I'm not dead yet!
But I'm not dead yet! I feel happy... I think I'll go for a walk! - Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Well folks, I made it through the Valley of the Shadow of Gastroenteritis or however you spell it. And I don't mean to be flippant or blasphemous; being sick like that has been the hardest trial yet. I was seriously contemplating calling up SAS and seeing which flight they could get me that would have me back on Canadian soil as soon as humanly possible. I'm on a number of interesting meds now... for example: a really yucky liquid thingy composed of all the bacteria that normally reside in your intestine. I'm on an antibiotic for infection that the Dr. believes is in my intestines, and this replaces the healthy bacteria that the antibiotic kills in addition to the bad bacteria. It seems to be pretty effective, though, so no complaints here.
Since I'm feeling better this morning (still not quite 100%, but much closer), I'm going to go to church. I really like my church here, and now it's time to get to know more people who attend there. My plan is to sit in the balcony this morning, since I think that's where most of the people my age sit. Maybe I can meet a few new people... maybe even a TEFLer or two! :D
Then I have to do a bit of lesson planning this afternoon. The introductory classes are mostly done now, so it's on to the tough stuff... actual lessons. With aims and stuff. And, you know, reading, writing, speaking and listening. Hm. ;) Actually, I have some good ideas for my classes, and I'm not too worried about getting them all planned up. The Edmonton Journal had a GREAT article in it (I read it online so I feel connected to home) that I can use in a number of my classes, so I'm very excited about that.
Tonight is "Mini Canadian Thanksgiving" at the Dueker-Huebert household. We're having... turkey and pumpkin pie! Nope, actually we aren't. Not enough dishes, time, energy, and ability to read Czech labels for that kind of thing. We're having frozen pizza (thawed and warmed up, of course) and beer and thankfulness. I'm having white rice or potatoes and chicken. Wow, do I love this restricted diet business or what? ;) I think it should be nice, and I'm looking forward to it. The Czechs don't have a "Thanksgiving" holiday, so I think I'll teach my Monday classes a bit about it, too.
In case you're curious, the Czechs also don't have Hallowe'en. They have a May 31 festival (I think it might be similar to Samhain, but I could totally be wrong... Karlie, any ideas here?) where they burn pretend witches and celebrate by drinking lots of Czech beer. And at Easter time, the children go door-to-door asking for Easter eggs and sweets. It's really neat!
Other things the Czech people do differently: no middle names. My students were quite confused when we did a reading about giving children a second name in case they don't like their first one. I couldn't figure out what was giving my students such a hard time... until I found out that none of them have a middle name! They also don't associate meaning with their names. I'm thinking I might run the Anglicized versions of their names through an internet database and do a lesson on names and meanings.
Also different: the slightly better quality toilet paper (as in, a step up from pages from non-glossy catalogues) is colored. Like pink, or yellow. And it is frequently scented. May I just say: ew! However it is nicer than the grey toilet paper which comes just above glossy catalogue pages, but below non-glossy. What I would give for some white, fluffy TP!! ;)
Well, I'm off to eat something (I'm starting to get my appetite back, yay!) and to do my hair. While the drowned rat look is big in Milan, it hasn't hit Prague yet. I love you all, thanks for your support and emails while I felt so wretched. Special kudos go out to dad, who has been a most excellent correspondent of late. He sent me pictures of Jacob modelling. So cute! (Great job Jake, you looked totally professional).
Love you all lots,
Elizabeth
Well folks, I made it through the Valley of the Shadow of Gastroenteritis or however you spell it. And I don't mean to be flippant or blasphemous; being sick like that has been the hardest trial yet. I was seriously contemplating calling up SAS and seeing which flight they could get me that would have me back on Canadian soil as soon as humanly possible. I'm on a number of interesting meds now... for example: a really yucky liquid thingy composed of all the bacteria that normally reside in your intestine. I'm on an antibiotic for infection that the Dr. believes is in my intestines, and this replaces the healthy bacteria that the antibiotic kills in addition to the bad bacteria. It seems to be pretty effective, though, so no complaints here.
Since I'm feeling better this morning (still not quite 100%, but much closer), I'm going to go to church. I really like my church here, and now it's time to get to know more people who attend there. My plan is to sit in the balcony this morning, since I think that's where most of the people my age sit. Maybe I can meet a few new people... maybe even a TEFLer or two! :D
Then I have to do a bit of lesson planning this afternoon. The introductory classes are mostly done now, so it's on to the tough stuff... actual lessons. With aims and stuff. And, you know, reading, writing, speaking and listening. Hm. ;) Actually, I have some good ideas for my classes, and I'm not too worried about getting them all planned up. The Edmonton Journal had a GREAT article in it (I read it online so I feel connected to home) that I can use in a number of my classes, so I'm very excited about that.
Tonight is "Mini Canadian Thanksgiving" at the Dueker-Huebert household. We're having... turkey and pumpkin pie! Nope, actually we aren't. Not enough dishes, time, energy, and ability to read Czech labels for that kind of thing. We're having frozen pizza (thawed and warmed up, of course) and beer and thankfulness. I'm having white rice or potatoes and chicken. Wow, do I love this restricted diet business or what? ;) I think it should be nice, and I'm looking forward to it. The Czechs don't have a "Thanksgiving" holiday, so I think I'll teach my Monday classes a bit about it, too.
In case you're curious, the Czechs also don't have Hallowe'en. They have a May 31 festival (I think it might be similar to Samhain, but I could totally be wrong... Karlie, any ideas here?) where they burn pretend witches and celebrate by drinking lots of Czech beer. And at Easter time, the children go door-to-door asking for Easter eggs and sweets. It's really neat!
Other things the Czech people do differently: no middle names. My students were quite confused when we did a reading about giving children a second name in case they don't like their first one. I couldn't figure out what was giving my students such a hard time... until I found out that none of them have a middle name! They also don't associate meaning with their names. I'm thinking I might run the Anglicized versions of their names through an internet database and do a lesson on names and meanings.
Also different: the slightly better quality toilet paper (as in, a step up from pages from non-glossy catalogues) is colored. Like pink, or yellow. And it is frequently scented. May I just say: ew! However it is nicer than the grey toilet paper which comes just above glossy catalogue pages, but below non-glossy. What I would give for some white, fluffy TP!! ;)
Well, I'm off to eat something (I'm starting to get my appetite back, yay!) and to do my hair. While the drowned rat look is big in Milan, it hasn't hit Prague yet. I love you all, thanks for your support and emails while I felt so wretched. Special kudos go out to dad, who has been a most excellent correspondent of late. He sent me pictures of Jacob modelling. So cute! (Great job Jake, you looked totally professional).
Love you all lots,
Elizabeth
posted by Elizabeth @ 11:06
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