost when cultural sights that bring tourists to town are shut down. They're angry he refuses to live in Springfield and insteads lives in Chicago, using a private plane to fly back and forth at great expense while state workers are losing their jobs. They're angry the DOT is going to be moved out of Springfield and thousands of state workers will have to uproot their lives. What about the press organizations? Most can barely afford a Springfield bureau. How will they cover the billion dollar business of the Department of Transportation if it's moved down to southern Illinois, they ask. To state employees, it feels like disrespect.

"Why doesn't he shut down the governor's mansion instead of our state parks and cultural heritage sites? He refuses to live in the Governor's mansion and the only use it got was when the Saudi Ambassador came to town to see the Lincoln Museum after the Ambassador gave a gigantic donation," they ask.

Illinois hasn't paid it's bills on time for years (hospitals routinely wait a year to be paid) but one state worker summed up best how broke the State of Illinois is. "This week," she said, "I received a call asking me to count the rolls of toilet paper in my department's storage closet because the State didn't have the money to buy more for other departments running out and needed to know if we had some we could send to other buildings. Now that's broke."

There's no need to worry about freedom of speech in Springfield. The budget, yes. But not freedom of speech.

Route 66 Road Food

If you are young, or European, or both, you may not be familiar with a fabulous American pop song called "Route 66" that was very popular in the 1950s. It's a classic. The song captures all of the freewheeling joy of taking the open road and driving westward across America in the spirit of discovery. The road starts in Chicago and ends somewhere in the southwest like New Mexico or California.

On American roads, there are signs celebrating the local groups that take on the task of picking up litter for two miles at a stretch. One of the groups celebrated on a sign in Illinois was the Route 66 Corvette Club. Now doesn't that just bring you an instant smile? Can't you just imagine their fun "motoring west?'

Springfield, Illinois is right on Route 66. And with that history comes two famous culinary traditions. I had to try them both!

The Cozy Dog Drive-In has been operating since the late 1940s when the owners popularized the forerunner of the Corn Dog. Stopping in this establishment was an exercise in nostalgia for Route 66 road culture.


The other culinary legend Springfield is famous for is the "horseshoe sandwich." This culinary invention had not spread beyond Springfield's borders but I had been told by natives for years that should I get to Springfield I needed to give it a try.

I thought the sandwich was something I would pick up with two hands! Au contraire! This unique creation starts with two thick pieces of Texas Toast, holding the meat of one's choice (I chose hamburger), covered with crinkle-cut french fries, all covered in a Welsh rarebit cheese sauce. There is a "pony" version for those who only want to take in double the recommended daily calories.