School whirlwind

School started and life has literally been a slightly overwhelming whirlwind. Navigating 89,623 trainings and meetings whilst trying to set up a classroom and actually plan for the 6 different classes I'm teaching is not for the faint of heart. Apologies for not being in better touch with family and friends; sleep is not even happening right now. Thankfully, BW has been an amazing source of support and care - this gal is lucky to have him as a life partner!

Despite the challenges, many colleagues have been beyond helpful and I love the ethos of the place, which is a lot like my old charter school in St. Paul. The focus is on the "whole" child and a lot of deliberate emphasis is put on developing the social and emotional competencies of the kids as well as the academic arena. This is all done within the parameters of a Christian ethos, though only about 15% of the families who send their kids here are religious. It's an interesting dynamic!

The building itself is idyllic...

What you see when you enter the front door - I love how plants are everywhere in schools here

Patio off the student lunch room

Courtyard below the patio - and underneath there are a bunch of ping pong tables

My messy, unfinished classroom - *sigh*

I have entire wall of windows overlooking the Dejvicke area of Prague! Soooo much nicer than my window-less classroom last year!

Front of the school. My room is 3 flights of stairs up.

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Around our livingquarters

Three weeks in, we're feeling pretty settled into our new abode. Here are some shots of the digs.

The outside makes me think of a big, peach-colored wedding cake.

Inside the front door it's pretty tame but the marble keeps things nice and cool.

We live on the first floor and therefor don't use the glass elevator but I may ride in it one day just because.

The little area sandwiched between buildings behind us is pleasant enough, save for a few garbage cans. This is our kitchen window.

The neighborhood is stellar. Here are a few shots of what's nearby...

Pointy Namesti Miru (Peace Square)

Divadlo na Vinohradech... unfortunately, all the plays are in Czech

Riegrovy Park, where the expansive playground doesn't allow dogs. But they get their own tie-up post!

More Riegrovy Park - this is a hill where people flock to watch the sun set over the city

The Prague Metro - we have 2 lines near our home, so we're well connected

Wenseclas Square is a 10-minute walk away

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Meeting new colleagues and, hopefully, Gary Oldman

I went into school yesterday to work and my fellow English teacher, Michigan, invited BW and I to a pub to meet some colleagues returning from their summer holidays. Many were just getting back from places like Taiwan, Israel, Spain, etc. Mr. and Mrs. Michigan were recovering from taking the trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Beijing with another couple. I think they said it was 6.5 days in one little train compartment together!

Anyhow, everyone was really nice, and our one beer turned into more, and Jayda was thrilled by all of the attention, and I think I'm going to love working at this school.

We've also spent time with some of my past Prague colleagues; in fact, we're meeting some today to go hiking along the Berounka, a tributary of the Vltava River, before the Fall chill hits.

Otherwise, we're keeping busy.

BW has been working at home and out of cafes.

J-dog has been making friends.

I've been getting ready for school. Think I could wear this on my first day with kids?

And, according to the media, Prague is shutting down a metro line this weekend for filming a Ridley Scott movie set in Stalinist-era Russia, starring Gary Oldman. The deets are HERE.

Courtesy photo from Praguepost.com

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Socialism with a human face

Under the bleak tent of Communism in this country, there was a period in 1968 from Jan. 5 to Aug. 21 where things seemed slightly illuminated. A guy named Alexabder Dubcek was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and his slogan was "Socialism with a human face." In other words, he favored easing up on restrictions on speech, media and travel. This period is known as "Prague Spring."

Well, the Soviets didn't like this too much and they sent a bevvy of tanks and Warsaw Pact troops over to squash the reforms. Dubcek was arrested and hauled to Moscow, and dozens of people were killed in the chaos that ensued.

There was a memorial exhibit on Wenceslas Square a couple of days ago to commemorate Prague Spring, and it was very moving.

Memorial items with the National Museum in the background

Plaque dedicated to two students who committed suicide by self-immolation in protest of Communism

A Red Cross Skoda that was at the scene of the turmoil that occurred during the Soviet tank invasion 

A tank from the occupation with a film reel playing in the background

Photo exhibit of the invasion

Children playing near the memorial

There were a lot of older Czechs at the memorial who must have been children or young adults during Prague Spring. I can't imagine what it must have felt like to live through a long, dark string of Communism and then have a fleeting taste of liberty only to endure another military clampdown. Mind-bending.

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Rainy and refreshing

Most of the time we've been here, the city has been hot, hot, hot! Temperatures are fairly balmy in the morning, but then the sun hits the urban center and the cobblestones literally bake, emitting lots 'o heat. We've resorted to dressing in layers and peeling them off as the day goes on. The Czechs have the right idea when they're napping and picnicking in the shade of Prague's public green spaces. If you spy a patch of grass, you can bet it will contain a horizontal Czech body.

Fleeing the heat

Yesterday, however, there were hours of cool rain showers, and the effect it had on the city aesthetic was bewitching. Fat, inky clouds cast a bluish glaze over everything and the hectic metropolitan pace seemed to decelerate under the refreshing drizzle.

Czech novelist, playwright and historian Alois Jirasek gets a wash

A thundercloud blanket in the sky

The Letenske Sady beer garden begins to refill after the rain...

...and a rainbow pegs the Communist TV Tower in Zizkov, which is northeast of where we live

Enjoying an evening of natural air conditioning

On an unrelated note, we just had lunch with our landlord, Mr. Can'tprounouncehislastname, and helped him book hotels and a rental car for his upcoming trip to... da da da da... America! He and a couple of friends are going to Boston, Lake Champlain, Washington D.C., Atlantic City, Philadelphia and New York City for 2.5 weeks. So if you're out East and see a tall Czech dude with a buzz-cut, wearing a floorball league t-shirt, be sure to say hello!

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Stiff towels

Our European appliances all look rather R2-D2ish. We have no idea what to do with all of these buttons and dials. Thus, we've just been pressing them and crossing our fingers for clean laundry and hot food.

Washing machine:

Oven:

 In addition, we don't have a dryer - unless one of those dials is for a drying function I don't know about. Not having a dryer is common in Europe, as is buying tiny rolls of aluminum foil with no box (which BW found highly strange today) because it's less wasteful. So now our soggy clothes have a home on a new drying rack fom Tesco, the British equivalent of Target. We are still adapting to stiff clothes and towels!

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Look, no cars!

It's a good thing neither of us miss having a car, because we're 100% public transportation-dependent now. Here's BW activating our Open Cards, which we loaded with a year's worth of transit for about $250 each:

BW used to spend $250 in one month on commuting gas alone in the US!

Transit aside, our neighborhood is very walkable; within a few-block radius, we have...

- a butcher shop with different cuts of meat than we're used to and big slabs of lard

- a baker with wonderful bread smells 

- stores selling everything from stationary to shoes

- an open-air market 3x per week

- Jayda's beloved pet shop

- cafes, pubs and restaurants

- a vinoteka where, with a plastic bottle and $5, one can get 1.5 liters of decent Czech wine

- a grubby little post office 

- 2 metro (subway) stations and many tram stops

- regal old churches and theaters, etc.

Being that this is a post-Communist place, there is also a lot of graffiti but it sort of becomes negligible when there are so many beautiful/interesting things to gawk at.

Between the walkability and the near- perfect weather, we've been outside a lot:

Grocery shopping at the J.Podebrad Friday market

Being befuddled by David Cerny art in Mala Strana

Hanging with swans along the Vltava River

Soaking up good vibes at the Prague Pride festival

Trampling the cool cobblestones after sundown

Discovering hidden history, like this Jewish graveyard that's not on any of our maps

Taking walk breaks in city gardens

Running errands, like getting my watch battery changed at this clock store

Drooling over yummy Czech sweet roll things called Trdlo

Hopping on and off trams when our feet are shot

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Bliss we're missing

  Two blissful Minnesota events to share...

Happy wedding to Miss L-Bear and Mr. JJ! We'd hoped we could leave for Europe after their special day, but, alas, work visa processing and flat setting-up prevented that from happening. Cheers and blessings to the start of a unified life, and celebrate your tooshes off! We'll be there in spirit :) 

P.S. L-Bear and I met while we were student teaching together in Prague.

And much love to the gorgeous little creature, Baby B, who was born this past Sunday morning to MelKel, who I've known since she was a preschooler, and her hubby, C! We are beyond thrilled for you guys and can't wait to meet the future deer hunter/basketball star/Tiffany's designer -ha! Hugs and kisses to Baby B!

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Doggie Heaven

A post by Jayda. Woof.

I must have died and gone to doggie Heaven because not only is there a store with food, treats and toys just two blocks from my new house on Tyrsova Street... 

...but also I am allowed to hang out pretty much everywhere, including this kavarna (cafe) called Mama Coffee where mom and dad really like the espresso.

I've been meeting lots of new foreign friends, and most of them aren't even on leashes because they walk right near their owners and don't run away. I don't have that self-control yet, so on a leash I stay.

We've walked all over our neighborhood and other parts of the city, and when I get tired, I just sit my fuzzy butt down and get carried to the next destination...

...like the Old Town Square!

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