+ I’m so excited to be guest posting on Sara’s blog, Big World Small Me! If you haven’t, make sure to cheek out her blog detailing her adventures in London and the world. Her blog is lovely, and I was lucky enough to spontaneously meet up with her at a Christmas market in Cologne (the infamous gnome one!) so I can attest that she is lovely in person, as well. I had so much fun writing about my time in Southeast Asia that I may need to do some more throwback posts myself. Also, now I’m itching to go back!
Thailand, 2010
+ Spring break is next week! Woo! Follow me on Instagram to see if you can find out where we decided to go! Hint: it’s an easy one. For another hint, it’s neither of the places I was originally deciding between in this post (Slovenia or Portugal, to refresh your memory). A really cheap ticket popped up unexpectedly and I couldn’t resist this new location! We won’t be gone the entire week, which is unusual for me, as I usually try to make the most of every second of vacation by traveling. The tickets just happened to be cheapest for Tuesday-Saturday, and I really am loving the idea of having a few extra days in Prague without lessons.
+ I am so ready for a break, and I think all of my students are, as well. Many of them are already on vacation, or at home with the chicken pox. There is another illness going around the school, mostly among the younger kids, and when I asked one parent she said: “oh, it’s scarlet fever.” I’m sure that’s not right, as her English isn’t very strong and my Czech is pretty much nonexistent. I wonder if it’s a Czech word that just sounds like scarlet fever? It’s a mystery! Anyway, most of my younger kids are out with the pox or this other illness, but the ones that are left are going crazy. Spring break we’re ready for you!!!
+ I’ve officially been taking Czech lessons for a month now! (And that reminds me–I need to ask my teacher about the scarlet fever thing). I can’t say much more than “I am Amy” and “two dark beers” but I’m really enjoying learning. The pronunciation of the Czech letters are quite difficult, but one thing I enjoy is the easy spelling–once you know the pronunciation of the word, you know how to spell it! I’m a huge geek and I love spelling things correctly.
+ I’ve shared the fact that I’m learning Czech with many of my private, older students. Most of them are delighted and immediately want to add to my vocabulary. My favorite? When two teenage girls, sisters, shared some of the Czech Harry Potter words. Apparently the words weren’t just “Dumbledore” or “Gryffindor” as I would have expected, but rather changed to made-up Czech words, as well. I didn’t know any translations did this type of thing, and I’m especially loving the Harry Potter ones…like “Zmijozel” for Slytherin. Would you stop reading if I did an entire post dedicated to the translation of Harry Potter into Czech?
+ One nice thing about having a blog is how it helps you keep track of things. When I realized that I first started whining complaining subtly about being sick two months ago, I was shocked. That was enough of a wake-up call to make me hunt up a doctor for real (although I did try several times prior). I finally got me some antibiotics, and oh my gosh I feel like a new woman. Now that I feel so much better (still not 100% but I think I’m close!) I feel less guilty about all of the things that went downhill while I was sick. Instead of coming home and collapsing after a work day, I actually have the energy to do things. Things like talking a walk to the river and going grocery shopping and putting my laundry away and walking up the hill to work suddenly don’t seem like giant obstacles getting in my way. Antibiotics! They work!
a blurry walk through the neighborhood
+ Is it just me or has February essentially evaporated? January felt like an endless blur of illness, exhaustion, teaching and darkness. February, while not much warmer, has been slightly lighter and sunnier, and not as busy–but it’s gone much faster! I can’t believe March is only a few days away. I normally love winter and fall the most, but I am seriously looking forward to experiencing Prague in the spring.
+ Along with spring comes the promise of late spring/summer visitors. Two sets of visitors have officially booked their tickets, and I couldn’t be more excited! Our best couple friends, who sent us this epic package in the fall, are coming for the first week in May. We’re meeting them for a quick weekend in Budapest, spending a few days in Prague, then going to Dublin for a long weekend. I haven’t been back to Ireland since 2007 and it remains one of my favorites, so I’m over the moon to be visiting again soon. I also can’t wait to show off Prague, and really just hang out with some great friends!
Ross Castle, 2007
+ E’s family has also booked a trip here for 10 days in July, and my cousin in planning on visiting in early June. I think right in between those, my parents will also visit! Which means we’ll have about three months straight of visitors…it might be a little stressful, but mostly we are so grateful that so many loved ones get the chance to visit this beautiful place we are lucky enough to call home for a little while!
+ March is also the month we have to officially decide if we will stay in Prague another year or not. I’ve been avoiding this subject on the blog (and kind of in real life) because I don’t really want to make a decision in this matter at all. I love Prague and want to stay–but there might also be another place for us to go, too. No announcements on this anytime soon until we actually make a decision, but I’ll keep you posted! Now, I’m going to get back to my life in Prague and live in denial that it might ever end.
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Question:
What has daily life been like for you lately?
Linking up with the #SundayTraveler!
Spring break sounds wonderful, I am ready for a break but one more month for us. Yay for feeling better!
One more month! You can do it 🙂 sounds like you have a fun one ahead, too!
Can you believe it is March already? I can’t wait for daily life in Prague in the spring!
Regarding “scarlet fever”: it is legit! I was confused too as it seemed like something only people of the 19th century contract, but one of my colleague’s kids had it for several months this autumn/winter…. sounded really nasty and he’s still been sick for months but now is on the up and up, I hear. So excited to hear where you decide to go! We had our spring break a couple weeks ago and it was sooooooo necessary 😉 Enjoy your time off!
Yes I was so confused because I really only remember reading about scarlet fever in my Laura Ingalls Wilder books, haha. But my boss told me it’s a real thing here as well as you, so, yikes!! Several kids have it and have been out for a long time–weeks at least. It sounds awful!!
Omg yes please do a post on Harry Potter translations in Czech. I find it so odd though that the names aren’t just the same, and that the translation had to give its own Czech names. Is Harry’s name even Harry??
It’s weird to me that some of the names stayed the same–like Harry is Harry, but Dumbledore’s name changed! I don’t know why!
It’s weird to me that some of the names stayed the same–like Harry is Harry, but Dumbledore’s name changed! I don’t know why!
Surely all you need in Czech is how to order a beer? Ha ha! Don’t you hate those grown up decisions you have to make in real life. I hope the decision is not too hard for you both! Thanks again for guest posting on the blog, it was great to have you there x
Haha yep, that’s the first thing I learned and it’s served me well these past six months 🙂 I agree–I hate these decisions! We have a few coming up which is a bummer, I just hate deciding things haha! Thanks again for having me 🙂 xo
I won’t hate you if you did a post full of Harry Potter names in Czech. I’d probably find it highly amusing. I never attempted to seek out Harry Potter in Hungarian. I wonder what that’s like.
And hurray for feeling better too 🙂 Enjoy spring break!
I saw Harry Potter at the store but I never would have learned about the changed names if not for some of my private clients, who are teenagers obsessed with Harry Potter haha! So that’s kind of all we talk about ;). I’ll have to make a post soon with more translations!