My first pub talk

Last Friday I was finally able to hold my first pub talk...and we started easy at Bohemia Bagel in Old Town Square, rather than an official pub. It was really, really fun! There were probably about twelve or so students who showed up in the course of four hours, and we ate good, tasty American food, tried to play Catchphrase, and chatted about everything from Anime to scouting (I had no idea scouting existed in Europe!) to international schooling. Two students brought friends from other schools, which was great -- they really helped the others get into English, I think, because one had lived in the U.S. for several years, and the other had transferred to the International School of Prague, in which English is spoken.

Bohemia Bagel is mostly a breakfast and burger-type place, but about half-way into our pub talk, some American men brought in some tables from outside and started setting up for beer pong. My students had no idea what they were playing, so after I explained that this was a popular college drinking game, we started an interesting discussion about drinking. Even though most of the students there were 18 or 19 (18 is the legal drinking age in the Czech Republic), several students said they really hate alcohol -- either because of the taste or because of its effects on so many people in the Czech Republic. This was music to my ears: that some of my students recognized what I saw in the culture of Czech drinking, that it is not just drinking but drunkenness that is common and that alcoholism is all too prevalent. This beer pong encounter also opened up a door for me to share what I think about drinking -- that I think it's fine in moderation, that I prefer wine and cocktails to beer after beer, that you should be of legal age, etc -- which was great because now they (at least those students present) know, unlike many of the expats in Prague, I don't go get trashed every weekend and don't spend all my money on alcohol.

The night ended with a student driving me home (thankfully -- it was getting cold!), but we got lost along the way. What a great bonding experience it was to try to find our way through the streets of Prague!
----------------
Now playing: Coldplay - Strawberry Swing
via FoxyTunes