Today was another beautiful day in Praha! The weather has just been amazing lately.....such a blessing....
I'm getting a little bored being at the school. I still love the teachers and students but I am not loving the school as much anymore. There are just lots of things that are a little sketchy. I won't go into detail but I don't think I would want to work here. It has been an incredible experience and I wouldn't change it for the world but I guess it has given me a good picture of school politics, dodgy practices, and strange systems and methods. I think it is safe to say that every school has its...well...issues, and this has opened my eyes to some of those.
Today I had a Linda Buff (my Whitworth advisor) moment. Let me explain...when I had my student teaching interview in the fall, Linda said that my weakness as a teacher was that when I am in other classrooms, I tend to speak my mind and say when I don't like the way things are or don't agree with something. She said that it is important that I sit back and learn from the teachers and not always try to correct them and make things happen "my way". To be honest, I didn't really know what she was talking about at the time. I just kinda nodded and thought "Well I guess she has to think of a weakness and I'm so stinkin' perfect she can't think of anything else" (haha well, kinda). Today I understood:
I was in a year 12 class discussing George Orwell's "1984" and the teacher was talking about the lack of personalization and action in the Newspeak language (if you haven't read this book, this won't make sense). Well, I didn't agree...and I was a little tired of "observing" so I raised my hand and VERY politely told him what I thought. I think I shocked him a little. He continued to disagree with me and I, him. It was kinda funny actually. But afterward he apologized to me and was so afraid that he had hurt my feelings or embarssed me which is funny because I was afraid that I had offended him. We finally laughed and decided we had a good system and that it was good for students to see teachers disagree. Well Linda, I guess you're right...I'll pipe down a little :-)
I was going to hang out at Charles Bridge after school but I was super tired and went home instead. When I got home I got a sudden burst of energy and so Jane and I did Jane Austen's Hip Hop Funk Dance work out video...IT WAS HILARIOUS!!!!! Martin walked in, shook his head, and went straight to his room to read.
After dinner Jane and Martin wanted to show me one of their favorite things to do in the city: walk around the castle at night. It was beautiful....which is the understatement of the year. I am not even going to try to explain the experience because it was surreal and magical and perfect in every way. I felt frozen in time and loved every minute of it. One thing that I have learned about traveling is that taking pictures and writing in journals are 2 of the most frustrating parts. There was no possible way that my camera could capture what my eyes were seeing and this post will not even scratch the surface of explaination. So I quit. You will just have to trust me.
A word about Martin and Jane: They are two of my new favorite people in the whole world. I love them! I can't say it enough. We have so much fun together. I never stop laughing (as you can tell in the pictures). They are such a blessing in my life and I am so thankful for them. If this turned out to be the worst country I have ever seen in my life, it would have all been worth it just to meet this amazing family.
After the castle we went to this little cafe and had hot mulled wine. Well, Martin and I did...Jane had a brownie. As yummy as this drink sounds...I am not a fan, at all. Basically it is hot wine with blended spices I couldn't even drink half of it. But thanks anyway Martin!!
Speaking of hot drinks....as Shakespeare said, "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark"...well Prague but you get the point. The first Starbucks in the Czech Republic just opened. While this might seem like a joyous occasion for many of you I think it's aweful. There are tons and tons of adorable cafes all over the city and big ol' Starbucks decides to come in and throw his weight around. Lame! To make matters worse, it bought out a cafe that had been their for ages and was cute and old and fit the castle surrounding beautifully. Ugh. On a happy note however, I decided I am going to start collecting those Starbucks mugs that say the different cities on them and I want to get one from every city I visit....so now I have one from Prague!
I learned something new today! Jane and Martin told me that before the Revolution in 1989, all of the metro stations used to have different "communist" names. In 1989 all the names changed to what they are now. In one of the metro stations, Andel (which means Angel), there are still some pieces of communist propaganda art. It is still amazing to me to see all the remains of the communist era, as it was not very long ago at all.
I am really beginning to grieve the end of this journey. I know that sounds funny...cheesy even...but I finally checked my tickets made some last minute arrangments. It was really sad!!! I miss everyone at home but I am not in any way ready to leave this country or rather, end this trip. I know that it will be very hard to say goodbye.....to the Hasiks, to the Stevensons, to Pavel, to the Charles Bridge, to the Old Town, to the Metro, to the Prague British School, to the gulash, to the smells, to the sounds....to everything. It's to soon and I am not ready.
After school I am going to go walk along the river, grab a coffee, and read a book.
I could stay here forever.
Martin showing how small the doors to the servants houses are
Soviet propaganda: The boy is holding flags that say that old metro name
The first Starbucks in the Czech Republic :-(
More communist propaganda: The Czech flag and the Russian flag with communist symbol
The Cathedral at Prague Castle
Jane trying to get a picture of me and the whole Cathedral....
Me, Jane, and baby Hasik
Just hanging out in a guard booth!
2 comments:
you kinda ruined your rant about sucksbucks when you said you were going to buy their mugs... i disagree adamantly, but miss you.
kyle
A Starbucks mug from every city? Really? Where's the Dutch Love Kels?
bms
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