Stupidity - I could be THE definition of it

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein.

I have written things here from my heart. I lost a real good friend this weekend, by my own stupidity. That friendship was a premium in my life. I am very sad to have had been the cause and that I did not engage my brain before the weekend started and I let my heart run away on it's own. I covet all my friends, they are all special and so was this one as well. I am deeply saddened by this. I am sorry. Truly.

Very Early Monday morning....

it is early morning and I did not sleep one hour last night. Thinking. Thinking of today, of Saturday, thinking of tomorrow.... the comfort is knowing that God controls things.. I can only be me... whether it be showing too much of me and who I am, or showing my feelings to others... it is me. It just means that others have to understand that is who I am, though at times I may do a cultural foupah, it is not meant to shock or stun... it is me and from within. Rozumis? dobry.
+ 45

Going forward....

Visited Blatná yesterday, south of Prague, a beautiful zamek built in the 1500's, beautiful grounds, a nice day, in good company, ano to je pravda.

Went chasing a butterfly in the wind; butterflies are hard to catch; this one was beautiful; Elusive and timing is everything as it is everything in life. As I chased after this one on these beautiful grounds, I suddenly realized my age, and that I was perhaps making a fool of myself. It is something I rarely think about; as I don't feel my age, it gave me pause. In a beautiful town and I enjoyed the drive, the moments in time, and ALL that was around me.

I happened upon a yellow rose, lovely, perfection on many levels as this butterfly. As we walked, it slipped away, fell away and was lost, perhaps a metaphor for the day. ( sadly It turned out it was ) As the bus departed, it began to rain and it rained; rained all the way back to Prague....

Today, Sunday, I have spent the morning at this one cafe in Prague, drinking latte after latte working on a lesson plan in hopes of capturing a position in Prague. Though I can balance a $24 million dollar budget, it is nothing compared to what I am trying to do this morning. One of the most difficult things I have ever tried to do. This part of the dream continues strongly and we will see what happens by weeks end. I am confident.

I move into a new place tomorrow. I will be at Neratovická 25 in Kobylisy, Prague 8, from tomorrow until 31 August. It will be different being removed from the center of Prague, but it will allow for more normal living, as I settle into a routine in a space that is more home like.

The week ahead; exploring visa issues, seeking employment, continuing to look for that final apartment and moving forward. + 44 ( revised 16:00 prague time, 29th )

Moving day

Moving today from Zborovská 24 in Smichov, Prague 5 to Neratovická 25 in Kobylisy, Prague 8 182 00.

Will move a couple heavy suitcases there by noon, and then will go to a Hotel to check in until Monday, when I get actually move into the new apartment. The Hotel is the same one that I stayed in when I first got here and is without internet. So this is my last blog until Monday, the 30th.

Am traveling south Tomorrow and I am looking forward to that. Not sure about what all I will do on Sunday, but I know I will work on lesson plans for the interviews next week. Today is also the last day I will see many of my classmates. Some are staying in Prague, some are going home and some are moving on. Pub nights will continue on Thursday, so I know we will bump into each other routinely. + 42

Teacher.

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. - William Arthur Ward

So, today is the tomorrow that was yesterday. Mr. Ward's quote is thought provoking and will be THE watchword to remember going forward. Even though school is out, I know for today I have a lesson plan to develop for Monday, so that is priority #1. I will return to school to use their library. Won't they be surprised.

It is also a free day and really the first free day in 4 and a half weeks. I have some things in mind to keep me busy. I will do laundry ( yes, even that must get done ) first thing this morning in Vinohrady, Prague 2, then do some poking around in some shops in Novy Smichov, Prague 5 and there is this bookshop I want to find; The Globe. I am not sure where that is, but it will be fun to locate it. Like most days, today will expand and fill completely. +41 v Praze.

Hummm, not sure what happen to the font size, I didn't touch anything to make it change... but it is way too small this morning

Flash - I am now a Teacher

Well I did it... !!!!!! I am now a TEACHER in the Czech Republic! As of today at noon. I passed all the qualifications/exams/papers and oral review. I am very pleased and happy and excited and just feel great.... The road ahead will be challenging but exciting. Now...to find a teaching job and better this craft as I know it is an evolving growth process. I made it this far and I am looking forward to the days and weeks to come... Wow... I am psyched !!

So I have a few days of rest. I will explore the job market in earnest next week. Have two interviews, both teaching interviews. Tonight, my school friends and I will celebrate all our achievements. I move out of this apartment Friday afternoon, go to a hotel for the weekend and then move into a new apartment on Monday up in Kobylisy.

Jsem Učitel v Praze. Still day +40. Yipppppppeeeeeeeee !

Last Day of the Course....

So today is it.... the Beginning. @11:00am this morning, I meet with the Moderator from London and we will review the Materials I have made for teaching... It really all comes down to this... Regardless of how well I have done on everything to date, he decision is final, based solely on this one interview this morning. Then we all find out our status by Friday....

I have a 2nd interview next Monday morning with the company I interviewed with yesterday. I have to prepare and teach a full 45 min lesson on Grammar; Past Perfective. Ach jo... not my strongest suit. I am looking forward to it though.

It has been very hot here in Prague these past two days, in the 90's and humid and no a/c. It is something I find I AM getting use to. There are parks everywhere and shade and nice breezes... and yes, cold beer. ;-)

So as my course ends, I find my desire to stay here even stronger than it was 40 days ago when I arrived. The course and the teachers were excellent. My colleagues in the course were outstanding and are now friends. I am captured daily by the beauty and history here and by the ambiance. Cheers. + 40 days in Prague. Very Comfortable.

Birthday Wishes to a Friend

For this I bless you most: You give much and know not that you give at all -Kahlil Gibran

I had a multitude of pictures I was going to post just for this day… a flower I spied on a walk last evening in Vinohrady, but yet perhaps the wrong type and color for now; then I thought about another I took recently, those swan with the little ones or one that would remind you of a place that tram 12 goes…. again both for another time. …then finally I stopped on this one….. enjoy this day to its fullest. M, přeju ti všechno nejlepší k narozeninám dneska. Tesím se na tento sobotu. +39 ;-))

Dare to dance the tides....

Too many times we stand aside and let the water slip away.
To what we put off 'til tomorrow has now become today.
So don't you sit upon the shore and say you're satisfied.
Choose to chance the rapids and dare to dance the tides - Garth Brooks

It is getting close, chancing those rapids..... Today is the last day of a real class per se. Tomorrow and Wednesday are the orals with the Moderator from London.... mine is the second to the last one Wednesday morning.... Noon on Wednesday closes this chapter.

I have a temp apartment for the next two months. I had to grab something since I "loose" this room on Friday. The price was right so grabbed the deal for two months. I move in a week from today. I will find a hotel room for two nights for this coming weekend ( I hope ). That might be tricky. Tourist season and all.

and my first job interview is tomorrow... Lot of good things happening tomorrow.... until later

+38

Sunday, and homework

Ahoj... well more homework today, but it is the last Sunday of course related homework since the course ends midweek. Today is mostly catch up to ensure my final project is not lacking in anything, but still, it will take a couple hours.

Going forward my homework on Sundays will BE lesson plans, so really today is just the beginning of many Sundays of "homework". I have my first real job interview on Tuesday morning at 8am. I have to prepare a 90 minute lesson plan for the interview.... so that is also today's "homework".

It is suppose to be a beautiful day here today and about 32 C; a hot one. Summer has arrived as of today with the passing of the summer equinox... I am looking forward to the many things that await.... +37 vyborne!

Just a week ago.....

Ever have a day that remains etched in your mind. Walked this path Saturday last. It was not so much the place, as the connection; not so much the beauty all around me, as the inherent beauty and the intellect to my right....

+ 36

Happy Birthday Mom......

Sending out birthday wishes to my Mom on this 21st of June, as this day just begins 4000 miles away. Have a really fine day today. ;-)

TGIF

+35 I feel like that balloon over there... ;-)

Dobré ráno..... čtvrtek

+ 34 final exam, final assignment, teaching 60 min class & Pub night ;-)

Studying..

The Course Final is in 36 hours from now....

This picture is from this past Monday evening as the sun set. The building is Narodni divadlo, the National Theatre. As I walk to school each morning, I face it as I walk across the Most Legii bridge. The roof line is a brilliant gold leaf tone. It is quite a large building. I will look forward to attending something there in the future. + 33

Rainbow....

Last evening I was walking home from school around 20:30, the sun was setting on my right, behind and to the left of Prague Castle, recent rain clouds were behind me moving away over the city. For this time of the evening, the sun was an unusually brilliant yellow… I happened to look behind me for some reason and saw this amazingly vibrant rainbow. I wished I had had my camera. I was certain by the time I arrived at the apartment, some ten minutes away, this rainbow most likely would be gone. I was surprised that it stayed there to my left all the way home as I walked along the Vltava. Arriving home, I rushed into the apartment, threw my backpack down on the table, grabbed my camera, hurried out the door hoping it would still be there, as I ran back toward the river…and it was. It had now been in the sky now for almost 20 minutes. It was not as brilliant as when I first saw it, but still, it was my first rainbow over Prague and lovely.

A busy day yesterday. I taught two classes, one for 45 minutes as I covered for a ill team member, at the request of the School Director, and the other one for an hour, back to back. The 2^nd big assignment is due at 16:00 today. I am in good stead. Was up until midnight last night working on it. I will start the 3^rd and final assignment this afternoon. It is due on Thursday, the same day as the final exam. Ach jo. + 32 wow, a rainbow. Really Excellent.

Last Full Week of Coursework

Today begins the last full week of classes. I teach three one hour classes this week; tonight, tomorrow evening and Thursday evening. I have one major assignment due tomorrow at 4pm. I am making good progress on it. I have another major assignment ( not yet started ) due Friday morning and a Final Exam on Thursday morning at 10am. Can you say the word: Intense?

The last three weeks have literally flown by and this week... it will go by in a heartbeat. My day begins as I publish this post. Cheers. +31

Březnice...

Březnice's town square with the church of St. Ignáce at the far end and Březnice's Chateau. Originally a Gothic Keep, then later reconstructed into a Renaissance chateau in the middle of the 16th century. It contains the oldest Library in Bohemia, preserved in its original form from 1558. The grounds of the zamek, as mentioned yesterday, hold a 20-hectare park as well. + 30 včera byla jen opravdu hezky den a zase dekuju moc

Southern Bohemia....

I traveled south to Březnice today and spent the day with a delightful friend. Březnice is located an hour and a half south of Prague in southern Bohemia. It is a small town surrounded by green fields of knee high grain. It was first mentioned in records that date back to 1218. The town seal dates to 1441. ...and to think Columbus hadn't even yet set foot in America until 1492. Březnice has a stately estate(zamek) with beautiful park like grounds and pathways that lead to long walks and conversations.

We also visited another town not too far from Březnice, called: Rožmitál pod Třemšínem which was celebrating a special day of Královna Johanka, a special friend of a king who lived there many centuries ago. ( Did I get that right?) The picture of the lake above was taken in Rožmitál pod Třemšínem, as was this special picture with a cat- ;-). Tomorrow I will post a few more pictures from today.

A nice cool sunny day. +29 m rádo se stálo

Three Quarters of the way.....

Today, Friday, the course is 75% done. One full week and 3 days to go. This week has been the most difficult in many ways. ...and I thought the Czech language was hard. ;-) This afternoon, we meet the heads of several language schools that hire graduates from Oxford Tefl. I am looking forward to those meetings. Perhaps a tie today?

On another note, This week saw a mile stone related to the time I have spent in the Czech Republic. I have been here 28 days. My previous record: 18 consecutive days; last September. ...and the main difference this time: living not traveling. I really like the living part. The walking, the sound of the trams; the rush of air as the Metro arrives, grocery shopping, breathing...

Cheers +28; 4 weeks; one month; first month ;-))))))))))))

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and puts itself in our hands. It hopes we have learned something from yesterday. - John Wayne

Tomorrow, at the end of the day, will start the weekend once again. I am looking forward to it for many reasons. Visiting a new town and meeting new people. Sunday will see another full day of studying and writing.

Tomorrow in many ways starts our teaching careers. We have interviews tomorrow with various language schools in Prague. My teaching resume is complete and I am looking forward to finding out more information from the several schools that will be represented.

Tomorrow. Seems like a long time from now. I teach tonight for the second time to the upper level students. Am working on two projects at the moment, trying desperately to unlock brain freeze... a type of writers block, but worse. Tonight is Pub night, which we all look forward to; I think I will be in the Library. ;-) ...well, we will see...

The tomorrows are important, as they allow a fresh start. But, so do todays. Cheers. Here's to unlocking brain freeze, making progress on the projects and to enjoying each moment. +27

In my neighborhood...

The next street over... The architecture here in Prague never ceases to amaze me. +26 je krasne :-)

All around.....and last evening

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. - Anne Frank

I went walking by the river last evening as the sun was setting... +24 Beautiful

Irglová & Hansard, last night....

I attended the Home Coming concert last night here in Prague for Marketa Irglova in the Duo of Hansard & Irglová. They made the movie "Once" in 2006 and after the Sundance Film Festival in 2007, their popularity took off in a big way. It was held in the Archa Divadlo(Theatre) not far from náměstí Republiky in old town. It was remarkably excellent. The concert lasted for almost 3 and a half hours, including a 5 song encore. Her country has awaited her return and this is their first concert in the Czech Republic since garnering the Oscar in Feb 08 for the song "Falling Slowly". The theatre was packed and there were no seats; it was a standing (stani) only concert. I was standing in about the fourth "row" and had a great view most of time. It was worth the time standing in line and throughout this show. This event was outstanding. Marketa Irglová and Glen Hansard were brilliant. today is + 23

Got some Volleyball in last night.....

It is a beautiful Saturday morning here in Prague today. Full sun and very little clouds. Last evening I went down to a sports park and playground of sorts south of Prague, called Žluté Lázně. It is a park along the Vltava which has tennis courts, volleyball courts of beach sand, Bocce ball courts, green space for laying in the sun, which many people were doing already at the end of their Friday. It was right directly on the Vltava... There was a place for swimming in the river as well. You can rent canoes and boats and various courts and also enjoy a cold beer ( after all this is the Czech Republic !) So I played volleyball for an hour with some friends I met at the Pub on Thursday night. Fun! I enjoyed it. I will look forward to doing this routinely. A nice way to spend a Friday evening. So today I have alot of homework to do, and I also need to do some catch up on past uncompleted work and worksheets! I posted a new web album to give you a snapshot of this park. http://picasaweb.google.com/a.scott.carey/ +22 Another nice day.

Been In Prague for 3 weeks....

Yes, as of this morning, I have been in Prague for 21 days. This is also mid way in my course. I have taught four classes to date to beginning learners. Next week, my teaching partners and I will switch to the upper intermediate class and then will teach that class 4 times as well. Today is also midterm evaluations. We have a final in 2 weeks and next week we meet and greet prospective employers; our C.V.'s will be given to them at the times of our interviews. Out of the 14 classmates in this program, 7 wish to stay in Prague to teach. Of course, I am one of those 7. Each of us are working to secure apartments and I believe to date, about half of my colleagues have. I am still looking for one but have several leads. Not sure which area of Prague I will end up in at this point, but know where ever it will be, it is suppose to be there. Last night was the weekly Pub night. I will write more about that and those later. Last night at midnight as I walked Home through the cobblestone streets of Prague, and crossed the river on this bridge, Hradčany and it's cathedral were lite up with spot lights of different hues and the lights of Prague reflected off a very quiet, ripple free Vltava. I couldn't believe it. It was moving. Tak ahoj a mej se hezky. +21

Stairway up....

+ 20 amazingly busy ;-)

Supremely Satisfied

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; its when you had everything to do, and you've done it. Margaret Thatcher

Today is Wednesday. Class again tonight. We had last night off, many of us. Our next teaching sessions are increased from 35 to 45 minutes per session and we must develop our own teaching materials for the next two classes; a new assignment. It will fill the next several days. It is again no small project. The assignment will be graded by a moderator from the College in London and will encompass a oral presentation to the moderator. Huge. The teachers we have are quite excellent. My new friends and now colleagues, as we learn together, are really most excellent as well. The camaraderie is outstanding. I reflected last night on the quote above. It is quite true. I am busy. We are all busy. But I can say I feel, as Mrs. Thatcher says… satisfied at the end…. of each day.

Albert

and not Einstein. Albert is the name of the Grocery store I visit almost every two days for my food and other needs. It is a large chain of stores, about 244 throughout the Czech Republic. Here is the link. http://www.ialbert.cz/jnp/cz/albert/home/index.html It is my Weggies. But be assured, it is not Weggies. I wish I could show all my friends our Wegmans. But the stores are functional, but certainly not over stocked. They are nice. It is interesting how the sandwich meat and sliced cheese is packaged: the package holds enough for about 3 or 4 sandwiches. Then one must return for more. Loaves of bread; are a half a loaf compared to home. Most breads have no preservatives...and after 2 days, I have had to throw out the bread, due to new life forms. Of course, shopping here is done more frequently then in the states. At home we shop once a week, here it is maybe two, three or more times a week. I know that I have needed to go often. And, you bag things yourself, and you must supply your own bag. If not, it costs 5 czk or $0.31 cents. Usually you never see people carry more than two bags... ...because they are walking from the store to their flats, with only two arms. +18 to ja bajo

Czech Surprize # 3 - Pribináček Yogurt

So here in another great surprise find. This brand of Czech Yogurt. I have talked already about my banana yogurt “find”. This is even better. The yogurt pictured here is called: Pribináček. It is apparently for kids…. Since the container is very small; 80g, and about as tall as my index finger. It looks like it holds about one child‘s serving.

I actually "discovered" this yogurt on one of my previous trips. It is amazingly delicious. We have nothing like it in the states. Maybe pudding is the closest comparison but Pribináček is thicker and more dense. It is very rich and has the consistency of a thick custard. It comes in vanilla, chocolate and raspberry and it is smooth as silk on your tongue. It costs 11.9 czk or about $0.74 each at today’s rates. +17 Opravdu vyborne.

* Yesterday, after 9 hrs work, finished the paper. ;-) phew

Sunday

It was close to 90 F here yesterday. It was a Gorgeous day. Sat in the park on Střelecky ostrov, trying to write my paper . The "big" island had a nice breeze blowing through it and couples everywhere. I had "writers block" and got little done. ...perhaps today.... doufám, že ano.

This is another view of the "Dancing House" taken yesterday from down river. +16