First Week of Work

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written!  I'll try to give a full update of the rest of last week and my first week of work.

Last weekend was relatively uneventful.  I was at the school late-ish on Friday night just setting up my classroom and finishing up details of lesson planning, etc. so I didn't do anything once I got back into the city from the school.  I literally just put on my pajamas and lounged in bed and it was glorious.  When I got up last Saturday, I knew I needed to be more productive and also do some more exploring-- there is still so much of Prague that I haven't seen.  I started by opening up a Czech bank account.  My friend Katy came too and a really nice Czech guy helped us.  After setting up the accounts, we decided to wander.  We walked by a really gorgeous synagogue and then found our way to Wenceslas Square where Katy shopped for indoor shoes/slippers (we can't wear "outdoor" shoes in our classrooms... everyone wheres different shoes indoor).  After finding Katy slippers we found a cafe where we watched the rain and ate dessert.

After that we split off and each headed home to get ready for a night out.  A few hours later we met up in Zizkov, which until 1922 was actually an independent city.  Until recently, it's been a very working class neighborhood, not with a great reputation.  Now it's undergoing urban renewal and has a large young and student population.  It also is known for for having the most pubs per capita of any city district in Europe (more than 300, mostly cheap places).  We got dinner at a cheap mexican/burger place and then headed to a local pub to start the night.  I ordered a dark Pernstejn (a beer) and it's the first Czech beer I've tried that I really didn't like.  It tasted a bit like flat coke with too much syrup.

From the pub, we hopped on a tram to go to a club.  As soon as the tram doors shut we were approached by plain clothed transit officers who wanted to see our tickets.  One of our friends had forgotten her pass (she really does have one) so we all had to get off the tram.  They asked for i.d. so they could check to see if she had a pass and if she really did, it's just a small fine for not carrying it.  However, she didn't have i.d. on her.  By Czech law, foreigners are required to carry their passport at all times... but no one ever does b/c it's not really a great idea to carry around your passport all the time. If caught without your passport it can actually be a huge hassle and large fine so when they realized Jena didn't have her passport, they started asking us if any of us had them... none of us did.  At this point, we start using what little Czech we know and being flirty.  In the end it worked.  None of us got tickets for any of the offenses which was really awesome.  We decided not to risk public transit again and just walk the rest of the way to the club (Nebe Celnice).

We got to the club pretty early and it was pretty dead, but we got beers and settled in and pretty soon it was filling up and people were dancing.  Some more friends met up with us and before long there was a group of about 10 of us all hanging out and talking and dancing.  It was a blast, but it was also SUPER smokey (everyone in this city seems to smoke and even walking down the street it's often hard to breathe fresh air).  The smoke started really getting to me around 2AM so I left relatively early and headed home.  I decided to walk (Prague is a super safe, well lit city and at 2AM the city is still very much alive with people, so never fear).

It was a really nice walk because Wenceslas Square is well lit and still very much alive at that hour but there are less tourist and vendors.  I was hot and sweaty from dancing and the crowded club and the cool, fall air felt wonderful.  I stopped and bought a soft serve ice cream cone and sat out in front of the National Museum before walking the rest of the way home.  It was also nice to have some alone time.  I like the people I've met but I was really missing Daisy and it was nice to have time to process all my new experiences and just kind of think.

I slept in on Sunday and then just kind of rested up and did chores.  I went to the grocery store, did laundry, went back to the grocery store for a few things I forgot, and then ate a delicious dinner that my roommate cooked of roast duck, cabbage, and potato dumplings.

Monday was my first actual day of school.  Now that the first week is behind me, I think I have a better idea of what I like and what I don't.  While it's less intellectually challenging than the job I had in Houston, it's also more engaging in some ways because I get to move around a lot and the focus is constantly changing, which I enjoy.  Even with screaming kids, it seems easier and I leave less tired than I did from my job in Texas.  Anyway, I have 10 students, ranging in age from less than 2 to almost 3 years old.  The younger kids have really taken to me, and I think it's because of the lack of a substantive language barrier.  The old kids (almost 3) are scared of me, and I think it's because I can't really communicate with them or soothe them when they get upset.  They all prefer my co-teacher, Nikola (who is truly wonderful).

The first week of school is always traumatic for kids that young.  Most of the children are adjusting but we have a few that literally just cry ALL day.  It's to the point where we're both just kind of like, "Whatever.  They can just cry."  We have one difficult parent who has already complained that I seem stand-offish with the kids and don't seem very good with them, which is frustrating.  Her daughter is one of the ones who is scared of me and she only sees Nikola and I with the kids during drop off when Nikola generally does the comforting of the crying kids (in Czech) and I do the administrative work (taking attendance, giving parents any sort of information, answering parent questions, etc).

Anyway, all 10 kids only stay until 12:15, and then all but 4 of them go home.  At 12:30 they lay down for a nap and by 12:45, they are all asleep.  They generally sleep until roughly 2:30 which means that Nikola and I have time to eat lunch, do lesson plans, etc.  We also post daily updates of our class to the website which is required (and really excessive).  For anyone interested, the links to each daily post can be found here: http://sunnycanadian.cz/Materska-skola/Kindergarten/Nas-anglicky-program-/area1053 and on each daily post there are pictures.  For some reason the previews of the photos aren't showing up on my computer, but when I click on them, I can view the photo.  Here is a link to a class photo (missing one child): http://sunnycanadian.cz/image.aspx?id=24123&typ=5&sh=1983021338&title=&il=1

Even though I didn't think many of the kids were learning much English yet, one of the 3 year olds was overheard counting to 5 in English and most of the parents tell us that the kids talk about Nikola and me  and say that they know that "Miss Sarah" speaks English.

This weekend has been relatively quiet.  Friday night I went to dinner and then on a walk with a friend and yesterday I explored Old Town, finally walked across Charles Bridge, and explored the Castle gardens, which are going to become a favorite spot of mine.  Most of my friends decided to do dinner and a movie last night but the movie was really expensive and I'm trying not to spend too much right now, so I decided to sit that one out.  Today is going to be some more exploration, laundry, and my weekly trip to the grocery store.

I'll do better about posting updates... the first week had me so exhausted that I never seemed to find the energy to write a full post!

Also, for anyone interested in sending me mail, my mailing address is:

Sarah Vaughn
V Tunich 1636 / 1
12000 Praha 2
Czech Republic