One week down! I can't believe that we are 25% done with our program already! What an exhausting but exciting week. Well, it has been three days since our last blog so we have a little catching up to do.
Thursday we attended the program as usual. We didn't have to teach, thank goodness, but we did have to watch three other people teach lessons. After class, Mariah and I headed out in search of a Croc store which was located in Praha 11 (Really far from the school but a direct shot on the metro). The store was cool but SOOOOOOO expensive compared to the U.S. So we went back to the school and went to some other shoe stores in the area in search of some non-blister-causing-non-heel-destroying shoes for Mariah. We left every store empty handed.
At 7 the TEFL program was hosting a welcome party for the new class. It was at this bar called REPRE. Not only was it for the new class, it was also for old classes and for our students. So, we had the opportunity to talk to a little bit of everyone. I talked most of the time to one of my favorite students, Dagmar. She is a retired woman that is a firecracker. I love her! Mariah spent most of the time talking with Vlasta, another beloved student of ours. We also met a guy named Dave that was in the program a year and a half ago who is till teaching. He is from Pittsburgh and went to UPJ!!!! Small world!
Toward the end of the evening, Dagmar asked us if we wanted to go experience some of the Czech culture that was going on that evening. We of course said, "YES, we would love to!" We didn't really know what we were getting into, but she said that there was a festival going on near Old Town Square and there would be music and fun. At this point, it was pouring down rain, and I didn't have an umbrella, and Dagmar was hauling a group of us around Prague! It was so much fun. The music that she took us to was not what we were expecting. What type of music do you think of when someone says, "Music in Old Town Square"? Classical perhaps? Nope. It was this weird Alternative Rock/Grunge music! It was very cool, but totally unexpected. She then took us to an art gallery that was part of the festival. It was so neat. We ended up in Old Town Square where the astrological clock chimed at 11 o'clock. What an amazing evening spent with friends.
The alternative rock band of the evening.
The Astrological Clock in Old Town Square at night.
So beautiful! The rainy haze made it even cooler.
Dagmar's tour group =)
Friday we went to class and had our first Czech lesson. The teacher is cool and only speaks to us in Czech, so we really have to think to understand everything, but it is a great way of teaching. Plus, now we know how our students feel because we are only allowed to speak english in the classroom. We worked a little, then went near the castle for our friend Kacey who needed to go to the British Embassy. That was almost impossible to find and when we did it was a total bust. I felt so bad. So, for the rest of the night we sat in with two bottles of wine and talked around the dinner table for about 4 hours. A perfect evening.
Saturday we all had a slow morning, feeling the effects of a full week of class (like college all over again.... except not in Slippery Rock lol). When we finally got moving Mariah, Kacey, Allison, and I went for a paddle boat ride on the Vltava River! We then took a stroll over to Wenceslas Square (yes like the guy in the Christmas carol) where we stopped at the Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Latte (which is more expensive here compared to home). We walked around Old Town a little more and then made our way back home. Later in the evening, around 2, for some reason all of the housemates ended up in the same area of the house and we ended up having a wonderful evening together, talking until around 4!
Paddle Boating on the Vltava.
A closer image of the castle and church from the river. There is also a paddle boat that looks like a Beetle.
The good king himself and the top of the Národní Muzeum.
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