Ok, Ok, I'm sorry!

Yeesh! Dad tells me that a few more posts like the last one and he won't bother reading this at all anymore! How mean is that?? ;) So, I apologize for the whinyness, and hereby declare that you are not obligated to email me. There!

I had a good but busy day today. I really threw myself for a loop though... I had a unit all planned out... and then realized I had skipped a unit! I ended up just teaching the missed unit straight from the book - and now I already have the next lesson planned. :)

Well, nothing else is new here. Just wanted to say that I love you, and you can keep reading the blog because I won't guilt trip you anymore!

Love,
elizabeth

p.s. - I was mostly just trying to be entertaining - what a failure I am!

p.p.s. - on the subject of emails, please send them to ehuebert AT gmail DOT com. My forwarding address from the UofA is not working properly, and I'm not getting emails, or they're being delayed.

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Blogging -

to bring you a message from Ms. Huebert's representative. Ms. Huebert is feeling wildly unloved at the moment, and hesitant to continue putting in the effort required to maintain this frequently updated blog. Ms. Huebert states that "the only people who ever email [her] are [her] parents! No one else loves [her]!"

As Ms. Huebert's representative, it is my belief that her friends and family on the other side of the pond do not fully understand how important their emails are to her. Ms. Huebert values each and every attempt at correspondence, and tries her best to respond to each in a timely manner. She also considers her blog a "general" email to each of you - she maintains it so that you may enjoy it. It is my opinion (and not necessarily the opinion of Ms. Huebert) that her daily or every-other-daily posting in the blog certainly warrants a weekly or every-other-weekly email from her various friends and family.

However, it may be that you do not fully understand how busy Ms. Huebert has been recently. Her maintenance of this blog comes in the face of serious time demands in Prague, but she is so committed to you, her audience, that she makes the time to write updates. Following is an updated version of her schedule, so that you might better understand Ms. Huebert's position.

Monday
7:30 - 8:30 - Individual Upper-Intermediate Course with close-to-favorite student
9:30 - 10:30 - Individual Upper-Intermediate Course
2:30 - 4:00 - Pre-Intermediate Course with two guys who don't like to work, but do love to have fun - she's always torn in this class: continue laughing, or actually learn some English
5:30 - 7:00 - Upper-Intermediate Course of students she loves
(*please note - in between these classes is a lot of travel time. No two classes are in one place! Also note, she leaves the house at 7:00 at gets home at about 7:30)

Tuesday
8:00-9:30 - Upper Intermediate Course at toy company; awesome students
10:30-11:30 - Upper Intermediate Individual
3:30-5:00 - Upper Intermediate Course with wickedly funny students
6:00-7:30 - Upper Intermediate Individaul
(*note - she leaves at 7:00 at gets home shortly before 8. Yes, she comes home for lunch on Tuesdays, but still!)

Wednesday
7:30-8:30 - Advanced Individual Course - not a fun one. :(; the student is very knowledgeable, but doesn't particularly like discussion - making parts of the lesson tricky
12:30 -2:00 - Upper Intermediate Individual Course - with the cheese lady!
2:30-4:00 - Pre-Intermediate with the 2 guys who drive her crazy, but she still likes because they make her laugh, and they're just so darn nice
5:30 - 7:00 - Upper Intermediate Class - again, the favorites

Thursday
8:00 - 9:30 - Intermediate Course at the toy company - also an excellent class
12:30 - 2:00 - Czech lesson, where she is a beginner in an elementarian's world
3:30 - 5:00 - Individual Upper-Intermediate Course

Friday
7:30 -8:30 - Advanced Individual again
9:30 - 10:30 - Individual Upper Intermediate - really nice guy, she wishes he wouldn't cancel the classes!
*there is potential for one or two more new courses on Friday afternoon that Ms. Huebert does not yet know for certain that she will teach.

Saturday and Sunday
-lesson planning for all those lessons
- church
- actually, you know, having a social life!!

So there you have it. Ms. Huebert is busy and yet she loves her friends and family SO MUCH that she still writes in this blog AND sends out occasional emails. Please! If you love your Ms. Huebert, write her an email! Please!

Without emails, this blog will be unable to continue. Do you REALLY want THAT hanging over your head during the Christmas Season? The Season of GIVING? I DON'T THINK SO. Seriously people, just send her an email! Geez! Do you think I get paid extra for having to put stupid posts like this up because my idiot employer is so "emotionally sensitive" that she gets upset because no one will write to her? No! No one pays me extra! So write her an email, and save me from having to write another of these ridiculous posts.

Sincerely Yours,

Ms. Huebert's Representative.

PS - Ms. Huebert - I QUIT! This job sucks!

Ciao ciao

Ahoj mes amies. How's things in ... well, wherever you are? Things in Prague are good! Good thing the first - the sun is actually attempting to shine today. I love sun. It's lovely to actually see it! Good thing the second - I slept through the night last night! The first time in - 2 or 3 weeks, I think. I didn't wake up once. Hurrah!

Today is a 4 class day, but there is enough time between classes 2 and 3 for me to come home, eat lunch, and mess about on the internet a bit. My morning classes were "quite good" (my Czech students rarely say that anything is full out "good..." it's "quite good" or "fair.") The first class showed up about half an hour late for class. They get later every week! I need to find out how long I have to stay before I'm allowed to leave and the class is considered a late cancellation. I figure if I leave before they get there one week, that should good them back on track. I love this class, because the students are so good-tempered, but showing up after a third of the class time has passed? That's a bit excessive. My second class was mint. Mint! I put together an "advanced adjectives" lesson by pulling bits from various books, and it flowed oh-so nicely. And it took exactly one hour! Brilliant! My time management is not always that precise. ;) The student seemed to enjoy it, too... minus feeling a bit stupid saying things like "Tired? I'm EXHAUSTED!" "Dirty? The kitchen is FILTHY!" with lots and lots of "expressive intonation."

I have the chance to pick up one or two more hour long classes. If I get them, my schedule will be officially FULL. How exciting! And even if I don't get them, I still have sufficient hours. God has most certainly been keeping an eye on me, and providing exactly what I need. The best part is that I actually all of my classes, and my students! (Some more than others, yes, but I don't have any classes that I actually don't want to teach.)

Well, that's all that's new here in the land of Wenceslas. Tomorrow is another 4 class day, and Thursday is 2 classes, my Czech lesson, and pub night. I'll keep you posted on what all goes down.

Love you all (well, except the lurkers that I don't actually know personally!),

Elizabeth

Hope

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, so we lit the "hope" candle. It was a lovely church service, and it's definitely starting to feel Christmassy. I went out for lunch with Lucy, and we had just a lovely time, and when I got home...

Megan had put up a little Christmas tree! It's all decorated, and it was such a great surprise. It's just an adorable tree, and I can't wait to put a few presents under it. I'm definitely starting to feel festive! I'm even planning some holiday lessons - I'd like to do the Barenaked Ladies' "Elf's Lament" in a few of my classes. Yay for Christmas!

I might actually be a little tiny bit more festive than I intended - I seem to have accidentally dyed my hair pinky-red. I was aiming for a nice ruddy brown, but I think I bought hair dye to lighten dark hair (darn Czech instructions!), so that might have something to do with it. It's still wet right now, so I'll have to see what it looks like dry. Whoops! I'll try and take some photos. I have this lovely digital camera (thanks again mum and dad!!), but I can't seem to upload pics from it. At least, I haven't gotten it to work yet. I'm sure a little fiddling will sort it all out. So pictures of various things are on their way - just give me a bit of time!

And now I'm off. Dad and I are about to attempt the mystery of "voice chat" over MSN. Wish us luck!

Love,
Elizabeth

Christmas Shopping!

Well, it definitely feels like the Christmas season has begun. The Christmas Markets opened today, so Megan and I headed into Wenceslas Square to do our shopping. It was great. The sun was actually out, and it was about zero out, so it was perfect -crisp and bright. The stalls have all kinds of neat Christmas stuff, and there are decorations everywhere!! I had roasted chestnuts! and this yummy pastry thingy that sweet and hot and nummy. It was a wonderful morning! We ended up at the "soup place" for hot soup and cocoa for lunch, which was perfect, because I was chilly.

We came home and watched some Monsters Inc, did a little lesson planning, and played some crib. I'm so glad that Megan likes crib, too! And she's very good - we play a lot of really tight games. Then tonight is Thanksgiving dinner! :) One of my American friends is hosting a small dinner tonight, so I'm going to go and hang out with them. I think it should be cool!

Oh, and to prove that I am TRYING to learn Czech - Jsem Elizabeth a jsem lektorka. (My name is Elizabeth and I'm a teacher/native speaker lecturer.) Hah! Look at me go! Of course, the rest of the "elementary" students are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay beyond that... but that's Ok! I'm determined to catch up!

Well, there's really nothing new here. It's gorgeous, and the Christmas markets are wonderful. You should definitely hop on the next flight over, and I will take you to them. Yes. That's would you should do. Yes, you! And you! And you, over there in the corner. Come and see me!

Love,
Elizabeth

Quote of the Day

We ask for strength, and the Great Spirit gives us difficulties, which makes us strong.

- Native American Prayer

Happy Anniversary

Happy anniversary, happy anniversary, happy anniversary, HAPPY anniversary!

Yes indeed folks - I have now been in Prague for three months. In some ways it feels like forever, and in others - well, I can't believe I've been gone for so long!! :) As a present to myself, I discovered that I can listen to CISN Country 103.9 online - yay! Of course, I can only do it when Megan isn't here (she hates country), but it sure makes my day!

I started another new class today, and it went really. I can't get over how much I like my students, and how much I like teaching. I'm not such a fan of lesson planning... but it has to be done. I have quite a bit to do this weekend, but that should help keep me busy. Megan and I are going to check out the Christmas market in Wenceslas Square Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening I'm going to American Thanksgiving with a friend and her friends. I think it should be a lot of fun.

I had my first Czech lesson today. It was ... interesting. When I arrived, both of the other students were chatting with the teacher, half in English and half in Czech. Wait a minute! How on earth are they speaking some Czech? I know I missed the first lesson (had to teach that intensive course), but still... how did they manage to do sentence construction and learn enough vocab for this?? What's going on?? Oh, I'll tell you what's going on. I've been put in an elementary class!! I'm not elementary! I'm beginner! I know all of 10 words in Czech! I think I'm going to have to study at home if I want to catch up, but it's hard, because I know absolutely nothing! Czech grammar is very complex (for my ling friends - it has 7 cases, 4 genders, and lots of exceptions to rules), and I don't even have a toehold for climbing this mountain. Good thing I'm not being tested on it!

Well, I'm starving, so I'm going to go and heat up some soup. And eat it with crackers. Mmm crackers. Dad brought like 4 boxes of crackers for me, which rocks, because you can't get them here, and I was really missing them. You don't what you've got til it's gone, and that includes goldfish! (I love this fishes 'cuz they're so delicious).

Love you all,
elizabeth

ahoj

Ahoj hoj all. I've been putting off this post all day, mostly because there's not much to tell! While dad was here we went non-stop, and did just about everything that there is to do in Prague, but now... well, it's back to the daily grind.

Today's been a good day, on the whole. All my regular classes went well, and I started a new one that rocks! Four mid-to-late twenty-somethings who work for a medical company (that makes dialysis equipment, I think?), and who seem very cool. They're very funny, and they like to talk, so it was actually easy to fill up the 90 minutes by playing introduction games and asking "have you ever" questions.

I was pretty blue when my dadeo left, but the old emotions have really settled down. Mum sent me this book called Becoming who God Intended. After the first read through, I thought it was a bit silly, but I've since reread it, and it's actually got a lot of good stuff in it. The author talks specifically about dealing with overwhelming feelings - which is exactly where I'm at a lot of the time!! :D Anyhoo, if you have the time and inclination, I'd suggest giving it a read, as it's an interesting take on emotions and being a Christian, and it has some excellent practical advice.

I picked up another 2 classes since I last mentioned class-picking-up, and my schedule is essentially full. I could, in theory, still pick up an hour or two, but if they don't come along, it doesn't really matter. I'm going to be really busy Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but Thursdays and Fridays are not so bad. Actually, Fridays are awesome. I finish work at 11:30! :D Yay for an early start to the weekend.

I leave for the Isle of Wight in one month! Wow! I can't believe that Christmas is coming so quickly. I'm really looking forward to spending the holiday with Lucy and her family - but I imagine there'll be some weepy moments. The plan is email Lucy's phone number home, and hopefully mum and dad and maybe a few other relatives will give me a call. (*hint hint*) I'm also excited to see the Isle of Wight - Lucy says it has some really quaint villages and such that are nice tour around in, so I think that'll be great.

Well, I'm off to work on my grad school applications. Please pray that the U of A accepts me, as that seems to be the best option financially right now. I'm applying there and at Dalhousie, so hopefully one of them lets this pilgrim in!

Love!

Elizabeth

Hello?? Is anybody there??

Well, I'm certain that my readership has plunged into the abyss over this past week, but I'm back now. And I was gone for completely legitimate reasons!

My dad arrived last Saturday at about 10:30 in the morning. There was much hugging and joyful crying in the Prague airport. It was just so good to see him. We rode the metro into Prague, got him settled in his room at the hotel, and just walked around the centre. He was pretty zonked, but wanted to stay up as late as possible to try and get onto a Prague schedule.

Sunday, we went to church in the morning, and then spent the afternoon wandering around, just hanging out. I don't think we did anything too exciting, but it was just fabulous to be with him. I remember now - we went to IKEA. Dad bought me a lamp and some socks and a fan, and we had lunch and looked at everything. He also bought a warmer coat, because damp cold feels so much chillier than dry cold! In fact, it's about 10 degrees warmer here than in Edmonton, but it feels much cooler. We had a great time just window shopping and chatting. It was wonderful. :)

Monday was day 3 of my intensive course. I didn't see dad at all until 4:30!! :( But he came to my evening class and observed, which was fun. My students all seemed Ok with having a visitor there, and we had a fun class. It was great! (In case you're wondering, the intensive course went alright. It was exhausting, but I think that the student gained some skills that she needed, and hopefully feels it was all worthwhile!)

Tuesday was day 4 of the intensive course. Dad came out to Hrdcanska to have lunch with me, which was lovely! That night, we went to a movie (Brothers Grimm - it was weird, but Ok), and then picked Lucy up at the metro. She'd just flown in from the Isle of Wight, and spent her first night in Prague at my place. It was lovely to see her again!! Bonus for her: my dad carried her suitcase. :)

Wednesday was the last day of the intensive course (hallelujah!). Dad met me for lunch again, and then Lucy came out and met up with us after I was done work, and we went to the circus! We had seats right on the edge of the ring, and it was incredible. There were horses, bears, camels, llamas, elephants, acrobats, jugglers, clowns.... It was one of the best circuses I've ever seen. It was a bit surreal to watch a llama running round a ring jumping over camels... but that's Ok!! The circus even had cotton candy, so it was an all around great experience. In fact, it's on my list of "The Best Things I've Done in Prague."

Thursday was a holiday (hurray!) and Dad and I went to Dresden. The first half hour or so of the train ride was lovely - the sun was shining, and the countryside looked very pretty. Then it got cloudy. Then it rained. It rained all day long. Dad and I arrived in Dresden at 11:30-ish. We ate lunch at a nice hotel, wandered through all the shops and up and down the streets, and then caught the 4:09 train back to Prague! We aren't terribly exciting, I know, but the weather was too wet and cold to spend much time outside, and we didn't know of anything else that we really wanted to see. We were going to see Frauenkirche, but the lineup was a mile long - outside. A warm train ride back to Prague seemed like a much better idea! We met up with my mates at the pub for a bit, and chatted with them, and that was it!

Friday I only had one class, so dad I had most of the day to ourselves. The sun was actually out, so we walked down to Old Town Square and watched the clock, then across Charles Bridge to look at the statues and the vendors. We caught a tram up to the castle, and did a little sightseeing up there. It was pretty cool, I must admit. We only saw parts of it, though, so mum - you have to come visit so we can look at the whole thing!! :D We headed back to the center for a hot chocolate, and picked up some tickets for one of the many baroque concerts you see advertised around the city. It was a wonderful concert. The quality of music was amazing, and one of the versions of Ave Maria actually brought me to tears. It was just lovely. Again, mum, you need to come visit!! After the concert we went to see Broken Flowers (a movie) that wasn't very good. A little boring. But it was fun nonetheless - just because dad was there!

Saturday dawned cold, snowy, and not very nice. We spent a portion of the day inside, playing crib and backgammon and rummy. We actually spent quite a lot of time playing games together, which is something dad and I love, so it was wonderful to just hang out like that. We decided we had to get out of the house, though, so we went for a walk around the market at Hrdcanska, and then walked through Wencelas Square. Dad said that he'd like to see a blacklight theatre show, so we went looking for one of those. There are quite a few choices for these shows, but we settled on one set to Beatles' music, since dad and I both like them. The show was exactly like what I imagine an LSD trip to be like. Everything glows and is floating and there were giant dancing eyeballs. It was so much fun!! I've never seen anything like it before, and I doubt I will again (unless you come and visit and I take you to the show!). It was crazy, but good.

And then Sunday. We got up, cleaned up, played some cards - and then went to the airport. It was rough saying goodbye - a few tears were shed on both sides. Finally, I had to walk away and let dad go through customs. I cried most of the way home!! Luckily Lucy was around to cheer me up. Now dad is back in Canada, and I'm still here in Prague. I start 3 new classes this week, and I'm a little bit behind on lesson planning, so I imagine I'll have lots to keep busy with. I hope you all are well, and that you'll come back and start reading again now that I've returned!

Love,
Elizabeth

One Last Post

one quick post before my dabbatical (ahahaha - I'm so funny). I got my care package finally - after having to go to two post offices to find it! In it were all sorts of good things, including a mug. And not just any mug, but a really great mug, that I already love. Here is it what it looks like:





It says:

10 THINGS GOD WANTS YOU TO REMEMBER
I am for you.
I love you.
I will provide for you.
I believe in you.
I will give you rest.
I will not fail you.
I will be with you.
I will answer you.
I will bless you.
I will strengthen you.

It's such a great reminder of the promises that God has made to me. He's going to help me to have the most amazing experience here in Prague! How exciting is that?

Love,
Elizabeth

Pilgrim's Prague-ress Posting Pause

Ok, enough alliteration! This is likely going to be the last post that you'll see from me until Nov 20 or 21. Why? (Well, I'm sure you all know, but I'll tell you anyways). My dad arrives tomorrow morning! Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Therefore I'm more likely to spend my extra minutes chilling with him than writing blog posts. I'm so excited. In a little more than 16 hours, I'll be at the airport, picking him up. It almost doesn't seem real... I can't believe he's going to be here!

I'm also looking forward to the weekend just because it's the weekend. I've now completed 2 days of my five-day intensive course, and I'm wiped. 6 hours of English a day for one student is just too much. By the end of the day we're both tired and stressed, and losing patience. I hope that we don't end up burned out by Wednesday!! I must admit I'm kind of dreading Monday and Wednesday - both days I get up, teach a 7:30 - 8:30 am class, then do a 6 hour intensive course, and then teach from 5:30 til 7:00 pm. I think I might be dead by the time I get home!! But just think - my dad will be here! We can go out for supper, and then just crash at my flat or his hotel and play cards and backgammon and hang out. Knowing that I get to see him at the end of the day will make those days easier, I think.

Well, that's about all for now, folks. Tonight is Bible study, which I'm really looking forward to. Megan has been feeling unwell for over a week now (poor girl, I wish there was something I could do to make her feel better) and hasn't been feeling very social. It'll be nice to meet up with friends tonight to chat and to hang out, not to mention to study the Bible. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Love you!

Elizabeth

Anecdote Alert!

Again with me forgetting the funny parts of my day...

I was waiting for my students to be ready to start class out at the car dealership today. The showroom has a waiting area with tables, chairs, magazines and a coffee machine, I suppose for the people who tag along with whomever is buying the car, and aren't needed to fill in the paperwork. While standing in this area today I noticed an older woman...

...she was sitting at one of the tables, reading a magazine of some sort. She was a large woman, wearing a dark green dress, white tights, and sports sandals. She looked a bit ... out of the fashion loop, if you will. She was wearing very large, plastic-framed glasses, and was peering through them at her magazine. She picked up her coffee, squinted at it, and set it back down. She took off her glasses, and stirred her coffee with the right arm of her glasses. She did this slowly, lazily - in a manner that suggested that this is how she frequently gets the cream, sugar, and coffee to combine in just the right melodic mixture. She then removed her glasses from her coffee...

...licked them off...

... and put them back on!

I was absolutely disgusted. Eeew!

And that's...

... the rest of the story.


Love,
E.

Three More Sleeps

That's right folks, just three more sleeps and my dad'll be here. How exciting! It actually doesn't seem real yet, I think mostly because I've had a lot on my mind lately. This intensive course starts tomorrow, and I'm definitely a teensy bit worried about it. I'm trying just to relax, and trust God to get me through it, but I still feel a bit worried. Please pray!

Today was an up and down day.

Ups:
- I got another 90 minute class! I just need between an hour and a half and three hours and half now to have a full schedule. Two other classes are now in discussion, but scheduling may be a bit of an issue. Praise God, though, that my schedule is filling up, and that there are still classes available! Yay!
- I taught 4 classes and didn't fall over dead.
- My care package (mailed nine or ten weeks ago) finally arrived. I don't have it yet, but at least it's in Prague.
- I'm starting Czech lessons for sure on Nov. 24 - here's hoping I learn something. :)
- I went to look through a store that's like Rona just to kill some time, and found that they have mice and rabbits and guinea pigs! I spent like half an hour watching these teeny little mice run around and play together. Very cute.
- I got pics of Jake from Hilary. I miss him, but he's so cute to look at! Apparently, he thinks I'm moving to Cuba, and that I'm going to live with him and his family when I move back to Canada. I'm not sure who he gets his info from... ;)

Downs:
- I went to get my package, and it's not at the post office that my last package was at. I didn't have time to go to the other post office. Hence, no package. :( I have to admit, I was so frustrated that I cried.
- I'm exhausted because I taught 4 classes today.
- I really want these two classes (though I'm praying that God will only give me the ones that he wants me to have)... and I still don't know if I'm going to get them or not. I don't like suspense!
- I'm worried about this intensive course.
- The internet bill came - it's for the installation and 2 mos. of service - and I owe Megan 675 Kc. I don't HAVE 675 Kc right now. Please hurry, pay day, please.
- I'm whiny. 'Nough said.

Well, that's really about it. I'm tired and grumpy, and you probably don't need to hear me go on and on about it!! I imagine that tomorrow will be a better day. And my daddy's going to be here in three more sleeps. :)

Love,
Elizabeth

Solar Powered

That's right folks, I do believe that I'm solar powered. Walking to the metro at 6:55 am this morning, I was all confused. Something was different. I was feeling good, practically strutting my way to Muzeum... what's going on? I wondered. Then it hit me. The sun was out. The sky was blue. It actually looked like daylight. The past 3 days have been completely overcast - day is only slightly less grey than evening, and it's kind of depressing. I think that's where part of the homesickness comes from - I need the sun!

Today was a good day. I normally only have one class on Tuesdays, but today I had 3, as I taught two make up classes. I have to miss a couple of my regular classes in order to do this intensive course, so I'm making up as many of them as possible... in order to a) keep the students happy b) keep my wallet full come payday on Dec. 15.

Speaking of pay day, I got leads on two more classes today. Wait, wait - hold the applause and wild cheering. I don't have these classes yet. They're still in the talking/planning/making schedules coincide stage. If I get them, awesome! And if they don't work out, then that's Ok. Right now they're mostly functioning as reminders that God can indeed provide me with all of the hours that I need. (But I must admit - I am praying that both of them work out, because it would be great to have two more classes). How exciting it is to watch God provide for me!!

Not that it's always easy to wait and watch. I'm still struggling with loneliness and homesickness. But seeing God provide for my classes is a boost towards trusting him with my emotions, too. I can't believe the growth that I've seen in these past two months, and I'll bet that I can't even imagine the growth that's yet to come. Hils - if men were threatened by my "independence" before, I'll have no hope of finding a man when I get back!! Little by little (and with lots more to come), I'm discovering that God and I can do anything!! With him by my side I can live abroad, find an apartment, find a job, make friends, find a church, and survive in a country where I don't speak the language. Can I get an amen? Amen!

Anyhoo, time to toddle off. Hope you're all happy and healthy.

Ciao ciao!

Elizabeth

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Amen.

You know, late last week I got a phonecall from Skrivanek. "Hi Elizabeth! We have a class on Tuesday afternoons that we'd like you to take." I got all excited.

"I'd love to take it!!"
"But what about your intensive course... is that on a Tuesday?"
"Oh, yeah, it is. And I have to spend one Tuesday doing make-up lessons." *hope dies*
"Oh, well, sorry then."
"Wait, wait!! Can you call them and ask if they can wait til the 22 to start the class? I could start it on the 22, no problem!"
"Oh, I don't think so."
*defeated* "Alright. Well, if you can't find anyone else, see if they'll wait til the 22 and I'll take it."

I pretty much gave up hope. It's a primetime class - 3:30 - 5:00 - a time when everyone wants a class, and no clients schedule them. Surely they'd find another teacher. How frustrating! But then...

*ring ring*
"Hello?"
"Hi Elizabeth - remember that Tuesday class? Do you want it?"
"Yes!!!! But I can't start til the 22nd."
"That's Ok - we checked with them and it's fine."

And the crowd goes wild! I got it! I got another class! Hurray!! Thanks God!! Now, I only need 5 more contact hours come December. Only 5! In fact, three would probably suffice, but five would be perfect. Thank you so much, all of you who have been faithfully praying with me about my work and finance situation here. God is meeting my needs, step by step, day by day.

Hm. I seem to have the Doxology stuck in my head. Not a bad song for a day like today. :D

Love,
Elizabeth

PS - My dad's going to be here in five days. WOWZAH!

Another Weekend

Hi folks!

It's Sunday afternoon here, and it's been a quiet weekend. Some of you know that it's been a bit rough this week, but I made it through. :) It's amazing what a walk through Wenceslas Square early in the morning can do for one's mood.

Friday night I stayed in with Megan, and we just hung out watching DVDs. She's been sick all week, and has been pretty bored and fairly miserable. Girls Night In was good, because it was so mellow. Unfortunately, it means that there's nothing exciting to tell you about.

Saturday, Megan was still feeling rough, and was looking for a medicentre to go to. She wound up finding a Doctor who makes housecalls! He showed up wearing a suit and carrying his black bag. He was very young and handsome, and very married. :( He was a sweetie, and got Megan on some antibiotics to help fight the GE (now we've both had it, so hopefully neither of us gets sick again). Neither one of us was feeling particularly ambitious, so we watched all six hours of Pride and Prejudice! It was great. We vegged on the couch, cooked a little lunch, and watched a little Austen. When we were done, I really needed to get out of the house, so I walked down to Tescos to buy some new pens. I also found a games compendium, that has thirty or so different games in it, including crib and backgammon! I trotted home, and promptly taught Megan how to play crib. Being a very logical person, she caught on right away, and now we can play crib together. :) Hurray!

I also went out Saturday night, to the Amerikan Country Club. They promise live country music right here in Praha! It was simply surreal. At one point, the woman was singing "House of the Rising Sun" in Czech. It was at that point that I got my drink, which was green and had a giraffe in it. Cool, since I collect giraffes. And no, I wasn't high! My drink really was green, and it had a little plastic giraffe floating in it. I associate giraffes with Czech country music, don't you? ;) It was a quiet evening, and I left fairly early.

Today, I was wide awake at about 7, so I got up and went for a little walk, enjoying how empty the streets are early Sunday morning. I went to church, which was great, especially since we sang a whole bunch of my favorite songs. I was formally introduced to the church as a new associate member, which was also cool. After church I went out for lunch with one of my new friends, Tiffany. We found this place that had sandwiches and desserts for a reasonable price (I said was cutting down on eating out, not cutting it out entirely!), and I had some really wicked chocolate cheesecake. Yum! This afternoon, Megan and I played some crib, and I wrote to my Grandma, and I tried to phone Jake to wish him a happy birthday (Happy Birthday Jacob!). Unfortunately, he wasn't at home, so I woke Brandon up for nothing (sorry Brandon!). I hope he has a great day.

Now it's a quiet evening at home. I'll likely read for a bit, and maybe do a wee bit of lesson planning. I'm hoping Megan feels up for watching a DVD and maybe playing some more crib. She's going to be so sorry that she agreed to learn how to play. ;)

Love you all! Keep those emails coming; I appreciate them more than I can say. If you're wanting to send, oh say, a Christmas card to Praha, let me know, and I'll send you my mailing addy.

Love,
Elizabeth

*Insert Title Here*

Morning all!

I'm supposed to be at work. I got up at 6, had a shower, got dressed, ate breakfast - all the usual routine. Hopped on the metro, got to my company, sat down in boardroom, got organized. Then I thought to myself "self, this student is sometimes late. You'd better turn your phone on in case they text you." Turn on the phone - I had received a text messaage about ten minutes earlier saying that the student is ill, and couldn't make it to class. I certainly hope that they feel better - but all that getting up at six for nothing! (Now I sympathize with Bari. She had a similar experience). I hopped back on the metro, and now I'm home for about an hour before I go off to my next class, which is a new class, and whom I'm looking forward to meeting.

Last night at the pub was quiet and pleasant. I got to see my friends, which is nice, because we see a whole lot less of each other now that we're done the course and are all actually working. Conflicting schedules really suck! But Adrian has found a country and western (!!!) bar, so we're going to check that out tomorrow night. Should be a good time - and if it stinks, we'll go someplace else. We are nothing if not flexible around here. :)

I've been missing the sun this week - it hasn't really cleared up at all since Monday. Today is supposed to be "partly cloudy" as opposed to "mostly cloudy" so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Maybe the weekend will be lovely - that would be great!

Megan's been sick this week, which is wretched for her. I think that I'm going to forgo(e?) Bible study tonight and stay in with her. We're going to have a bit of a girls' night in the attempt to help her feel better. :) Sunday is church day, of course, but they've shut down my metro station for the weekend, so I need to sort out the trams in order to be able to get there. Hope I can figure it all out. I'm only so brilliant, you know, and Czech public transport was one of my lower multiple intelligences. ;)

Well, not much is new here since yesterday. I'm mostly posting because I had some time to kill. And just think - I'm being paid to sit here. I quite like the "24 hours notice to cancel or we still pay the teacher" policy that most schools have in Prague. In fact, I think most of the TEFLers see it as one of the perks!

Love always,
Elizabeth

Thursdays are for Pubbing

Ahoj hoj all,

'sup? Yes indeed, what IS up - in Canada, the US, Germany, and wherever else y'all might be who are reading? I hope you're having a good week. My week? Well, it's been up and down (as I'm sure you've realized already) but it's back on an upswing, and I imagine that the rest of today will be quite enjoyable.

My class this morning went really well. I have a class list of 8, but generally only about 4 show up. 2 come most of the time, and the other two spots have a kind of rotation. It's weird, and makes things like lesson planning and homework a bit tricksy, but it's doable. Mostly, you don't assign homework. ;) There's only one man who shows up all the time, and he is BAD. He sits there and natters away in Czech, making all the women laugh, and totally distracting them from what is going on. However, his nattering is generally on topic; he's explaining something, or commenting on the reading, or asking a question... it's just that he never stops! I've started teasing him that I'm going to make him sit in the corner by himself. I could never do it, though - he's what makes this class so great. Everyone laughs, and asks lots of questions, which I love. We make it through about half of the material that I expect to, but that's Ok. At least they're trying to understand English on their own terms. They stop me to ask what you call a couple who have lived together for a long time but never married (common-law). Then we have to discuss the legality of being common-law in Canada vs. in Czech. Then we have to find out what the noun of the verb "divorce" is (it's "divorce"... just the same!) All of this is great, because they want to learn how to use English to talk about what THEY want to talk about. You cannot accuse this class of wanting to be spoon fed!!

I hit up the grocery store on the way home. Yes, I can eat out cheaply - mostly for between $2.50 and $5.00 a meal. However, that just isn't cheaply enough anymore. I know this little grocery store in a metro stop waaaaaaaaaaaaay out from the centre that has good stuff for cheap prices. So I picked up yogurts (7 Kc or $0.35 each - and they're a good size single serving), lunch meat (18 Kc - $0.90 - enough for 3 lunches), bread (10 Kc - $0.50 - enough for 3 or 4 meals), and these dried Knorr soup mixes (20 Kc - $1.00 - each one serves "four" unless you're like me and planning on eating the whole thing and calling it supper). Hopefully, if I eat meals like this most of time, and only eat out at my favorite cheap places every now and again, I can have a few more krowns for things like socks. (Hey dad, if you want to you could bring me socks. Any color. Beggars can't be choosers, and all that). Oooh socks. And maybe a new bra (my other victoria's secret one died! it died!! *moment of silence*). Thicker mittens and a toque would be pleasant. Being able to afford a trip to Salzburg would be magnificent! Presents for my family at Christmas, presents for Lucy and her family for Christmas... well you get the idea! I am finally learning what it means to actually have to live on a budget. I would like to take this moment to officially state that:

I don't particularly like it.

Ahahaha - as if anyone does! :) And I haven't succumed to the ramen noodles just yet. So I must be doing alright for myself.

This afternoon I'm going to meet the student that I'm doing the 5 day intensive course with. It's just a chance for us to get introduced, and for me to get a sense of where her strengths and weaknesses are. I also have to meet her director. This is his chance to grill and tell me exactly what she needs to be taught, and how. ;) This is all tongue in cheek people - I'm sure the man is perfectly nice, it's just that my superiors/coworkers at Skrivanek have struck fear into my heart by telling me how I need to look professional (skirt and button down, check), take notes on what he says (pad of paper and pen, check), ask questions (ideas for activities and strengths and weaknesses, check), and generally make him very confident in my abilities. I think he may be VIP client - or would that just be a VIC? Anyhoo, I need to make him love me - or at least admire my obvious (*snorts with laughter*) teaching skills. Here's hoping I ace it!

Then it's - dun dun dun- Thursday night pub night! Hurrah! I love going to the pub and visiting with all of my friends and meeting new people and having my weekly black beer. (Remember, I only like dark beer. Do we have dark beer in Canada? I didn't ever drink beer before I came to Czech, so I don't even know. Can someone please fill me in? And dark beer DOES NOT EQUAL Guiness, so don't even go there!!) I'm curious to here how the new TEFLers are doing, and what all they've been up to, so it should be good.

Tomorrow I have two classes (one is new - wish me luck!), and then at about 10:30 I'm done for the day. The plan is to mock out most of my lessons for the week of the 14th (when my dad is here *squee*), and note down exactly what materials I need to photocopy. I'll do the photocopying on Monday, and spend Tuesday planning those lessons. Then all I have to do is attempt to plan at least a bit of the week that comes after dad leaves (oh no! he has to leave! not cool! not cool at all!), and ta-da - no lesson planning required for the 9 days that I have with my dad. Just daddy-daughter time. How excellent is that??? :D

Well, my foot's gone dead (British slangism for "fell asleep") and I've nothing else to say. Just one small request:

Please comment or email me with any fun English slangisms you can think of. One of my classes just loves them. I've already taught them "more fun than a barrel of monkeys" and "she think she's all that and a bag of chips"... but I need more! Thanks in advance!

Loves you,

Elizabeth

Oops

Sorry guys - I missed posting yesterday. Not a whole lot is new here during the week, since mostly all I do is work, eat, read and sleep, but I know Kim likes to have a new post to read while she eats her breakfast. :)

This post will also not be overly exciting, because it's been a rough few days. Everything has felt under the weather - body, mind, spirit, toenails, etc. ;) I'm feeling a teeny bit ill, and it's making it hard to sleep at night, because I have to get up three or four times. It's nothing terrible, nothing that means I can't go to work, I just feel rough round the edges. I've also been a bit stressed about finances, and a little homesick. Bundle all of that together, and it makes for an Elizabeth that you probably don't want to spend a whole lot of time with! It also makes for an Elizabeth who could really use a few extra emails this week to keep her going.

Thankfully, my 7:30 am student cancelled last night (he cancelled late, so I still get paid), so I got to sleep in a little this morning. That definitely helps me to feel a bit better. And I've got most of next week's lessons planned, so after an hour or two of work tomorrow, I should be able to start on the week after's lessons. If I just stay focused (and calm!) I should have NO lessons to plan while dad is here.

And he comes in TEN days. Yes people, we are down to single syllable days (with the exception of "seven" which I shall call "week" in order to keep with the pattern. Not "a week," but "week"). I'm so excited to see him that I could almost be not homesick today. ;) Oy, I'm a daft girl.

My friend Abbey and I went out for crepes last night, and I had the yummiest banana raspberry crepes ever. It was delicious! If you come to visit me, I promise to take you for crepes.

Well, that is absolutely everything that is new here. I hope this blog finds you well! Please oh please email me this week... I would really appreciate it.

Love,
Elizabeth