Wow...I am bad at this....

I know you all rely on this to keep track of me. Ha. Kiiiiddding. But seriously, for as much as I love to write, I'm horrible at keeping up with a blog. :(

Since the last posting, everything was going good. Job was good, in love with Prague, yada yada...Nothing has really changed except for the fact that uhh...well, I've decided to come home! I am still in love with Prague, I still love the kids I teach. But the reality is, I am living here illegally, and the visa process is the most difficult EVER!! And also, I'm definitely not making enough money...boooooooo! I hate to rely on that, but really, you have to have the $$ to survive. So in approoooximately 16 days I will be returning to the great US of A. I am very very excited to see everyone and share some of my G-rated stories. ;)

It seems as soon as I decided to leave, I realized exactly what I would be leaving. I've made such wonderful friends and learned so much about myself and this world I live in. I cannot ever take anything for granted again such as the loyalty of true friendship, the peacefulness and serenity of discovering a new world by myself, and the unending support that comes from my family every day and every way I can possibly imagine. I also am so thankful to Ashleigh Ide (look 'er up!) who truly inspired me to point and shoot at anything I could. If she were not in my TEFL class, I would not have realized the completion that photography could bring to my soul. Thank you Ash. Also thanks to Jiri, who taught how to make everything I touch psychedelic. I am forever greatful. I am aware this sounds like some kind of acceptance speech, but in a way it is. Acceptance of a new outlook on life, so I must say thank you to many. Thank you to Morgen. I would not have even THOUGHT of taking this journey if you had not invited me to join you. You have taught me more about kindness and generosity in such a short amount of time and I am amazed at your capacity to empathize and always listen to your friends. Andrew and Janka, I never imagined I'd meet two people as compassionate as you both are. Andrew, your lust for learning and question asking surprises me every time I see you. Janka, your calm soul soothes me. Not only are you both beautiful in outward appearance, but anyone would be safe in saying that everything about you both is wonderful. Your relationship is one to look up to. Rae, for being there even 5,000 miles away. Sometimes I just needed your familiar voice to feel more at home. Many others I am missing I'm sure; Josh, Teacher Mila, Sheila, Eric, Chris, Keith, Svatka, the amazing little chilluns at Babbles, so many others...but to keep this kind of short, finally I must thank my sisters and mother. We are a team, we never leave one behind, and this has especially been proven to me these past six months. Meg, though you're pregnant and uncomfortable you always make sure I'm okay before I can even ask how you are! Paige, my busy little bee, growing up into such a beautiful woman, making your mark. I am so proud of you, and proud to share our special day every year. Katie, you are beautiful. The fire inside of you is still being tamed, but as you grow older you will learn how to control the flames and become even more fierce. The loyalty that you portray to your family is part of that fire, please don't ever lose it. Mom...well what can I say. I love you always, to the moon and back. We've had our tough times, but we always come back to each other. Thank you for letting me go when I needed you to.

Well..geez enough of that, now that I've made myself cry. I will see you all soon, thank you thank you thank you EVERYONE for allowing me this time to begin my self discovery.

lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove,
coco.

Yizzoooo Kizzoooooo!

Hello Everyone!

Coco comin' in, do you read me? Yes you do. Good. Soooo...last time I wrote I think I told you all that I got a job at a preschool. The rest was rubbish I'm sure. New news...some of you might already know, and if you don't know now you know. Morgen left two Thursdays ago to return home to Yakima. Good thing she did, because she found out that her foot had been fractured!!! Yeah unbelievable! It was about two months ago, that she accidentally rammed her foot into a suitcase (that I accidentally put in the way, sorry Momo) and had been limping around on it for TWO MONTHS!!! Now she has a boot, I'm guessing a really HUGE boot, that is most likely embarassing and for that I am sorry as well. Her choice to leave was purely hers, she felt it was time, and that is okay. I miss her so much and the flat is so quiet without my roomie. Momo if you're reading this I miss your face! Good news though on the roomie front. Travis, a 32 year old from Australia is moving in on Sunday. He's a nice bloke so far, and an English teacher as well. And then of course there is the accent. Won't be hard to live with that. :D

I'm loving my job, I love the children, they are SO smart. The first week was overwhelming only because well..I hadn't actually worked in 2 and 1/2 months. The commute is sometimes rough, and I have been late a few times since I can't seem to get the bus schedule just right (Lisa...they are just as forgiving as you were for my lateness, I don't even get the sideways looks that you gave!!!). The children are just now beginning to understand that I'm also in charge as well as the other teachers. They all call me Coco, even the adults, because the 'rt' is very hard to pronounce for Czech speakers. If they do attempt to say my name it's more like 'currrtney' with a rolled R, where as when Spanish people tried it was 'corny'. Right Elisabeth? :) Coco is just easier.

What else...what else....Hmm. I've been incredibly bored since Mo left. I do have a few friends here, but not ones that have a lot of free time, and neither do I. So, I went out and bought myself a puzzle. That's right, 1,000 pieces. Puzzle queen, right here. Mm hmm. No sign of any love interest on the horizon. I need more friends first, THEEEEEN...maaaaybe just maaaaaybe try to meet someone to cure my love ills.

I think that's all for now. Now I must create insects out of construction paper. Ladybugs and bumblebees for the children to count. It's raining here and has been for it seems two weeks. No summer weather yet, for that I do miss Yakima.

Love you all, and hope to talk soon. Don't forget I have an email addresssss!! courtney_myoho@yahoo.com yay!

COCO

yada yada yada...

Hello everyone! Yes I realize, you've been dying waiting for my next blog insertion. Well the waiting is OVAAAA. I'm standing in my kitchen right now (the internet signal is much better). The background noise is some random music our friend just loves to introduce us to, and a dripping noise. Ohhh...the dripping. Apparently the flat one floor up from us has a washing machine problem. I called the landlord Jan (Yan) and he rushed right over. It was quite funny to hear him swear. He's a very reserved Czech gentleman. He speaks perfect English as he left Prague in 1968 to escape communism. "Shiiiiiit", he said. "Okay, okay...I'll be back shortly, who are you?", to Josh. He cracks me up. Hopefully he'll be back soon with a new ceiling. :)

Now...Michael Buble in the background. For those of you not in the know, I have gotten a job!! Yesssss Sirs! I start on the 8th at Babbles Preschool. When I went originally and had the demo lesson, I absolutely loved it, and didn't even apply for anything else, because I loved it so much. Some people might say I have to much faith in the unknown. I just KNEW...

I was originally supposed to begin tomorrow, but for some reason they put it off for one more week. I already have the work contract so no worries! :)

On another note...EVERYONE IS LEAVING !!! Well not everyone, but all of the friends from the US that we've made here, are leaving. It's sad, but I have no doubt that I'll be able to make just as many Czech friends, and plenty from other countries as well. Prague is quite the melting pot. I think we've met people from almost every European country, North America, Asia, Africa even. Loooooord knows a few of them have to like me enough to hang out with me.

Let's see, can't think of too much else, yes it was short. But at times I feel guilty for not posting blogs. For myself though, not all of you. Heeeehehehe. Okay...I'm going now. GOOODBYE!

COCO.

I don't have much to say today, so I thought I'd share pictures instead (for you Shawn!). They are as follows: random pictures of Prague, the church in Old Town Square, views from the Charles Bridge at sunset, stuff at and around Prague Castle, and a few pictures from the beer garden. Miss everyone so much! Love, M

What the eff?

It's 2 a.m. and I am still awake. I don't understand...why, why, why? I'm so tired of only 4 hours of sleep a night. Actually, I'm just plain tired.

I'm looking out the window across the courtyard to the other apartments. For once it's completely dark, save one window lit by a lone candle. It's amazingly pretty; the orange glow of candlelight illuminating a completley dark courtyard. I'm listening to my favourite band, Stumble Yonder, and missing home so very much that my heart aches. I got to talk to my mom today; she's so amazing. I miss my family. Talking to her made me realize how very much I miss everything I left behind. I'm glad I came here; it's what I always wanted. I just miss everyone so much.

Today, my friend Josh and I went to Prague Castle. We had a "tourist" day. We walked for hours around the extensive grounds. I had no idea it was so beautiful. I've been there twice: once to see President Obama speak, and the other wandering with friends. I've never explored the complex in depth until today. It was a gorgeous day out, and I got sunburned (boohoo). We walked for hours and finally decided we deserved a beer or two. We went to my favourite Irish pub (J.J. Murphy's) and had a few beers and dinner. Then we decided that since we didn't know where the Metro station was, we would wander over Charles Bridge and into Old Town Square (which was quite a walk) and keep going until we found one. It took a quite a while. Needless to say, I should be completely exhausted (which I am); I'm just not sleepy. Yuck! Instead, I'm sitting here, writing a poor excuse of a blog.

Anyway, I have more to write about, but me thinks perhaps I should lay down for a bit. Maybe tonight I'll be wisked away to a magical land, where everyone sleeps for eight hours and wakes up refreshed and ready to go. Oh boy...I'm ready!

I miss you all so very much! Write more soon.

Who knew?

Well, it's finally official...Coco and I have passed the TEFL course, and received our "diplomas." I have to say that I'm actually really surprised. Proud of myself, but awfully surprised.

I'm sitting in my favourite coffee shop right now, wondering if I'm ever going to get a job. I really hate job hunting. It's been kind of hard not being employed. I'm so used to working two jobs; not having even one is ridiculous. Ah well...I'll keep pounding the pavement, and I'll definitely keep my chin up. I'm extraordinarily happy for Coco; she has a really promising prospect. I think she'll have a job by tomorrow. She had the interview and she offered to teach a demo lesson which they accepted. She's nervous of course, but I know she'll do fantastically well. It's at a preschool, and she'll be working with young kids which is what she wanted most of all. Yay for Coco!

I'm not sure what's going to happen if I can't find a job soon. My 90 days without a visa are up at the end of June. Who knows, but that I'll have to come home for a while. I would love to come home and work for a while (and of course see everyone I love), but I don't want to feel like I failed at something I've wanted for so long. I really want to live in Europe. I love it over here, even if Prague isn't the most comfortable place for me. I love the culture, the food, the lifestyle, the fact that I have to walk everywhere. I even love the stairs, which still kick my ass every time. I have a good prospect in sight for a full-time teaching position. It doesn't start until September, though, so I'll have to find some private tutoring to do until then (provided I get the job of course). Keep your fingers crossed for me!

This is an awfully short post, but I seem to have a bit of writer's block. I took me an hour to write one postcard; I'm not sure why I decided to give blogging a try. I'll write more soon, as I have a ton of stuff to talk about, but not the energy to write it all today. Love you!

M

PS. The pictures are as follows: The garden at Petrin, a view of Prague from Petrin (and yes, it was one hell of a climb), me, and the Petrin "Eiffel Tower"

It's EARLY!

By COCO

I woke up early this morning...6:30! I haven't been awake this early in a few weeks at least. It feels great. It's quiet outside, and all I can hear are the last few raindrops hitting my window sill and the birds chirping. Oh wait...there goes a siren. But you get the idea. Today is 'the big day'. I have my meeting with the director of Babbles Preschool at 7pm tonight. I've got a few things to do...1. Find a Copy General store to print off my CV. 2. Find the restaurant where we're meeting. And 3. Chant.

I'm really hoping I get offered this position. It is exactly what I want, to teach little kids! I have been doing some research on lesson plans and structures for preschool classes, and it's really not as easy as some might think. These children have no idea how to speak English, let alone to read and write it. The lesson plans are very detailed and you have to keep them moving and paying attention at all times (for 3-5 year olds this can be tricky). They want bright colors, pictures and games. They don't like competition, and they LOVE attention. No reading or writing skills can be introduced this early, so it's all about listening and speaking. But no matter how difficult it might be, I can only imagine how wonderful the benefits must be. Their lovely little faces, looking at YOU their teacher expectantly to show them something amazing, something they don't know, and will love you for teaching them after you've finished. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me get this job.

Both Morgen and I have also received word from the Caledonian school here in Prague that they'd like us to fill out application forms. The classes for that school don't begin until September. From their website the job and benefits sound amazing. A monday through friday workweek, health benefits, also FREE intensive Czech lessons for all of their teachers. If we wanted to learn French or Spanish, they also give those courses at a discounted price. So we've got that to hope for as well.

Other than the job search, things are going well. I can only speak for myself on this part though; no job and no money = homesickness/depression. I knew it would be coming, I knew I'd miss everyone terribly. It comes and goes. As soon as I have a job and feel useful again, I'm sure it will subside.

But of course, we've been having tons of fun! On saturday a few of us took a picnic to Vysehrad park (basically a huge castlegrounds). Morgen, myself, Ashleigh from class, her boyfriend Jiri, Logan (one of our teachers roomies who's is leaving back to Utah on the 21st) and one of the new classmates Josh all sat on a blanket, watched people playing frisbee, football (soccer) and just had a great day. We ran into our teacher from class Mila who was meeting his football team to practice, and ended up having a few more people join our picnic. Peter from Rochester (who I'm convinced played Problem Child), Andy and Tom from Ireland, and Morgen's former student Josef. After the picnic we all headed to a restaurace in Old Town Square to try a Czech dish that Jiri had been raving about. It's called svickova na smetane. Basically beef meat with gravy, topped with cream, a slice of lemon and cranberry. YUMMMM!!!! So delicious. I was so full of snacks from our picnic that I didn't eat a lot, but what I did have was so so good! After that some headed home, and some decided to go to a pub and hang out for a while. The 'some' were myself, Morgen, Josh, Mila and all of his football buddies. It's called Acropolis. I couldn't say it for the life of me, I kept thinking "apocolypse"...grrr. Ha. Anyway we had ANOTHER great time there. Danced to techno music, drank pivo and went home to bed.

I guess this blog doesn't really have a point. I just thought I'd fill you all in on what's been going on here the last week or so. It's great! I love it. But I miss home dearly. I need a JOB! :)

Guess that's all for now. Maybe I'll try to sleep a little more. Maybe not...

Ahoj!