there are not words to express my feelings right now....
apprehension
excitement
incredible sadness
I realized this morning that in 2 weeks, I will be on a Boeing 777 back to America. My 5 months overseas (quite arguably the best 5 months of my life) will be over.
Where has the year gone? It feels like I just hopped on my United Airways flight out of Kansas City just days ago. Not months. No way. It just can't be.
All the months of planning and looking forward to these months abroad..... and now it's almost over.
So where am I now?
I am living illegally.
I am so penniless, that I've had to ask my parents for money.
I've spent way too much money on cigarettes and plane tickets.
I've spent 30+ hours on airplanes in the past 5 months, and am about to spend another 13.
I've spent about double the hours just waiting in airports.
I've spent god-knows-how-many-hours on trains and buses.
I've spent 12 of these hours on a bus in Turkey sitting in front of a puking and crying baby.
I've used the restroom without having toilet paper about 25% of the time.
I've gotten lost more times than I can count.
I've had my debit card eaten by an ATM.
I've missed my 5-year class reunion.
I've lost count of how many beds I have slept in (not like that, just hostels/hotels/homes, etc).
I've lugged 40 lbs of luggage on my back for hours at a time.
I've paid up to $5/hour for internet access.
I've missed the birth of my best friend's baby.
I've been knowingly scammed by taxicab drivers for obscene amounts of money, but it was 4am and there were no buses.
I've survived strep throat, bronchitis, allergic reactions, sore muscles, food poisonings, hangovers, sunburns, and now upon reflection, I'm pretty sure I had the swine flu.
BUT.....
I've also gained an uncountable amount of new friends.
I've seen places that I hope my children have the chance of seeing someday.
I've had conversations with people without even speaking the same language.
I've gone kayaking in the Algarve grottoes.
I've been cleaned, scrubbed and massaged in private places by fat old Turkish women.
I've danced to the thumping techno music at a real Euro-Trash French nightclub.
I've been paid to make kids laugh every day.
I've dressed up in costume more days than not.
I've paid 2 euros for a bottle of wine that would cost $50 in the USA.
I've stood 3,000 year-old monasteries where you can still see frescoes.
I've listened to the Islam Call-To-Prayer before the sun has risen.
I've seen a circus and a monster-truck rally in France.
I've crossed the border between Asia and Europe while sipping tea.
I've danced like a maniac in to a Balkan folk concert in Prague.
I've gotten paid to drink.
I've learned how to say "free shot" in 8 different languages.
I've discussed communism's effect as we look at the remains of it.
I've learned the best cure for a sore throat is honey brandy.
I've done cartwheels underneath the Eiffel Tower.
I've had an international potluck with friends.
I've learned to be semi-comfortable in a bikini.
I've worn shorts in public.
I've purchased goggles with no intention of using them underwater.
I've set off fire alarms (not individually and not on purpose, but incidentally).
I've had Special Forces police buy me a drink.
I've dressed up as everything... from Madonna to a man. From a Greek goddess to a tree.
I've sang the Star-Spangled Banner in the streets on France and Prague.
I've watched fireworks on France's independence day.
I've learned how to bargain and haggle in Turkish, French, and Portuguese.
I've gone horseback riding through vineyards.
I've learned to take pleasure in small things -- such as finding decent Mexican food, double-ply toilet paper, being able to read product labels, public transportation, and the patience & kindness of others.
I've made friends with Americans, Canadians, Australians, Kiwis, El Salvadorians, Brazilians, Indians, English, Scottish, Irish, French, Germans, Austrians, Dutch, Norweigans, Spanish, Portuguese, Czechs, Turks, Slovaks, Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Zimbabweans, South Africans, Italians, Swedes, and Swiss.
I have enjoyed my life more. I have never been happier or more fulfilled.
I have no idea where the next few months or years will take me.... but if it's anything like the past 5 months, I have a great life to look forward to.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
recycling
Europe is ridiculously environmentally friendly. Everything electrical is censored or on timers, and there are recycling bins for everything just about everywhere.
With one exception. No one recycles aluminum cans in Europe. It is a practice that does not exist.
Which is funny considering in the USA, aluminum cans are the most recycled thing. The fact that you can take your cans and get money for them probably doesn't hurt.
But in Europe? Nope.
My heart hurts a little bit every time I throw away an aluminum can here.
With one exception. No one recycles aluminum cans in Europe. It is a practice that does not exist.
Which is funny considering in the USA, aluminum cans are the most recycled thing. The fact that you can take your cans and get money for them probably doesn't hurt.
But in Europe? Nope.
My heart hurts a little bit every time I throw away an aluminum can here.
repeat
As a side note, I would like to know who actually reads this blog besides my parents and family. So if you are reading this, please leave a comment to let me know!!!!! Thanks!!!!
Jako vedlejší poznámka, rád bych vědět, kdo vlastně čte tohoto blogu vedle mé rodiče a rodiny. Když jsi jsou čtení této, pros opustit vyjádřit k dovolte mi vědět!!!!! Díky!!!!
Aussi, j'aimerais savoir qui lit en fait ce blog outre mes parents et ma famille. Donc si vous lisez ceci, s'il vous plaît partir un commentaire me permets de sait ! !!!! Merci ! !!!
Eu gostaria de saber quem realmente lê este blog além de meus pais e a família. Então se lê isto, por favor deixa um comentário deixar me saber! !!!! Obrigado! !!!
Als möchten eine Seitennotiz, ich wissen, wer tatsächlich dieses Blog außer meinen Eltern und Familie liest. Deshalb wenn Sie dies lesen, verlassen Sie bitte eine Bemerkung, mich wissen zu lassen! !!!! Dank! !!!
Jako vedlejší poznámka, rád bych vědět, kdo vlastně čte tohoto blogu vedle mé rodiče a rodiny. Když jsi jsou čtení této, pros opustit vyjádřit k dovolte mi vědět!!!!! Díky!!!!
Aussi, j'aimerais savoir qui lit en fait ce blog outre mes parents et ma famille. Donc si vous lisez ceci, s'il vous plaît partir un commentaire me permets de sait ! !!!! Merci ! !!!
Eu gostaria de saber quem realmente lê este blog além de meus pais e a família. Então se lê isto, por favor deixa um comentário deixar me saber! !!!! Obrigado! !!!
Als möchten eine Seitennotiz, ich wissen, wer tatsächlich dieses Blog außer meinen Eltern und Familie liest. Deshalb wenn Sie dies lesen, verlassen Sie bitte eine Bemerkung, mich wissen zu lassen! !!!! Dank! !!!
Favorite Czech Words
My new favorite Czech word is "Počítač." (Pronounced Po-chee-tahch.)
It means "Computer."
It's just fun to say.
Almost as fun as "Budějovická," my metro stop. This has been lovingly nicknamed by me and my friends as our "Booty stop." It's just easier and more fun to say.
Another fun thing to say is "I.P. Pavlova," the name of another metro stop. Maybe it's just entertaining because of the metro-guy's voice recording when he says it. "Příští stanice: I.P. Pavlova" actually sounds like "Pzhee-shtee sta-nee-tsuh: Ee-pay pahv-LOW-vuh!"
Oh the Prague metro. It's an adventure every time. I saw a guy get tackled the other day by two women metro police.
I also got checked for a ticket last week. First time I've ever even seen them checking. Good thing I had a valid one!!!!!!
There is something about the smell of European metros that is amazing to me. Mix of hot steel, burnt rubber, smoke, B.O. and paint...... doesn't sound lovely and in all technicality it is NOT lovely, but every metro smells the same. Paris, Valencia, Lisbon, Prague, Rome.... That smell will always bring back so many nostalgic memories of riding on various metros......
It's comforting to find the same smells in various places....
It means "Computer."
It's just fun to say.
Almost as fun as "Budějovická," my metro stop. This has been lovingly nicknamed by me and my friends as our "Booty stop." It's just easier and more fun to say.
Another fun thing to say is "I.P. Pavlova," the name of another metro stop. Maybe it's just entertaining because of the metro-guy's voice recording when he says it. "Příští stanice: I.P. Pavlova" actually sounds like "Pzhee-shtee sta-nee-tsuh: Ee-pay pahv-LOW-vuh!"
Oh the Prague metro. It's an adventure every time. I saw a guy get tackled the other day by two women metro police.
I also got checked for a ticket last week. First time I've ever even seen them checking. Good thing I had a valid one!!!!!!
There is something about the smell of European metros that is amazing to me. Mix of hot steel, burnt rubber, smoke, B.O. and paint...... doesn't sound lovely and in all technicality it is NOT lovely, but every metro smells the same. Paris, Valencia, Lisbon, Prague, Rome.... That smell will always bring back so many nostalgic memories of riding on various metros......
It's comforting to find the same smells in various places....
Monday, September 14, 2009
Secret Czech Identity
If I had been born in Czech Republic, my name would have been "Stela Purnellova."
Each birthday has a coinciding Czech name, and every female gets -ova added to their last name. No matter what. Czech people even do it to foreign names -- Paris Hiltonova. Britney Spearsova.
Bizarre to think that even if I was named Amanda, all my official documents would say "Purnellova."
Adventures of Amanda and Supermarket are going well. No big screw-ups lately.... been buying good milk, un-gassed water, a nutella/white chocolate mix, even found pepperoni!!!!!! Oh and I have taught myself the art of the French Press coffee. So I am learning things.
Speaking of, I had my first shot of Slivovice, which is a traditionally Moravian (western Czechville) plum brandy. Ew ew ew. It was horrible. I would rather do absinthe any day!
I still have to try Becherovka (a Czech digestif) and I need to find a decent kolache. The cafe at my school sells pre-packaged crappy kolaches. More like odd-shaped muffins.
One of my teachers is from Kunovice, which is where a portion of our family is from. Her name is Alžběta Černušková - which is pronounced Alzh-bet-ah Cher-new-shkova.
Anyways, my other tutors are Gregor and Dunstan, who are Scottish-German and British, respectively.
I just taught my third lesson today (all focused on the difficult grammar of Narrative Tenses -- betcha have to google those huh?) -- it really went well though. Again, got some really positive feedback from my tutor and colleagues.
Wrote a 6-page grammar paper this weekend......... well lemme tell you, that was loads of fun. This week, it's a paper on how students learn and how to curtail lesson planning for those motivations.
Making some pretty good friends here.... got my little gang of Corydon, Nathan, Katie, Helen and John which is pretty solid -- nice mix of the USA, UK, Russia and Canada. I have a feeling over the next 3 weeks we will become a pseudo-family. There have been talks of having a big international pot-luck this weekend -- everyone making traditional national dishes and having a potluck dinner party with games and everything. So I hope this actually does happen... we see each other every day for hours on end, but we don't really get to socialize much outside of class or talking about English or our lessons. And during the week, we are just so damn busy -- we all teach on different days, always planning lessons, never getting enough sleep, etc etc etc.
My next lesson is on Wednesday and it's an hour long (all those so far have just been 40 minutes). I have to do a 60-minute lesson on vocabulary dealing with crimes/burglaries/theft etc...... yeah don't ask!!!! This coursebook has some odd topics (i.e. my first lesson was on speed-dating, second on astrology/palmistry, and today was on flying). We are also switching observing-tutors, so I will get feedback from a different tutor this time. I am excited about this because it gives me the chance to get feedback from someone who hasn't seen me teach yet and who may have different opinions/suggestions.
I love how this program doesn't have "criticisms" or "negatives"..... everything is "positives" or "suggestions". lol Sometimes I think I would learn better if they just flat out said, "OK that sucked. Never do that again." Tough love works for me.
Anyways, I'm going to get back to lesson planning!!!!!!!!!!
Tak zatím!!!!!!!
Each birthday has a coinciding Czech name, and every female gets -ova added to their last name. No matter what. Czech people even do it to foreign names -- Paris Hiltonova. Britney Spearsova.
Bizarre to think that even if I was named Amanda, all my official documents would say "Purnellova."
Adventures of Amanda and Supermarket are going well. No big screw-ups lately.... been buying good milk, un-gassed water, a nutella/white chocolate mix, even found pepperoni!!!!!! Oh and I have taught myself the art of the French Press coffee. So I am learning things.
Speaking of, I had my first shot of Slivovice, which is a traditionally Moravian (western Czechville) plum brandy. Ew ew ew. It was horrible. I would rather do absinthe any day!
I still have to try Becherovka (a Czech digestif) and I need to find a decent kolache. The cafe at my school sells pre-packaged crappy kolaches. More like odd-shaped muffins.
One of my teachers is from Kunovice, which is where a portion of our family is from. Her name is Alžběta Černušková - which is pronounced Alzh-bet-ah Cher-new-shkova.
Anyways, my other tutors are Gregor and Dunstan, who are Scottish-German and British, respectively.
I just taught my third lesson today (all focused on the difficult grammar of Narrative Tenses -- betcha have to google those huh?) -- it really went well though. Again, got some really positive feedback from my tutor and colleagues.
Wrote a 6-page grammar paper this weekend......... well lemme tell you, that was loads of fun. This week, it's a paper on how students learn and how to curtail lesson planning for those motivations.
Making some pretty good friends here.... got my little gang of Corydon, Nathan, Katie, Helen and John which is pretty solid -- nice mix of the USA, UK, Russia and Canada. I have a feeling over the next 3 weeks we will become a pseudo-family. There have been talks of having a big international pot-luck this weekend -- everyone making traditional national dishes and having a potluck dinner party with games and everything. So I hope this actually does happen... we see each other every day for hours on end, but we don't really get to socialize much outside of class or talking about English or our lessons. And during the week, we are just so damn busy -- we all teach on different days, always planning lessons, never getting enough sleep, etc etc etc.
My next lesson is on Wednesday and it's an hour long (all those so far have just been 40 minutes). I have to do a 60-minute lesson on vocabulary dealing with crimes/burglaries/theft etc...... yeah don't ask!!!! This coursebook has some odd topics (i.e. my first lesson was on speed-dating, second on astrology/palmistry, and today was on flying). We are also switching observing-tutors, so I will get feedback from a different tutor this time. I am excited about this because it gives me the chance to get feedback from someone who hasn't seen me teach yet and who may have different opinions/suggestions.
I love how this program doesn't have "criticisms" or "negatives"..... everything is "positives" or "suggestions". lol Sometimes I think I would learn better if they just flat out said, "OK that sucked. Never do that again." Tough love works for me.
Anyways, I'm going to get back to lesson planning!!!!!!!!!!
Tak zatím!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Being taught how to teach.....
So I have finished two full days of CELTA training. Each day is a LONG day -- we go from 9:15am - 5:30, Monday thru Friday. Our schedule looks like this:
9:15 - 9:55am -- 1st teacher
9:55 - 10:35am -- 2nd teacher
10:35 - 10:50am -- BREAK
10:50 - 11:30am -- 3rd teacher
11:30 - 1:15pm -- Group feedback and lesson planning
1:15 - 2:15pm -- LUNCH
2:15 - 3:45 -- Seminar One
4:00 - 5:30 -- Seminar Two
There are 18 of us all together, but we are split into three groups of 6, and we each have a different class of students. We will be working with this group the entire four weeks. I am in a group with Corydon (Texas/New York), Filip (Czech), Katie (California), Ellen (Russia), and Stefan (Sweden). We definitely have the most diverse group of ex-patriates. Most others in the program are American/Canadian/British (with two other Czechs).
About Teaching Schedule: We each teach every other day. So today, me, Corydon and Filip taught for 40 minutes each. Tomorrow, Katie, Ellen and Stefan with teach 40 minutes each, and so on and so on. Some days wre 60 minute lessons. We also teach different things -- today I taught a reading exercise and vocabulary. But on Thursday, I am doing a listening exercise. I can assume my next lesson will be with grammar.
About Class Make-Up: Most of the students are young females. My class is entirely female. Right now, my class is the highest level, which is strange for me since I've been teaching really low level in France. The students pay a discounted rate for these English classes (in 2 week sessions) and depending on their attendance, they get refunded money. So needless to say, attendance is almost perfect to ensure they get the most amount of money back.
The Seminars: Kind of boring, but obviously very useful. When it's after lunch and a long day of sitting in a desk, all you want to do is take a nap. I find myself getting extremely antsy, which I don't remember being in high school.
TEACHING: I was the first teacher to go today. Scary!!!!!! My lesson was reading an article and vocabulary words about "Speed-Dating." Yes. It was quite a good topic for a room of girls -- it was easy to make jokes and share stories about bad dates, and our type of men, and the perfect guy, etc. The girls in our class are extremely receptive and participative. They are able to put complex sentences together and can understand very well. With most of them, it is almost like speaking normally -- just a little slower and using simpler language.
My lesson was timed almost perfectly -- I improvised an activity at the end (instead of doing planned discussion) and I ran 2 minutes over time, but overall I thought the lesson was engaging and fun. I got some very good feedback from my fellow colleagues and my tutor. My negatives were "talking/explaining too much," and I had a bit of trouble with one of my handouts due to printer error. But I was "full of enthusiasm and had good rapport, great pacing and flow, and effective vocabulary teaching."
So overall, a successful lesson -- I passed!!!! YAY!!!!
So now I have a night off.... tomrrow I just have to observe the other 3 teachers and give feedback. No lesson planning tonight!
Tonight is another episode of the Adventures of Amanda & Supermarket, as I have just about run out of everything conceivable.
Especially coffee. Man, I just can't function without it early in the morning. We do not have a coffee machine at the flat, just a French press. So this morning I was googling instructions on how to make coffee with a French press. It worked, but it wasn't strong enough. Thank god the teaching center has a coffee machine -- for only 10kč a cup!!!!! (that's like 5 cents). Whoooo hoooo -- we are all hopped up on coffee most the morning.... and afternoon... well... the whole day.
Anywho, off I go to Supermarket and to buy a temporary Czech sim card for my cell phone!!!!!
"Tak zatím!!!!!" (I'll see you later!)
- Amanda
9:15 - 9:55am -- 1st teacher
9:55 - 10:35am -- 2nd teacher
10:35 - 10:50am -- BREAK
10:50 - 11:30am -- 3rd teacher
11:30 - 1:15pm -- Group feedback and lesson planning
1:15 - 2:15pm -- LUNCH
2:15 - 3:45 -- Seminar One
4:00 - 5:30 -- Seminar Two
There are 18 of us all together, but we are split into three groups of 6, and we each have a different class of students. We will be working with this group the entire four weeks. I am in a group with Corydon (Texas/New York), Filip (Czech), Katie (California), Ellen (Russia), and Stefan (Sweden). We definitely have the most diverse group of ex-patriates. Most others in the program are American/Canadian/British (with two other Czechs).
About Teaching Schedule: We each teach every other day. So today, me, Corydon and Filip taught for 40 minutes each. Tomorrow, Katie, Ellen and Stefan with teach 40 minutes each, and so on and so on. Some days wre 60 minute lessons. We also teach different things -- today I taught a reading exercise and vocabulary. But on Thursday, I am doing a listening exercise. I can assume my next lesson will be with grammar.
About Class Make-Up: Most of the students are young females. My class is entirely female. Right now, my class is the highest level, which is strange for me since I've been teaching really low level in France. The students pay a discounted rate for these English classes (in 2 week sessions) and depending on their attendance, they get refunded money. So needless to say, attendance is almost perfect to ensure they get the most amount of money back.
The Seminars: Kind of boring, but obviously very useful. When it's after lunch and a long day of sitting in a desk, all you want to do is take a nap. I find myself getting extremely antsy, which I don't remember being in high school.
TEACHING: I was the first teacher to go today. Scary!!!!!! My lesson was reading an article and vocabulary words about "Speed-Dating." Yes. It was quite a good topic for a room of girls -- it was easy to make jokes and share stories about bad dates, and our type of men, and the perfect guy, etc. The girls in our class are extremely receptive and participative. They are able to put complex sentences together and can understand very well. With most of them, it is almost like speaking normally -- just a little slower and using simpler language.
My lesson was timed almost perfectly -- I improvised an activity at the end (instead of doing planned discussion) and I ran 2 minutes over time, but overall I thought the lesson was engaging and fun. I got some very good feedback from my fellow colleagues and my tutor. My negatives were "talking/explaining too much," and I had a bit of trouble with one of my handouts due to printer error. But I was "full of enthusiasm and had good rapport, great pacing and flow, and effective vocabulary teaching."
So overall, a successful lesson -- I passed!!!! YAY!!!!
So now I have a night off.... tomrrow I just have to observe the other 3 teachers and give feedback. No lesson planning tonight!
Tonight is another episode of the Adventures of Amanda & Supermarket, as I have just about run out of everything conceivable.
Especially coffee. Man, I just can't function without it early in the morning. We do not have a coffee machine at the flat, just a French press. So this morning I was googling instructions on how to make coffee with a French press. It worked, but it wasn't strong enough. Thank god the teaching center has a coffee machine -- for only 10kč a cup!!!!! (that's like 5 cents). Whoooo hoooo -- we are all hopped up on coffee most the morning.... and afternoon... well... the whole day.
Anywho, off I go to Supermarket and to buy a temporary Czech sim card for my cell phone!!!!!
"Tak zatím!!!!!" (I'll see you later!)
- Amanda
Friday, September 4, 2009
Czech surprises in the supermarket!!!
My supermarket (which will be referred to from hereonout as just as Supermarket. Yes like a person) is a Billa and is located just 5 minutes walking from my flat. This blog will chronicle the adventures of Amanda and Supermarket.
Things that are strangely expensive here in Czechville:
- deodorant
- extra virgin olive oil (EVOO as good ole Rachy Ray would say)
- Coca-Cola
- spaghetti sauce
- Nutella
- any sort of hair care products
- toothpaste
What's even stranger is that brands like Garnier Fructis and Pantene Pro-V (shampoo and conditioner and such) are actually the cheapest brands you can buy. Garnier Fructis is everywhere. It's actually the cheapest in Portugal and France as well. Very strange, considering how expensive it is in America.
And when I say expensive in Czechville, I mean more than 30-40kc. Which means more than $2-3. lol What can I say? I'm down and out in Prague. Just flat broke. If it's more than 50kc, I won't buy it!
Mayonaise. That's another interesting concept in Prague. It took me 30 minutes to find mayo in the Billa supermarket. Obviously, I'm searching next to the mustards and ketchups and salad dressings. It was there in the US, Portugal and France. Could not find it. Because it is in the refrigerated section. Next to the yogurt, of course. Next to the yogurt is my first European experience with refrigerated milk. Milk is normally purchased in boxes, non-refrigerated. After you open it, then you refrigerate it. So it was to much delight that I found plastic bottles of refrigerated milk.
So my first trip to Supermarket.... I left with sandwich bread, sliced ham, mayonnaise, cereal, refrigerated milk, pasta, spaghetti sauce, white chocolate, and a bottle of water.
I return to my apartment to find that the milk I bought is sour. No, not past its expiration date -- they SELL it that way. I guess it is common for baking. Of course I couldn't read the label cause it was in Czech. It was white, it was liquid, it was by a bunch of different colored-topped bottles (similar to the US).... it even had a picture of a coffee mug on the front!
Needless to say, it was not what I wanted.
I also find that the bottle of water I bought has gas. Not flatulence, mind you, but bubbles- carbonated, if you will. In Europe, it's either "with gas" or "without gas."
So my first trip to Supermarket by myself was interesting. Couldn't read a damn thing. I stared at the mustards forever thinking that maybe they were a funky colored mayonnaise, because well, I can't read Czech. And there is no English translation. Some things, such as my spaghetti sauce, is conveniently translated into 8 different languages. No English. But French yes, so I at least knew my spaghetti sauce was safe.
Most everything else is in Czech and Slovak. Obviously, I do not speak either, so for most things in the supermarket, I am S.O.L. and have to go with my instinct.
Also, Supermarket has stopped selling cans of Coca-Cola. When I first arrived, I purchased a 6-pack of Coca-Cola cans. When I returned to Supermarket today, it was as if it were all a dream. Not an aluminum can in sight. Of any soda. (OK POP!!!!! fine!!!! Soda POP!) Just half-liters, liters and 2-liters. Now I don't know about you, but I'm extremely partial to soda in a can. It just tastes so much better to me for some reason. So I was very disappointed in the lack of support to the aluminum-can community.
What else about Supermarket? Oh yeah, they don't have peanut butter (which is nothing new for europe but...). You also have to buy grocery bags. (This again is nothing new for Europe, but a mystical concept for Americans.... like a unicorn.)
Another mystical thing that never ceases to amaze me every time I see it.....
Just the simple brilliance of it, and just how damn simple it is, but yet how cost effective and energy saving it is.....
Motion-censored escalators. Escalators that do not move until they sense someone approaching. Then they move and carry you down/up like any other normal escalator.
The first time I saw this was in the Athens airport last year, and it's something I keep noticing more and more around Europe. Because it's just smart. Why leave the damn thing running all the time when there's no one to step ont it?
So now I'm rambling. I've been reading way to too much David Sedaris and it's rubbing off.
By the way, just finished "Naked" by the aforementioned author, and would recommend it to anyone with a dry sense of humor or an appreciation for one.
Daddy -- Happy Birthday! Thank you for all your support!!!
Mama -- I'm bringin home a recipe for fruit dumplings!!!! Be ready!!!
Condolences to Uncle Robert and Aunt Charlie on their recent family loss.
Thinking of You -- to Gaylord, Rhonda, Aubrey, Jared and most of all Chanta.
Much love to Grandma -- I wish you could have visited Czech Republic!
A little late, but Congratulations to Jen and Jacob Silvey on the birth of their beautiful lil Isabella Marie!!!!!!! Baby Bella, I'm comin home soon to squeeze you!!!!!
To Commerce Bank -- I curse thee!!!
And much love to all my family and friends who read this! One more month until I'm home!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------
As a side note, I would like to know who actually reads this blog besides my parents and family. So if you are reading this, please leave a comment to let me know!!!!! Thanks!!!!
Things that are strangely expensive here in Czechville:
- deodorant
- extra virgin olive oil (EVOO as good ole Rachy Ray would say)
- Coca-Cola
- spaghetti sauce
- Nutella
- any sort of hair care products
- toothpaste
What's even stranger is that brands like Garnier Fructis and Pantene Pro-V (shampoo and conditioner and such) are actually the cheapest brands you can buy. Garnier Fructis is everywhere. It's actually the cheapest in Portugal and France as well. Very strange, considering how expensive it is in America.
And when I say expensive in Czechville, I mean more than 30-40kc. Which means more than $2-3. lol What can I say? I'm down and out in Prague. Just flat broke. If it's more than 50kc, I won't buy it!
Mayonaise. That's another interesting concept in Prague. It took me 30 minutes to find mayo in the Billa supermarket. Obviously, I'm searching next to the mustards and ketchups and salad dressings. It was there in the US, Portugal and France. Could not find it. Because it is in the refrigerated section. Next to the yogurt, of course. Next to the yogurt is my first European experience with refrigerated milk. Milk is normally purchased in boxes, non-refrigerated. After you open it, then you refrigerate it. So it was to much delight that I found plastic bottles of refrigerated milk.
So my first trip to Supermarket.... I left with sandwich bread, sliced ham, mayonnaise, cereal, refrigerated milk, pasta, spaghetti sauce, white chocolate, and a bottle of water.
I return to my apartment to find that the milk I bought is sour. No, not past its expiration date -- they SELL it that way. I guess it is common for baking. Of course I couldn't read the label cause it was in Czech. It was white, it was liquid, it was by a bunch of different colored-topped bottles (similar to the US).... it even had a picture of a coffee mug on the front!
Needless to say, it was not what I wanted.
I also find that the bottle of water I bought has gas. Not flatulence, mind you, but bubbles- carbonated, if you will. In Europe, it's either "with gas" or "without gas."
So my first trip to Supermarket by myself was interesting. Couldn't read a damn thing. I stared at the mustards forever thinking that maybe they were a funky colored mayonnaise, because well, I can't read Czech. And there is no English translation. Some things, such as my spaghetti sauce, is conveniently translated into 8 different languages. No English. But French yes, so I at least knew my spaghetti sauce was safe.
Most everything else is in Czech and Slovak. Obviously, I do not speak either, so for most things in the supermarket, I am S.O.L. and have to go with my instinct.
Also, Supermarket has stopped selling cans of Coca-Cola. When I first arrived, I purchased a 6-pack of Coca-Cola cans. When I returned to Supermarket today, it was as if it were all a dream. Not an aluminum can in sight. Of any soda. (OK POP!!!!! fine!!!! Soda POP!) Just half-liters, liters and 2-liters. Now I don't know about you, but I'm extremely partial to soda in a can. It just tastes so much better to me for some reason. So I was very disappointed in the lack of support to the aluminum-can community.
What else about Supermarket? Oh yeah, they don't have peanut butter (which is nothing new for europe but...). You also have to buy grocery bags. (This again is nothing new for Europe, but a mystical concept for Americans.... like a unicorn.)
Another mystical thing that never ceases to amaze me every time I see it.....
Just the simple brilliance of it, and just how damn simple it is, but yet how cost effective and energy saving it is.....
Motion-censored escalators. Escalators that do not move until they sense someone approaching. Then they move and carry you down/up like any other normal escalator.
The first time I saw this was in the Athens airport last year, and it's something I keep noticing more and more around Europe. Because it's just smart. Why leave the damn thing running all the time when there's no one to step ont it?
So now I'm rambling. I've been reading way to too much David Sedaris and it's rubbing off.
By the way, just finished "Naked" by the aforementioned author, and would recommend it to anyone with a dry sense of humor or an appreciation for one.
Daddy -- Happy Birthday! Thank you for all your support!!!
Mama -- I'm bringin home a recipe for fruit dumplings!!!! Be ready!!!
Condolences to Uncle Robert and Aunt Charlie on their recent family loss.
Thinking of You -- to Gaylord, Rhonda, Aubrey, Jared and most of all Chanta.
Much love to Grandma -- I wish you could have visited Czech Republic!
A little late, but Congratulations to Jen and Jacob Silvey on the birth of their beautiful lil Isabella Marie!!!!!!! Baby Bella, I'm comin home soon to squeeze you!!!!!
To Commerce Bank -- I curse thee!!!
And much love to all my family and friends who read this! One more month until I'm home!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------
As a side note, I would like to know who actually reads this blog besides my parents and family. So if you are reading this, please leave a comment to let me know!!!!! Thanks!!!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Česká Republika
So after a couple months in France, one crazy month in Portugal, a couple days in Spain.... here I am in Prague.
Living in poverty is interesting. I guess one could argue that I´ve technically lived in poverty ever since I left my parents home. My annual income is well below that of the respected poverty line in the USA. However, I have always had my parents, a job, or at least an emergency credit card to fall back on.
I have money. I do. Well, not a lot. But the problem lies in the fact that I transferred it all from my French account to my American account. No big deal, except my American debit card was eaten up and destroyed by an ATM in Spain.
I entered Prague with 50€ in cash, or 1100kč (roughly 60 USD). This 60 dollars are supposed to last me almost 2-3 weeks --- the time in which it takes my bank to send a new card to my house in the USA and then for my parents to send it to the Czech Republic.
What about credit cards? you might ask. Ah, but all my credit cards are maxed from paying for this course in full, upfront. In addition to all this, I still have to pay my student loans (roughly 150 bucks per month) and credit card payments. I honestly thought of trying to defer my loans, but I can't legally, because the school I am attending is overseas and not recognized under Title IV or something like that.
So after buying enough groceries to hopefully last me a week or two, I have about 200kč left.... about 10€ or 15 dollars. That's not a whole lot to live on.
To give you perspective.....
a beer costs - 35kč
milk costs aroun - 24kč
a metro ticket - 18kč
can of coke - 29kč
bag of coffee? close to 100kč
pack of cigarettes - 76kč
To give you perspective.....
a beer costs - 35kč
milk costs aroun - 24kč
a metro ticket - 18kč
can of coke - 29kč
bag of coffee? close to 100kč
pack of cigarettes - 76kč
So comparatively, everything is cheap. But when you only have 200kč, it goes fast.
So in conclusion, I am living in poverty. I can't even go out and enjoy a Czech beer (beer was invented here) because I can't afford it. I mostly sit at my flat and read all day. Which is sad cause I read fast, but I can't go buy more books. Even a membership to a library costs money. Luckily, my host has a small section of English-language books. Currently I'm reading "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote which is just absolutely fascinating. I would advise every single family member and friend in the Missouri/Kansas area to read it, because it all centers around Garden City and Kansas City. And it's all based on a true story -- a vicious, cold-blooded mass murder.
But before I get ahead of myself, I´ll remind everyone why I am in Prague. I have chosen to take a whole new route to my career. I have obviously caught the "travel bug" but of course one must work to stave off the poverty I am now facing. I have decided to do this by getting my CELTA certification.
For the next month (Until october 2nd), I will be in class over 8 hours every day (M-F) reviewing English grammar, teaching principles, lesson planning strategies, and getting hands-on teaching experience. I will be teaching the English language to classes of Czech adults.
In the end (hopefully) I will receive my certification to teach English as a second language to adults. This certification will guarantee me to be able to get a job pretty much anywhere. It's kind of like a nursing degree -- there will always be a job.... now where is the question. I could obviously get a job even working in the USA given the number of immigrants we have to the country. But more importantly, I now have a valid reason for almost any country to give me a valid work permit.
So why Prague? Well, the program offered the price in British Pounds, which at the time was a pretty good exchange for the USD, compared to paying higher prices at the Euro. Also, central Europe is just incredibly cheap. Not as much as it used to be, but in comparison, things are much cheaper. Czech Republic is also still on the Czech koruna -- NOT the Euro! And as such, the American dollar and Euro is worth quite a bit in exchange.
Currently,
1 Czech koruna = 0.05 US dollars.
or
1 US dollar = 18.05 Czech korunas
For the next month (Until october 2nd), I will be in class over 8 hours every day (M-F) reviewing English grammar, teaching principles, lesson planning strategies, and getting hands-on teaching experience. I will be teaching the English language to classes of Czech adults.
In the end (hopefully) I will receive my certification to teach English as a second language to adults. This certification will guarantee me to be able to get a job pretty much anywhere. It's kind of like a nursing degree -- there will always be a job.... now where is the question. I could obviously get a job even working in the USA given the number of immigrants we have to the country. But more importantly, I now have a valid reason for almost any country to give me a valid work permit.
So why Prague? Well, the program offered the price in British Pounds, which at the time was a pretty good exchange for the USD, compared to paying higher prices at the Euro. Also, central Europe is just incredibly cheap. Not as much as it used to be, but in comparison, things are much cheaper. Czech Republic is also still on the Czech koruna -- NOT the Euro! And as such, the American dollar and Euro is worth quite a bit in exchange.
Currently,
1 Czech koruna = 0.05 US dollars.
or
1 US dollar = 18.05 Czech korunas
Note to grandma: I asked my host family about kolaches!!!!!! In Czech, they are "koláče". But yes they are a common pastry here!
Speaking of host family, I do live with people. I live with Radka (a director at a school) and her son Simon. They have a nice townhouse in Praha 4 (a Prague suburb just south of central Prague). They are also hosting a university-exchange student Sarah. She is from Arkansas. And later this week, another American CELTA-trainee will join us. We have the upstairs half of the townhouse with a bathroom and kitchen to share.
(My metro stop in Praha 4. Pronounced "boo-day-yo-vitz-kah".)
(The street I live on. Pronounced "Nah Kirtch-skra Strah-nee". Yeah, impossible to actually make that into phonetic phrases.)
(View from my bedroom window. In the distance you can see the ugly high-rise apartment complexes -- remnants of the Communist reign that spackle the Czech Republic. )OK so this is turning into a rambling novel........ and I'm gettin a headache.
I love you all. Thanks for reading!
I return to the USA on October 6th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Amanda
Monday, August 31, 2009
August in Portugal
Portugal was a blurry 3 weeks of alcohol, Australians and sand. Lots of sand.
We flew from Paris to Faro, Portugal, where we hopped on a bus to Lagos. Lagos is on the southern tip of the Algarve coast. Aboslutely beautiful and breathtaking.
It's very touristy, but also very backpacky. For some reason, it's a right of passage for all Australians to visit Lagos. So the town is mainly run by expats -- Aussies, Kiwis, Brits, Irish, etc. Not too many Americans. We were actually a novelty being American.
Speaking of we, it was me, Nomad and Spanky (Heather and Rachael -- they are sisters). I worked with Heather last year in France, and worked with both of them this summer in France. After visiting Lagos with Heather last year, it was obvious we wanted to go back.
Lagos is one of those places you go to for a couple days, and end up staying for at least a couple weeks. Something about the town just sucks you in and won't let you leave. It's extremely common to "accidentally" miss your bus/train/flight home.
Last year we stayed at the Gold Coast hostel. It's one of the top 10 hostels in the world consistently. It's just an amazing place, run by an amazing guy named Brian.
As a traveler living out of a backpack, Gold Coast is the closest thing to home. In fact, after you are all checked in and orientated, Brian gives you a big hug and says, "Welcome home." While the gesture might seem simple in nature, it's a poignant and rare thing to find while traveling abroad. Someone who actually welcomes you with open arms, makes you feel comfortable, and will bend over backwards to make your stay the best he can. So kudos to Brian on running the best place I have ever stayed in, for keeping its solid reputation, and for not losing your integrity.
We stayed there for a few nights in order to get our feet on the ground. But as it is high season in Portugal, so are the hostel rates. First order of business? Find an apartment. Which is pretty easy to do in Lagos. We found a nice house in the center of uptown. Downstairs room was shared by two Aussie guys, Mike and Tom. We had the upstairs room, and another girl lived in the top floor room, Megan from the US. We all shared two bathrooms and a common room and kitchen. Like a small hostel really. Yes they were bunk beds. Oh well. For almost half the price of the hostel, it was worth it. We saved a lot of money!!!!
Second order of business? Finding a job. One of the best things about Lagos is you can always find a job working for one of the bars/restaurants under the table. You can search one night, not find a single job. Next night, you may find 3 openings! I took the first job I came across at Stone's Rock Bar.
Stone's is an unkept, grungy, hole-in-the-wall rock bar. But that's its charm. Every bar in Lagos plays the exact same music with the exception of 2. NahNahBah plays reggae, and Stone's plays rock/hard rock/metal. So we had our own little niche market. My job was as a flyer. I stood outside the bar and basically tried to get anyone into the bar. My gimmick? Free shot with your first drink. Buy a beer? Get a shot. Buy a shot? Get a shot. Etc. Second half of my gimmick -- the shot is a STRONG shot!!!! Most other bars give away fruity little juicy shots. Not Stone's. Our shot was almost straight vodka. Some people couldn't even handle them lol.
The bar owner was Kev, a Scot. The other bartenders were Will (a Brit), Nin (a Brit), Brandon (either Brit or Aus i cant remember) and Rico (Portuguese). I misheard Rico's name the first night, and thought it ws Winkle. So from there was born his new name Winkle. He was Winkle from then on.
(Me and my Winkle!!!!!)
(Me, Nin and Will at my bar!!!!)
Best part about the job? Not only did I get paid every night in cash, but I also got as many free drinks as I wanted. The idea being, that in order to be enthusiastic and bring more people in, I needed to have a drink or two in hand.
Some random Spanish guys left a deflated Pepsi soccer ball in the bar one night. This ball became my flyer hat. It was my magic hat lol. I could put that hat on and do anything stupid and it would be okay because I had a soccer ball on my head. It also happened to be the colors of the French flag, so I got a lot of French people into my bar who thought I was supporting France lol.
So report to work at 9pm, work until 2am. From here, either go home and sleep, or go party until 4am when the rest of the bars shut down.
So my daily schedule in Lagos was as follows:
9pm - report to work.
2am - get off work.
2:30am - either go to sleep or party until 4am.
12-2pm - wake up and get lunch.
1-5pm - go to the beach.
(working hard.... on our tans.)
5-9pm - come home. watch tv. take shower. eat dinner. watch tv.
(Getting ready for work, checkin emails bouncing off the rather unreliable wifi of a neighboring hostel!)
9pm - report to work.
and so on and so on.
Not too shabby eh?
So inbetween we did some stuff. One day we went kayaking around the coast and grottoes. One day we did the Joe's Garage Booze Cruise. The staff said they had never seen the waters soooo rocky and choppy -- needless to say, I think there were maybe 5 people who didn't throw up. I threw up within the first 10 minutes from sea sickness. No, not alcohol. Legit sea sickness. Which is strange because I usually don't get seasick. Anyways, after a few hours of sangria fights, jumping in the ocean, and seeing way too much nudity, we called it a day.
(Nomad, Spanky and I on the Booze Cruise!!!!!)
About this time, I also got the flu. No fun. I had to take off work early one night and not even go into work the next night. The pharmacy wanted nothing to do with me, telling me to go straight to the hospital as they had just had an outbreak of Swine Flu. Got some flu meds, slept for almost 48 hours, and was fine.
All this time in Portugal, and I never once had Portuguese food. Nope, not once. It's actually difficult to find. Every restaurant is Indian, tapas, American, steaks, tex-mex, sandwiches, etc. Our favorite place is Casa Rosa. For 10 euros you get a nice, home-cooked, comfort food meal, and all you can drink for one hour (called the Power Hour). If you don't want to drink, your meal is only 3.95. Either way its dirt cheap and has comfort food like lasagna, spaghetti, hamburgers, burritos, chicken, pork chops, etc.
(Spanky, Tiny, Nomad and I at Casa Rosa! Power Hour! Mothership! Connect Four!!!)
anyways, after two weeks, our other friend from France, Tiny Dancer (Megan) joined us! it was a blast to have all four of us together!!!!! I worked at Stone's, Spanky worked at Shaker's, and Nomad and Tiny worked at Whyte's.
Portugal was just overall a great time. Way too much alcohol though. This month in Prague will be a good detox. And? NO MORE SAND!!!!!!!! Sand was just everywhere and in everything. You take a shower, you step out, and there's sand all over your feet. Crawl into bed and just sand everywhere. In Spain, I shook out enough sand from my purse to create my own personal beach.
Speaking of Spain, after our adventures in Lagos, we all trekked to Spain. We took a bus from Lagos to Seville, where we caught a flight to Valencia. We arrived the day before La Tomatina in order to prepare for battle!!!!! La Tomatina is huge tomato festival in Bunol, Spain, where truckloads of tomatoes are dumped and then a tomato fight begins. We were ready with old clothes, good shoes, goggles, plastic bags for money, everything. And then the train was late. And we missed the fight by about 5 minutes. I mean, we still got tomatoes on us, and we still walked around and took in the sight of it all, but we missed the whole big shibang! It was disappointing!
However, we had a 3-star hotel in Valencia, so we didn't care! It was honestly one of the coolest hotels I've ever been in! They gave us a free laptop with internet in our hotel room! Plus a hydro-massage shower, air conditioning, amazing beds, flat-screen TV, and a mini-bar (which we did not touch of course). And it was the best location we could have asked for in Valencia!
So even though we missed out on La Tomatina, we at least had an amazing place to go back to and relax!!!!!
Whew okay that was a loooooong entry. I am going to give my fingers and eyes a break.
I will update with Prague either later today or tomorrow!
Love to you all!!!!!!!
We flew from Paris to Faro, Portugal, where we hopped on a bus to Lagos. Lagos is on the southern tip of the Algarve coast. Aboslutely beautiful and breathtaking.
It's very touristy, but also very backpacky. For some reason, it's a right of passage for all Australians to visit Lagos. So the town is mainly run by expats -- Aussies, Kiwis, Brits, Irish, etc. Not too many Americans. We were actually a novelty being American.
Speaking of we, it was me, Nomad and Spanky (Heather and Rachael -- they are sisters). I worked with Heather last year in France, and worked with both of them this summer in France. After visiting Lagos with Heather last year, it was obvious we wanted to go back.
Lagos is one of those places you go to for a couple days, and end up staying for at least a couple weeks. Something about the town just sucks you in and won't let you leave. It's extremely common to "accidentally" miss your bus/train/flight home.
Last year we stayed at the Gold Coast hostel. It's one of the top 10 hostels in the world consistently. It's just an amazing place, run by an amazing guy named Brian.
As a traveler living out of a backpack, Gold Coast is the closest thing to home. In fact, after you are all checked in and orientated, Brian gives you a big hug and says, "Welcome home." While the gesture might seem simple in nature, it's a poignant and rare thing to find while traveling abroad. Someone who actually welcomes you with open arms, makes you feel comfortable, and will bend over backwards to make your stay the best he can. So kudos to Brian on running the best place I have ever stayed in, for keeping its solid reputation, and for not losing your integrity.
We stayed there for a few nights in order to get our feet on the ground. But as it is high season in Portugal, so are the hostel rates. First order of business? Find an apartment. Which is pretty easy to do in Lagos. We found a nice house in the center of uptown. Downstairs room was shared by two Aussie guys, Mike and Tom. We had the upstairs room, and another girl lived in the top floor room, Megan from the US. We all shared two bathrooms and a common room and kitchen. Like a small hostel really. Yes they were bunk beds. Oh well. For almost half the price of the hostel, it was worth it. We saved a lot of money!!!!
Second order of business? Finding a job. One of the best things about Lagos is you can always find a job working for one of the bars/restaurants under the table. You can search one night, not find a single job. Next night, you may find 3 openings! I took the first job I came across at Stone's Rock Bar.
Stone's is an unkept, grungy, hole-in-the-wall rock bar. But that's its charm. Every bar in Lagos plays the exact same music with the exception of 2. NahNahBah plays reggae, and Stone's plays rock/hard rock/metal. So we had our own little niche market. My job was as a flyer. I stood outside the bar and basically tried to get anyone into the bar. My gimmick? Free shot with your first drink. Buy a beer? Get a shot. Buy a shot? Get a shot. Etc. Second half of my gimmick -- the shot is a STRONG shot!!!! Most other bars give away fruity little juicy shots. Not Stone's. Our shot was almost straight vodka. Some people couldn't even handle them lol.
The bar owner was Kev, a Scot. The other bartenders were Will (a Brit), Nin (a Brit), Brandon (either Brit or Aus i cant remember) and Rico (Portuguese). I misheard Rico's name the first night, and thought it ws Winkle. So from there was born his new name Winkle. He was Winkle from then on.
(Me and my Winkle!!!!!)
(Me, Nin and Will at my bar!!!!)Best part about the job? Not only did I get paid every night in cash, but I also got as many free drinks as I wanted. The idea being, that in order to be enthusiastic and bring more people in, I needed to have a drink or two in hand.
Some random Spanish guys left a deflated Pepsi soccer ball in the bar one night. This ball became my flyer hat. It was my magic hat lol. I could put that hat on and do anything stupid and it would be okay because I had a soccer ball on my head. It also happened to be the colors of the French flag, so I got a lot of French people into my bar who thought I was supporting France lol.
So report to work at 9pm, work until 2am. From here, either go home and sleep, or go party until 4am when the rest of the bars shut down.
So my daily schedule in Lagos was as follows:
9pm - report to work.
2am - get off work.
2:30am - either go to sleep or party until 4am.
12-2pm - wake up and get lunch.
1-5pm - go to the beach.
(working hard.... on our tans.)
(Getting ready for work, checkin emails bouncing off the rather unreliable wifi of a neighboring hostel!)9pm - report to work.
and so on and so on.
Not too shabby eh?
So inbetween we did some stuff. One day we went kayaking around the coast and grottoes. One day we did the Joe's Garage Booze Cruise. The staff said they had never seen the waters soooo rocky and choppy -- needless to say, I think there were maybe 5 people who didn't throw up. I threw up within the first 10 minutes from sea sickness. No, not alcohol. Legit sea sickness. Which is strange because I usually don't get seasick. Anyways, after a few hours of sangria fights, jumping in the ocean, and seeing way too much nudity, we called it a day.
(Nomad, Spanky and I on the Booze Cruise!!!!!)About this time, I also got the flu. No fun. I had to take off work early one night and not even go into work the next night. The pharmacy wanted nothing to do with me, telling me to go straight to the hospital as they had just had an outbreak of Swine Flu. Got some flu meds, slept for almost 48 hours, and was fine.
All this time in Portugal, and I never once had Portuguese food. Nope, not once. It's actually difficult to find. Every restaurant is Indian, tapas, American, steaks, tex-mex, sandwiches, etc. Our favorite place is Casa Rosa. For 10 euros you get a nice, home-cooked, comfort food meal, and all you can drink for one hour (called the Power Hour). If you don't want to drink, your meal is only 3.95. Either way its dirt cheap and has comfort food like lasagna, spaghetti, hamburgers, burritos, chicken, pork chops, etc.
(Spanky, Tiny, Nomad and I at Casa Rosa! Power Hour! Mothership! Connect Four!!!)
anyways, after two weeks, our other friend from France, Tiny Dancer (Megan) joined us! it was a blast to have all four of us together!!!!! I worked at Stone's, Spanky worked at Shaker's, and Nomad and Tiny worked at Whyte's.
Portugal was just overall a great time. Way too much alcohol though. This month in Prague will be a good detox. And? NO MORE SAND!!!!!!!! Sand was just everywhere and in everything. You take a shower, you step out, and there's sand all over your feet. Crawl into bed and just sand everywhere. In Spain, I shook out enough sand from my purse to create my own personal beach.
Speaking of Spain, after our adventures in Lagos, we all trekked to Spain. We took a bus from Lagos to Seville, where we caught a flight to Valencia. We arrived the day before La Tomatina in order to prepare for battle!!!!! La Tomatina is huge tomato festival in Bunol, Spain, where truckloads of tomatoes are dumped and then a tomato fight begins. We were ready with old clothes, good shoes, goggles, plastic bags for money, everything. And then the train was late. And we missed the fight by about 5 minutes. I mean, we still got tomatoes on us, and we still walked around and took in the sight of it all, but we missed the whole big shibang! It was disappointing!
However, we had a 3-star hotel in Valencia, so we didn't care! It was honestly one of the coolest hotels I've ever been in! They gave us a free laptop with internet in our hotel room! Plus a hydro-massage shower, air conditioning, amazing beds, flat-screen TV, and a mini-bar (which we did not touch of course). And it was the best location we could have asked for in Valencia!
So even though we missed out on La Tomatina, we at least had an amazing place to go back to and relax!!!!!
Whew okay that was a loooooong entry. I am going to give my fingers and eyes a break.
I will update with Prague either later today or tomorrow!
Love to you all!!!!!!!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
ok worst blogger ever award
I want to apologize to all my loyal readers lol It has been a whirlwind since June.
July in France, August in Portugal and now September here in the Czech Republic.
So let us get caught up on July.....
July was spent in the lovely Brittany region, in a small town named Locmine. I worked in this town last year for a month, so it was nice returning to the familiar. Same ole tabacs, same ole pizzerias, same ole bars. It was wonderful. The school (Lycee Anne de Bretagne) was just the same as it had been. Even Christoff, the same chef! It was almost like coming home..... which is the same feeling I get every time I arrive in Paris as well.
The children both sessions were amazing!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed both sessions -- there were a lot of returning campers so it was also nice to see familiar faces. Again, I taught Level 1 (the lowest level) but since all the kids were 14-17, their overall English level was so much higher than I expected after Spring Sessions. Don't get me wrong, it's still challenging every day, but it's also rewarding to see the kids open up and gain confidence to speak English.
In between 1st and 2nd session, I was on convoyage. This means I had to take a group of kids back to Paris by bus/train and make sure their parents picked them up. Easy. Then I got two nights in a hotel paid for by my company, and 3 meals, so it was awesome. It was great returning to Paris. Hung out and drank wine with friends by the Eiffel Tower all day, practicing cartwheels and two-person somersaults lol. I also got to see a real-life mime taking a break with a beer! It also seems cliche when people say Paris is the best city, but it really is. I love it. I could never get bored there. There are always things to do.... and if there's nothing to do, there's a lovely way in which the French go about doing nothing. They are professional do-nothing people.
Second session, we had the most returners including two of my favorite girls from last year, Elsa and Ines from Valence. The returning kids and the popular kids all formed this little gang called ADS (AlcoholSexDrugs... i know i know) and for some reason I was their maman and NewCarSmell was their papa. I don't know why lol, but it was nice to be the "cool counselor." It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to the kids 2nd session. Some of these kids I genuinely consider little-sister-types.
Oh and as a side note, all the counselors obviously have nicknames. Locmine had.... me (Dr. Pepper), Nomad, Spanky, Tiny Dancer, Chainsaw, Mr. Whiskers, Motown, Sassy Kat, Buddy, New Car Smell, Dori, The Truth, Nancy Drew, Brown Sugar, Snowball, and Calamity Jane. There was also a Zorro, Cheeze Whiz, and a Sharkbait. Zorro left after the first session. Cheeze Whiz and Sharkbait... well they decided they weren't cut out for the job after a couple days and they hopped the barbed wire fences in the middle of the night to escape.... never to be heard from again. No really. jumped the fences with backpacks and everything... oh well no big loss lol
Well that about sums up July in France. This computer is about to lose all battery, so I will update the blog again tomorrow with August and the present.
Just for those wondering, I am in Prague right now (Praha 4 district, Budejovicka metro stop) staying with my host family. Really I am just with a family and I live in their upstairs. My host mama is actually the director of my school! Anyways, more on that tomorrow!!!!!
- Amanda
July in France, August in Portugal and now September here in the Czech Republic.
So let us get caught up on July.....
July was spent in the lovely Brittany region, in a small town named Locmine. I worked in this town last year for a month, so it was nice returning to the familiar. Same ole tabacs, same ole pizzerias, same ole bars. It was wonderful. The school (Lycee Anne de Bretagne) was just the same as it had been. Even Christoff, the same chef! It was almost like coming home..... which is the same feeling I get every time I arrive in Paris as well.
The children both sessions were amazing!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed both sessions -- there were a lot of returning campers so it was also nice to see familiar faces. Again, I taught Level 1 (the lowest level) but since all the kids were 14-17, their overall English level was so much higher than I expected after Spring Sessions. Don't get me wrong, it's still challenging every day, but it's also rewarding to see the kids open up and gain confidence to speak English.
In between 1st and 2nd session, I was on convoyage. This means I had to take a group of kids back to Paris by bus/train and make sure their parents picked them up. Easy. Then I got two nights in a hotel paid for by my company, and 3 meals, so it was awesome. It was great returning to Paris. Hung out and drank wine with friends by the Eiffel Tower all day, practicing cartwheels and two-person somersaults lol. I also got to see a real-life mime taking a break with a beer! It also seems cliche when people say Paris is the best city, but it really is. I love it. I could never get bored there. There are always things to do.... and if there's nothing to do, there's a lovely way in which the French go about doing nothing. They are professional do-nothing people.
Second session, we had the most returners including two of my favorite girls from last year, Elsa and Ines from Valence. The returning kids and the popular kids all formed this little gang called ADS (AlcoholSexDrugs... i know i know) and for some reason I was their maman and NewCarSmell was their papa. I don't know why lol, but it was nice to be the "cool counselor." It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to the kids 2nd session. Some of these kids I genuinely consider little-sister-types.
Oh and as a side note, all the counselors obviously have nicknames. Locmine had.... me (Dr. Pepper), Nomad, Spanky, Tiny Dancer, Chainsaw, Mr. Whiskers, Motown, Sassy Kat, Buddy, New Car Smell, Dori, The Truth, Nancy Drew, Brown Sugar, Snowball, and Calamity Jane. There was also a Zorro, Cheeze Whiz, and a Sharkbait. Zorro left after the first session. Cheeze Whiz and Sharkbait... well they decided they weren't cut out for the job after a couple days and they hopped the barbed wire fences in the middle of the night to escape.... never to be heard from again. No really. jumped the fences with backpacks and everything... oh well no big loss lol
Well that about sums up July in France. This computer is about to lose all battery, so I will update the blog again tomorrow with August and the present.
Just for those wondering, I am in Prague right now (Praha 4 district, Budejovicka metro stop) staying with my host family. Really I am just with a family and I live in their upstairs. My host mama is actually the director of my school! Anyways, more on that tomorrow!!!!!
- Amanda
Thursday, June 25, 2009
whoa some catching up to do!!!!!
It has been a chilly week here in Prague....
But before I get ahead of myself, I have to tell you about Turkey.
After such a long journey, me and Nomad arrived in Istanbul. At 3am. After finding some taxi to take us to our hostel for about 50 euro. We were just relieved to reach our hostel safely. We checked in and snuck into our room that we shared with 5 other people. I lay in my bed, exhausted, drifting off to sleep. Then the call to prayer blasts from every speaker in the Blue Mosque which we are one minute away from. It continues for 15 minutes. Any other time I would have been frustrated and angry, but I wasn't. I was in Turkey. So I listened the whole 15 minutes, smiled to myself and fell asleep.
The next day we received a facebook message from our friend Tav. We worked with Tav last summer in France, and since then, hes been teaching English in Izmit, Turkey. As we are reading his message, guess who comes around the corner? Tav. Just shows up at our hostel and it's a great reunion. We spend the whole day with Tav seeing the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, lounging in the park, and eating. Randomly, Tav takes us to a Turkish business league basketball game on the Asian side. It's the championship game againt Tupras (oil refinery company) and Opet (oil distribution company). Quite a random thing to do your first day in Turkey, but nonetheless we had fun.
Our hostel, Sydney Istanbul Hostel, located right in Sultanahmet (the old town, nearest all the attractions) was a great hostel. We became rather close with the staff of Mustafa, Rashid, and Iatola. They really went out of their way to give us discounts on food and attractions.
Best discount and my favorite experience? The Turkish Bath (or hamam). Basically you go get naked and sit in a sauna. Then these Turkish women take you and scrub you down and soap you up and wash your hair and wash you off. Then we paid a little extra to get a full body oil massage afterwards! Definitely worth the money! Now you might think this sounds pretty expensive. But for everything, it only cost 30 dollars!
Pretty much everything in Turkey was cheap. Well, relatively cheaper than France or the USA.
What else did we do? Me and heather decided to go on a 2-day tour of Cappadocia in Turkey. The entire city is filled with hills of rock/volcanic ash, that centuries ago, people built homes and monasteries and schools out of. All caves -- some with frescoes and paintings dating back to before Christ, some with human defecation because squatters use them. It was quite fascinating how well the caves had been preserved. On the tour, we also got the chance to see how pottery is made by one of the worlds most famous potters. It was AMAZING how easy it looked and how perfect it was. We also got to see how to make Turkish rugs (for which they are famous). I actually got to tie a couple knots in a rug! Overall the tour was well worth it..... EXCEPT.....
We had to take an overnight bus to and from Cappadocia. That's a 12 hour bus ride. On a public bus. With screaming and puking babies. On the way, we got no sleep. Arrived in Cappadocia at 9am and then had to go on an all-day tour at 9:30am. Super.
The bus back to Istanbul wasn't so bad. No babies this time. Difficult part was that we arrived back to our hostel, but had no bed booked. We were soooo tired. Mustafa helped us out and gave us a couple beds to nap on during the day, and said we could use the showers and internet and such.
Most of the week was spent on top of the rooftop terrace at the hostel. It had an amazing view overlooking the Marmara sea. The hostel sold beer and wine extremely cheaply, so many nights we just sat upstairs, drank and met people. Me and Heather were the social butterflies of the hostel. Wherever we were, others joined. We met some great people from England, America, Ireland, Australia, Mexico, El Salvador.... mostly people like us who just love to travel. We all shared stories of traveling and life for hours on the terrace.
When our time in Istanbul was done, we headed to the airport to catch our 3am flight back to Basel, Switzerland. From there, Nomad grabbed the first train back to work in France. I had 6 hours to kill, so I slept in the airport and hopped on my plane to Prague, Czech Republic.
-------------------------------------------------------
Which brings me to the present. The hostel here (Prague Square Hostel) is one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. It is just absolutely amazing. Free internet, free breakfast, comfortable beds, security lockers, a huge lounge with couches and TONS of movies to chose from, and best of all, it's a one minute walk to both the Old Town Square and St. Winceslaus square. Quite possibly the best location you could ever ask for in Prague. My only complaint? The showers are too small and the streets are too noisy at night. But i have earplugs so I manage.
I had 4 other roommates here. Karina from England. Tanya from Brazil. And 2 guys that I have still never met. We only see each other when we are sleeping. So I dunno where they are from. But I made really good friendships with 3 Irish girls, Sara (Sair-uh), Sara (Sar-uh) and Nikki. Great girls -- we had a ton of fun together. We went on the Pub Crawl together Monday night, along with my other Irish friends Kevin and Neil (who are brothers).
Pub Crawl was soooo fun. For a small price, we got unlimited beer, wine and shots for a Power Hour, and then were taken to a number of different bars and clubs that all had different feels to them. I had my first Absinthe shot. Not a fan. I actually didn't drink much, but it was worth it cause I met so many amazing people from every corner of the world.
The next day, I did a free walking tour of Prague with the Irish brothers. We had a great guide -- it was almost a comedy show with a tour thrown in lol. After 5 hours of walking, I was beat. Came back to the hostel where I met Mark, a Ukranian-American from Florida. Both being lonely travelers, we went to dinner together. I was craving Indian so we wandered the streets to find Indian. Along the way, a couple stopped us. "You speak English? Do you know where there is Indian food????" Why yes we did. We were on our way there now. Such a coincidence to find a couple from D.C. also wandering the streets for Indian food. The Indian food was great..... although EXPENSIVE! I decided it was my one night to splurge on a meal. I've been doing pretty well with money, eating cheaply and not spending much.
After dinner, me Mark and some others stayed up watching movies. Then around 2am, me and Mark were discussing what to do tomorrow. Our first idea was just to ride the Prague metros all over Prague and just get lost. This idea turned into getting a train to Germany. So at 3am we head to the train station to try to catch the 3:40am train to Berlin. Well the tickets were 2000 cz crowns. This is almost $200. So we were out of luck. We returned to the hostel around 4:30am. As I drifted off to sleep, West Side Story occurred outside my window. It was drunk Czechs vs. drunk Americans. Yelling, punching, a Czech got thrown thru a shop window. That was quite a shatter. "Will you shut up?!" was my response as I yelled out my window. For godssake it was 5am and the sun was coming up. Finally it quieted down and I went to sleep.
Yesterday was a worthless day lol. We hung around all day and just watched movies and ate food. Last night went out for pizza with mark and kristin (a new girl from Minneasota who just lived in Turkey). Best pizza ever. Strange thing? Europeans do not cut your pizza for you. You get the whole pie and you have to cut it yourself. With a butter knife. Not very cool. Then we nabbed a couple cheap beers and a bottle of Czech champagne. Then I was off to sleep.
And now its today. I don't really have any plans today. Mark left this morning, Kristin is doing the free tour. I think I might go try to find the school I am attending in September. It's 10 minutes away by metro, so not too bad.
Prague is definitely a magical city. While some travelers are bored here, I find the boredom and slow pace of life an endearing quality. It's also been quite rainy, which is never fun. But, the city is beautiful. As you look down a street, you see almost a kitsche collection of architecture. From gothic to cubist, there are so many varieties of architecture -- no building is the same.
I am also surprised how Americanized Prague is. A man from Philly imports Philadelphia Cream Cheese and has since opened Bohemia Bagel, which has bagels (duh) and other various American foods like omelettes, sloppy joes, and guacamole... and cheesecake (my favorite!).
----------------------------------
Note to Grandma: I found kolaches. They are under a different name (something like Fornettis), but they are kolaches all the same. Made me think of you grandma!!!! =) And it makes me crave kolaches and peanut butter cinnamon rolls!
-------------------------------
Everything in Prague is quite cheap too. A beer should be no more than 30 crowns, which is like $1.50. Most meals are 75 crowns or $5-6. With the exception of my Indian meal. that cost me 800 crowns, or close to $50!!!!!!! ouch! Won't be going there again!
-----------------------------------------------
Many people ask me, "how do you travel alone? aren't you scared?" Never. Thats the beauty of staying in a hostel. I have never eaten a meal alone since I've been here. I've never just walked around town alone. There are always people to do things with. Unless you are incredibly socially awkward, there is no reason to really be alone even when you are traveling alone. I have really enjoyed my time here in Prague. It's definitely been a restful week full of great food and great people and great sleep!!!
I have really fallen in love with Prague. Most people do. Even before I came here, I had never heard a bad thing about Prague. Not a single thing. And I see why. It's beautiful and so much fun. It has a great expatriate community here, so the town is never short on Americans or Brits or Aussies. I cannot wait to return to Prague for a whole month in September!!!!!!
------------------------------------------
Well thats all I really have for now. My flight leaves Prague tomorrow afternoon and I fly back to Basel. I will couchsurfing with a girl named Fabienne in Basel for the night. (by the time my flight gets in, i have missed the last train into France). So free place to stay, and then I catch the first train out in the morning to Vannes, France to report to work!
Thanks for reading!
- Amanda
But before I get ahead of myself, I have to tell you about Turkey.
After such a long journey, me and Nomad arrived in Istanbul. At 3am. After finding some taxi to take us to our hostel for about 50 euro. We were just relieved to reach our hostel safely. We checked in and snuck into our room that we shared with 5 other people. I lay in my bed, exhausted, drifting off to sleep. Then the call to prayer blasts from every speaker in the Blue Mosque which we are one minute away from. It continues for 15 minutes. Any other time I would have been frustrated and angry, but I wasn't. I was in Turkey. So I listened the whole 15 minutes, smiled to myself and fell asleep.
The next day we received a facebook message from our friend Tav. We worked with Tav last summer in France, and since then, hes been teaching English in Izmit, Turkey. As we are reading his message, guess who comes around the corner? Tav. Just shows up at our hostel and it's a great reunion. We spend the whole day with Tav seeing the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, lounging in the park, and eating. Randomly, Tav takes us to a Turkish business league basketball game on the Asian side. It's the championship game againt Tupras (oil refinery company) and Opet (oil distribution company). Quite a random thing to do your first day in Turkey, but nonetheless we had fun.
Our hostel, Sydney Istanbul Hostel, located right in Sultanahmet (the old town, nearest all the attractions) was a great hostel. We became rather close with the staff of Mustafa, Rashid, and Iatola. They really went out of their way to give us discounts on food and attractions.
Best discount and my favorite experience? The Turkish Bath (or hamam). Basically you go get naked and sit in a sauna. Then these Turkish women take you and scrub you down and soap you up and wash your hair and wash you off. Then we paid a little extra to get a full body oil massage afterwards! Definitely worth the money! Now you might think this sounds pretty expensive. But for everything, it only cost 30 dollars!
Pretty much everything in Turkey was cheap. Well, relatively cheaper than France or the USA.
What else did we do? Me and heather decided to go on a 2-day tour of Cappadocia in Turkey. The entire city is filled with hills of rock/volcanic ash, that centuries ago, people built homes and monasteries and schools out of. All caves -- some with frescoes and paintings dating back to before Christ, some with human defecation because squatters use them. It was quite fascinating how well the caves had been preserved. On the tour, we also got the chance to see how pottery is made by one of the worlds most famous potters. It was AMAZING how easy it looked and how perfect it was. We also got to see how to make Turkish rugs (for which they are famous). I actually got to tie a couple knots in a rug! Overall the tour was well worth it..... EXCEPT.....
We had to take an overnight bus to and from Cappadocia. That's a 12 hour bus ride. On a public bus. With screaming and puking babies. On the way, we got no sleep. Arrived in Cappadocia at 9am and then had to go on an all-day tour at 9:30am. Super.
The bus back to Istanbul wasn't so bad. No babies this time. Difficult part was that we arrived back to our hostel, but had no bed booked. We were soooo tired. Mustafa helped us out and gave us a couple beds to nap on during the day, and said we could use the showers and internet and such.
Most of the week was spent on top of the rooftop terrace at the hostel. It had an amazing view overlooking the Marmara sea. The hostel sold beer and wine extremely cheaply, so many nights we just sat upstairs, drank and met people. Me and Heather were the social butterflies of the hostel. Wherever we were, others joined. We met some great people from England, America, Ireland, Australia, Mexico, El Salvador.... mostly people like us who just love to travel. We all shared stories of traveling and life for hours on the terrace.
When our time in Istanbul was done, we headed to the airport to catch our 3am flight back to Basel, Switzerland. From there, Nomad grabbed the first train back to work in France. I had 6 hours to kill, so I slept in the airport and hopped on my plane to Prague, Czech Republic.
-------------------------------------------------------
Which brings me to the present. The hostel here (Prague Square Hostel) is one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. It is just absolutely amazing. Free internet, free breakfast, comfortable beds, security lockers, a huge lounge with couches and TONS of movies to chose from, and best of all, it's a one minute walk to both the Old Town Square and St. Winceslaus square. Quite possibly the best location you could ever ask for in Prague. My only complaint? The showers are too small and the streets are too noisy at night. But i have earplugs so I manage.
I had 4 other roommates here. Karina from England. Tanya from Brazil. And 2 guys that I have still never met. We only see each other when we are sleeping. So I dunno where they are from. But I made really good friendships with 3 Irish girls, Sara (Sair-uh), Sara (Sar-uh) and Nikki. Great girls -- we had a ton of fun together. We went on the Pub Crawl together Monday night, along with my other Irish friends Kevin and Neil (who are brothers).
Pub Crawl was soooo fun. For a small price, we got unlimited beer, wine and shots for a Power Hour, and then were taken to a number of different bars and clubs that all had different feels to them. I had my first Absinthe shot. Not a fan. I actually didn't drink much, but it was worth it cause I met so many amazing people from every corner of the world.
The next day, I did a free walking tour of Prague with the Irish brothers. We had a great guide -- it was almost a comedy show with a tour thrown in lol. After 5 hours of walking, I was beat. Came back to the hostel where I met Mark, a Ukranian-American from Florida. Both being lonely travelers, we went to dinner together. I was craving Indian so we wandered the streets to find Indian. Along the way, a couple stopped us. "You speak English? Do you know where there is Indian food????" Why yes we did. We were on our way there now. Such a coincidence to find a couple from D.C. also wandering the streets for Indian food. The Indian food was great..... although EXPENSIVE! I decided it was my one night to splurge on a meal. I've been doing pretty well with money, eating cheaply and not spending much.
After dinner, me Mark and some others stayed up watching movies. Then around 2am, me and Mark were discussing what to do tomorrow. Our first idea was just to ride the Prague metros all over Prague and just get lost. This idea turned into getting a train to Germany. So at 3am we head to the train station to try to catch the 3:40am train to Berlin. Well the tickets were 2000 cz crowns. This is almost $200. So we were out of luck. We returned to the hostel around 4:30am. As I drifted off to sleep, West Side Story occurred outside my window. It was drunk Czechs vs. drunk Americans. Yelling, punching, a Czech got thrown thru a shop window. That was quite a shatter. "Will you shut up?!" was my response as I yelled out my window. For godssake it was 5am and the sun was coming up. Finally it quieted down and I went to sleep.
Yesterday was a worthless day lol. We hung around all day and just watched movies and ate food. Last night went out for pizza with mark and kristin (a new girl from Minneasota who just lived in Turkey). Best pizza ever. Strange thing? Europeans do not cut your pizza for you. You get the whole pie and you have to cut it yourself. With a butter knife. Not very cool. Then we nabbed a couple cheap beers and a bottle of Czech champagne. Then I was off to sleep.
And now its today. I don't really have any plans today. Mark left this morning, Kristin is doing the free tour. I think I might go try to find the school I am attending in September. It's 10 minutes away by metro, so not too bad.
Prague is definitely a magical city. While some travelers are bored here, I find the boredom and slow pace of life an endearing quality. It's also been quite rainy, which is never fun. But, the city is beautiful. As you look down a street, you see almost a kitsche collection of architecture. From gothic to cubist, there are so many varieties of architecture -- no building is the same.
I am also surprised how Americanized Prague is. A man from Philly imports Philadelphia Cream Cheese and has since opened Bohemia Bagel, which has bagels (duh) and other various American foods like omelettes, sloppy joes, and guacamole... and cheesecake (my favorite!).
----------------------------------
Note to Grandma: I found kolaches. They are under a different name (something like Fornettis), but they are kolaches all the same. Made me think of you grandma!!!! =) And it makes me crave kolaches and peanut butter cinnamon rolls!
-------------------------------
Everything in Prague is quite cheap too. A beer should be no more than 30 crowns, which is like $1.50. Most meals are 75 crowns or $5-6. With the exception of my Indian meal. that cost me 800 crowns, or close to $50!!!!!!! ouch! Won't be going there again!
-----------------------------------------------
Many people ask me, "how do you travel alone? aren't you scared?" Never. Thats the beauty of staying in a hostel. I have never eaten a meal alone since I've been here. I've never just walked around town alone. There are always people to do things with. Unless you are incredibly socially awkward, there is no reason to really be alone even when you are traveling alone. I have really enjoyed my time here in Prague. It's definitely been a restful week full of great food and great people and great sleep!!!
I have really fallen in love with Prague. Most people do. Even before I came here, I had never heard a bad thing about Prague. Not a single thing. And I see why. It's beautiful and so much fun. It has a great expatriate community here, so the town is never short on Americans or Brits or Aussies. I cannot wait to return to Prague for a whole month in September!!!!!!
------------------------------------------
Well thats all I really have for now. My flight leaves Prague tomorrow afternoon and I fly back to Basel. I will couchsurfing with a girl named Fabienne in Basel for the night. (by the time my flight gets in, i have missed the last train into France). So free place to stay, and then I catch the first train out in the morning to Vannes, France to report to work!
Thanks for reading!
- Amanda
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sooooo sorry
ahhhhh i know i know I havent updated in a while. It's been a CRAZY week for me and Heather. We have been in Turkey since Sunday. We spent four days in Istanbul and then we did a two-day tour of Cappadocia in central Turkey. It was quite a crazy trip!!
Currently, we just arrived back to our hostel in Istanbul after taking an overnight bus from Cappadocia. Needless to say, you dont get very much sleep on a bus jam packed of people! So here I am, tired to death. Secondly, the Turkish keyboard is so different (from the American or French) and awkward that I find it difficult to type anything.
So, I will be updating my blog as soon as i get to Prague (hopefully their keyboard will be better!) and will tell you all about our week in Turkey!!!!!!!!!
Currently, we just arrived back to our hostel in Istanbul after taking an overnight bus from Cappadocia. Needless to say, you dont get very much sleep on a bus jam packed of people! So here I am, tired to death. Secondly, the Turkish keyboard is so different (from the American or French) and awkward that I find it difficult to type anything.
So, I will be updating my blog as soon as i get to Prague (hopefully their keyboard will be better!) and will tell you all about our week in Turkey!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Last week at Azé
Well its my last week at Azé..... *tear*
The kids this week are absolutely amazing! They are so much better than last week's -- I'm really enjoying this bunch. I have an amazing family (The Favre family --- all our last names are famous American football quarterbacks like Favre, Elway, Montana, Manning and Brady). All the kids are great and really want to practice their English.
I also have a great class. I am teaching the lowest level again and these kids are much rowdier than last group... but it is good for class. They are much more excited and eager to learn -- and are a lot more fun!
Saturday day, I leave Azé and take a train to Basel, Switwerland to meet up with Nomad and get on a plane to Istanbul. We are staying at a hostel right on the coast of the Sultanahmet (the center of Istanbul on the European side). It will be interesting to visit a city that has a European and Asian half. I can stand over the line dividing two continents. This will mean I have been to 4 continents (North America, Europe, Africa and Asia).
Also exciting news -- i got accepted into the CELTA program in Prague, Czech Republic for the month of September. The CELTA is the most internationally recognised teaching qualification — highly regarded throughout the world — and makes it easy to get a job teaching English anywhere in the world.
What is CELTA?
CELTA is an initial qualification for people with little or no previous teaching experience and opens up a whole world of exciting teaching opportunities. Because it is awarded by Cambridge ESOL, part of the world-famous University of Cambridge, you can rely on its quality and recognition.
CELTA is accepted throughout the world by organisations which employ English Language teachers. The Cambridge CELTA has been accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) at Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework. Cambridge ESOL also works with international ELT organisations to ensure the acceptance of CELTA globally.
There are five main units of learning:
Learners and teachers, and the teaching and learning context
Language analysis and awareness
Language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
Planning and resources for different contexts
Developing teaching skills and professionalism.
So the program is offered in almost every country worldwide. I chose Czech Republic because of the location (Ive always wanted to visit CZ) and the price. It is by far one of the cheapest programs in Europe, they provide discount housing, and overall the price of living in CZ is one of the cheapest in Europe. CZ is also so centrally located, it will be easy for me to venture into other surrounding countries such as Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.
Once I have this certification, I will basically be able to teach ESL anywhere I want. I am already in negotiations with an agency to teach in Taiwan starting in December.
Well thats all for now... gotta prepare the evening program!!!
The kids this week are absolutely amazing! They are so much better than last week's -- I'm really enjoying this bunch. I have an amazing family (The Favre family --- all our last names are famous American football quarterbacks like Favre, Elway, Montana, Manning and Brady). All the kids are great and really want to practice their English.
I also have a great class. I am teaching the lowest level again and these kids are much rowdier than last group... but it is good for class. They are much more excited and eager to learn -- and are a lot more fun!
Saturday day, I leave Azé and take a train to Basel, Switwerland to meet up with Nomad and get on a plane to Istanbul. We are staying at a hostel right on the coast of the Sultanahmet (the center of Istanbul on the European side). It will be interesting to visit a city that has a European and Asian half. I can stand over the line dividing two continents. This will mean I have been to 4 continents (North America, Europe, Africa and Asia).
Also exciting news -- i got accepted into the CELTA program in Prague, Czech Republic for the month of September. The CELTA is the most internationally recognised teaching qualification — highly regarded throughout the world — and makes it easy to get a job teaching English anywhere in the world.
What is CELTA?
CELTA is an initial qualification for people with little or no previous teaching experience and opens up a whole world of exciting teaching opportunities. Because it is awarded by Cambridge ESOL, part of the world-famous University of Cambridge, you can rely on its quality and recognition.
CELTA is accepted throughout the world by organisations which employ English Language teachers. The Cambridge CELTA has been accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) at Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework. Cambridge ESOL also works with international ELT organisations to ensure the acceptance of CELTA globally.
There are five main units of learning:
Learners and teachers, and the teaching and learning context
Language analysis and awareness
Language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
Planning and resources for different contexts
Developing teaching skills and professionalism.
So the program is offered in almost every country worldwide. I chose Czech Republic because of the location (Ive always wanted to visit CZ) and the price. It is by far one of the cheapest programs in Europe, they provide discount housing, and overall the price of living in CZ is one of the cheapest in Europe. CZ is also so centrally located, it will be easy for me to venture into other surrounding countries such as Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.
Once I have this certification, I will basically be able to teach ESL anywhere I want. I am already in negotiations with an agency to teach in Taiwan starting in December.
Well thats all for now... gotta prepare the evening program!!!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Yep... still got this nasty sinus infection and hacking cough. Ugh. Wont go away!!!!
On a lighter note, I have my 2-week break all figured out... well most of it....
On a lighter note, I have my 2-week break all figured out... well most of it....
SATURDAY , JUNE 13th
TRAIN
Départ : MACON VILLE @ 11 :46
Arrivée : LYON PART DIEU @ 12 :35
17629 - sans réservation
Départ : LYON PART DIEU @ 12 :49
Arrivée : MULHOUSE VILLE @ 16 :36
04314 - seat guaranteed
Départ : MULHOUSE VILLE @ 16 :47
Arrivée : BALE GARE @ 17 :09
96245 - sans réservation
BUS TO EUROAIRPORT
Bus Line °50
FLIGHT
Check-In Swiss Sector. Flight 1143 on EasyJet
Depart: Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg @ 22:25
Arrives: Istanbul - Sabiha Gökçen @ 02:10 on Sunday June 14th
SUNDAY, JUNE 21st
FLIGHT
Flight 1144 on EasyJet
Departs: Istanbul - Sabiha Gökçen, Sunday, June 21 @ 03:25
Arrives: Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, Sunday, June 21 @ 05:30
FLIGHT
Flight LX1460 on Swiss Air
Departs: Basel, Sunday, June 21 @ 11.40
Arrives: Prague, Sunday, June 21 @ 13.05 in Terminal 2
HOSTEL
Prague Square Hostel €80.55 due on arrival
Melantrichova 10
Old Townm Prague
p. +420 224240859
f. +420 224240859
e. info@praguesquarehostel.com
Reservations for June 21st – 25th
FRIDAY, JUNE 26th
FLIGHT
Flight LX1461 on Swiss Air
Latest Check In: 16:45
Departs: Prague; Friday, June 26th @ 17:25
Arrives: Basel; Friday, June 26th @ 18:50
BUS/TRAM
Linige °2 or Bus °50 To Basel-Barnhoff SBB Gare
HOSTEL
YMCA Hostel Basel, Gempenstrasse 64, Basel, 4008, Switzerland 13 minutes by bus from the airport to the railwaystation in the middle of Basel City.Leave the railwaystation on the backside and go straight directly into the Gempenstrasse.3 Minutes walking to Number 64.
SATURDAY, JUNE 27
Train to Vannes, France to begin work at Locminé!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
So we finished my first week with kids!!! It was a great week and all the kids were amazing!!!!
Unfortunately, I came down with a severe case of strep throat (first time ever in my life!) and had to miss most of Thursday and all of Friday. My director even had to deliver meals to my room. She said I looked so horrible she feared she woudl have to take me to the hospital!
So I got French socialized healthcare experience! My company takes care of my medical expenses thank god! It was strange going to the town doctor at 6pm... most American doctors offices are closed then! He spoke some English, but I had my director there to translate. I got nasal spray, throat spray, antibiotics and allergy medication. I had also previously taken quite a tumble in the shower earlier in the week and messed up my knees so he gave me some pain meds for that. What a mess I was! Now I'm sitting here with the worst sinus infection of my life! ahhhhhhh allergies! I guess thats what I get when I'm at a site surrounded by exotic trees; bushes and flowers!
The weekend was amazing! I was still not feeling my best, but I held on! The kids leave on Fridays so we have the entire weekend off which is nice. We spent the whole day relaxing and barbecuing. Saturday night we went to the local nightclub called New Swing. We didn't arrive until after midnight and we danced the night away until 5am when the sun came up!
After catching up on sleep, Sunday afternoon we went horseback riding through the vineyards of the French countryside. It was so beautiful; but I think it was this that started my sinus infection. Maybe I am allergic to horses? Or hay? I don't know.
Now its not just me that is sick. Everyone at Azé has been sick with allergies or strep throat. The saying is that "the strep throat grows in the trees" because every single counselor that has been here this year has gotten it! Our company has already exceeded the year's medical budget and it is only the 2nd of June! It seems like almost every other day our director is taking someone to the town doctor or pharmacy.
The other bad thing here? THE FOOD!!!! ugh it is horrible! The kids hate the food -- I am almost embarrassed that they serve the food they do! it is a shame because the kitchen staff is so nice, but the things they chose to serve are disgusting!!!!!!!!
This week's kids are not so good. I have the worst class I have ever taught. Its not because they are low level, but they do not respond or participate at all! I ask them if they understand, and they do nothing but sit there and stare at me. At least nod/shake your heads or something!!!!! it makes it really difficult to teach when the kids have no questions; do not participate, and have literally nothing to say. Very frustrating!
This weekend should be exciting though! My bestie Nomad (Heather) is at Tour de Buis' site. The whole site is coming by train to visit for the weekend and come dancing with us at New Swing! Lotsa partying and fun for sure!!!
Well time for evening meeting now and prep for the campfire!
- Dr pepper
Unfortunately, I came down with a severe case of strep throat (first time ever in my life!) and had to miss most of Thursday and all of Friday. My director even had to deliver meals to my room. She said I looked so horrible she feared she woudl have to take me to the hospital!
So I got French socialized healthcare experience! My company takes care of my medical expenses thank god! It was strange going to the town doctor at 6pm... most American doctors offices are closed then! He spoke some English, but I had my director there to translate. I got nasal spray, throat spray, antibiotics and allergy medication. I had also previously taken quite a tumble in the shower earlier in the week and messed up my knees so he gave me some pain meds for that. What a mess I was! Now I'm sitting here with the worst sinus infection of my life! ahhhhhhh allergies! I guess thats what I get when I'm at a site surrounded by exotic trees; bushes and flowers!
The weekend was amazing! I was still not feeling my best, but I held on! The kids leave on Fridays so we have the entire weekend off which is nice. We spent the whole day relaxing and barbecuing. Saturday night we went to the local nightclub called New Swing. We didn't arrive until after midnight and we danced the night away until 5am when the sun came up!
After catching up on sleep, Sunday afternoon we went horseback riding through the vineyards of the French countryside. It was so beautiful; but I think it was this that started my sinus infection. Maybe I am allergic to horses? Or hay? I don't know.
Now its not just me that is sick. Everyone at Azé has been sick with allergies or strep throat. The saying is that "the strep throat grows in the trees" because every single counselor that has been here this year has gotten it! Our company has already exceeded the year's medical budget and it is only the 2nd of June! It seems like almost every other day our director is taking someone to the town doctor or pharmacy.
The other bad thing here? THE FOOD!!!! ugh it is horrible! The kids hate the food -- I am almost embarrassed that they serve the food they do! it is a shame because the kitchen staff is so nice, but the things they chose to serve are disgusting!!!!!!!!
This week's kids are not so good. I have the worst class I have ever taught. Its not because they are low level, but they do not respond or participate at all! I ask them if they understand, and they do nothing but sit there and stare at me. At least nod/shake your heads or something!!!!! it makes it really difficult to teach when the kids have no questions; do not participate, and have literally nothing to say. Very frustrating!
This weekend should be exciting though! My bestie Nomad (Heather) is at Tour de Buis' site. The whole site is coming by train to visit for the weekend and come dancing with us at New Swing! Lotsa partying and fun for sure!!!
Well time for evening meeting now and prep for the campfire!
- Dr pepper
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
OK so we are on the second full day of children!!!!!
They arrived Monday afternoon and we had a great evening program. We played Get To Know Your Counselor, where the kids have a list of questions to ask every counselor and then they have to remember the answers. Then we play a game show to see who can remember the most answers. Fun.... lets just say it involved the counselors stripping off clothes.... lol ok not clothes! we piled on costumes, and every time a camper got an answer right, we had to take off a piece of costuming lol
Yesterday was the first full day -- Discover America day. I am an English Class Teacher, so I must plan 2 hours of lesson plans for every day. Usually i teach information that deals with the theme day. We also have a Song of The Day that we teach in class. Discover America = "American Boy" by Estelle. The kids love the song.
Class went really well. I have the lowest level kids, but they pay attention so well. They put in so much effort, they are always pulling out their dictionaries to figure out the English. They ask many questions and have me repeat things many times. It is great!!!! They seem to really want to learn!!!!
Last night we had a campfire for Evening Program. We made S'mores, sang songs, did cheers, and played charades -- needless to say, the kids were tired after their first full day. The chaperones said the kids went immediately to bed they were so tired! So did I haha!!!!
TODAY....
So i had the best sleep ever last night. Well I didnt get enough of it, but I slept SO hard!!!!
The fluroescent light in my room pops. Like literally pops. I asked Laurent; the groundskeeper; and he said the light melts the plastic around it, and then after you shut off the light, the plastic cools and pops. Sounds like a small problem - but for the past 3 nites Ive had to get ready for bed in the dark because otherwise it pops the entire time im trying to fall asleep!!! grrrrrrr guess i'll just get a lamp.
Me and Heather have booked our flights to Istanbul, Turkey. We have the week off together from the 13th to the 21st. We must first train to Switzerland to get on our flight direct to Istanbul. Pretty cheap though, so its good. I am working with Ishta who taught in Turkey for a year, and we have a friend Tav teaching there now, so plenty of info if we need it.
After Istanbul, I will be going to Prague. I have a week off by myself, so I plan on couchsurfing and making new friends. Since I am 50% Czech, i think it will be great to visit my motherland lol Maybe i'll fit in!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asked a couple kids yesterday what they think of when they think about America.
First answer? Buffalo.
Second answer? Big.
Third answer? Junk Food.
Super.
The kids know every word to "wake me up when september ends" by Green Day. Every word.
Explaining why a S'more is called a S'more is a difficult task.
Even the Americans here do not know that Kansas City (at least the greater part of it) is in Missouri, not Kansas.
Capture the Flag is french kids' crack.
Azé is a famous château/garden because it has mostly imported trees, flowers and bushes native only to America. Giant redwoods? Right outside my window.
We have a man-made pond here at camp.... it has one goose. Ishta said last year there were many geese. They all got killed by falcons, etc. Now we have the Lone Goose.
We also have the widest array of birds here. It is difficult to sleep past daybreak because of the all the chirping-- I mean, SQUAWKING birds. Seriously, more efficient than an alarm clock. This ravens nest outside my window is the bane of my existence.
Tonight is the Wild West Carnival. I get to draw tattoos on everyone. After they've already taken a shower. Oh well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK now i must plan my lesson plan. A bientot!!!!
They arrived Monday afternoon and we had a great evening program. We played Get To Know Your Counselor, where the kids have a list of questions to ask every counselor and then they have to remember the answers. Then we play a game show to see who can remember the most answers. Fun.... lets just say it involved the counselors stripping off clothes.... lol ok not clothes! we piled on costumes, and every time a camper got an answer right, we had to take off a piece of costuming lol
Yesterday was the first full day -- Discover America day. I am an English Class Teacher, so I must plan 2 hours of lesson plans for every day. Usually i teach information that deals with the theme day. We also have a Song of The Day that we teach in class. Discover America = "American Boy" by Estelle. The kids love the song.
Class went really well. I have the lowest level kids, but they pay attention so well. They put in so much effort, they are always pulling out their dictionaries to figure out the English. They ask many questions and have me repeat things many times. It is great!!!! They seem to really want to learn!!!!
Last night we had a campfire for Evening Program. We made S'mores, sang songs, did cheers, and played charades -- needless to say, the kids were tired after their first full day. The chaperones said the kids went immediately to bed they were so tired! So did I haha!!!!
TODAY....
So i had the best sleep ever last night. Well I didnt get enough of it, but I slept SO hard!!!!
The fluroescent light in my room pops. Like literally pops. I asked Laurent; the groundskeeper; and he said the light melts the plastic around it, and then after you shut off the light, the plastic cools and pops. Sounds like a small problem - but for the past 3 nites Ive had to get ready for bed in the dark because otherwise it pops the entire time im trying to fall asleep!!! grrrrrrr guess i'll just get a lamp.
Me and Heather have booked our flights to Istanbul, Turkey. We have the week off together from the 13th to the 21st. We must first train to Switzerland to get on our flight direct to Istanbul. Pretty cheap though, so its good. I am working with Ishta who taught in Turkey for a year, and we have a friend Tav teaching there now, so plenty of info if we need it.
After Istanbul, I will be going to Prague. I have a week off by myself, so I plan on couchsurfing and making new friends. Since I am 50% Czech, i think it will be great to visit my motherland lol Maybe i'll fit in!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asked a couple kids yesterday what they think of when they think about America.
First answer? Buffalo.
Second answer? Big.
Third answer? Junk Food.
Super.
The kids know every word to "wake me up when september ends" by Green Day. Every word.
Explaining why a S'more is called a S'more is a difficult task.
Even the Americans here do not know that Kansas City (at least the greater part of it) is in Missouri, not Kansas.
Capture the Flag is french kids' crack.
Azé is a famous château/garden because it has mostly imported trees, flowers and bushes native only to America. Giant redwoods? Right outside my window.
We have a man-made pond here at camp.... it has one goose. Ishta said last year there were many geese. They all got killed by falcons, etc. Now we have the Lone Goose.
We also have the widest array of birds here. It is difficult to sleep past daybreak because of the all the chirping-- I mean, SQUAWKING birds. Seriously, more efficient than an alarm clock. This ravens nest outside my window is the bane of my existence.
Tonight is the Wild West Carnival. I get to draw tattoos on everyone. After they've already taken a shower. Oh well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK now i must plan my lesson plan. A bientot!!!!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
This is a picture of the Château d'Aine at Azé. This is where we have the computer lab (Silicon Valley), classrooms, the staff meeting room (The White House), and also where the kids sleep (each bedroom is named after a different US state).
This is a map of all the American Village sites for this spring/summer. I am currently at Azé... you can find this just north of Lyon and just west of the Swiss border.
To anyone that wants to get ahold of me thru the phone, you can call me on my French cell phone. It is: +33 06.43.92.79.93
This means from the USA, you would dial 011 + 33 + 6.43.92.79.93
(yes you drop the 0 before the 6)
If you are using Skype, it will automatically drop the 0 for you. Just change the country to "France" and enter the number 06.43.92.79.93
C'est bien? C'est bien!!!
If calling from France, just dial 06.43.92.79.93
This means from the USA, you would dial 011 + 33 + 6.43.92.79.93
(yes you drop the 0 before the 6)
If you are using Skype, it will automatically drop the 0 for you. Just change the country to "France" and enter the number 06.43.92.79.93
C'est bien? C'est bien!!!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Dr. Pepper -- LIVE from France
Wow so here I am finally in France. Gotta get used to these damn French keyboards again. All the buttons in the wrong place, so excuse the typos.
It was a LONG journey from KCI to France. They almost didnt let me board my plane in KC -- my return flight from paris is more than 90 days away, and technically I cannot be in France for more than 90 days, so I got this big lecture on illegal immigration and how I can be deported and yadda yadda yadda.
Did not sleep a wink on the flight over here... so needless to say, arriving in France at 9am with no sleep and an entire day of traveling still ahead of me was not going to be fun. I had a 3-hour layover in Paris where I was able to catch a 45 minute nap at the gate before departure to Toulouse.
I arrived in Toulouse after a short one-hour flight, and made my way to the bus which would take me to le gare, or the train station. Here; I was to meet Alex a.k.a. "Mr. Sweater", my friend from American Village last year who is living in Toulouse. After waiting for almost 2 hours for Alex's train to get in from his work, we headed on another bus to his house.
So circa 5:30pm, we arrive. Alex has the coolest house; which he shares with like a bajillion other people. It's almost like a commune. They had the coolest garden in the backyard, and even a chicken named Brigitte. After a couple beers, I gave Alex 20€ to grab stuff to make dinner. Meanwhile, I took a well-needed nap. I awoke to pasta, chicken provenciale, and courgettes (zucchini). Top it off with a bottle of wine = Trés bon!!!! Then we just sat around with some of his roommates and just talked. Most everyone had very limited English, so the conversation was mostly in French. Ergo, I didnt understand a thing. However, French is one of those languages that you can just sit and listen to -- it is a beautiful language -- almost like music. And i was too tired to really try to follow the French or speak at all. Midnight came, went to sleep.
I woke up the next day at 5pm. Yes 5pm. I had plans to see toulouse, get a cell phone, and visit tourist sites -- none of that was possible now because everything closes at 5 or 6pm. So I walked to the city center and tried to take in as much as possible. But my feet were killing me in new flip-flops so I hailed a taxi back.
Since everything was closed, we decided to have a soirée and invite friends and order pizza. 60€ for 4 pizzas!!!! ouch lol but it was delicious. Sipped on wine and vodka w/ caramel in the garden while the sunset, enjoying listening to the French. A couple people took pity on me and had conversations in English with me.
Funny thing: France has not seen the LOST finale yet, so I was the envy of the party since I've seen the finale of season 5. lol The French LOVE lost!!!!
And this morning, I woke up bright and early to catch my train at 7:45am to Mâcon. 5 hours later I was greeted by Sun, the director for Azé. She is French, but she has great English!!! The site is absolutely beautiful! It is a castle with all these posh gardens and sculpture gardens -- it looks more like a resort or posh country club than an American Village camp lol
I'll post pictures ASAP, but now we must clean up the site. The next two days we have off, so tonight we are all going out to eat at an Indian restaurant!
That's all for now!!!!
- Dr. Pepper
It was a LONG journey from KCI to France. They almost didnt let me board my plane in KC -- my return flight from paris is more than 90 days away, and technically I cannot be in France for more than 90 days, so I got this big lecture on illegal immigration and how I can be deported and yadda yadda yadda.
Did not sleep a wink on the flight over here... so needless to say, arriving in France at 9am with no sleep and an entire day of traveling still ahead of me was not going to be fun. I had a 3-hour layover in Paris where I was able to catch a 45 minute nap at the gate before departure to Toulouse.
I arrived in Toulouse after a short one-hour flight, and made my way to the bus which would take me to le gare, or the train station. Here; I was to meet Alex a.k.a. "Mr. Sweater", my friend from American Village last year who is living in Toulouse. After waiting for almost 2 hours for Alex's train to get in from his work, we headed on another bus to his house.
So circa 5:30pm, we arrive. Alex has the coolest house; which he shares with like a bajillion other people. It's almost like a commune. They had the coolest garden in the backyard, and even a chicken named Brigitte. After a couple beers, I gave Alex 20€ to grab stuff to make dinner. Meanwhile, I took a well-needed nap. I awoke to pasta, chicken provenciale, and courgettes (zucchini). Top it off with a bottle of wine = Trés bon!!!! Then we just sat around with some of his roommates and just talked. Most everyone had very limited English, so the conversation was mostly in French. Ergo, I didnt understand a thing. However, French is one of those languages that you can just sit and listen to -- it is a beautiful language -- almost like music. And i was too tired to really try to follow the French or speak at all. Midnight came, went to sleep.
I woke up the next day at 5pm. Yes 5pm. I had plans to see toulouse, get a cell phone, and visit tourist sites -- none of that was possible now because everything closes at 5 or 6pm. So I walked to the city center and tried to take in as much as possible. But my feet were killing me in new flip-flops so I hailed a taxi back.
Since everything was closed, we decided to have a soirée and invite friends and order pizza. 60€ for 4 pizzas!!!! ouch lol but it was delicious. Sipped on wine and vodka w/ caramel in the garden while the sunset, enjoying listening to the French. A couple people took pity on me and had conversations in English with me.
Funny thing: France has not seen the LOST finale yet, so I was the envy of the party since I've seen the finale of season 5. lol The French LOVE lost!!!!
And this morning, I woke up bright and early to catch my train at 7:45am to Mâcon. 5 hours later I was greeted by Sun, the director for Azé. She is French, but she has great English!!! The site is absolutely beautiful! It is a castle with all these posh gardens and sculpture gardens -- it looks more like a resort or posh country club than an American Village camp lol
I'll post pictures ASAP, but now we must clean up the site. The next two days we have off, so tonight we are all going out to eat at an Indian restaurant!
That's all for now!!!!
- Dr. Pepper
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
2009 Edition
Hey everyone and welcome to my 2009 blog.
I know last year I did not keep up with the blog as much as I would have liked to, so my plan this year is to not slack off so much. This blog will also include more pictures and videos... and well just more entries in general.
I leave in 6 days on May 19th -- flying KCI to Paris Charles de Gaulle. I will then be taking a train to Toulouse to hang out for a few days before I begin work at American Village.
In Toulouse, I will be staying at Mr. Sweater's apartment. We were counselors together last year, and he has graciously offered his place for me to stay at. Saves me a LOT of money considering the worst hostels in Paris still cost about $30-$40 per night.
Me and Nomad (Heather) plan on doing a lot of traveling this summer including Turkey, the Greek Isles, Portugal and Spain. I am also hoping to make a solo trip to Poland and possibly Czech Republic.
It will be one crazy summer/fall, so I hope this blog will keep you updated on what i'm doing, where I'm going, and how I am.
Thanks for reading!
I know last year I did not keep up with the blog as much as I would have liked to, so my plan this year is to not slack off so much. This blog will also include more pictures and videos... and well just more entries in general.
I leave in 6 days on May 19th -- flying KCI to Paris Charles de Gaulle. I will then be taking a train to Toulouse to hang out for a few days before I begin work at American Village.
In Toulouse, I will be staying at Mr. Sweater's apartment. We were counselors together last year, and he has graciously offered his place for me to stay at. Saves me a LOT of money considering the worst hostels in Paris still cost about $30-$40 per night.
Me and Nomad (Heather) plan on doing a lot of traveling this summer including Turkey, the Greek Isles, Portugal and Spain. I am also hoping to make a solo trip to Poland and possibly Czech Republic.
It will be one crazy summer/fall, so I hope this blog will keep you updated on what i'm doing, where I'm going, and how I am.
Thanks for reading!
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