SCHOOL BALL

Before I went to Australia there was the School Ball. It was a rainy and cold night but the students looked spectacular. I went with Hanka, my neighbour and we looked good together. The ballroom we used is terrific and I really enjoyed the night. I didn't take a lot of photos because I didn't want to be intrusive. Here are a few that I DID take. 

AUSTRALIA - CHRISTMAS 2008 - NEW YEAR 2008/9

For Christmas and New Year I went to Australia. It was a stressful time because I had to close up my home in Belmont and sell my furniture. I had Christmas dinner with my eldest daughter Kelly and went to Queensland for New Year. I spent quite a bit of time with my son Paul and his partner Shae, but Harriette left for Melbourne within hours of my arrival so I didn't see anything of her during my visit. Theweather was hot and it was strange to be back in Australia.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

 QUEENSLAND

TRIP TO VIENNA WITH TERESA

On the 21st of November 2008 a good friend of mine accompanied me to Vienna. Her name is Teresa and she is a Portuguese lady who teaches here in Prague.

We went by train and the journey took just over four hours. We arrived at 10pm and after a false start quickly found the hostel. We stayed in a dormitory which we shared with about 4 other people. It was clean and funtional, typically Germanic.

The next day, which was Saturday, we had a really full day. After breakfast we went out to see the sights but it was very cold and it was snowing. We spent quite a lot of time on the tram going around a ring road that skirts the city. From time to time we'd get off the tram to see things. Strangely, one of the best moments we spent wasn't at anything spectacular, but rather when we found a really run down area off the tourist track. We wandered around a street market and then found a little cafe where we had a snack. It was full of working class REAL people with not a tourist in sight.

Later we went and look at the offerings at various museums but saw nothing that interested us both. So what do you do in Vienna when you can't agree on what to do?Why, go and see a James Bond movie of course!!!! So we did!

When we came out of the cinema we found we were right next to the Van Gogh exhibition with just 20 minutes of opening time left. By the time we'd got our tickets, put our bags in storage (obligatory) we were down to ten minutes before closing. And it wasn't cheap either!! Anyway did get to see the exhibition. We got a severe bollocking for taking a photo - I think we found Hitler's love child - and we came out laughing.

It was still cold so we ducked into the Bristol Hotel, a 4 or 5 star upmarket hotel. We found a nice little bar, got two glasses of wine which cost the equivalent of a three course meal in Prague, and set about trying out some social experiments. A sort of let's see if we can earn the disapproval of the posh people. We succeeded! Not telling you what we did, but Billy Connelly would have been proud of us!

So here are some photos -as usual, click on them to see a bigger photo.

TRIP T0 ISTANBUL AND GALLIPOLLI

Every Australian really needs to go to Gallipolli. It is an important part of our national identity and so I recently made the trip. I flew to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines and came back with Czech Airlines. It rained heavilly while I was there and it was quite cold.

The trip to Gallipolli however proved to be a dry and sunny day. I went on an organised tour and it was quite expensive, more than a hundred Aussie dollars. The guide was a Turk who was friendly and informative, but a little too jovial and happy for what is a sad journey for many.

Here are some photos of Istanbul Click on photo for full size.

 ROMAN BATH

  CART SELLING SWEET CORN

  GRAND BAZAAR

GALLIPOLLI Click on photos for full size.

October 24th 2008

Really Slack!!

I have been really slack. I know people log into my web-site to see what I've been up to so I must apologise. No excuse really.

So, a bit of news

My Mum visited in September. It was at an unfortunate time because I was working so she got stuck at home on a few of the days she was here. Never-the-less, I was able to take her to a re-enactment of the Battle of Bila Hora, for a river trip, to a concert in a church, for a ride in a horse and carriage and to a few other tourist sights. She tells people that she had a good time, but the cobbles were hard on her feet.

I will post a few photos. Regretably none of the photos I took of my Mum came out. They were always inside buildings and either badly lit or out of focus.

The Battle of Bila Hora

We went to a re-enactment. It was a nice sunny day and the battle was really well done. Although it looked a bit civilised, it did get the violence and horror across. I was surprised to see the women running around during the battle, tending to the injured.

Some photos . . .

3rd September 2008

Gymnazium Jana Nerudy

Hi everyone, well I've started at the grammar school, and today, Wednesday, I taught my first classes. It went exceptionally well.

I have bought a big 22 inch monitor and it is just about the right size so that all the students in my class can see it from any angle. I did an introductory lesson, and gave the guys an idea of what a typical Wayne lesson will be like. Feedback was good.

It is quite a shock walking into a Czech classroom. Todays students were 17 years old and it is like walking into a contest of super models. Czechs are just soooo good looking. Added to that, todays students were articulate, engaging and fun.

The school hasn't really got up to full steam yet. For example, tomorrow I will only teach one class and then I'm finished. What is remarkable though is that I still get paid a full salary whereas at a private school I'd simply get paid for the one lesson.

And two other bits of good news from school. I've been told that I can use the school swimming pool and a pass is being organised for me. And secondly, I mentioned I was thinking of doing a Czech course and was told that the Education Department will subsidise me for the cost of my studies.

My neighbour has organised a cleaner for me. That will make life easier. And today I went out and overspent buying plants for my apartment. I have visited my neighbour's apartment, and yesterday I went to a house warming for a lady from school.Both places were full of beautiful plants and it really makes a big difference.

One of the teachers who worked for me in Ireland, Derek Forde has come to Prague. He has been quickly and quietly successful, organising accomodation, landing a job with Bell School and making friends quickly. There is a rapid learning curve when you come to Prague and Derek has done well to adapt.

So now, all I have to do is keep producing good lessons. I also hope to get a few additional hours from Bell, and pick up a few private students too.

Watch this space!

20th - 25th August 2008

Bye to Ireland - Hello Marrakech

I cannot tell a lie, I was really glad to say goodbye to Tralee. It was too small, too provincial and too boring! The people I worked with were wonderful and I will remember them, but there was just nothing of interest for me in Tralee.

So, at the end of my 8 weeks in Ireland I treated myself to a holiday in Morrocco. It was only 5 days, but it was good to go back to somewhere I'd last seen in the very early Seventies with Susan.

I had my fortune told. Interesting! The lady who reads the fortunes in the Medina is very famous. Apparently she told Princess Diana to put her affairs in order just months before her death and she has read for dozens of famous people. And now me too!

Here are some photos from Marrakech. If you click on the photos you'll see a full size version.

  Soothsayer                          Food Stall - Medina                  Leather Painters            In the souk

  Lottsa dates, figs and apricots           Medicinal herbs for sale                       In the souk

                                 Cous Cous (half eaten)                Sun bathing Muslim style

I'm in Ireland still

13th July 2008

So, we have a new group of Italian students. Today we went to Dingle and yet again it drizzled all day. I know Ireland is green and beautiful but you'd think we could have ONE day when it doesn't rain!

I got some souvenirs for my three offspring - can't really call them kids anymore, they are all very adult and grown up. And I got a little video about Dingle that runs for about 10 minutes and is quite interesting. In the video you'll see Murphy's Pub - that's where I went and had my lunch today - local seafood chowder and sea bass with vegetables.

Oh and some other news. I have booked myself a 4 day holiday to Marrakesh in Morocco at the end of my job in Ireland. I have to go to Dublin on the 19th of August to get paid - then fly to Manchester that night to catch a plane to Morocco on the 20th. Then, back to Manchester on the 25th and an afternoon flight the same day to Prague. I will be knackered but I really wanted to see Marrakech again. When I went with Susan in about 1972 we went with a company called Tent Trek. We went in a little Commer van packed to the roof with people and tents.

But Morocco stays with you forever. It is so beautiful. I will make a little video when I get there.

Anyway - here is my video of Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland.

IRELAND

I flew to Dublin on the 21st of June 2008 flying with Ryan Air. It is a no frills airline and their certainly are 'no frills'. I was met at the airport by my Czech Landlord Lucas who took me to his home. He has a brand new Skoda car so it was a nice ride home. Later we met his girlfriend and she is a typical good looking, fun Czech lady with lots of personality.

We went out into Dublin and found a pub. I asked Lucas if there was any Czech beer - well it IS the best beer in the world! So we went off to a pub called The Czech Inn in Dublin and it was just like being back home in Prague. Had my Urquel and it was nice to be in familiar surroundings even though it was NOT Irish.

The following day, which was Sunday, we went down to the railway station to get the train down to Tralee but the queue was really enormous. Hundreds waiting and no guarantee of a seat. So I paid an extra 12 euro which is only about AU$16 and went First Class. Why not! Not only did I get a super seat, I got fed.

I got to Tralee, found my apartment which is shared with two other guys, a Frenchman and an Irish guy, and settled in. For 65 euro a week the value is remarkable.

On the Monday I went to work. On the Tuesday I met my staff and the kids arrived on Tuesday night. There are 149 Italian kids and they are great. We tested them formally on the Wednesday, got them into classes that reflect their language levels and started teaching them that very day. I have had to teach some classes myself because I lost two teachers for two days, one to a streaming cold and the other to a previous commitment. I really enjoyed the teaching! The classrooms are great because we are using an institute of technology that has university style lecture halls with full multimedia facilities.

Today is Sunday and the kids went to Dingle. Firstly, here is a little video of this region of Ireland from the air. Next I'll put some photos that I took today. 

So here are some pictures of my trip to Dingle.

Please note that if you click on any of the photos you will see a bigger version.

SERIOUSLY LATE UPDATE

I suppose I should apologise for the lengthy delay in making postings to this log. What with the end of the semester at Bell School in Prague, meeting my students at Gymnazium Jana Nerudy and so on, I have simply got tired and run out of time. Anyway, lets make a start on updating everything.

During July and August I will be in Tralee in Ireland. I have been appointed as the Director if Studies for an 8 week summer school organised by a Dublin based company called MLI. Just as importantly, on the 1st of September I will begin at Gymnasium Jana Nerudy in Prague as one of two native English speakers in the language department.

THE SCHOOL IS IN A SPECTACULAR BUILDING 

 Saturday April 19th 2008

Joy and tears in Jicin

Please click on each photo to see a larger version 

Today was cold and it rained ever so slightly, but I thought sod it, I'll do nothing if I sit at home, so I went out. The beginning was a bit stupid. I had to catch a bus from Cerny Most at 9.15am. I went the day before to check out where the Metro stopped, and where the bus stop was. So, I have no excuse for getting off the tram at the wrong stop.

I started to walk, but then I saw a local bus with Cerny Most on the front and I jumped on that and got there with 15 minutes to spare. Lucky!

I sat in the middle of the bus but got moved by a couple who had 'reserved' that seat. The journey was only for an hour and 15 minutes so I moved forward a little and promptly fell asleep. My memory of a million journeys is of being asleep!

I arrived in the centre of Jicin (pronounced yeetcheen) to a bizarre sight. Mark Knoeffler is playing Prague and a few other places in The Czech Republic very soon. So, he must have come early, because I could hear 'Your and your friend' coming from somewhere near. I walked though an archway in a clock tower to see a little stage, and Mark Knoeffler and a few locals jamming. I bet they will never forget it. I only have a simple camera and I couldn't get close enough to get a decent photo, but it was brilliant.

Walking around these little towns in Bohemia is like visiting the Middle Ages. Unfortunately you have to use your imagination a little because modern cars are everywhere, and people are talking on mobile phones, but that aside, you are in a place little changed in hundreds of years. Even the food being sold in the markets is traditional and just the same as it was hundreds of years ago. And check out the hat the seller is wearing. Straight out of a painting by Breugel!

Before I took the toy train home to Prague, I had an hour to kill, so I went into the railway station restaurant. It's a trip back in time except for the tv and the electronic gambling machines in a separate room. You could imagine Rene here, and Michelle of the Resistance, who would be called Marketa here I suppose.

I had no bloody idea what the food written on the blackboard said, so I did what I always do, I pointed and hoped for the best. I got a meat stuffed bell pepper, some rice, a red peppery sauce and a bit of lettuce and tomato. And a Gambrinus beer. Well the beer was good but the food was not one of my ''Oh Yes!'' ethnic dinners - not like the amazing memories of food you get in India.

Everyone was smoking, but hey, its their country and I'm the guest here. Its illegal, they know it,  but in little towns the smokers are the majority.

Then I saw the signs concerning the Jews. You have to ask yourself, 'What the fuck were the Nazis thinking to come to simple, beautiful and peaceful little towns like this to round up Jews for shipment to Buchenwald, Auswitz and Treblinka. (note that you'll see the Czech spelling for Auswitz on the plaque - it is Osvetim)

And at this quiet and hard to find railway station, where the trains look like toys, you stand and try to imagine families herded at gun point onto trains for the transportation. And the train runs though beautiful fields, and woods, and dales, with daffodils and tulips in bloom and a hare running ahead of the train, and you cry and ask why, why why? And people look at you curiously because of the tears.

Reflections on why I am in Prague

For four years in Perth Australia, I spent my nights in a taxi. I talked to the passengers, becoming friends with some, and acquainted with many. And as my plan to come to Prague evolved, I'd talk about it to them.

The most common question I was asked was 'WHY?'

Perth people genuinely and sincerely believe in their hearts that their city really is the most beautiful in the world, and that their lifestyle is the best.

Maybe it is. For them.

But for me, I was missing something, and I am slowly finding it here in Prague.

So what is it, this European, Prague thing? I think it is the total immersion in a city where the very best of western culture is kept alive, not just because it brings in the tourists - it does - but because Czech people actually enjoy the old pursuits.

Oh the kids love their hip-hop music, and get drunk on the weekend. But talk to them and you'll find they play the cello or the violin, enjoy the opera or the ballet, and read the classics.

Maybe in Perth I simply never moved in the right circles. Maybe there IS a different Perth where culture reigns supreme and the conversation rises above the merits of two football teams. But that Perth never made its presence felt in my taxi or my life.

I love getting lost in Prague, of finding new little squares, parks, laneways and cobbled streets. I love the friendliness. I know the people of Perth will castigate me when I say it, but riding round the Swan on a bike, just doesn’t hold a candle to riding around Prague, or along the Seine in Paris, or walking in Lugano with the snow covered Alps for a backdrop.

And I love that drivers stop voluntarily to let me cross; that the green man stays green long enough for a little old lady to amble across the crossing; that women can get home safely to their front door via public transport; that I can shop, eat and do business on Sundays, and that the beer tastes of beer!

Coffee in Perth beats the coffee here hands down. And I miss HP Sauce, chips at Cottesloe, and shark in batter, and sitting on the jetty in Freo eating the freshest fish and chips in the world. I miss seafood at prices I can afford, and I miss the boutique cinemas of Perth.

But I know in my heart that if I returned to Perth I'd be bored and upset in a month. Europe feeds my soul in a way that Perth never has.

I'm glad to be here.

My trip to Como and Lugano

This weekend I flew to Milano in Italy, and took the train to Como. I was last there in 1979 with Wendy when we backpacked to Australia.

From the airport, I took the Malpenza Express to Soronno, then had a half an hour wait for the local train up to Lake Como. I had time for a coffee and the very best Rum Babba I've had in 30 years! Sticky and actually had rum in it.

So - here is my little presentation. I hope you like it.

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Below is Part Two - my trip on Easter Sunday to Lugana in Switzerland. The day began with a snow storm that cleared after about an hour. In the afternoon it was bright, sunny and warm.

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

A trip to Germany

I haven't been back to Germany since I served there as a soldier. I left in September 1969 to go to Northern Ireland.

So, this weekend I took the train from Prague to Dresden. It takes just over two hours. It is a pleasant enough journey and the train hugs the river for most of the way. It's very strange to look out of the window and see the signs by the roads, and on buildings and so on change into German.

There was no border patrol, no showing of passports, no-one coming on the train to check things, so when Nataliya comes here I am going to try a trip to Germany with her.

I wasn't overly impressed with Dresden, but I got hung up in shops, and I think I should have ventured further afield. However, after Prague, I think so many cities are going to be disappointing unless they have spectacular natural settings.

But I am glad that I went. I had a curry wurst and chips, and some Darjeeling tea, I bought a couple of language books, and all in all, as I say, it was a pretty disappointing trip. Maybe I just need a companion with me, or maybe I'm getting old!

CYCLING IN PRAGUE

Sunday - Feb 24th

What a beautiful day it was today. About 17 degrees, sunny and a clear blue sky. So, bicycle to Palmovka Metro Station, the metro to Narodni Trida, get my friendly money changer to mind my bike while I buy a lock and a helmet in Tesco, then . . . . . . off along the beautiful river embankment, down past the swimming complex and right down to the water-line. Absolute magic! Buildings to die for, a busy, happy and beautiful city, lots of gawping tourists and people like me, out lapping it all up.

Then, back along the river, cycling through Kampa Island, into the Little Town, coffee in Malostranka Square, and North along the river, crossing to come in around Wenceslas Square.

Wow, I enjoyed my ride today, even though I had to stop to take Sunday phone calls from people who just can't get through their Sunday without talking to me on the phone!

Come to Prague and ride a bike along the river with me!! 

OWN A PORCHE - GOT A VISITSKI

I am the happy, and soon to be fit owner of a Porche Carrera. Now, it only has two wheels, but it has 21 gears. Yes friends, I now have my new bicyle. And on my second ride, I got hopeless lost, ended up on a major highway in the dark, and burned a million calories riding up hill for 40 minutes, but YES, I have a new bike.

I got it last weekend. I went to Letnany (which I can now pronounce - thank you students!) and I rode it home to my apartment in Prague 9. I simply followed the number 10 tram to Palmovka, and then the number 3 to Podkovarska. Brilliant really!

And my visitskis (is that the plural of visitski - bet it isn't) arrived from England and many of you will have one. For the English only speakers, a visitski is a visiting card, or what we would call a business card.

Had a great evening meal last Saturday night. Thank you to the lady concerned. I enjoyed it. Prague is just full of great pubs and restaurants, the majority of which are vedry reasonably priced. I had two beers, but the lady concerned, well she had at least six beers I think, possibly more. Hollow legs.

Talking of which, in Czech, a lady adds the suffix OVA to her name, so JK Rowling becomes JK Rowlingova. And I'm thinking, does that mean Miss Leg becomes a Miss Legova, and Miss Push becomes Miss Pushova - interesting concept.

Utterly knackered and shagged out after a long squawk - so off to bed.  

AUSTRALIA SAYS SORRY

A day in which the Prime Minister of Australia, on behalf of the Government, the Parliament and by extension, the people of Australia, says SORRY for the policy of removing Aboriginal children from their parents. Click on the link in the centre of he picture below twice. At the end of this video, you'll have the opportunity to click on dozens of other links to learn more about this issue, and other Australian issues. It is a wonderful resource for English teachers, advanced students, and possibly students at Upper Intermediate level. 

Feb 9th 2008

It has been a nice week with beautiful weather that is more like Spring than winter. Although I had a few lessons cancelled this week, I came out ok because I got some new private lessons, and the offer of new lessons through Bell School.

My web-site continues to grow, and many of my students have been and visited it. The feedback has been positive, and everyone seems to be getting some benefit from the links and lessons I've included. And for me, it has been an interesting and fun activity.

One of the things I like about Prague is that it is a reasonably sized city, but small enough to bump into friends quite regularly. I was in Wenceslas Square today and met and talked with two girls from my teaching course. Nice.

I have FINALLY got around to getting business cards organised. I ordered through an English firm in the end, and the cards are going to be sent to friends of mine in Nottingham, Norman and Sylvia. They'll send them on to me here in Prague.

They will look like this, quite attention grabbing and stylish I think.

I am procrastinating about getting my bike. It's a financial thing, and I will feel a lot more comfortable when my legacy from Yvette is released and I have a large reserve fund. 

I got paid this week! My first pay since I left Australia on November 5th. It's been a long time, but now I have money coming in, not just going out. I paid the rent and all the bills and had money left over for me. What more can you want?

Greetings to everyone - keep coming back please! 

FEBRUARY 2ND

Just a short note today. It has been an uneventful weekend, but I DID find a great bicycle shop at the biggest shopping centre in the Czech Republic. The shop is actually part of the British Halfords chain, and they have a choice of about 50 bikes.

There is a big sale on at the moment with savings of up to 40%, so there are two bikes I'm looking at between AU$275 and AU$400. I have to have a bike with hydraulic forks and a soft seat because I get backache on the harder riding bikes.

One of the problems is going to be how to get the bike home. The Halfords store is well out of town, and the road leading to it is like a motorway. There is a free Tesco bus that goes to the Metro, so maybe I'll go at a quiet time, and see if I can get the bike on the bus. Once I can get to a tram stop, or better still the Metro, I can get home.

And then I can work on getting fit again!

More soon.

FRIDAY Feb 1st 2008

Hi everybody and welcome to today's ramblings.

Last night, Thursday, I was invited for a meal with two of the ladies from one of my classes at T-Mobile. They brought their boyfriends, and a lovely lady called Elena, who is the sister of one of the guys.

I felt that I was imposing somewhat as everyone spoke in English all night, but they all seemed to enjoy the exercise. The pub restaurant is in a fairly affluent part of town, but the atmosphere was great, the service professional and friendly and the food and drink just brilliant. I like Prague because I can get an Urquell anywhere!!!

Photo: BOHEMIAN CAFE LIFE

As it is the end of the month, each teacher asks the students for feedback on another teacher that they have classes with. I got some great feedback from my teenagers, and that was gratifying because it can be difficult to get a response from them some days.

So, apart from still not having organised business cards, I've had a productive few days. I've been out an bought an ab-roller. I really need to organise a bike, but I'm being a bit careful with money at the moment. The ab-roller however will allow me to tighten up around the middle. Too many sticky buns!

I can highly recommend tiptop website who help me put this web-site together. It is all drag and drop and highly intuitive, and I have the very best package, which only costs me $10 a month, however there are packages from a dollar. It allows me to have a lesson for my students on the web-site that I can change weekly, and it allows me to post this blog.

So, what's life in Prague really like?

Well, the best way I can describe it is that is somewhat like living in Europe in the Sixties and Seventies. I don't mean that in a critical or mocking way. What I mean is that in the two and half months I've been here I've seen no arguments in the street, no bad behaviour on buses or trams, no punch-ups, and no general rudeness. All in all, Czechs are well behaved, polite and outgoing. I like it here.

Photo: The Charles Bridge with Castle in the distance

When I walk into a huge corporate office like T-Mobile, or the highly organised regional government offices, it is astounding to think that 19 years ago this was a communist state where nothing worked. Now, management structures are as good as they can ever get, and it is a joy to interact with business people here. There is a great commitment to excellence, but not in a smarmy or 'the customer is always right' way. Rather, just in a natural pride in doing things well.

So, I'm going to watch the BBC now, online, and hope you've enjoyed my little ramble through my day.

February 1st

Well, my blog seems to be working, but now the discipline and responsibility of keeping it up to date.

REAL MISTELTOE - AT CHRISTMAS - BEAUTIFUL

I've found Marks and Spencers! There are quite a few of their shops here in Prague, but I didn't know that they sold food until recently when I got given M & S mince pies at a party. So today I went into one of their shops at Flora - its a suburb with a huge shopping centre and cinema complex - and I loaded up on Marks and Spencer foods.

So tonight, I cooked myself some real (not powdered) mashed potatoes and some steak and kidney pie. Brilliant.

One of my groups of students is in a suburb called Krimska - presumably where the prison is or was. I'll have to ask my students. And right next to the tram stop where I get off and on the tram to go to meet my students there is a bike shop. And although the bikes are more expensive than in Australia, they ARE Czech bikes, not the Chinese ones we get in Oz.

So - when I become an earner of money, and I get my first pay in the 8th of February, I am going to look at a bike with hydraulics on the seat and forks. There are a few hills in Prague, but where I live it is fairly flat, and my weight is all over the place - so I need some aerobic exercise. At the moment I am getting 'pack horse' exercise, lugging my 6 kilo briefcase full of books, laptop and paperwork, all around Prague.

Last weekend I just jumped on a train and took off to a place called Kolin. Why? Well it was the only place on the list of destinations that I could pronounce!

It is 55 minutes from Prague and when I got off the train my first reaction was that it was a horrible industrial wasteland. But in the distance I could see a church spire, quite high above the panalacki - which are blocks of ugly flats made of panels - hence the name.

I went exploring, all of it uphill, and found the town centre, a cobbled square from the middle of the 13th century. Behind it, even higher was a Dracula church complete with gargoyles and flying buttesses. The houses surrounding the square all had amazing artwork all over them. It is called something that sounds like graffitti but I can't remember the exact term. The square itself, which is probably about 4 acres, has statues to local heros of the Hussite wars. On the eastern side, the lower side because the square sort of slopes slightly is a lovely little bar, restaurant and kaverna - a place that sells beer and coffee.

THE WATER WHEEL ON KAMPA ISLAND - YES IT REALLY IS ICE!

In I went, sat myself down and decided I only really fancied a soup so I ordered Rusky Borsch. Well, it came as a surprise, because the soup was served in a little round cob loaf. It had been carved out, the soup put inside, and the lid but back on with a sprig of mint as decoration. And it was brilliant. And of course having finished the soup, you can then eat the loaf. And along with a coffee and a strudel it came to the cost of a burger. Magic.

MY STUDENTS

Well I've now got a fairly good mix of classes. I teach 4 classes at T-Mobile, one of the major mobile phone companies. They are intermediate students, and we have great fun, although the classes are between 7.30 am and 9am, which is not my favourite time of the day. I have 4 kids classes that are held at the school itself.

Other students include a Euro MP, a Sir Humphry who is the Principal Private Secretary to the Governor of our Kraj (local municipality), the HR Manager from Glaxo Smith Klein, the MD's Secretary from a major Spanish building company, and three accountants from Vileda, the cleaning products place.

The staff room is a busy and lively place - I must take some photos there. We are a mix of native speakers and very dedicated and professional Czech teachers, all of whom are ladies. 

This is the ideal job for me - early hours aside - because I get paid for talking to people.

Ok - it is late and I must be up at 5.30 am, and tomorrow night the T Mobile girls are taking me for a meal.

Talk soon! 

January is nearly done

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Hi everyone I am writing this as January 2008 comes to a close. I arrived in Prague in November 17th and loved it immediately. It was cold and dismal when I arrived, but on the Saturday, I walked over the river into town, under a crisp and cold bright blue sky. It is such a pretty city, and every building is a photographer's delight.   On Monday the 19th I turned up at Oxford Tefl. It is one of the most respected schools in Europe. They prepare people to sit the Trinity College London exam. Once qualified, the employers come looking for you! Oxford provided me with a shared apartment, but with a room of my own. There were four guys and an Aussie girl. One of the men was a 56 year old American who was a total basket case. He made Basil Fawlty seem sane. He was 'allergic' to noise and would sit in the kitchen with the extractor fan going at full bore because the noise of the fan eliminated all other noises - apparently!. When the young people crawled home in the early hours - well this IS Prague - he couldn't stand the fact they they had the nerve to actually talk to each other. So he moved his bed into the kitchen and turned the extractor fan on. The course was hard work. There were 14 of us - spread over 3 apartments. We had to learn a foreign language - taught in that language - to give us a feel for how it must be for a Czech learning English in English. The grammar lessons were challenging, and on the second day we were in front of real students, teaching a lesson. And everything we did, said and used was evaluated. But apart from one student, we all passed. The Aussie girl got an A - most got C - and I got a B It then became a little strange. All the top schools in Prague sent representatives to offer us immediate jobs. I am currently getting about 5 offers a day from all over the world. It is a refreshing experience to be chased by employers, all offering a little bit more. Of course the top jobs, as Directors of Study, or the incredible ones from the Middle East, demand more qualifications than I've got, but I've had offers from Korea, China, Turkey, Lithuania, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan, but I'm hoping for France, Germany or somewhere paying in Euro. The jobs in Korea pay enormous amounts enabling teachers to save about US$8000 - 10,000 a year, but it entails teaching kids. At the moment I have 3 kids classes and I am up for an award for not having strangled any in the first month! I am teaching at The Bell School. More on that later. The teaching is mostly good fun. I go to companies, via public transport which is brilliant in Prague. I have a few one-to-one classes but most are with small groups.   Czech women are legendary so it is very difficult to walk into a classroom to take control of a class of six foot Amazons. But I am at an age where  can flirt outrageously and get away with it, and I have been invited to film nights, an art exhibition and a dinner by students, most of whom are female. I've put together a website for my teaching business because I want to develop some private clients, but I haven't got around to printing my business cards. There simply isn't the simple walk in to Snap Instant Printing like there is in Oz.   I am going to end this post now, but will write more tomorrow. Hope to have given you a little insite into my new life.