Mustang Sally

I think I ate liver for lunch today.  I'm resisting the urge to look up the word that was posted on the lunch menu...

This week has been filled with small difficulties, all of which seem to quickly dissipate once I'm back at my dorm, munching on chocolate and rolls.  Nothing to spill milk over (yeah, something I said this week when I was trying to think of the idiom about not crying over spilled milk).  Wednesdays are long days for me, which lead into even longer Thursdays.  I should really quiet my complaints, though, since my co-teachers have graciously agreed to give me Fridays off. 

Cleaning ladies in the Czech Republic (which, I recently read, should more often be called Czechia - Czech Republic was intended to be used only in official documents) are a force to be reckoned with..  Thus, my Wednesday mornings begin when the woman who cleans my residence hall keys into my room, bellows "dobré ráno!" (good morning) and starts vacuuming.  That's my queue to get my ass outta bed and in the shower, while she finishes with the carpet and takes out my trash.  We've come to some understanding of one another, after last week, when I forgot the word for "to vacuum" (luxovat) and instead mistakenly substituted "žehlit" (to iron).  I had to quickly apologize, explain that I was a foreigner, and that yes, I would very much appreciate her cleaning my room.  And that no, I was not asking her to do my ironing.

Today was our first session of after-school English club, which are rumored to greatly piss off the women who clean the school, since we take up time in the classrooms after school has let out.  There was a pretty good showdown today in Czech (thankfully, while I'm half in charge of the English part of English club, a few Czech teachers attend as well).  Otherwise, I think the club is off to a solid start, with about 7 or 8 students in attendance.  Since most of the older kids don't finish class until around 4:30 pm, I think I'm also going to start hosting informal sessions at a nearby čajovna, or tea room, after school hours.  I have my doubts about how helpful these clubs will be for students trying to practice their english, especially given the extra prep time that it demands on my part. 

Tomorrow I'm getting in touch with someone who should be able to give me Czech lessons, however, so I think that may help me be a bit more patient, and feel like I'm putting my time here to good use.  I can already see how quickly this year is going to pass, and I don't have a good idea of where I'm headed after (except, of course, up Mt. Rainier).  I'm beginning to see how easy it is to turn one year away from school into two.  My kids are anxious to know whether or not I'd settle here in Europe...I'm not sure why.  They seem to have dificulty understanding why, when I have American citizenship, I'd live somewhere like the Czech Republic. 

Aside from these constant naggings, I'm having a blast.  Especially in my classes - the kids give me so much energy.  We spent a good 10 minutes laughing in one class, when one boy, describing a picture of the Grand Canyon, said "there are a lot of bushes, a lot of George Bushes."  When I had them write sentences about why they might like to visit a national park like the Grand Canyon (Mt. Rainier and Killarney were also options), someone else wrote that he'd like to go to the Grand Canyon and see George Bush.  Tomorrow I'll be taking on two classes solo, since a few of the teachers will be gone, and it's easier to just have me substitute. 

Wish me luck,

Jo