Accommodation secured, summer camps over!

It feels very relieving to know that I have a place to live in exactly one week, when I am out of my current place. I can't wait to get settled into my new flat - I found a place pretty much in the dead center of Prague, over 50% larger than my current room, and paying the same price I pay in the suburbs. I got a very good deal for the location, and it will save me tons of time since I can walk to each of the three metro lines from my apartment. That is a huge plus for a teacher who spends over 10 hours a week travelling to and from classes. Plus, I am right on the edge of Staré Město (Old Town) the historic center of Prague, surrounded by the beautiful medieval and Art Nouveau buildings. I even have my own little balcony :).

I couldn't be leaving at a better time, as there has now appeared on the couch in the living room an Indian guy somewhere in his mid-30s. Apparently he is going to be living there for several months, while Iva has rented my bedroom to a Swedish guy who doesn't yet know about the guy on the couch, bless him. The Indian guy is actually really nice (although I don't know what his name is) - I would be happier to live with him than with my real (soon-to-be-ex) roommates.

Friday was the last day out of five weeks of summer camps this year. It has been a really good, albeit challenging experience. I know I will be working at more next year (in the CR as well as another country like Spain or France). I will post some pictures from my last two weeks...

Markéta

Katya

Beautiful posters made by the kids

Sitting in the grass

Anita

Linda and Katya

Linda and me

Katya was also my student last year in Mlada Boleslav, so smart and pretty

Necklace made for me by Katya, flower from Sabinka :)

Ella

Vanda and Marek

Vendi, Vanda and Adéla outside the Planetarium

Even though summer camps have ended, my work has not. I am going to be helping to train the new teachers for my school starting on Monday, so I have been working on preparing - I spent all day today making a nice CD of kids' songs I like to use in my classes, and making copies for all the new teachers. Also, I will be presenting my company again at another job fair next week. There are two weeks of trainings, but there is a one-week break in between, so I am planning on taking a short trip to Krakow, Poland. From what I hear it is a beautiful city, and it's also close and inexpensive.

Meanwhile, I will be working on outfitting my new place. While the room is furnished, it is rather sparse (which I am happy with as it gives me the opportunity to choose some things for myself. It's quite fun here in Prague because people are moving out so often, especially this time of year. They are relocating to other countries, so they have lots of stuff they have to get rid of, and you can find great deals on pretty much everything you can imagine. In addition to stuff for my apartment, I've found other random things that I had been planning to purchase anyway. For instance, I have been wanting to buy a hair-straightener, but have been holding off because they are a little expensive (30 or 40 dollars for a decent one). Last night, I went to one lady's apartment that is leaving after 11 years in Prague, and I got a hair straightener, hammer, espresso cup, ten hangers, two power strips, a carabiner, a hand towel, and a really nice lamp, all for 40 dollars. The lamp was an especially good find, and something I was looking for. It is tall and has a bigger main lamp on top and a smaller one that is movable so you can use it to read. The cool part about it is that it has these plastic shades, and it comes with three sets - clear, orange, and blue, so you can change the "mood" in the room. Very cool.

On Tuesday I am picking up these nice IKEA wardrobes - you can take out or add the shelves as needed, so they can be used for folded clothes or for hanging. They can also be disassembled and transported easily. Here is a picture so you understand what I mean:

IKEA wardrobes

I found all of these opportunities online - there is a a website for expats that is a great help with pretty much everything you need to do as a foreigner in Prague. While I was looking through more pictures of things for sale on the website, I found that the same guy I was picking up the wardrobes from also had for sale an espresso pot like they use in Italy - once I realized how easy it is to make espresso, I had decided to get one - I had even been looking at them in the store earlier the same day! In addition, he had the games Twister! and Scrabble for sale - great games for an English teacher, but games are expensive. On Tuesday, I will be the proud owner of all these items at a true bargain price.

Look for more Italy in the coming days - hopefully I can get it all out before Krakow! I guess it's hard to complain about traveling so much I don't have time to write about it all - if only work didn't keep on getting in the way, you know?