The one where I recap the year
Well, here it is - FINALLY - my Blog. I have been meaning to get this running for...about 5 months now, but life has been busy. I have no good excuse really. I am sitting in one of the few places in Prague where I have found WiFi - a little coffee shop (huge shock, right?) called Kava Kava Kava. This is my Cheers. Okay..everybody doesn't know my name. That is because they don't want to know it.I have no idea where to begin. Do I recap the whole year so far? Do I start fresh - just start writing, as if I have been doing this all year? Maybe something in between. I will give a brief overview of the year, and then start the babble.
The first part of the school year was frantic! After the chaos that was Training (capitalized because it is an official, landmark-type time in my life!), we flew here to Prague. We jumped right into teaching, not too much of a leap for me, but still quite a change from Elementary Special Ed!
The cultural transition was a little more difficult. The language (Czech - NOT Russian or German!) is difficult. The people here are friendly, but not open with strangers. I didn't realize how accustomed I was to waving at people on the street, or at least giving a nod and a smile. None of that here! It took me a while to become comfortable with that, but now I can look uninterested and withdrawn with the best of them! ;-)
Christmas was a little difficult. There were so many people here (14 staying in our flat on Christmas Eve!) that it was impossible to be lonely, but I was sad to be so far from home. We managed to have a pretty American Christmas, avoiding the tanks of carp outside every grocery store - yes, carp! I know, I know, we toss those dirty bottom-feeders back, but they are traditional Christmas food here. No carp for us though, as we spent a great Christmas Eve with Laura and Amy's families and some guests: Lynnea (who lives in Germany) and several other ESI teachers and parts of their families. New Year's Eve, not really a family holiday anyway, was great! After a relaxing day of coffee sipping and wandering the snow-covered city, we spent midnight on a bridge on the Vltava River, watching fireworks over the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle - fantastic! Check out my pictures to see details.
I realy do love it here! I have a fantastic team to work with here. The girls in my flat are amazing! I love each of them and appreciate different qualities in each. I see them (Amy, Sam, and Laura) more than anyone else. The larger Czech team is great too. We have around 20 teachers in and around Prague and about 10 more ouside the city. I really have an good support team in those people! I have some friends who I can just relax with and have a good time, and I have some deeper frendships - the friends who chisel away (sometimes painfully!) at my rough edges. I think that God has provided me with both of these types of people. There are times for both things: being sharpened and for just enjoying what God has provided! I miss all of you at home terribly, but I am really thankful that I have these people! They are a huge encouragement to me and I hope that, now and then, I can fulfill a role in their lives. ;-)
So, I am not lonely. In fact, I realized the other day that I am nearly never alone! Last week, I was walking on the street, humming along with my a song in my earphones, and I wanted to sing. Couldn't -not without getting crazy looks from people. Then I started thinking about being alone. At home, there is almost always someone there. There are usually just 1-3 roommates present, but on the weekends, any number of people can occupy the guest room! Even when I am by myself ... say, walking to the tram, I am not alone. There are always people milling around. When in South Dakota, I spent hours every week traveling: to and from work, to see the family, to Gillette, etc... Nearly all of those hours were spent alone. I could sing, pray, talk to myself (... no I didn't.) I don't have that time here. I guess what I figured out is that I need to really be really purposeful to BE ALONE sometimes. Leave the party when everyone is still there, stay in when everyone is going to dinner, wake up when my roommates are out teaching, and spend that time wisely - singing, praying, and NOT talking to myself. ;-)
So - that's it. My first offical Czech Blog post. Feel free to comment. Keep checking back. I promise that they will not always be this long!
posted by Kassidee Kennedy @ 6:20 PM
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