The biggest news to report since my last post is that I am now officially legal here. I picked up my green card on Monday! Now I'm free to wander the globe and return unhindered to the Czech Republic. And wander I shall...
I've had some nice trips in the last couple of weeks.
I spent a great day wandering around Prague with some awesome ladies; we went to a little art festival where Veronika, whose studio I have been working at, had a stall. I bought some earrings from her and a really cool bracelet from some guys who do traditional metalsmithing. There was a travelling group of entertainers, riding their bikes around Europe and doing skits to raise money for orphans - they put on a strange little show. The other girls found some nice gifts for friends and relatives back home. I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar in Czech (with English subtitles) that same weekend - it was pretty amusing. The theatre - Karlín Divadlo - was really pretty.
The traveling entertainers (taken by Deena)
"love locks"
Last week, Marta, the teacher at Kněžmost village whom I have mentioned before, took me to visit Valečov, the ruins of an ancient castle within sight of the village. The original castle was built in the 13th century, and is surrounded by rooms hewed into the sandstone where the poor people lived. It was a great trip.
Lucie, Marta's daugher and one of my students!
Marta, Lucie and Vojtěch, entering the castle ruins
What the castle used to look like
The weekend brought further explorations of Český ráj (Bohemian Paradise), the area which borders the villages I teach in and which I previously visited with Michaela, one of my coordinators. Valečov also falls within Český ráj. It was a great day - a 15 kilometer hike through forests, rocks and fields. I really am in love with this area, it is so beautiful. On the way from the train station at a tiny village to the marked trail, we were a little lost, and were aided by a few Czech hippies we met on the road. I exchanged numbers with one of them - Lucia, who speaks some English and has a hut near one of the villages I teach in. She was telling me about a beautiful lake for swimming nearby - hopefully I can check it out when I'm teaching at the camp in Mlada Boleslav this summer!
A cave!
This coming weekend I'll be teaching again in Poděbrady - there is another castle there which belonged to an important Czech king, and is supposed to be a good place to visit. I've actually planned a lot of the lessons ahead of time, so hopefully I won't be as worn out this Saturday as I was last time and can take advantage of the long break in the middle of the day. Since it's the last course of the year - it will resume again in September - there will be a barbecue on Saturday. The weather is supposed to be good, so it should be a good weekend.
And, of course I can't wait until the weekend after, when I'll be flying to Norway to meet Mom and Dad for a ten-day vacation! So excited for that. I think I might sneak another trip in the week before I leave for my first summer camp in the mountains - maybe a few days in Budapest or Krakow. So many possibilities...
