September update

It's been awhile since I have updated this; where do I even start?

This evening I'll be going to Ikea (YAY!!) to pick up a few things before I move into my new place. I'll be sharing an apartment with 2 Czech women - one a nurse, the other a journalist - and I am quite looking forward to it. It's a nice apartment, in a nice part of town (Vinohrady), and is easily accessible by metro or tram. It's also very close to the city center, which is important to me. For those who know Prague, it's in Prague 2 - which is perfect since it's away from the tourist-y parts, yet close enough to them that I can get there quickly.

My teacher training is finally complete, and I picked up my TEFL certificate yesterday. It's great to have that over with. Now, I am the teacher instead of the student. I have a fuller schedule next week than this week (I asked for it to be that way as I needed this week to straighten out the living situation). I have taught one class so far and it was great. My new students are very eager learners, so that makes my job a breeze. I have at least 3 "one on one" lessons per week and I hear I may get a class of teenagers soon. That should be interesting to say the least. I'll also be teaching at a bank 4 times a week, and at a few other companies.

I really enjoy the idea of teaching for 60-90 minutes, then jumping on the metro, or the tram, and heading back to the school, or home, or where-ever, until my next class. It's a welcome change from the "cubicle hell" I endured for the years I worked in banking and insurance, and swear never to go back to. I'm teaching about 20 hours a weerk, which is enough when you factor in travel time and lesson planning. I didn't come over here to be worked to death. I didn't come over here to be rich either, and it's a good thing, because I will be far from it.

I am enjoying my time here, and I truly believe this is one of the best decisions I've made in a while (career and personal), but I get the impression that people think that working overseas is all fun and games, and glamour. I'll disspell that myth right now. It's NOT. It's difficult. For many reasons. 1) There is no safety net if things go bad. I'll be earning income very soon, and anyone who is a teacher knows that you don't get rich by teaching (OK maybe you can make good money teaching in Asia or the middle east, but I am not there, and am not planning to go there for the time being). 2) Employment laws are different here. In Canada, if you don't get paid, for example, you have some course of action. Try navigating your way around laws you don't know or understand, as a foreigner, when EVERYTHING is in a language you don't speak (and no one is too eager to help you either). If you don't like your job, you can't just find another one, there are work permit/visa issues to deal with. 3) It's expensive. Prague is an expensive city to live in. Like Toronto, rent eats up half your salary, even if you do share a place with others. 4) Everything in your life changes - everything. Not only can I not read the labels in the grocery store, the brands are different. I cannot find any of my favorite things, so my whole eating routine has changed. Bread is different, meat, chicken, milk, chocolate bars, yogurt, coffee, tea -everything is different. I have NO comforts of home. 5) You're not at home. No matter how long I stay here, and no matter how much I get used to it, I am a foreigner. I am not from here, and it will never be home. It's like continually being a guest in someone elses house, that's the best way I can explain it. I am NOT complaining about my life here at all. Like I said before, it is one of the best decisions I have made in a while, but it is also more difficult than people realize. If I weren't as open minded as I am, I'd probably have jumped on a flight back to Canada long ago.

On a more positive note, the beer here is fabulous. I hadn't drank beer in about 15 years until the other night. Had a few, and will definitely have more. It's cheap to drink beer here - it's often cheaper than water, coffee (which is also fabulous), or Coke in a restaurant. The transit system here is great, too. The city is beautiful, and very safe. So, I have no real complaints about Prague itself; but I'm not on vacation anymore. Once the excitement wears off and one settles down, we fall into a routine and it becomes like everywhere else. I guess the lesson to be learned here is that no matter where we are, we never appreciate what we have as much as someone on the outside thinks we should, and no matter where we go, it's basically the same. We get up, we go to work, come home, eat, chill, go to bed, and do it all over again the next day.

On that note, I've got errands to run today. I'll try and update again after my first full week of teaching. Love to all. XO