It's been a little while since I've written anything, as things here have been really crazy, but I decided to take the weekend off and relax a bit. The past few weeks, I've been going nonstop between school, homework, friends, job hunting, interviews, rejections, interviews, rejections, interviews, rejections, interviews, potential employment, interviews, rejections. Well, you see the pattern.
The good news, though, is that it appears I have a job! I got hired at a private language school here in Brno, which mostly deals with company courses. I'll be working full-time, that is, roughly 22 hours a week teaching, plus all the prep and travel time, as I physically have to go to all the different companies around Brno, they don't come to me. I haven't 100% accepted the offer yet, as there is another possibility at a second school, where I'd teach in the same building all the time, and would also be able to translate and proofread. It's a little up in the air right now, but at least I finally have concrete options! I won't even bore you with the insane amount and variety of jobs I've applied for, as I think it would get confusing after a while (since there's been such a huge amount), but the long and short of it is: my days of being poor are potentially coming to a close. Oh, and I'd finally be 100% legal in the European Union.
Otherwise, my life has been consumed by school. I've said in my past entries that I love my classes and my classmates. Well, that's all still true, if not moreso. It's really great, as we're all so comfortable with each other, and it's just an awesome group of people. The mix of countries and personalities really compliments itself, and I'm glad to be a part of it. Everyone here really looks out for one another, and everybody's been really pushing for me to find a job, helping me in the search, "pressing their thumbs" (the Czech equivalent to "crossing their fingers"), and even from Ola, one of my Poles, getting a knee to the butt (apparently in Poland it's good luck). Everyone's become so integral to each others' lives, and the program wouldn't be the same without them.
We've had some really fascinating discussions in school, but there's one that I'd like to share, and hopefully she won't be too horrified that I'm sharing this, as she reads my blogs. I've mentioned in some of the past blogs that I have a friend here who was born in Russia and now lives in Israel. Her name's Kristina, and I like to think of her as the anchor to a lot of our discussions. For example, last week in class we were having a discussion about culture, our interpretation of culture, and the potential decline of culture in our countries. She was the last to speak, and reminded us all that culture is a privilege. How a person defines culture for himself is not important, just the possibility of having it, and having the opportunity to decide that is something in and of itself. That's not the major story I want to share, though.
Two weeks ago, we were discussing our fears. It was interesting to see what people had to say. There were some who said spiders, others who said death. I shared my absolute disdain for snakes. Our teacher said, "But you're from the north, there aren't that many snakes there, are there?" "No, the bad ones are all in the Southwest, but it doesn't matter, the ones in the north freak me out, too." "What about marine animals?" "Oh, they're not a problem. My sisters and I used to catch crabs, sand sharks, etc. They're normal. Snakes are just gross." The conversation progressed, and Kristina was up to bat. She lived in the Czech Republic last year, in a town called Mariánské Lázně, in the west close to Germany. In the Czech Republic, every city has sirens that notify its residents of any threat, be it for example an invasion (though, of course, chances of that are slim to none) to an environmental hazard to a biological disaster. The Czech Republic has two atomic stations, one not too far from Brno, so the sirens and evacuation procedures are always kept up to date. On the first Wednesday of every month in Brno at 12 noon, the sirens are tested. The residents know this, so it's not a cause for alarm. Foreigners, however, do not know this. Kristina told us how when she was living in Mariánské Lázně, she was sleeping and the sirens went off one morning for a routine test. Her initial reaction was to find her gas mask, find her parents, and go to the bunker. Only after did she realize what was happening. I'm always amazed hearing stories like that from the others, and seeing what's "normal" in their lives. It's been such a fascinating and exciting experience so far, and I've met such interesting people from around the world who have all become such near and dear friends.
For Thanksgiving weekend, Libor and I are hightailing it up to Prague. JoEllen invited me for a Thanksgiving celebration, and so I'm bringing my trusty sidekick along so he can experience a proper Thanksgiving, not the poor excuse for the one I tried to cook in Austria. JoEllen will be cooking, too, which means it'll be much better quality than what I attempted last year, and it'll be nice to be with friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, since I can't be home in RI for it. We'll be celebrating on Saturday, though, rather than Thursday, so I'll still get to attempt to cook myself some turkey and see how it goes. Thursdays have traditionally been the days where Libor and I play badminton and then end up finding a pub or cafe somewhere in the city to hang out for the evening, so maybe I'll leave it to the professionals and try and find turkey on some menu.
That's about it on this side of the ocean. My Russian and Polish comprehension is getting better, and Machteld from Belgium is helping me learn some freaky, deaky Dutch. In the next few days, things should be solidified with my work plans. As of now, though, I'm looking at around December 10th to return to the US, and I can't wait to see everyone!
So that you can put some faces to names I've used, I'll throw in some pictures here of some of my friends. Hopefully they're not too horrified that their pictures are on my blog.
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| My trusty sidekick Libor, whom you all know. Dietlinde took this back in September. |
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| Back: Lukasz (Poland), Marina (Belarus), Yevgeniya (Ukraine), Kristina (Russia/Israel) | , Front: Me, Anton (Russia) |
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| My Poles. Michal, Martyna, Katarzyna (Kasia) |
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| More Poles: Kasia, Joanna, Ola |
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| The Russian Delegation: Dina (middle), Katya (right) |
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| Edik(Syria), Hristina(Macedonia), Martin(CZ), Michal/Martyna/Kasia/Joanna/Ola(PL), Me, Anton(Russia), Dagmar(Germany) |
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| Na zdraví! (Cheers!) Left to right: Martyna, Kasia, Asia, Machteld (Belgium), me, Anton, Dagmar, Martin, Edik, Daniel (Syria), Hristina, Michal |
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| Left to Right: Yevgeniya, Anton, Hristina, Me, Marina, Therese (Sweden), Fredrik (Sweden), Mirka (Slovakia), Flic (England) |
Sounds like an awesome adventure! And legal immigrant status?? Meh, who needs it.
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