Prvý deň ani popisovať nebudem, to už som urobil niekedy pred týždňom. Začnem teda až od druhého dňa. Dalo by sa povedať, že začiatok môjho štúdia je dosť pomalý. Prednášky aj cvičenia boli vedené tak, že sa vždy najprv povedali organizačné záležitosti, potom sa prešlo k tomu, čo sa bude učiť, a v prípade cvičení sa potom riešilo niečo, čo malo s daným predmetom len okrajovú súvislosť (veď sme ešte nemali nič prebraté) – väčšinou nejaké viac-menej logické úlohy.

Treba ale priznať, že väčšina vyučujúcich sú veľmi príjemní ľudia so zmyslom pre humor, čo som naozaj nečakal. Nejako som si spájal predstavu univerzitného profesora s obrazom šedivého pána, ktorý zo seba vychrlí obrovské množstvo informácií. Táto predstava očividne neplatí. Našťastie.

Čo sa týka jednotlivých predmetov, tak to sa ani vyjadrovať nebudem, lebo to nemá zmysel. Fakt sme zatiaľ nič nerobili. Teda nič veľmi produktívne.

V živote na intráku je to podobné. Jedinou naozaj veľkou udalosťou je príchod môjho spolubývajúceho. A inak len samá nuda. No čo, treba dúfať, že sa to zlepší. Na druhej strane to má aj výhody – mám čas na čítanie. Zatiaľ. Keby to tak vydržalo čo najdlhšie.

Asi najväčší zážitok mám práve z dneška. Idem domov zo školy (konečne!) a na tretej zastávke sa pokazí električka. Ako inak, že!? Veď prečo nie, keď môže? Tak som jak šašo šliapal domov asi ďalšiu pol hodinu. Neskutočné.

Tak teda toto sú moje dojmy z prvého aktívneho týždňa v Prahe. See you next week. :)

in a normal week i'll teach 11 classes.  so, one lesson per week, 90 minutes per class, but 11 classes.  that's 20-25 students per class, so around 250 students.  most of them are just fine.  some of them are really great.  but a couple of them are problem students, maybe.  for reasons i don't understand, my feelings about teaching revolve around these students already.  not, like, fixing them... just surviving them. 

for example: in my last class of the week, thursday around 8pm (herein lies the first problem), i asked if the class had any questions so far.  some total bro-dude, the pink-polo-shirt-wearing, lacrosse-playing species, raises his hand and leers, "yeah, can i have your phone number?".  here's the strange thing... if i was a student, i'd probably giggle.  it's an outrageously inappropriate thing for someone to do in class, so that makes it funny.  but as a teacher, put in the same situation, it becomes more than an inappropriate remark - it's like a threat somehow.  worse things have been said to most other teachers in this world, but it's all the same - it's all about intention, you know?  i already struggle because we're the same age.  they're mostly 19-21 years old.  it's their first and second years of university.  i was just there, you know?  so we're in the same age group, i'm trying to figure out how to distance myself enough to be respected as a teacher among my peers... and then some total jackass brings everything to a halt.  the class is laughing and rambling on in czech, i'm planning this guy's demise (academic if not physical), and we haven't even started the first activity.

i'm trying not to get all uber-feminist here, but it's completely true that female teachers and male teachers have really different experiences. no one would dare undermine michael in class like that.  he's younger than me, he's still in college, and he has no teaching experience - but he's a big, bearded man, with a big, commanding voice.  i keep thinking about females in positions of power... if we raise our voices or call for attention, or if ever we verbally reprimand someone, it's automatically perceived as screechy or grating, and we're bitches for doing it.  inherent sexism, ya heard?  i digress.

something all of us have noticed is how immature these students are.  i was so excited to teach college students because i prefer adults.  it's no secret that i'm not a huge fan of little kids, and i really have no interest in dealing with puberty either.  adults are self-aware, they're more invested in their education because they're seeking it out (and often paying for it), and they're most capable of being mature, well-behaved, but still interesting.  sike.  these kids are kids.  maybe it's because the czech university system is subsidized because they're so socialist here - public university is virtually free. 

whatever it is, it really surprised us.  i was expecting the students to be almost too obedient... they've been taught from an early age to not respond to teachers because it's "good behaviour."  but at least they're supposed to have good behaviour, right?  i was hoping to get them to talk more, to feel comfortable discussing things in class. but these kids are like high schoolers... i'm quick to blame it on westernization a la mtv, but i shouldn't be too hasty i guess.  but a couple of my classes are pretty rowdy.  how do i discipline people my own age?  i shouldn't have to.  ugh.

but really, i like almost all of my classes.  most of the students exceeded my expectations, and i think i'll enjoy teaching overall.  yeah.  it's just so strange that all of my classes are the same level, with the same students, in the same classrooms... but one group of kids will have a completely different dynamic than the next.  there's no predicting how each class will feel.  that's really eerie... but more on that later.

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what i've been thinking about the most this past week is group energy.  maybe i spent too much time cooped up in janitor-closet-sized and morgue-like classrooms, but my frame of mind is different than it was one week ago.  i keep asking these sort of metaphysical questions (to whom? to the universe ;) ...) about life: energy and energies, waves (sound/energy/brain), DNA, the nature of humanity... why formal education exists, what it means to be conscious beings in the first place...

i'm exhausting myself just writing about it.  in sum, meeting hundreds and hundreds of new people in the past month has done really strange things to my head.  all of us are so different, but we're all the same anyway.

bad news: a caravan full of french people went to oktoberfest without me.

good news: i discovered a form of music called folk jazz.  last.fm radio, where have you been all my life?  also i've discovered traditional slovakian cheese which is like cheese shoestrings.  also, right now i'm sipping chocolate soymilk like it's liquid gold.

bad news: i'm getting sick.  everyone is sick or getting sick.  i brought cold-eeze zinc drops, ricola cough drops, and chamomile tea from america.  if i'm still sick when that runs out, ya'll better send care packages pronto...

good news: i gave myself bangs today!  it makes the cheeks a little more manageable....

If you've spent any time around Old Town, Prague, you quickly come to realize that all seasons are tourist season. Memories of cheap beer and affordable, hearty Eastern European fare are quickly dragged back into reality. In 2008, post-EU and the after the first, second, and third waves of tourism from Europe, North America, and Asia,  Old Town is essentially one large tourist trap. Even old time institutions like U FleckU and U Medvidku have pushed most locals out, with higher prices and annoying tourists. Locals have fled to the suburbs, where 20kr pilsners are still available.

Just across the bridge from Praha 1 in Mala Strana, lies a small bastion of Czech culture. Not quite the suburbs, but far enough off the tourist track that locals still socialize uninhibitedly. Here, Stara Praha, a restopub sponsored by Staropramen Brewery, maintains their commitment to cheap beer and good food. After days of eating heavy pork, doner kebabs, and rich Eastern European fare, I was craving some good old simple food. Nothing dressed up, nothing fused with French techniques to create Nouveau Czech dishes, but honest food. My first attempt was met with a completely booked service. Luckily, I was able to get away for a lunch later that trip.

In Prague, there are five major breweries of which Staropramen is the largest. To extoll the virtues of Czech Beer would require another essay completely. Let's just say, all you have to know is it is tough to go wrong with any Czech Beers. Staropramen brews a particularly good pale, lager, and dark. Just like most other Czech Breweries. The Pale was particularly good - hoppy, well-fermented, slightly bitter, with fruit notes on the finish, this is the perfect beer to go with the heavier dishes served in Eastern Europe. I really liked the dark as well, though I find it a bit heavier, and only drink it on it's own, or with snacks, not with a full meal.

The food at Stara Praha was fantastic - probably the best example of "home-cooked" Czech food i've had. I had two basic dishes. The first was drstkova polevka - tripe soup. Recommended by a poster on Chowhound, they were bang on in how extraordinary this soup was. The sharp spices cut through the days of accumulated pork fat that had collected within my system - alternating spicey bursts with the rubbery, crunchy chewy bits of tripe was perfect. Now i know tripe isnt for everyone, but this was one fantastic soup.

My entree was the goulash. This was honestly the first goulash i had in Prague that i truly enjoyed. Previous goulashes were bland, plain, and excessively oily, with poor quality, chewy beef. This goulash was peppery, and flavourful. The meat had been simmered for an appropriate period of time and was tender yet firm. The sauce was reduced to concentrate the flavours - and delivered with strong notes of pepper, tomatos, clove,  paprika, nutmeg, and allspice. A touch of sourness in the sauce, and in the dumplings, helped counter balance the excessively oily nature of the goulash itself. This was excellent goulash.

I have a definite love-hate relationship with food in Prague. While i think Czech food in general is underrated, I found it tough to find good honest food around Old Town. To some, this may sound like expecting great food in Disneyland, but I was hoping for less of an impact from the throngs of tourists - hoping against hope there would be some honest eateries left. Stara Praha is one of the few places in the central core that served a meal that was high in value - great food at great prices - and based on the lineups and full houses they entertained, it is not surprising to see that the locals feel the same way. With great beer and great food, if you find yourself in Wenceslas Square overwhelmed by photographers and touts, and craving a good meal, head west, past the Tesco, over the Vlatava, into Mala Strana. It'll give you, and your wallet, a taste of how Prague was in the 90's, before  Praha was "discovered".

Christmas time is always special in the Czech Republic. You can watch many great Czech comedies, family movies, or fairy tales. Many new fairy tales are purposely premiered on Christmas Eves. This year, Czechs will have a chance to see a new fairy tale musical, this time on New Year’s Eve, which is also featuring one unforgettable celebrity of American fables - Tami Stronach.

Tami Stronach was born on July 31^st, 1972 in Tehran, Iran, to Scottish and Israeli parents. She was very young when she starred in The Neverending Story (1984) as “The Childlike Empress.” She loved acting but she has not since had many known acting roles. This may change after her fresh exposure to cameras in the Czech Republic.

Tami was originally invited by a Czech director Tomas Krejci to work with him on his new fantasy movie called “Posledni Deti Aporveru.” She was very impressed with this collaboration and agreed to appear in Krejci’s musical fairytale “Fredy a Zlatovlaska” as a “blinking doll” in a small store with curiosities.

iDnes also conducted a small interview (only available in Czech HERE), partially (and freely) translated below:

Do you remember your first visit to Prague?

My first time in Prague was in 1990, right after the Velvet Revolution. My memories are associated with a pleasant atmosphere. I really liked it here and I looked forward coming back to see all changes.

What changes do you see?

Honestly: I did not have a chance to see anything yet because I was shooting, but I love Prague.

Did you come back to filming after The Neverending Story?

I decided to concentrate on dancing. Eight years ago I started my collaboration with a New York theatre ensemble called Flying Machine with which I now travel around the world. I also have my own dance school in Brooklyn, where I live. I work mostly with young people.

Are your students different than Czech children you work with now?

No. All children are the same at age of fourteen.

It is very symbolic that you come to Czech Republic to play a doll.

I really don’t know much about the movie. I really liked working on Posledni Deti Aporveru. This is why I agreed with the doll role. I did not even know what to expect on the other side of the ocean. I had only one shooting day that was very funny. Imagine to play in a song, to which you don’t understand, and on “asdkjhxvizasd” blink and on “ansbuzytscsemr” look astonished and put one hand over the mouth. I did not catch any of the key words.

Are you in the same situation in the movie Posledni Deti Aporveru?

I like the creativity. It is a combination of science fiction and love story in a world that is endangered and invaded but love will save it from destruction. I also participated on the choreography itself.

We are sure that this story will “never end” as well, and we will see Tami Stronach on television, and probably in the Czech Republic, again.

***

Vanocni cas v Ceske republice je vzdy specialni. Muzete shlizet mnoho vybornych ceskych komedii, filmu pro rodinu a nebo pohadek. Mnoho pohadek se zamerne vysila na Stedry vecer. Tento rok budou mit Cesi moznost videt novou muzikalovou pohadku, tentokrat na Silvestra, ve ktere take figuruje nezapomenutelna osobnost americkych pohadek – Tami Stronach.

Tami Stronach se narodila 31. cervence 1972 v Teheranu, Iran, skotskym a izraelskym rodicum. Byla velmi mlada, kdyz hrala v Nekonecnem Pribehu (1984) v roli “Detske Vladkyne”. Tami Stronach mela rada herectvi, ale od te doby nehrala v mnoha znamych rolich. To se ale muze zmenit po cerstvem zverejneni pred kamerami v Ceske republice.

Tami byla puvodne pozvana ceskym reziserem Tomasem Krejcim k spolupraci na jeho nove fantasy “Posledni Deti Aporveru”. Byla velmi ohromena s touto spolupraci a souhlasila s ucinkovanim v jeho muzikalove pohadce ‘Fredy a Zlatovlaska” jako “mrkajici panenka” v kramku s kuriozitama.

iDnes take provedlo maly rozhovor (clanek ZDE), ktery je castecne (a volne) prelozen v nasi anglice verzi vyse:

Pamatujete si na vaši první návštěvu Prahy?
V Praze jsem byla poprvé v roce 1990, krátce po revoluci. Vzpomínka se mi spojí s příjemnou atmosférou v zemi. Opravdu jsem si to užila a těšila jsem se, že se vrátím, podívám se, co se změnilo.

A co se tedy podle vás změnilo?
Upřímně: zatím jsem byla jen na natáčení a prohlídka města mě čeká teprve poté. Ale Prahu zbožňuju.

Od Nekonečného příběhu jste se k herectví už nevrátila?
Film mám stále ráda, ale vrhla jsem se na tanec. Před osmi lety jsem začala spolupracovat s newyorským divadelním souborem Flying Machine, s nímž objíždíme zemi. Zároveň jsem ale v Brooklynu, kde žiju, otevřela taneční skolu. Pracuji převážně s mladými lidmi.

Jsou vaši studenti jiní než děti, s nimiž právě točíte v Česku?
Ne. Když jim je třináct čtrnáct, jsou všichni stejní.

A do Ceska přijíždíte s rolí panenky, to je hodně symbolické.
Popravdě o tomto filmu moc nevím. Líbila se mi práce na Posledních dětech Aporveru, proto jsem souhlasila i s panenkou. Vůbec jsem netušila, co mě na druhé straně oceánu čeká. Měla jsem jen jeden natáčecí den, který byl legrační. Představte si, že máte hrát do česky zpívané písničky, které nerozumíte. Na "asdkjhxvizasd" jsem měla mrknout, na "ansbuzytscsemr" jsem se měla podivit a dát si ruku před pusu. Ani jednou jsem nechytla to klíčové slovo...

Ve filmu Poslední děti Aporveru jste na tom stejně?
Na něm se mi líbí výtvarná stránka. Jde o kombinaci sciece fiction a love story ve světě, který je ohrožován a napadán a který nakonec zachrání láska. U Aporveru se zároveň více podílím na choreografii.

Jsme si jisti, ze tento pribeh take “nikdy nezkonci” a my znovu uvidime Tami Stronach v televizi a pravdepodobne take v Ceske republice.

Other information (Dalsi informace):

http://kultura.idnes.cz/hrdinka-nekonecneho-pribehu-ozivi-novou-ceskou-fantasy-pjx-/filmvideo.asp?c=A080922_1051847_filmvideo_kot

http://listing-index.ebay.com/actors/Tami_Stronach.html

http://www.tamistronach.com/tsd/home/

My time here has been dominated by a particularly sociable group of people at Sir Toby's Hostel. While many of these are people who would never be long-term friends, so far I've met a commercial airline pilot from Boston who was a semi-pro football player for 6 weeks (and looks and sounds strikingly similar to George Clooney), a 21-year-old Kiwi tractor driver and rugby player, a reporter for the Associated Press, two Canadians from Toronto travelling independently of one another, and about ten Aussies. They keep me occupied well into the night with conversation, games, and good beer. (After Praha, it will be a couple of weeks before I can drink any other beer again. Zlatopramen is the best I think I've ever had.)

I haven't had the urge to go into as many places here. Perhaps this was a bad time for me to be sick of sightseeing. The National Museum and the National Theatre are both spectacular Amadeus-esque buildings that deserve some time to appreciate. But Praha is an ethereal spectacle at sunset, when phantasia lights cast green and golden glows onto the glittering domes and spires, and the amber grades in the sky are reflected in the still surface of the river.

Tonight I will take the night train to Krakow. Before then, I'm going to get a last meal of roast beef in cream sauce with cranberries and dumplings. And a pint of Zlatopramen. It may be my last chance for a while.

Samuel Wish

there were so few students because the university is super good at scheduling and decided that all the first year students would do orientation/commencement things during the first week, so they're exempt from classes or something.  and since there were so few students, i let them go early, which i hated to do because i don't know how we'll get through so much material in so little time.

see.... i teach 11 classes at least. this week it's 13 or 14.  since there are so many university students (rumored to be ~20,000) and so few english teachers (ahem), each class only gets 90 minutes a week.  we're supposed to go through an entire textbook in a year, with 90 minutes a week.  i'm supposed to drag somewhere around 300 students through an entire textbook in 90 minutes a week?  where's carol when i need her? 

here's my plan: focus on speaking and listening exercises in class, with emphasis on group work.  i know we all hated group work in our language classes, but i've realized that there's a reason teachers do it so often.  plus i'll assign some ungodly amount of homework each week so that they also get reading and writing practice.  plus i plan to have writing prompts at the beginning of every class for a 5-10 minute free-write.  i'll collect their journals near the end of the semester for a grade.  plus i'm making them do oral presentations at some point, too.  yeah, i'm that teacher.

tell this to a class full of first-years who are expecting a final exam to be the entire grade and you'd get a couple raised eyebrows too.  but my favorite professors were the ones who challenged me, and i learned the most from them too.  i think as long as we have good rapport, and as long as i make myself available to the students in a way they don't get from czech professors, the year will go smoothly enough.

three more classes tomorrow, and then the next day, plus a meeting, and then four on thursday i believe. hopefully my students show up so i can actually teach them something.

but can you imagine how boring it is to teach the same damn lesson 11 times in one week?  you can't. neither can i.  this week and next it's present tense, present continuous tense, and asking/answering questions.  present tense.

here's a picture of mike's classroom.  the one i was in today was literally 1/3 the size, and supposedly i must fit 20 students in it.  tomorrow and wednesday i will be in one like mike's. it's in my dorm building, four stories up.  then thursdays i teach in a classroom known as "the morgue" because it's a basement room, with no windows, and the walls, floor, and ceiling are all tiled. cool. 

more later when i have something funny or at least not boring to write.  now i'm off to fine-tune tomorrow's lesson and plan next week's.  roommates both arrive tomorrow!

when we got our fill of standing in crowds looking up at a castle, we walked half an hour to the village of ondrej, our aiesec president.  along the way we frolicked in a meadow (aka finished our wine), marched through forest paths where leaves were just beginning to change color, and held our breath at the giant pile of manure. it was a really nice afternoon.

oh yeah, and there was a syrian-canadian: aiesec gave me a roommate. only, a different one. only, a temporary one. anyway, she came to the castle too.

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[caption id="attachment_156" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="frolicking"][/caption]

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still not getting along well with wordpress, so i can't upload any more pictures for now.  you get the idea - castles, changing leaves, friends from all over the world.  saturday was a good day.

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[caption id="attachment_145" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="juan, joe, michael"][/caption]*

let's say the night was 66% good, eh?

The "Bad Boys of Reggae" busted into Prague's Lucerna Music Bar on Sunday evening, presenting a deep rooted regular rasta riddim party, which continued jammin "true da" night.  The appearance was part of Inner Circle's current European tour which has helped push up demand for their upcoming album "State Of The World", which has been reported as coming soon since '07.   All guests were lucky to get a sneak preview of two new hits of the un-released album, "Smoke" and "Blood A Run".

Athough the group has earned a reputation for being a "pop-reggae" band, I must attest, that is far from the real story.  40 years of rhythms inspired by Caribbean roots gives this group a talent to entertain just about any crowd.  Inner Circle has a more credible "rep" for mixing of  genres between roots, dancehall, ragga, reggaeton to everything from ska, funk, to even ska-punk.  Most commonly driven into your heart will be the soul roots rythms, from the beginning ofthe bands time.  This quality explains why the the floor of Lucerna was packed up from 15 - 20 and even 40 somethings all biggin to the same drops.

The show began with an opening performance by Czech reggae icons, "Mr. Cocoman & the Solid Vibez", whos intro led by their hit jam, "ZigiDing" really initiated the riot wihtin Lucerna, with additional cuts including guest singer appearances by Fast Food Orchestra's MC Dr.Kary & Su Sha.  The group is destined for fame as it is supported and managed by a forefather of Czech reggae group, "Svihadlo".

Prague's reggae scene welcomed them warmly with spliffs in the air and dreads in the hair ready to jam.  The reggae crowd of Prague is quite large due to the similarities in social history with that of the Islander's.  To name specifically the time line when the Russians first invaded the Czech Republic coincides with the initial formation of Inner Circle, in '68.  An even more popular similarity occured two years after the release of the hit single, "Bad Boys" in 87, which was the "Prague Uprising", a peaceful revolution in '89 which led to the lifting of the "Iron Curtain" and the fall of communism.  Just as the many rastaman chant of slaves, uprising and faith in love, here in Prague in '89, the oppresed peacefully demonstrated, and an uprising of the people freed the nation from foreign control.  Since these times the roots of Jamaica and reggae culture have grown deeply here.   So naturally the Czechs have taken a lot in common with the feelings and message of the reggae artists.

Gasiti mai multe imagini dand clik AICI

PLATON

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Am remarcat la modul neplacut ca desi Romania este bine vazuta acolo de toata lumea, datorita pozitiei de neimplicare in invazia armata a Cehoslovacia a Pactului de la Varsovia sub bagheta odiosului URSS, niciun reprezentant al guvernului, sau macar al ambasadei noastre locale nu s-au obosit sa participe, punandu-ma intr-o situatie cel putin jenanta fata de gazde.

Puteti vedea mai multe fotografii dand clik AICI

Platon

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A rainy afternoon in Prague in April 2008. I used to love Prague, but nowadays its way too touristic to my taste. Shame. Although there is still some authentic beer houses where you meet interesting locals.

De Alina Gâdoiu

Vă mai amintiţi de filmul acela cu Rumburak şi prinţesa Arabella? La ce vă duce cu gândul nume precum Kepler, Dvorak, Haşek, Kafka, Jan Hus, regi şi regine celebre, castele şi ţinuturi de basm, cristale de Boemia? Toate se leagă de o singură destinaţie: Cehia.

Membră a Uniunii Europene încă din 2004, Cehia nu a adoptat deocamdată moneda euro  moneda oficială rămânând coroana cehă (1 euro este echivalentul a 25 de coroane). Totuşi, există multe locuri în care se acceptă şi moneda euro.

La o distanţă de aproximativ 10 ore de mers din Oradea, cu autocarul, este cel mai bântuit oraş din Europa, Praga. Oferă o combinaţie ideală de stiluri: gotic, baroc şi renascentist, îmbinate cu modernismul şi excentricitatea prezentului. Invadată de mii de turişti, veniţi din toate colţurile lumii, Praga (sau Praha cum îi spun cehii) este situată pe locul al şaselea în topul celor mai vizitate oraşe europene după Londra, Paris, Roma, Madrid şi Berlin. Poate acesta este motivul pentru care localnicii nu sunt foarte primitori şi nici prea prietenoşi. Cunoscuţi drept naţionalişti convinşi, puţini cehi sunt cunoscătorii vreunei limbi de circulaţie internaţională. Drept urmare, comunicarea cu ei devine greoaie, rezumându-se adesea la un limbaj prin semne. Praga merită văzută, fie că o străbateţi pe jos, cu caleaşca, tramvaiul (sunt leite cu cele din urbea noastră), autobuzul, metroul sau taxiul. De exemplu, pentru un bilet de metrou, doar un singur drum, preţul este echivalentul a 3 RON, spre deosebire de 2 RON, pentru două călătorii în Bucureşti. Există o sumedenie de locuri minunate pe care le puteţi vizita în Praga, dar şi în întreaga ţară denumită „ţara celor 100 de castele”. Desigur, atmosfera de basm pluteşte peste întreaga întindere a Cehiei.

Câteva dintre cele mai cunoscute locuri din capitala cehă, ce merită a fi vizitate ar fi: Castelul din Praga, Oraşul Vechi, Podul Carol, Cartierul Evreiesc, Muzeul lui Kafka, Primăria ... Este bine de ştiut faptul că tinerii cu vârste până în 26 de ani, persoanele de peste 65 de ani sau jurnaliştii, pe bază de legitimaţie, pot beneficia de reduceri substanţiale (între 50 şi 100%) la obiectivele turistice.

Cel puţin la capitolul mall-uri, Cluj, Timişoara sau Bucureşti pot face faţă cu brio capitalei cehe.

Nu la fel am putea spune şi despre civilizaţie, din păcate. Satele ceheşti ar putea fi asemuite fără doar şi poate, cu oraşul nostru, şi mai exact cu acele cartiere de case, care se extind tot mai mult pe dealul Ciuperca ...

După ce părăsiţi Praga, nu uitaţi de castele Karlstejn, din vestul ţării, respectiv Hluboka din sud, ce a fost locuit până în 1939 de familia germană Schwarzenberg, acolo unde bogăţia este la ea acasă. Odată ajunşi acasă însă, puteţi spune că a fost un vis frumos ...

The Czech throne was taken by John of Luxembourg who ruled the country from 1310 to 1346. During his reign, the territory of the Czech lands expanded and Prague continued to grow. The Prague Castle Area (Hradčany) was founded around 1320, followed by the Old Town Hall in 1338.

During the reign of John of Luxembourg's son Charles IV, the Czech lands experienced the Golden Age of their history. Charles IV was a highly educated man (he spoke five languages), an excellent diplomat and a very good king. He established Prague as the cultural capital of central Europe and made it one of the most prosperous European cities at the time. The Czech language was promoted to the official language in the country along with Latin and German, and the position of Bohemia became very strong.

Charles IV loved Prague and the city flourished during his rule. Outside of Prague, Charles attempted to expand the Bohemian crown lands, using his imperial authority to acquire fiefs in Silesia, the Upper Palatinate, and Franconia. The latter regions comprised "New Bohemia", a string of possessions intended to link Bohemia with the Luxemburg territories in the Rhineland. The Bohemian estates were not, however, willing to support Charles in these ventures. When Charles sought to codify Bohemian law in the Majestas Carolina of 1355 he met with sharp resistance. After that point, Charles found it expedient to scale back his efforts at centralization.

The Prague bishopric was upgraded to an archbishopric and when the king was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, Prague's status increased to the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Many building projects were started during Charles' reign, including the St. Vitus Cathedral. In 1348, Prague's New Town (Nové město) was founded, the Charles University was established to become the first university in Central Europe, and the Karlštejn castle was founded to protect the imperial jewels and other treasures. The construction of Charles Bridge began in 1357 at the place where Judith Bridge once stood (it collapsed in a flood in 1342).

Charles IV is remembered as the most beloved Czech king and the "father of the Czech nation". Charles IV's son and successor Wenceslas IV took the throne after his father and his reign extended into the time of the Hussite wars of the 15th century.

10th century
- Foundations are laid to St. Vitus Rotunda and the Vyšehrad Castle.
- The Prague bishopric is founded in 973.

11th century
- Vratislav II becomes the first Czech king in 1085 but remains subordinate to the Holy Roman Empire
- and the German king.

12th century
- The first stone bridge over the Vltava, Judith Bridge, is built in 1172.

13th century
- The Old Town (Staré město) is founded in 1231.
- The Lesser Town (Malá Strana) is founded in 1257.

14th century - Prague's Golden Age
- John of Luxembourg rules the country (1310-1346).
- The Prague Castle Area (Hradčany) is founded around 1320.
- The Old Town Hall is founded in 1338.
- Judith Bridge collapses in a flood in 1342.
- Charles IV rules the country (1346-1378) and will be remembered as the most beloved Czech king.
- Prague becomes one of the most prosperous cities in Europe and the cultural capital of Central
- Europe.
- The Prague bishopric is upgraded to an archbishopric.
- Construction of St. Vitus cathedral begins.
- The New Town (Nové město) is founded in 1348.
- Charles University is established in 1348 and becomes the first university in Central Europe.
- Charles IV elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1355; Prague becomes the capital of the Holy Roman
- Empire.
- Construction of Charles Bridge begins in 1357.

15th century
- The Hussite wars are sweeping the country from 1419 to 1437 as a result of the religious conflicts
- between the Hussites and the Roman Catholic Church. Many historical artifacts are destroyed and
- the Prague Castle deteriorates.

16th century and Prague's Second Golden Age
- The reign of the Habsburg dynasty begins in 1526 and the seat of power moves to Vienna.
- Prague Castle is reconstructed in the Renaissance style and a number of recreational sites are added
- (the Royal Garden, the Belvedere, the Ballgame Hall, etc.)
- Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, is crowned the Czech king in 1575 and moves his court back to
- Prague in 1583. Prague becomes the center of science and alchemy and earns the nickname "Magic
- Prague". Many famous scientists are attracted to Prague, such as astronomers Tycho de Brahe and
- Johannes Kepler.

17th century
- The Protestant uprising begins in 1618.
- Protestants are severely defeated in the Battle of the White Mountain (bitva na Bílé hoře) in 1620.
- The Dark Age of the Czech history (doba temna) begins.
- Prague loses importance and the Prague Castle deteriorates.

18th century
- The four independent urban areas of Prague (Old Town, Malá Strana, Hradčany, New Town) are
- united by Joseph II in 1784.
- A Czech nationalist movement called the National Revival (národní obrození) begins in 1784.
- The Czech language, culture and national identity are being brought back to life.
- Joseph II issues the Edict of Tolerance in 1781, granting political and religious rights to religious
- minorities.

19th century
- The Industrial Revolution begins.
- A railway between Vienna and Prague opens in 1845.
- The growing industry results in an increase of Prague's Czech population as people move to the city
- from the countryside.
- Josefov is added to Prague's historical center in 1850.
- The National Revival continues. Czech institutions are established to celebrate the Czech history
- and culture: the National Theater opens in 1868, the National Museum opens in 1890.

20th century
- The Austro-Hungarian empire falls in 1918 and Prague becomes the capital of independent
- Czechoslovakia.
- Prague Castle becomes the seat of the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.
- Prague becomes close with Paris between WWI and WWII.
- Prague and the rest of the country are occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945).
- The Prague Uprising and liberation by the Soviet Red Army end World War II in 1945.
- The Communist Party seizes power after the February 25, 1948 coup d'etat.
- Alexander Dubček, secretary of the Communist Party, attempts to create "socialism with a human
- face", culminating in the spring of 1968 ("Prague Spring").
- "Prague Spring" fails and five Warsaw Pact member countries invade Czechoslovakia on August 21,
- 1968.
- The Velvet Revolution starts in Prague on November 17, 1989 and brings an end to communism.
- Czechoslovakia becomes a democratic country.
- Václav Havel, former dissident, is elected president in the country's first democratic elections
- in January 1990.
- Czechoslovakia splits into two independent countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1,
- 1993. Prague becomes the capital of the Czech Republic.
- Václav Havel is elected first president of the Czech Republic in January 1993.
- The Czech Republic joins NATO in 1999.
- In 2002, the Czech Republic is approved to become a member of the European Union.
- The Czech Republic is accepted into the European Union on May 1, 2004.

two mornings ago, 3 burly czech men barged into my room at 8am.  they were painters.  they were here to paint my room.  i moved over to michael's room and continued sleeping.  when i woke up, i returned to my room and it looked virtually the same... except that the marker had been covered up.  it was just such a way to wake up, and it left my room smelling of chemicals all day, even with the windows open (which of course negated my now-working radiator).

this morning i woke up for a meeting with the whole faculty of the language department (i think).  i got in the shower and started shampooing my hair and watched as a pretty large roach did a little dance for me - on michael's bar of soap. 

then we went to the meeting and it was twenty of us at least in a smallish room and it was so warm and i was so tired from the past night (details to come)... and the meeting was entirely in czech.  oh, yeah, and we all drank sparkling wine the whole time, toasting to things i'll never know.  use your imaginations again.

ciao, love, hugs.

monday morning we woke up at 7am to go to the foreign police station.  see, here in the czech republic, it's not enough just to get a visa.  that's not actually the circus, just the warm-up.  you also have to go within 3 days of entering the country (or the continent, apparently...) and ask permission to live in the czech republic.  naturally this involves stamps and copy machines and lines.  milan, the aiesec guy in charge (who is a total sweetheart), warned us that it might be a long line.  he said that the other aiesec trainees downtown often camp out to get a good spot in line.  so bring a book.  i grabbed a clif bar, an umbrella, and a book.

i'm not even going to torture you with all the details.  we stood outside in the morning drizzle for hours (mike and milan longer than me, because i had to go back to suchdol to get my health insurance card - "bring some papers with you" was a bit too vague for me i guess).  so once you make it inside, the line winds up a flight of stairs.  then, in the lobby, you stand in another line to get a number. a number.  michael's was 939 and mine was 944 - i came back from suchdol nearly 2 hours after i'd left and it was only 5 numbers different.

there is a machine in the corner of the room that beeps when the numbers change.  when your number is called you run over to a desk in another room and who knows what happens.  the numbers are not called chronologically.  i spent some time slouching in the corner underneath the magic machine and it was very close to comical, watching everyone's heads whirl around every couple minutes.  pavlov's dogs, is it?

the vast majority of the people waiting were russian and ukrainian immigrants.  it is a very fair observation to say that they haven't yet adopted deodorant into their daily hygiene routines.  it was quite warm in the waiting room.  i will spare you any further description - please take a moment to stretch your imaginations further than you think you should.

here are pictures that i was definitely not allowed to take:

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so last saturday i had brunch with pavla, the angel who helped me get my visa.  i'd never met her before, but she happened to be in the czech republic on holiday for a week, so she invited me to her brother's house for a get-together.  if only to thank this amazing miracle-worker, i happily accepted.

it took an hour by bus and metro to arrive at the other end of praha suburbs.  i was quite nervous, and only had the phone number of her nephew marek.  i called him when i arrived and he curtly informed me (like they do) that he'd be there in ten minutes to pick me up. stay in the (pretty seedy) metro station.

i really wanted to bring flowers or wine or something, but none of the shops were open in the metro for some reason.  when marek arrived he looked like a miniature indiana jones, with a short dark ponytail and a dark felt hat and a long coat.  we drove mostly in silence to his house - i tried making conversation but he seemed really disinterested.  "so you go to school at charles?"  "yes."  "that must be really nice." "i dunno."

when we arrived i was more warmly embraced, first by marek's father tomas, and then by pavla, who actually wrapped me in a big hug, american-style.  i cannot tell you how much i miss american hugs.  pavla is a very sharp and expressive woman, and i felt immediately at ease around her.  she took me in to meet her sister-in-law and they worked up some balls of cheese for me.  it is traditional in the czech republic to grill big fat sausages over a fire at get-togethers, like we do marshmellows.  they grilled me balls of cheese drizzled with olive oil and seasoning, and it was really fantastic.  sometimes it does pay off to be vegetarian here.

marek, his relative kuba (cousin, somehow... what is it when your parents are cousins?), and tomas and i sat around inside warming ourselves and chatting about society, moravia, burcak (special wine), technology... it was a great afternoon.  outside, pavla and her friends sat around the fire doing a less-good job of warming themselves, and they chatted in czech without translating anything.  i knew that they all knew some english, and i found it interesting that no one offered to translate, not even pavla.  czech is still a complete mystery to me, but it's nice to listen to, almost as music.  so sometimes i'd sit out with them, watching them talk, pretending to understand some things but knowing that they didn't care one way or another.

i left maybe at dusk, with plans to show marek the hare krishna restaurant someday, and to accompany him to the czech teahouses that seem (from guidebooks) pretty hippy-fied.  here are a couple shots from the afternoon:

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so dekuji moc to pavla for letting me join her family and friends for a great afternoon!

i wake up and see this.  the very good news is that i figured out how to turn on my radiator so now i have some amount of heat in my room.  i get dressed (usually i don't shower - some things never change).  maybe i eat a bowl of cereal with soymilk (smuggled in from germany).  or maybe i grab a blueberry clif bar (thanks p!) and head out to the bus stop.

the bus goes to dejvicka (day-vits-kuh), which is where the green line starts.  i hop on the metro and travel into praha - the first stop is the castle (hradcany), the third is old town (stare mesto) which is maybe my favorite, the fourth stop is mustek which transfers to the yellow line.  the yellow line one way takes me to andel, which has a mall and a tesco (target for czechs).  the yellow line the other way takes me way out to palmovka, a kind of seedy part of town that houses my favorite restaurant ever: u govinda. 

u govinda is the hare krishna joint i've spoken of so lovingly.  as soon as i step inside i feel the stress of city travel melt away. it's so peaceful and quiet and simple - you give the guy at the counter your money (about $7 since the dollar is so weak right now) and he fills a metal plate with delicious veggie slop. there's always a soup, a main dish with rice, some sort of salad, sometimes a dessert, other times a less-sloppy piece of breaded veggie or something.  i think hare krishnas are often vegan, but in praha that's basically impossible so i think they're just vegetarian.  anyway, they also give you this delicious tea/lemonade drink and there's a pot of water on each table for free refills.  if you are still hungry after your meal you can go back to the counter for food refills too!  but i'm almost always too embarrassed to do this.  you can sit on the main floor, where there are maybe ten tables, or you can climb a steep ladder to the loft, where the ceiling is impossibly low and you sit on cushions on the floor.  i have never chosen a table, and there has never been another group upstairs when i've been.  it's nice upstairs because i always eat so much, and it's such delicious, hearty veggie food (a far cry from cheese sandwiches or "greek salads") that i can lay down and take a nap and call it meditation.

a lot of my time is spent wandering around praha.  i want to know this city well, because last summer i did so much foreign travel i missed out on many weekends in praha.  my plan is to get off at a different metro stop every "exploration day" and try to find my way around.  i mastered stare mesto last week, giving myself a few different places to find and checking almost all of them off.  i found two english bookstores and even had an impromptu job interview at one of them.  i decided that i should see how busy i am with teaching before i go looking for a second job (if at all), but at least i met pavel, the manager, and i plan to spend a lot of time browsing through their super sweet (and super expensive) art/design section.  i also found a natural soap/lotion/etc store i read about, and a natural & veggie food shop called country life.  i wandered through the huge catholic church on old town square and even snuck a picture.

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i have so many more pictures but i don't want to bore anyone or load my blog up so soon.  it's just so surreal that i actually live here.  mentally, i'm still half-tourist.  things like fixing my radiator, keeping a budget in koruna instead of dollars, and owning a real, long-term transport pass make me feel like i'm really here... but snapping photos so overzealously still makes me feel like i'm on vacation.  no matter... i was an overzealous photographer in columbus too.

[caption id="attachment_87" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="my legit transport pass"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_88" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="czech dinero"][/caption]

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[caption id="attachment_101" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="frenchie, me, mike, betty ready to go out"][/caption]

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[caption id="attachment_104" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="club mischmasch from above"][/caption]

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i met my boss, an energetic, very slender, stylish woman named lenka.  she has a daughter in high school who is a model.  also she is very fond of cloaking her scoldings in 'humor', which really is just misplaced laughter.  maybe i've mentioned this before, but the czechs have a lot of communist leftovers.  their personal interactions are incredibly reserved, or else passive-aggressive.  no one says what they mean or asks for what they want.  directness is startling to them, and causes a lot of "eh, em, err...".   there's always so much confusion that stems from this, and because everyone is so reserved, there's usually no one to blame.  americans struggle with this a lot, myself included.  more on this later.

so i start teaching on 29 september. i arrived first and got my choice of schedules ... so naturally i chose a monday-thursday schedule!  i am so excited to have long weekends, i just hope i force myself out of the dorms and into the european wilds during the winter months.  i start teaching at 8:45 most days, and each class is 90 minutes.  i guess it adds up to about 20 hours of teaching a week, plus two hours scheduled office time (i have an office!!!  kind of.  i have a desktop pc that might work.  and 4 office-mates. in a room maybe the size of lo's old bedroom.).  i have a book to teach from, and a teacher's manual that must be shared between all of us i think.  cute, right?  anyway, the book is cool for an EFL book, and it promotes a really dynamic learning approach.  i think we'll get along, me and this book. 

plus there are prepared tests (somewhere, supposedly) that i can use or at least look at.  i have to go through 6 modules per semester, and each semester lasts 14 weeks.  i think that gives me enough time to add my own materials and hopefully show some sweet movies too.  i brought the life aquatic, napoleon dynamite, march of the penguins, the gadabout film shorts, and a couple documentaries on punx in america (like, black bloc and tree-sitting, not like, rancid.  they love ska here.  i'm not even gonna touch it.).   any more suggestions for "intermediate" students?  yeah,  i don't know what that means either.

so i'll have 3-day weekends, about a week off for christmas, and 2 weeks at the beginning of february (which i think i'll use to come home?!?).  plus i finish teaching in late afternoon/early evening every day, so if any-o-y'all wanna come visit, there's definitely time! 

i'm excited about teaching, but more excited about posting pictures of praha. read on!

after all the sh*t i've waded through this summer, shouldn't he have been waiting there with open arms?

i digress. he arrives, greets me in typical czech fashion (extremely solemn and monotonous). we must go to the next dorm over for my key.  there, the receptionist has no record of me existing.  martin, my buddy, gets on his phone and i hear the czech equivalent of "we have a problem."  eventually i'm handed keys and a whiteish sheet. we wander through the halls looking for my room, because apparently martin doesn't know where it is. which means that he hasn't actually seen it.

we find it at the very end of DormLand, and i am next to the janitor's doors that lead outside to the trash dump. naturally. i open my door and immediately at my feet is a huge, crumpled, dead spider! i swallow my sheer panic and step over it, not wanting to cause a scene.  the room smells musty, it's very uncleaned, and it's freezing inside. there is marker all over the walls from the previous residents claiming their territory. there is a bed for me, and a blanket and a pillow on it. welcome home.  i shuffle martin out, and he gladly complies. i then make radu dispose of the spider and we carry in my bags and he leaves.  and i am alone, at the end of DormLand, on a sunday night, in a country that is cold and spidery and smelly.

i fixed my room as best as i could. here are some pictures:

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so that's the good news. it looks good, right? as soon as i got things set up i went into the bathroom, turned on the light, and watched in horror as a roach slowly sauntered back into my shower, from whence it came. ok jenny, you can do this - lots of people all over the world live in worse conditions. what's one roach??  then i turned on the sink faucet to start a pot of tea. the water was brown. not just like, it hasn't been used in awhile.. like, it was brown for a good minute. but ok jenny, lots of women walk miles every day to get water. so what if yours is brown?  but it was so disheartening after i'd made the place more homey.

here are pictures!

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i made tea anyway. i tried to finish my fulbright essays, due the next morning. needless to say, it was a slow and painstaking process - why do i want to beg another bureaucratic institution to send me for another year of barely-paid work in eastern europe? it was hard to remember.  i was awake and calling mama and lois in the wee hours of the night... afraid to sleep, having seen at least 3 more roaches in my room. i finally fell asleep at 5am, with the lights on - silly, because these roaches know no fear.

[caption id="attachment_64" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="this is the face of regret"][/caption]

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