getting to know prague, getting to know all about prague...

I've officially been in Prague for over a month. I think I can officially cross "live in a foreign country for a prolonged period of time" off my bucket list after this.

I bought my ticket home yesterday, so I'll be back on 15 November. I'm looking forward to it, but then I think about it and know that I will miss Prague. It's a very beautiful city and just so full of history. I wandered around the city center with Chris yesterday and by the time I got back on the metro to go home, I really felt like I was a local. I can navigate my way around the city center pretty well, but of course I still find new things every time I go. Yesterday I discovered that the Tesco I like to frequent is only about a block away from Wenceslas Square! Definitely hadn't realized that, but now that I know I won't need to transfer on the metro to a different line in order to get there - I can just walk! Amazing.

The last week was pretty crazy for me, but this coming week won't be too bad. In fact, we have Wednesday off because it's a bank holiday in the Czech Republic. And on Thursday I'm going to the NHL Premiere Challenge (HC Praha Sparta versus the NY Rangers), so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing some hockey while I'm here! I'm going to see how expensive a Mario Bliznak jersey is, because he was a former Canuck who now plays for Sparta, so that'd be fun to get his jersey or something of the sort. Of course, I'm not going to get much of any sleep on Thursday night, but I figure there's only one more day of school after that, and then a whole weekend where I can catch up on sleep.

Let's see, a few updates on student teaching... earlier in the week I was sitting in the staff room doing some lesson planning, and one of the Business Studies teachers sat down at the computer next to me and we started chatting a bit. He asked me how I was doing, etc., and then told me: "This is a small school, so word travels fast. So we'd all hear about it if you weren't doing a good job. But I hear you are, and your CT speaks highly of you." I was kind of surprised by that, and also wasn't sure if I should take it as a warning or a compliment. Haha! It was nice of him to say that, though. Really, all the teachers are so supportive. It was especially clear how supportive they are when my supervisor came for a visit/observation on Wednesday and nearly all of the teachers that I passed by asked how I was doing, and many of them told me their stories of when they were 'officially' observed during their training. So I felt like they were all very empathetic and cheering me on.

My supervisor from EA took me out to dinner on Wednesday after school to this really neat restaurant down near the center (actually, right around the block from the Tesco I like, and only a few blocks from Wenceslas Square, as I found out yesterday!). I took Chris there yesterday (Saturday), and I definitely want to go back again (and again and again :). If anyone was to visit me, it is definitely the restaurant I would take them to. It was established in 1902 and the likes of Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein have eaten there! It's also a prestigious waiter-training college (yeah, you train in a college for being a waiter in the Czech Republic!) so it's really neat to see the different levels of waiters-in-training there.

Anyway, I need to go plan some lessons for the week. But I'll leave you with some pictures I took yesterday while wandering around the city in the evening. Prague is such a beautiful city.

A long exposure (30") of a Prague evening from my window.

Jerusalem Synagogue, north of Wenceslas Square, and completely separate of the Jewish quarter.

The escalators in some of the metro stops are crazy steep.

Chris was very excited about dessert at Cafe Louvre

Finally, a picture of me in Prague. Representing the Canucks, of course. :)

The new header to this blog, and possibly my favorite photo I've taken thus far in Prague. Prague Castle from Charles Bridge at night. (15" exposure)