Not so cool part of the day...

What happened when I tried putting my insoles into the running shoes I bought and then running for 45 minutes without breaking them in first?

Oops.

Hedgehogs, Everywhere!

So after my hedgehog sighting last night, I was more observant on my walk from the metro to my flat tonight. Not only did I see another hedgehog, I saw FOUR hedgehogs! And it's only a five minute walk. I was just telling Iva how excited I am about all of the hedgehogs, and guess what she told me? You can hold them. They don't bite, they just curl up into a little ball.

I CAN'T WAIT.

If I haven't held a hedgehog within the next few days, I will be very disappointed in myself.

Friday the 13th!!!!

I can't believe April is almost halfway over already. That is crazy, folks. Crazy.

Guess what I just saw outside my apartment? A hedgehog. A real, live hedgehog. I thought maybe those things only lived in Australia or something! It's night time, and I was walking down the sidewalk. I was almost to the door of my building when I saw a dark shape scuttling (that's what I would describe it as, scuttling) across the sidewalk and into the landscaping. I was very curious as to what this creature could be, so I followed it into someone's little garden. Did you know that hedgehogs play dead? Me neither. But now I do. I got right up to it, and I was carrying a pair of running shoes I had just purchased. I poked it with the shoes. Nothing. I poked it some more. Nothing. I even turned that thing all the way around so I could try to see its face, but I think it was covering it. I wanted to see it scuttle some more, so I retreated and sat down on the sidewalk, just watching it. For a while, it stayed dead, but then I started to see it moving a little. Finally, it scuttled along on its way. I wish I could have gotten some pictures of the little guy, but it was pretty dark. I know better than to try to snap pictures of the local wildlife at night with my iPod after my failed attempt at photographing one of the "Easter bunnies" that hang out in the park by my apartment. Here's how it turned out: 

That blob by the pole is a rabbit, I swear.

Let's see, what other new and exciting things are going on in my life? Well, like I said... I bought a pair of running shoes. I have decided that I need more exercise. Although I really hate jogging, it's also free, and the weather is nice, so I'm going to give it a shot. Maybe I'll like jogging now, who knows? I haven't really tried it in a while.

I do this thing with olives... I don't like them, but I wish I did. So, I try the things every so often, hoping one of these days I will all of the sudden take a shining to them. Maybe somewhere inside of me there's an olive-loving jogger just waiting to come out.

I taught in Mlada Boleslav yesterday and today. I like my classes there. Misa, the owner of the MB franchise is so nice, and my "roommate" in Mlada Boleslav, Amy, is also really cool. Yesterday, I got an offer to teach three new classes in Prague beginning in May. They are for the school that's owned by Jana, my 15 year-old student Anezka's mom. Their American teacher is going back to the US, so they need someone to take over these classes. It's amazing that they ended up fitting into my schedule... it's like they were a little puzzle piece that just fit right in there. That makes me happy, as I am needing to make some extra cash :). Little by little, my schedule is filling up nicely here. 

I'm still plugging along at working on the jewelry thing. I've ordered some metals that I need to do silversmithing stuff, and I'm waiting on that to get here. Meanwhile, I'm working on some other projects, but working slowly. I'm finding it hard to stay motivated, which is why I think I need more exercise. When I don't get enough exercise I don't have very much energy, and I end up sleeping all the time. I absolutely love sleeping, but time wasting is a bummer.

Another new thing is that I've started teaching myself five or more Czech words or phrases each day. It's nice to see myself making some progress! Last night, I was looking around at the Potraviny (like the Czech version of Bodega) in Mlada Boleslav. The lady asked me if I needed anything, and I told her "I'm just looking around" in Czech. I'll be fluent in no time.

It's April!

Hi!

My week in Vienna wrapped up nicely with another trip to the Naschmarkt. I loaded up on some spices from my favorite stall, where the prices are excellent and the spices are sold in nice, reusable plastic containers. It is hard to find good spices in the Czech Republic. I also bought a huge half loaf of delicious freshly baked wholegrain bread, which I've been eating all week. I didn't think it was possible to have a falafel wrap more delicious than the ones Marissa and I enjoyed on our last trip to the market, but lo and behold, I found one. The falafel wrap I got this time had multi-colored marinated peppers and sun-dried tomatoes on it, and was wrapped in a freshly made pita with plenty of tzatziki sauce. Incredible.

It was a rather dangerous day to go to the market - it was extremely windy, and in the flea market area I was hit by some flying projectiles blowing from one of the stands. The day was peppered with the sound of glass breaking as the gusts blew through the market and the vendors struggled to keep their tents and wares from blowing away. I even saw an Italian man who was sitting in a chair at the outskirts of the market with a red-stained cloth to his head, blood dripping down his shoulders onto the ground. Some of his companions were calling an ambulance which arrived shortly after. I'm not sure what happened to him, but perhaps he was struck by some sort of wayward antiquity caught in the wind. I haggled with one dealer and scored a bunch of old metal key tags from a Viennese hotel. They are simple, round brass discs stamped with numbers, and I will use them to make pendants.

I am not sure if I mentioned on here that a couple of months ago I had looked up jewelry studios here in Prague. I found one where they offer metal-working classes, and had emailed the owner to see about possibly coming to her studio to work on my jewelry. She returned my email and said she would be happy to have me, but we had trouble scheduling a meeting at the time. We subsequently lost touch with one another as my life became all crazy with job hunting and moving. Last week, however, she texted me and asked if I would like to come and see the studio. I met her at her studio, and we agreed that I would sort of rent the use of the studio for a few hours a week - she has all of the tools and materials I need to continue the metalworking I was learning in Ohio. I went to the studio to work for the first time yesterday. The studio is in a really beautiful area right across from a park. It was great to get all of my materials out and figure out what I wanted to work on. Having the time set aside each week will keep me focused on making progress with starting my Etsy store and making new pieces. I gathered the materials I will use for a couple of necklaces, and will work on those this weekend - I started the first one last night.

This week is turning out to be a very easy one - the schools in the Czech Republic have Easter break from Thursday through Monday, so there are no classes. I am planning on getting together with friends and perhaps going to an Opera or a marionette show this weekend. I really wish I could see my family for Easter, though...

Best week in Europe so far...

I have to say that the past week was the best I've had since I left home. It was nice to have a steady schedule for the week, something I haven't had since I finished the TEFL program in January. The work hours were nice - 8-2 each day, so we still had some afternoon left after we finished teaching. The weather was really nice on Wednesday, and after classes I found a park and took a nap in the sun along with lots of other people who were stretched out on the grass doing the same.

Teaching this week was challenging but I had so much fun with the kids - especially my group. I wish I could be their regular teacher! We spent a lot of time working on their skit, and everyone got really into it. It was a great time. Today was a crazy day; we needed to rehearse but we kept having to move from room to room each period as we kept being chased out by the regular classes. It was chaotic but it was great in the end, watching all of the classes perform their acts. Since our project was all about modeling, there were plenty of pictures taken. I made a slideshow of some of the pictures to play during the "show". I'm glad I have a lot of pictures to remember the week, and a few to share with all of you.

I was really nervous before the week started that I would struggle or that I didn't have enough experience, but it turned out to be very similar to the work I'm doing in Prague. I picked up lots of good ideas and new games to play, and also gained confidence as a teacher. One really funny part about the week was that for some reason, all of the kids except for the ones in my group became convinced that I actually knew German and was pretending I didn't. I've no idea how this rumor began but it was very amusing. They kept "testing me", thinking they'd be able to get me to slip up and give away my secret German abilities. Sometimes they would say something that I could understand because it is similar in English or something, and they'd say - "SEE! She knows German, she understood!"

Here are some pictures from the week -

Vienna, again!

So I'm back in Vienna. I love this city. I wish I could stay here forever. Right now I am at Cafe Hawelka, which Marissa and I tried to visit on our last day but couldn't locate. I had a cheese strudel and coffee, and I'm about to go and investigate a bead store I've found on the internet.

I really like the school I'm teaching in this week. The kids are all about 14 years old and they are very smart and nice. This is how the program works: I am part of a four-person team of English teachers. There is one Irish man who lives in Budapest and is the head teacher for the week.  There is a guy who was born in Chicago to Hungarian parents and who was living in Budapest for a long time and has recently relocated to Oxford, England. There is one guy who is also from Chicago but was married to an Austrian woman and has lived in Vienna for seven years. The three of us who are here from out of town are put up in a hotel for the week, which is pretty nice.

For the week, each of the four teachers has their own group. We teach our own group for the first three lessons each day, then for the last three lessons we switch and teach one of the other teachers' groups. The theme of the lessons is American or British culture. My group is my favorite. On Friday all of the groups will be doing presentations (a skit of some kind), to which the parents will be invited. We have the rest of the week to prepare the kids for it. Today, my kids decided they want to do an episode of America's Next Top Model. I have a couple of pop songs to download for tomorrow so that we can begin planning the skit. It should end up being really funny, I think, and the kids are excited about it. I'll plan on taking some pictures of the show :).

Vienna (Day Four)

Our last day in Vienna was a short one, and the weather was not great as it had been on Friday and Saturday. We got up really early, ate breakfast and headed to the center along with two other girls from our hostel room. I had a little map I'd copied from the internet, and we followed it to the chapel where the Vienna Boys' Choir sings at mass every Sunday. You can purchase tickets, but there is also standing room at the back of the chapel, and if you show up early and get in line, it's free. When we arrived at 8:30 there was already a long line at the door. We waited for about 45 minutes before the mass started and we were allowed to go inside. Marissa pointed out as we were waiting that almost all of the people waiting were Asian - I looked around and realized she was right. When the mass began, we realized why - that day was the one year anniversary of the earthquakes in Japan, and it was a special mass to remember those who were killed or wounded in the disaster. I'm glad we got to see the Boys' Choir, it was really lovely.

The line

After the service, we took a tram to the Belvedere, a palace/art museum which houses the Habsburgs' personal collection of art work. We had lunch in a little Greek restaurant, then toured the museum. The Belvedere has a large collection of art from various historical periods. I really liked the medieval art in their collection. Also, I got to see Klimt's The Kiss in person, which was very cool - I've used the image in my jewelry several times, so it's awesome to actually see the original. We spent a couple of hours at the Belvedere, then had to head back to the hostel and get our bags. By the time we got on the train headed back to Prague, we were exhausted. We covered a lot of ground in four days. I was proud of us.