Scenes from a month of TEFL

November was a terrific month to come to Prague and take a TEFL course for many reasons. First, our class count was low. The month before was still high season and there were 20 students not ten. Secondly, we were in our school from 8 a.m. till after dark many days. Why not do it in November when we weren't missing any sunshine? If it was July or August, the entire city would beckon with beauty. This way we'll be settled in by summertime.

We all passed the course and begin teaching January 5th. Ian went home to Odessa and I moved out of student housing after finding a terrific flat. Jana and Gulnara helped me move to my new place by each dragging a big red suitcase through the metro, over cobblestones, and through lots of slush.

I'm a Praguian now, Prahan, Prawn? What do you call someone who calls Prague home?

Our first night in town
Adam (aka, The World's most fanatical Blazers fan),
Danielle, and myself

Gulnara, Anna, and Ian

Here we are trying our first Czech beer
at the Hungry or Thirsty Deer Pub
(I can never remember if the deer is hungry or thirsty -
probably both)

Ian says the Russian superstition is whomever sits
in the corner will never get married.
oops, too late

Last day of classes with my gal pals

Gulnara and me

Jana and Gulnara enjoying lunch in our school cafe

They made sooo much fun of me in the cafe one day
for being excited about my broccoli gratin
they took my picture with it -
but come on, doesn't it look like fantastic comfort food??

Great food + great friends = happiness

Yea! We're Done with Our TEFL Course!

St. Wenceslas Square was packed with
revelers - the energy downtown
was fantastic as we celebrated the
end of our studies

Three devils: Dannielle, Anna, and Adam

Having fun with Anna

Heaters help people enjoy
a sidewalk cafe
in the middle of December
in Old Town Square

Christmas Markets are scattered all around town
The most common offerings are kielbasa,
grilled corn-on-the-cob, hot wine, grog, and mead.

These beautiful children were definitely angels, not demons,
singing in exquisite harmony a song
by the famous Czech composer Smetana.

No photo can do this gorgeous tree justice.
It had shooting stars.

Adam, the photographer, knows how to make everyone laugh.

Anna and Justin

Yea! We're done!

Two reasons to celebrate on St. Mikalus Day

On the last day of my TEFL class, work was gladly interrupted for a visit from our own in-house St. Mikalus. I knew nothing of the Czech custom but a Czech friend told me this would be the first of many St. Mikaluses I would see that day. Czech children have been raised on stories of St. Mikalus and look forward to seeing him and performing a song or a poem for him before receiving their treat for being a good boy or girl that year.

Naughty children don't get candy. They receive potatoes or a lump of coal. And if they have been really, really naughty they are placed into the devil's sack and will be sent straight to hell.

It makes me laugh thinking about this because I really and truly remember worrying when I was a kid about whether or not I would get coal for Christmas. How about you?

Teenagers seem to have the most fun with this holiday. You can tell that many of them labored on their costumes for hours, carefully applying tin foil to their Mikalus staffs and cotton balls to their beards. Demons seemed to far outnumber angels. On the metro, they were all giggles in their costumes which of course made everyone else giggle too.

Here are a few of the angels and demons we saw along the way on St. Mikalus Day. In my next post, I'll share pics of our group in Old Town Square enjoying the spectacle of it all.

What do we build for "ourselves?"

I kept thinking about that phrase over the National Theatre in Prague. Narodni Sobe! My usher at the National Ballet told me it translated as "We Built it for Ourselves" or "We Built it for our Nation."

I love that idea. People coming together as a body politic to create something awe-inspiring, seemingly luxurious, and breathtakingly beautiful. I've been thinking since then about what we Americans are inspired to "build for ourselves." I can picture an American family saying it about a house: "we built this for ourselves." But I can't picture Americans saying it for something we've all built as a body politic.

So often, anyone proposing increasing taxes for some purpose in America is quickly demonized. Just looking at this Czech example, you can see that a century later, the cost of that theatre has been recouped over and over and over again. Most of the time, American people want their government buildings to be completely utilitarian without any kind of magic whatsoever. It might add to the cost. Additionally, Americans are all so different that it's hard for us as a nation to find something cultural that speaks to all of us.

What's an example of something we as a people back home in America have "built for ourselves?" Roads and practical stuff don't count. I'm asking for an example that seems like a cultural extravagance. It's a greater achievement because it's harder to agree on and fund.

"We Built This for Our Nation"

Yesterday's trip to the Ballet was fabulous. The National Theater was so very beautiful. I want to know everything about it.

Over the stage were the words in Czech, "Národní Sobe!" I asked the usher what it meant and she said she would translate it as "We Built This for Ourselves" or "We Built This For Our Nation." It's a beautiful thought, isn't it? One generation speaking to another.

My main floor seat could not have been better. I was so close I could smell the gunpowder of the gun and hear the squeak of ballet slippers. Next to me sat a proud mother of a ballerina. I realized one of the things I loved about this theatre is that it is human-sized. The last fine art theatre I had frequented in America, the Overture Center in Madison, Wisconsin, was cavernous.

No pictures were allowed. The gilt, the glamour, could I even capture it with my own photography? It was sooo beautiful. I cried.

Pavel Pišan was terrific in his role as Paris. His job was to be a slimy bad guy and he did seem like a slimy bad guy. I have no idea how he does that when his natural personality is the exact opposite! His features are so sharp he can communicate emotion easily across all those seats. Pavel has a perfect face for stage work.

Whenever I hear Prokofiev's famous big brass lines from this piece in the future I know it will conjure up this very special memory of hearing fantastic music in an exquisite setting showcasing world class ballet. It was a privilege to be there.

A Trip to the Ballet

I am so excited! One of my English students, Pavel Pisan, has invited me to see him dance in Romeo and Juliet today. Pavel, who lights up the whole room with his smile, plays the part of Paris. I don't know how to get to the National Theatre. In looking it up online I realize what an enormous treat I'm in for. Look at this building! It's breathtaking! This is going to be so fun to see. I think it's even more fun to know someone in the cast to cheer them on. Pinch me! I'm living in Prague and I"m going to the ballet in a magnificent setting!

You might also enjoy these three posts about Pavel's favorite cafes in Prague:

Pavel's Prague, Part I, Cafe Emporio

Pavel's Prague, Part II, Grand Cafe Orient

Pavel's Prague, Part III: Tonino Lamborghini 

The Czechs Need One More Freedom

I went to see the new Bond movie with Gulnara and Nhan, two new friends in Prague. When we went to the movie theater we were surprised to learn that we had been assigned specific seats to watch the movie!

The seats were close to the screen too. Much closer than we would have sat on our own. I didn't need to sit in the car with Bond to enjoy the opening scene. People of the Czech Republic unite! You deserve one more freedom. The freedom to sit wherever the heck you want in the movie theater.