alive from Prague

First picts to prague and a link to my last Greece picts HERE

Well guys, I'm her step 29434 on my travels. I can't say I have much to report on Prague. Yes, there are cobblestone streets that must be hell on a bicycle, grey skies, gruff people, lots of work with the course, unmarked subway systems, streets that seem oddly desolate other than the surprising amount of cigarette bummers, an absence of children, snow, prices that aren't friendly against the US dollar, snow, lots of work, a radiator in my flat that doubles as a clothes drier, lots of balding people in my life, work, wine, etc, etc.

So really, I got into Prague after an absurd flight from Athens that took me first to London and dropped me in this winter hell at 9 pm that night and left to my own devices to find my way to the student house, which I did dragging my 30 Kilo bag along ice and snow covered sidewalks to get to leaving two nice parallel tracks behind my frigid footsteps. I was welcomed by Stefan, the house manager who showed me to my room, all the other kiddies were out to the welcoming dinner which I missed. After unpacking my clothes, (ohh my god! I have a closet!) I was about to go wander around when the others walked in. It's a nice but small mix. 3 Brits, 4 Americans (including Nandos the 1/2 Greek, 1/2 American, all New Yorker) and one Aussie named Jill who is the only other with some teaching experience. I have to say though I feel pretty lucky, the other three who I share the house with (it's hard to describe) are really cool and I have nothing but positive things to say about them. After a bit of chit-chat, Tom, one of the brits, agreed to accompany me to a pub where I could wind down for the first time all day at midnight. Not much of a place and the two drunk Czech men whose beard were tickling their lap as they were falling asleep with enormous glasses of half-filled beers were threatened to be tipped over by dormant hands, gave us a bit of the creeps. We stayed for one beer.

The next day, it was off to the races. School starts at 11 every day and we all had no idea really what to expect. As my battery is running extremely low, I'll keep it brief, but there is a lot of work and we started teaching our first classes to adult Czech students on Weds. I was little better prepared by simply having taught before as my nerves weren't wound up to explode like most others. It's slightly a throw you to the fire atmosphere, but nothing like it was in Korea. I've gotten more feedback on my teaching in this one week than I did my entire week back home. There is no doubt in my mind that I'm going to walk away from this experience in a much better teacher than I went in. The instructors, all from the UK, are great, dryly humorous honest yet supportive. There is al of work, a lot of analysis and a lot of writing of reports but I think I see the benefit of it all.

But to be real with everyone, my heart isn't in Europe at the moment, it's stuck in Japan. Keiko is there and I'm anxious to get back. The food I used to love, I still do, but I find myself craving lighter fare. The cafes are great but I'll willingly trade them off for a shoebox sized apartment with an address I can't read. I'm distracting myself with the course and working hard but honestly I'm just ticking off days until May when I hope I'll be able to get back to Japan. I've still got plans to make it to Germany, Denmark and Spain, but those will be brief at best and ways to say hellos and goodbyes. I feel like part of me is missing and when I'm walking to the streets alone it's not even with a feeling of solace, but one of absence. I'm repeating the conversations I spoke so highly of only recently. I want to be in one place again, to have a home, to have one place to look forward to, to have one person. All this awaits me as soon as the apartment is signed away and my ticket bought. I'll make it home to the US without a doubt, but for now my craving is for miso soup and that tiny person who fits so nicely named Keiko.

Ok, enough of my sentimental babbling, I'll write a real update about this town as soon as I figure out a damn thing beyond how to make it from Subway to school and back.