Chapter 8: Steve

Today has been an adventurous day to say the least. Do you know the author, Franz Kafka? He wrote a number of short stories/a couple novels, his most well-known story being "The Metamorphosis." Well, he has a lot of stuff in Prague, because he grew up in the city, so my friend Jess and I decided to have our very own "Kafka Day." First, we went to the Jewish cemetery, where his tomb resides. We spent some time exploring the graves, and it's cool because both Jess and I (who have Czech backgrounds), found our last names on some tombstones! It's cool to find your identity like that. so that's what we did first. I'm sure there will be pics on Facebook, because fucking everyone posts pics while they're abroad.

Next, we went to the Kafka Museum in Old Town Square, near the Charles Bridge (if you were more cultured, you'd know what these landmarks are). The museum is very cool. It had a lot of his original writings, some family history, and even a detailed history of his love affairs! It was especially cool for me, because a lot of professors back home call me the next Kafka because of my own writings and writing style. So it was like I was experiencing myself. It's cool to think I've been reincarnated, in a way. I'm kind of realizing how integral I am to Czech culture now.

Chapter 7: Jess

It's been about a month! It has been so very busy! Teaching 45 minutes lessons daily is no joke; we were put into group of four, each of us got one "day off" between Monday and Thursday, but still, sitting through three lessons and then through the feedback on all three lessons means we all got out at at least 8:30. Needless to say, getting back that late leaves one exhausted and then the same thing the next day. Fridays were just methodology days. Weekends were mostly fun; I guess I could have updated then, but fun nights usually turn into late nights. In short, it has been a most eventful and busy month!

But I'm done! I get my certificate tomorrow and will be certified to TEFL! I do have a job lined up already; from July 10-19 I teach a sports camp. I would prefer to have a job where I'm actually teaching English rather than monitoring sports, but whatever. It's still experience.

At the end of the fist week, the graduates from last months class took all of the new TEFLers out to a few beer gardens and clubs. It was a lot of fun. There was so much 80's music; I loved it! I haven't heard that much Backstreet Boys since elementary school, and it's everywhere, not just at dance clubs. "Backstreet's Back" plays at alllll the restaurants here. It's glorious.

The first lesson I taught was about superheroes. It went well. Most of my lessons went pretty well, but there's still a lot of improvement to be had. It was fun meeting a whole bunch of Czech people, though.

The Upper-Intermediate class. From left to right: 

Brigid (TEFL), Charlie (TEFL), me, then 

Lubo (Slovak), Lida (Czech), Jarda (Czech), and Petr (Czech)

The whole TEFL group went on a 21 mile bike ride to Karlstejn Castle one weekend. It was about 90 that day and very sunny, but the Czech countryside is beautiful and the company was great. We left at 9:00 in the morning and got there at about noon, ate lunch, and then toured the castle and the town. It's a very pretty area.

Karlstejn Castle

So, the month has been mostly teaching and a few fun things. We had a "family dinner," and picnic, went to the 5-story club (which wasn't that great), and just got to know people. So, now that class is over, the real traveling begins!

Family Dinner

Caught in the rain--one umbrella! We later took shelter in a phone booth.

Picnic!

Totally exhausted during the last week of class. Test, teaching classes, and teaching one-on-one lessons...