September 22, 2009
Highlights From the Week
Hockey, of course!
Wednesday:
Great fellowship, Bible study, girl-time, and fabulous home-made pizzas with my Wednesday night ladies.
Thursday:
Had difficult time with my 3.1 students. Much chalk-throwing and talking out of turn from some jokingly belligerent students. I had to talk to their class teacher for the first time about this...fortunately it was only my friend Patrik (who teaches history). I am definitely not the only teacher to have trouble with this class, I was happy to learn.
Some of my fellow ESIers helped me discover Taco Night at one of the Bohemia Bagel locations! These were possibly some of the best tacos that can be found in Prague, and lots of tasty, SPICY salsas and toppings were available. YUM! Curiously, we may have been the only people actually eating tacos on Taco Night...
Friday:
Went to a new gym location only to be turned away for not having an extra pair of shoes to change into. I don't know if my usual gym location is lax about this or whether it assumes you will change downstairs in the locker rooms, but this new gym took the "street shoes vs. house shoes" distinction very seriously. It only frustrated me because I of course would like to wear my oh-so-supportive gym shoes on my walk to the gym as well as in it because I of course do not own another pair. In any case, what if I want to run to the gym? What if I want to run to the gym 4 miles away? If that's the case, then I definitely don't want to do it with a bulky backpack filled with spotless shoes on my back! What got me the most this day, though, was the fact that it was perfectly nice outside; there was no rain, snow, mud, etc, to make my shoes dangerous to their equipment, and yet they still refused to let me in because I'd started my workout before I got there. I guess next time I really will have to remember to bring my other (non-existent) pair of $100 sneaks.
Okay, so post-gym catastrophe, I headed out to the Device train-station for an awesome apologetics lecture hosted by FCC. Pastor Phil had invited his friend and seminary professor to deliver a lecture on the "5 Biggest Objections to the Bible." It was an AWESOME lecture, and I definitely needed my intellectual thinking cap on for it (which I love). I will share the details of the lecture in another post.
Saturday:
Derick, an ESI teacher living in Sokolov (Western Bohemia), Czech Republic, came to visit for the weekend, and on Saturday we went to Zoo Praha! I will just say now that we had a blast, but, again, I will share in a post later this week.
Sunday:
Church x 2, plus randomly meeting a friend at a tram stop, plus going to bed nice and early = awesomeness
Monday:
Work up with the worst of a cold I'd suddenly acquired Friday morning gone. Was left with some sniffles that haven't yet left the system but are totally manageable.
Went to the gym (the regular one, with full backpack in tow that probably appeared to house more shoes...) and took a STANDING shower at the end of my workout in the ladies' locker-room. A small but wonderful luxury it was!
ESI Bible study at the boys' place in Petriny (Prague 6) ended the night. Fantastic taco salad and great "fellowship" study led by Richard were enjoyed by 7/8 of the Prague team. (David is on an outdoor trip with 12-year-old students this week! Pray for him!)
And that brings us to...
Tuesday:
Full day of classes (Tuesdays are my longest at 8 classes), during which I received an invitation to go slackroping in Letna Park this evening. So I again joined siblings Jakub, Keri, and Marketa and our awesome new friend Sarah from New Zealand to do this. Admittedly, the video is not exceptionally enthralling, but they guys it in do a lot better than I did: By hanging onto a tree branch, I think I managed to walk a totaly of four steps at the end of the night. As the sky went dark but before we left the park, we tossed around a light-up frisbee to end the night.
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Now playing: Barenaked Ladies - One Week
via FoxyTunes
September 18, 2009
Hockey with High Schoolers
Besides ending with a 4-2 Slavia win, the night was wonderful because I got to know two students a whole lot better. The two boys are best buds, but they are so different at the same time! They are both 17, and Marek hates beer and drunk people (something I learned that night) while Christoph loves Slavia, smoking, and just about any beer. We had lots of time to chat on the bus and tram to the arena, and I really hope we can continue our conversations again at school, pubtalks, and the Slavia-Sparta football (soccer) game they promise to take me to!
Slavia is in the red and white.
Clap, clap, clap, and wave those hands!
picture of the fan spirit going on right where I am standing. The Slavia fan club created a giant Slavia flag.
Fans on the Sparta side...something about hanging Bart Simpson and someone else...I didn't really get it.
Me, Christoph, and Marek
Slavia team with their Praha Zoo Lion mascot after the win
After the Sparta team left, the Slavia team returned to the ice to receive some fan support (more songs and cheering)
annnnnd then the players stood up to join the cheering and thank the fans for their support!
September 17, 2009
Saturday in Tábor
The Rubesh family (note: the girl in pink was not with us!)
cool building...
the main town square
24-hour clock
some famous dude...not Jan Hus :(
awesome band. i have no idea what the big instrument is...it's not a piano and it's not a harpsicord...
Kevin with Danna and Kyler
knights
medieval instruments
men on stilts!
an army of soldiers
travel by wagon
cloaked tradesmen
yikes! i wouldn't want to stand in their way!
i have always wanted a fox scarf...
medieval golden
children all dressed up
Czechs loved their dogs even in the 13th century, apparently
prisoners!
and wenches!
and medieval babies!
and more tin soldiers!
men in tights, TIGHTS, tights
i wouldn't want to cross her
more weapon-wielding gentlemen
musketeers!
standing xylophones -- not that requires talent!
September 16, 2009
football, fall colors, and dear ole TJ
http://uvamagazine.org/only_online/article/16_reasons_to_love_fall_in_cville/
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Now playing: Jo Dee Messina - I Wear My Life
via FoxyTunes
September 14, 2009
Week Two's Highs and Lows
During the first lesson with one of my classes, students worked on note-cards with introductory information about them, which I will use to get to know them and to take attendance from now on. Students were to complete different sentences with information about themselves. One of these sentences was, "I am a person who enjoys..." One particular male student in my 1.A class (15-16 year-olds new to GEKOM) was having some trouble finding words, so I tried to help him.
"Do you like sports?"
[Student shakes head]
"Do you like art?"
[Shakes head again]
"Do you like girls?"
Enthusiastically nodding his head, "No, no, no!"
No is short for ano, which means yes in Czech. So this student meant "yes, I like girls!" but because it was English class, he accidentally said that he really, really didn't like girls! The whole class was in stitches after that. I read the student's full note-card after class, and it said "I am a person who enjoys girls...I am a person who doesn't enjoy boys." Annnnd then I continued the laughter on my own
* * * * *
A tough reality I have started to face this week is that it will be difficult for me to find any close guy friends here in Prague. This fact hit me after I discussed guy-girl friendships with a male friend here last Sunday, and he said he thought he was getting to the age where mixed friendships are awkward and not always appropriate. Then, the next day, I emailed another guy who I had just met to see if we could get coffee later in the week. I met him through Faith Community Church and knew he was doing missions work through the hostel industry, and I was interested to hear more about it and to learn more about him. He replied saying he could not get coffee because, due to a long-distance relationship with a girl back in the States, he does not hang out with girls one-on-one. I think his policy toward interactions with girls is very respectable, and I appreciated his honesty in telling me...it just didn't leave me any room to really get to know him as a friend. In top of this, several of the male ESI teachers are already in relationships, which also puts a limit on how much interaction with them that I can justify as appropriate.
This was really tough for me last week, and I think it will continue to be tough for me...So please pray for me that I will either will find solid friendships with guys or that I will learn to appreciate my girlfriends even more! I already am missing having male role models and brother figures a phone call away (though thank goodness for G-Chat!) Dad, Zach, Dan, Ben, Joseph, Rudy, Luke, Kyle, Alex, Frank -- I miss seeing you and talking with you face-to-face! It is definitely tough not having you here in Prague!
Right as I was thinking about all of this last week, God blessed me with girlfriends instead. From Sunday night until Wednesday afternoon, I had been at GEKOM, thanks so lots of lesson-planning, lots of classes, hosting dinner for ESI Bible study, and simply living at the school. So when Wednesday evening came around, I decided to rid myself of cabin-fever and go walk around downtown. I texted a new friend, Laura, to see if she knew anything going on in Prague on Wednesday nights. I didn't expect her to be out herself because it was her first week back at school herself, but I received a text right back from her telling me to meet her in 20 minutes for a women's Bible study. Fortunately, I was really close to the meeting spot, so I said YES! and went on to have a wonderful evening with nine other women, a mix of American, Canadian, English, and Czech. One of the girls was even a 2003 from Prospect High School in Arlington Heights, was also in show choir in high school, and now teaches English in Prague! Small world it is indeed!
So, while I was mourning my lack of male friendships, God blessed me a with a great group of girls with whom I will get to establish great friendships!
some pics from my wanderings around town before and after Bible study:
Church in Namesti Miru
Tram scene
TV tower...
If you look closely, you can see little baby statues crawling on the TV tower...something about the Czechs were suspicious of the tower when it was being constructed, and the babies are supposed to make it less scary...I don't know that they succeeded in doing that.
Sweet-looking modern church with a gigantic glass clock!
* * * * *
On Tuesday, while discussing personal interests in my first Septima seminar, the topic of hockey came up. I didn't know much about Prague's Slavia vs. Sparta club league rivalry, and the class explained that it extended to pretty much every sport imaginable. The students in the class especially enjoyed Slavia ice hockey, and I told them I have never been to an ice hockey game. They then insisted I go with them to the upcoming Slavia vs. Sparta game! On Thursday, I gave them my money, and by Friday morning I had my ticket! The game is tomorrow (I will go to the rink with them after class), so stay tuned to see how it goes!
* * * * *
Last Thursday evening, Rachael had the genius idea of treating ourselves to a movie at Novy Smichov (a giant mall in Praha 5). We went, but there were only a few options that fit our tastes and were also in English...so we ended up seeing The Proposal (Navrh) for the second time each! It was super cute again, but the most amusing part of the movie came halfway through when we spilled our entire bucket of popcorn! Mind you, this was no ordinary popcorn: it was delicious, hard, caramelized, and therefore VERY noisy popcorn. So much for not being the annoying Americans who disrupt the movie! We definitely had some good laughs over this.
* * * * *
This past week, Prague was one of the hosts to the first round of the Baseball World Cup. Though the USA was playing in another city, I wasn't going to miss my chance to see some international baseball, so I rounded up a colleague, Lenka, and her sister Lucie to join me for Friday evening's Czech Republic vs. Mexico game. The game itself wasn't terribly exciting. As you would expect, Mexico beat the tar out of the Czech Republic (9-0). Mexico played decently considering its top players are still playing regular season Major League baseball right now, but the Czech Republic played, at best, AA college ball-quality baseball. The stadium, in a beautiful part of Prague right on the outskirts, looked like a single A ballpark. But...the price was right for sharing this wonderful sport with my new Czech friends! And none of us claimed about the fans, all of whom were really good spirited -- some even participated in a "Macarena" competition and sang a super corny rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
Kids all painted up, ready to represent their countries
Countries represented in the Prague round
The field
And again...
Lucie, Lenka, and me
The coolest thing about going to the game was this: While Lenka, Lucie, and I were waiting for our second bus to take us to the field, we heard someone calling my name. Three of the, I don't know, five people I know in Prague were also waiting at the bus-stop to go to the game. I introduced Daniel and Chris, who work at Czech Inn, and Phil, the pastor of Faith Community Church, to Lenka and Lucie. Lenka asked Phil if FCC was an international church and then if it was ICP, or the International Church of Prague. Of course, those are two different churches, but, as I discovered, the reason Lenka knew ICP's name is because, ten years ago, when she herself was a student at GEKOM, she would sometimes go to the ICP with the American ESI teacher who then taught at GEKOM. I might never have known this cool fact had we not started talking about Prague churches because of running into Phil right then!
So this morning before classes started, I told Lenka I tried ICP yesterday morning, and she was interested to hear my impressions of the church (all good!). Then she said that maybe she will go with me sometime. She can't go this coming weekend because of a trip out of town, but she might come another weekend. Praise indeed! It is SO cool to see her interested...I'm not sure if she's gone to church since her high school days or how much she's thought or talked about God, but it will be really awesome to learn more about her experiences with this stuff. Please pray for our growing friendship and how God may work through us and between us to build each other out and to share our spiritual experiences!
* * * * *
On Saturday, I went on an excursion to Tábor with the Rubesh family. It was my first venture outside of Prague in the three weeks that I've been here, so needless to say, I was really excited. (Side note: The Rubeshes -- Kevin, Erin, Jad, Danna, and Kyler -- are some amazing folks here introduced to me by my awesome friend back home, Manav Kainth. They have been so fabulous to me here -- from letting me do laundry in their American-style washer, to having me call home on their super cool internet phone, to letting me entertain their kids, to driving me on cool country excursions!)
Anyway, we went to Tábor, the home of Christian reformer Jan Hus, for a Medieval Hussite festival. There was music, there was food, there were toy and jewelry vendors, and BOY! where there medieval costumes! Everyone who was dressed up was in a very long, very impressive parade of medieval dress, weapons, and musical talent -- something the kids of course loved! I had a wonderful time and took lots of pictures, which I'll share in a future blog post.
That evening, after we had returned to Prague, I took a jog into Old Town (only about 3.5 miles, but it feels like more on cobblestone!) to find myself almost exactly on the route of that evenings 5 and 10k races (5 for women, 10 for men -- how sexist! Though I think women/men can really run either...). I took a break to watch and miraculously spotted Kevin running in the crowd of thousands! I then randomly ran into Katie (an American teacher at Gymnasium Nad Alej), Sam (a former ESI teacher), and Sam's husband Nick. Only in Prague could that happen! Prague is big enough to feel big, but small enough to see people you know all over the city!
* * * * *
The next morning, at ICP, Rachael introduced me to three awesome siblings, Keri, Marketa, and Jakub. It was not only wonderful to meet such friendly Czech Christians (who I hope can introduce me to some more of their Czech friends), but meeting them turned into a really fun afternoon. They invited me and a visiting English gal, Hanna, to a couchsurfing gathering in Letna Park! For those who don't know couchsurfing, it is basically a networking service that lets travelers find couches to sleep on, people offer couches to travelers, and let fun people people meet new friends. Keri and Marketa have worked in hospitality, and they are just naturally gifted in hospitality, so they like to meet new people this way and then show them their beautiful city! Go here to find out more about couchsurfing.
So off we went to Letna, where there was a giant, free-form picnic of people from all over the world! Many people were wearing sticky notes that showed which languages they spoke (many spoke three or more! I was so impressed!). One group took off at one point to hold "Free Hugs" signs around the city and spread the love that way. I exchanged information with a girl visiting from Sydney, Australia (and on her way to Hong Kong), another gal from Dunedin, New Zealand who is in Prague for the year, and another girl who works in Vienna but is from Bulgaria and offered to help me find a good way to get there to visit my friend Sarah!
As the afternoon progressed, I said goodbye to my new friends and headed off to try one more afternoon church, Prague Christian Fellowship (PCF). It was a wonderful congretation -- very international and very charismatic -- but, again, the most random thing happened on the streets of Prague walking there. I walked right into Sam Kirk, another ESI teacher stationed in Sokolov, which is in Western Bohemia. He had met up with a friend in Prague for the weekend, but I had had no idea he would be there in the city, let alone on that particular street! But there he was, sporting his requisite Cardinals jersey and everything! What a fabulous surprise at the end of my afternoon!
* * * * *
Today, I had the rest of my tertia (3.1) students for the second time, and each class with them is proving to be very trying. The students are mostly 13 years old, which is that fabulous junior-high age at which boys are very rowdy and inattentive. Theirs is the class in which I am most on edge and am afraid of 1) not getting much done because I continually have to wait for them to listen (not fair for those students who do want to pay attention), and 2) losing it completely. I don't want to be a pushover in the classroom, but at the same time, I don't want to be so mean and authoritative that no light shines though whatever. I could definitely use some prayers for this class, that I will learn how to be, as a fellow ESIer put it, more than an authoritarian figure but not quite a friend. For these students, there needs to be some distance -- I can't just be their friend -- because I need to still be able to manage the classroom and enable them to learn and practice their English (which I am learning is not very great -- they are almost beginners in the speaking department). Please pray that, at the end of each class with them, I am not ready to pull my hair out! Please pray that I will have patience with them -- lots and lots of it!
* * * * *
Alena is a fabulous biology teacher at GEKOM who knows a little bit of English and is also in charge of the choir. She discovered that I like to sing and invited me to sing with the choir on Monday afternoons.
School choirs seem less of a commitment in Prague than in the USA, so you can't always predict who will be at rehearsal each week. Today there were five students, myself, and Alena, and it ended up being awesome. We sang one song in Latin (thank goodness, as I would've totally failed at pronunciation if it was in Czech!), another in English, and finally one in Swahili. The English song was "Praise, Praise the Lord" and the Swahili song was "Siyahamba," which I sang myself in high school and which has the lyrics "We are marching in the light of God." I do not believe any of these ladies are Christians, but how fabulous it was to get to sing these awesome songs to God with them! It was a great end to the school day!
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Now playing: India.Arie - Little Things
via FoxyTunes
September 8, 2009
18 Days and Counting!
Manpris everywhere! (capris for men...)
The "rat-tail" or versions thereof are very popular hairstyles.
Mullets (in lesser frequency than Southwest Virginia but more common than America as a whole)
Common: Middle-aged women wearing very tight, white shirts with ill-fitted white bras underneath. Women wearing white underwear and shear clothing in general.
The Erotic City chain (and its graphic window posters) every several blocks
Public transportation in all its glory: trams, buses, AND the metro!
Teachers arrive to class several minutes after the bell.
Students must stand for the teacher when s/he enters the room -- what a great way to show respect!
Always say "Dobrou chut' " to your companions before starting a meal.
Things that are acceptable on public transport: bringing your dog with you, reading Maxim, drinking beer, large public displays of affection, letting your breasts "accidentally" fall out of your dress
Things that are not acceptable on public transport: talking loudly (unless you are a drunk teenager on the late bus), not quickly giving up your seat to an elderly/disabled/pregnant/2-year-old person, not helping a person with a stroller lift it onto the tram.
Czechs and their dogs! There are SO many, and most people let their dogs walk without leashes...and I have yet to see even one run into the street, away from its owner!
House-shoes or slippers -- and I thought this was just something found in Japan! Wear your nice shoes outside, and then change into casual, clean shoes indoors (including in the schools).
"Nice" varies in terms of shoes. Many Czechs' preferred shoe style is birkenstocks/sandals with socks.
Soccer (Football) and hockey are the most popular sports. In Prague, Slavia vs. Sparta is the biggest rivalry. (To me, it seems a bigger deal even than the Cubs vs. White Sox rivalry.)
Czech bus and tram drivers are MUCH nicer than American ones! If they see you running toward the tram, even if you're a good ways off, they will wait for you :)
Peanut butter, good lettuce, and many toiletries are expensive :(
Vanilla extract, chocolate chips, fine flour, canned pureed tomatoes, and my favorite salad dressings can't be found at all :(
There is a juice for almost every fruit! I have discovered that cherry juice and strawberry juice are absolutely delicious!
With the exception of a bagel deli run that is owned by Americans, there are no free refills at any restaurant/pub. Water is not free (you can only get it bottled), and water and beer cost approximately the same amount.
My sit-down, curtain-less, hand-held "shower." 'Nuf said.
Unless there is a large park nearby, no one -- and I mean no one -- exercises outside. I think I have seen a total of three runners outside since I arrived here. Neither does anyone wear athletic clothing outdoors. I think I have seen two girls where t-shirts and spandex, and I'm pretty sure they were American.
Everyone says "Dobry den" (~Good day) to everyone else. They say it when they see a colleague in school, enter a shop or restaurant, or call someone on the phone. It is so polite!
When I enter a store -- particularly clothing stores -- I am not hounded by sales associates who ask me ten million questions about how they can help me. It is great to have some space!
If you want a cart at the grocery store, you have to put in a 10 Kc coin to release it. You get your money back when you return the cart. -- definitely makes for less cart-cluttered stores and parking lots!
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Now playing: Elton John - Tiny Dancer
via FoxyTunes
September 7, 2009
Be Not Afraid
At the end of the sermon, during the response time, we could sing, and we could also write our false gods on pieces of paper that we threw into a trash can, signifying what these things were to us: rubbish. (At this point, I felt deja vu -- I did something similar at Young Life Campaigners last year where we burned our troubles/worries.) So I gave some things up to God, told him I want Him to come before these things: my job, the idea of being a missionary (something easy to get caught up in), determination of worth based on how much I can check off my to-do lists, my hope for a spouse, etc. I have placed too much value on these things. I need to relearn seeking first His kingdom; I need to remember that God lavishes love on me (on all of us!) and that He's done so much for us already, so why should I worry about these little things now?
The Call to Worship at the beginning of the service was so fitting to this part of Jesus's Sermon: We read from Isaiah 43. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible, no doubt, and now always reminds me of the Jubilate Reunion Concert 2008, when the choir sang a song adapted from this passage. Every time I sang it and every time I listen to it, I cry.
You can listen to it here:
After our time of worship, we also had a responsive reading, St. Francis of Assisi's Prayer for Peace, which I would like to share with you now:
"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.----------------
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon,
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."
Now playing: Casting Crowns - Set Me Free
via FoxyTunes
September 6, 2009
Just shake off that caboose!
I read about them in a magazine, but I still thought they were ridiculous and purely a hoax. I thought about them probably for two good minutes, then completely forgot about them...until today! I discovered that my new Prague gym has one of these machines when I looked around the room and saw, as Stephanie puts it, a young, buff, Ukranian bouncer-type jiggling away on the machine! If someone so fabulously in-shape thought it worth the time, what about someone like me? Or would that be just a little bit too much jiggle for a whole room full of people. Maybe I'll spare them...or maybe I'll brave the vibration exercise machine anyway (even if only to say I've done it)!
If you want a brief history of vibration exercise machines, go here.
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Now playing: Metro Station - Shake It
First Week in Review
From Wednesday to Friday, I met with eight different classes. Monday and Tuesday of this week, I will meet with my other classes for the first time. Actually, I served as a proctor for an entrance exam for one of my classes on Wednesday, so I really haven't had class with them yet... So twelve new classes this week, it is!
I meet with each 3.1 (ages 13-14), 4.1 (14-15), 5.1, 1.A, 1.B (all 15-16), 6.1, 2.A, and 2.B (all 16-17), once a week for 45 minutes each. Each of these classes is split in half when I have them, so I really see 16 classes for 45 minutes. I see so many different students because my school wants as many students as possible (aside from the youngest students -- the 1.1 and 2.1 classes at 11-13 years old -- who have minimal knowledge of English) to be exposed to the native English speaker in the school. I think this is where my title, Lector, comes from. Each of these eight classes of students also meets twice a week with its Czech English teacher, who focuses on curriculum from the book, i.e. straight grammar. I get the fun job of getting these students to practice their English conversation skills! Note: Czech students love to converse...in Czech! :)
Then, I also have three seminars: one with 7.1/3.A (ages 17-18, or approximately American h.s. juniors) and two with 8.1/4.A (ages 18-19, or approximately American h.s. seniors). Each seminar class meets once a week for 90 minutes. Once students reach junior level, they gain a bit of freedom with their schedules, in that mandatory classes might not meet as often. This enables to take more focused seminar classes in their areas of interest. My junior and senior classes still have English class each week with a Czech teacher even if students are not specifically enrolled in my seminars, but many of the students -- especially the seniors -- choose to take the English Conversation seminar in order to help prepare them for the Maturita exam.
Maturita is the college entrance exam at the end of Gymnázium. Unlike at American high schools, where you simply have to pass your classes to graduate and sit a quick Saturday morning SAT/ACT for college, Czech students must take both high school exit exams and college entrance exams. For Maturita, students test in four different subjects: Czech and three other subject, of which English is typically one. There is a written and an oral test for each subject area, even if it's a subject like Physics. My job, then, in my senior seminars, is to make sure students are prepared for the oral section of the Maturita exam. They have a list of thirty possible topics, of which, on exam day, they'll randomly be assigned one, which they will then talk about for fifteen minutes after a brief preparation time. The goal is to test fluency of language, though proper knowledge of the subject matter is definitely appreciated. Oh, the bonus on test day is that students have to talk about their topic (the head English teacher and me can ask them questions if they get stumped) while three "judges" listen. The exam is also open to the public, which means the students usually have an audience of friends and family members in the room, as well. Talk about nerve-wracking!
So those are my classes, and here is the short version of my schedule:
Monday: 4 classes
Tuesday: 6 classes + one seminar
Wednesday: 4 classes + one seminar
Thursday: 1 class + one seminar
Friday: 1 class
I also have three class period's worth of substitute duty (because there are no separate substitutes, teachers sub when needed), and two times I have hallway duty between classes (basically making sure the students aren't getting into too much trouble).
A cool thing about Czech schools is that if you are not scheduled to teach or sub, you don't have to be in the building. For me, that means during the three-hour break between my Thursday class and seminar, I can go to the gym! Of course, I normally will only have a period in between classes, if I have any breaks at all, which I will use for getting myself organized and lesson-planning.
I also have each day braved the cafeteria! As a teacher, I get to eat in the cafeteria for just under the equivalent of 1USD, which sounds like a good plan for me! For that price, I get a bowl of soup, a full plate of food (usually potatoes and some form of meat -- so much for being a vegetarian!), sometimes a piece of fruit, and a glass of tea. There is a computer where I am supposed to pick out my meal choice ahead of time (there are usually 2-3 choices), but I've yet to make headway on it: I really need to practice my Czech food words, because the menu is filled with typically Czech dishes, written with abbreviated Czech vocabulary! Most things have been fairly tasty so far though, fortunately!
I also am THRILLED with some of my interactions with students already! In each of my classes so far, we have been working on introductions. I have started by introducing myself (the logical thing to do!), which means describing where I grew up, the high school I went to, where I went to college, my family, and my interests/hobbies. When I've gotten to the "interests" portion of the introduction, I have said "I like reading, watching TV, running/walking/bike-riding, singing, skiing, and going to church on Sundays." I wasn't sure how the "going to church" bit was going to go over in my classes, but in my first 6.1 section, when I asked if there were any questions (students don't always have the chance to ask any in Czech classrooms), one girl asked what type of Christian I am. So already I have had a chance in the classroom to share a tiny bit of my religious background! Then, later on that same day, two girls approached me after their seminar to ask if I was going to have pub talks. I was stoked! Pub talks are a relatively new thing at GEKOM, but even after only one year of pub talks, students are eager to 1) practice English outside of class, and 2) socialize with their new (albeit young and hip!) American teacher outside of class. I'm SO excited to get to know my students better -- especially because I really only see each of them once a week -- and to see how God is already blessing these relationships! I think pub talks are going to be to fantastic for my juniors and seniors and for me. :)
Now onto teaching for the second week!
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Now playing: Josh Kelley - Amazing
via FoxyTunes
September 5, 2009
Bible 21
Personally, at training when I first heard about Bible 21, I was shocked that there had previously existed no modern Czech translation of the Bible. I mean, how many versions are there in English? Countless!
New International Version
New American Standard Version
The Message
Amplified Bible
New Living Translation
King James Version
English Standard Version
Contemporary English Version
New King James Version
New Century Version
21st Century King James Version
American Standard Version
Young's Literal Translation
Darby Translation
Holman Christian Standard Bible
New International Reader's Version
Wycliffe New Testament
Worldwide English (New Testament)
New International Version - UK
Today's New International Version
Good News Translation
Bible 21 is so important today in the Czech Republic, the most atheist country in Europe, because it finally gives to Czechs a Bible that is accessible, understandable, and appealing. When the full Bible hit the shelves in April, 2009, it was on Czech Republic "best sellers" lists for weeks. It is such a novel thing in the CR, and that makes it exciting to believers and non-believers alike.
Here is the official Bible 21 website: www.bible21.cz/english/ . Be sure to check out the "Media" section -- the stories are really neat! One that I found particularly ironic (God works in amazing ways!) was how, because some Czech bishops critized Bible 21 as making the Bible too accessible to the public, many more Czechs went out to buy the Bible (this is, of course, due to an old history of oppression by the Roman Catholic Church in the CR).
Some copies of Bible 21 were available after the church service, so I picked up the basic version for my flat. Of course, this Bible is entirely in Czech (there is a side-by-side Czech-English version of the New Testament, but I wanted the whole thing...), so I cannot read it. I would like you to pray big with me, though, that this year I will have the opportunity to give this Bible to someone who can read it but who has never read the Bible before. Pray that a student or staff member at GEKOM would be asking me questions and will be intrigued by my responses enough to pick up this book for him/herself. Please pray that I will have to purchase another Bible 21 for my flat because this first one has a new place in someone else's home. God does enormously big things -- in prayer, let's show our desire for Him to work through me and through this awesome new Bible translation to do this, as well.
For more on the Bible 21 story, check out this video:
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September 1, 2009
And so it begins...
Annnnnnd now.... a little bit of fun from my students! Last year, Stephanie had the classes write me some letters filled with advice about living in Prague, questions about me, and even a few hints about what their hopes are for this year. This was right after Stephanie read them an introductory letter I wrote and showed them some funny pictures of me. I hope you enjoy their comments (they have quite the sense of humor)!
Helpful tips:
Be careful of blind bus driver.
Drink beer. Save water.
Be careful of Jan…
Don’t look back into the sun.
Keep your wallet shut.
Be careful, there are a lot of thieves.
Don’t be friendly to Mrs. Nogkova
Stay calm.
Eat chocolate – eliminate stress.
Be cool.
Beware of pickpockets.
Like Czech beer (start with Cerny Kozel, continue with Gambriness or Budvar and finish with
Learn some Czech (ty vole, jdi do pidek, hovado, jeste jedno, hovno) (By the way, these are all bad words or insults -- I guess it's good to know them in case I hear them!)
Czech students are always loud, sleepy, clever, and they like to cheat. They like their phones and speaking
You truly show some nerve by coming here, but for getting out of this safe you will need much more, so sayeth [__]. (I think this one may fall more into the threat category, but I'm pretty sure he was joking :) )
But…beware of our pickpockets,
We have the best beer on the world.
You must be carrefull of pickpockets in
Why did you study religion? Are you Christian?
Do you like the evil characters from Harry Potter?
Do you like zombies? Or vampires?
Are you interested in fashion?
Do you like
Do you like crazy people? because we are…
Do you like stupid people, because "Speedy" is…
Do you like pop art?
Are you coming in peace?
How was it in
Do you like cat steak, perverted IT teacher, broken computers and mad students? So welcome to the GEKOM. (abbreviation for the school)
How is it in the
What is your favourite song?
Do you like
Have you got black boyfriend?
X^2 + 2x – 7 = 0 It is the best?
Hints and Expectations:
We are looking forward to you!
Have a nice holidays.
We are looking forward to work with you.
We are the best because we are smart, funny, very good looking, charming, and very good at English.
We like playing games, lunchtime (lunchbreak), the end of lessons, and holidays.
Teach the students how to speak.
I’m really looking forward to meeting you. You look nice.
You look crazy in the pictures so we’ll see if you really are.
We don’t want to run…
Or to sing…
Bring us some photos from
I hope you are not stranger than us.
I hope you are at least as good as Hunter was.
I hope that you will like our strange, crazy class.
We hope that your lessons will be as funny as your expression.
I hope you will be good for us! You look really good!
I hope you will like us!
I think, it’ll be amazing year.
I think you are crazy, but you’ll see who are the strangest people on the world. You have a lot of luck, you studied as a psychologist, I think.
We are looking forward to you and our cooperation. We hope, that’s will be nice year for everyone of us.
You remind me of someone famous, hope I’ll remember.
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Vyšehrad
Matt and St. Martin's Rotunda
Part of the gate system
Me in front of the Vltava
Matt, Laura, Ben, David, and Sarah with the old moat in sight.
Ruins of old buildings/fortresses
View up the river the other way
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Styled with Art Nouveau frescoes
monument to World War fallen soldiers
Vyšehrad Cemetary
Dvorak's grave
David and Laura walking through the cemetary
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