Prague Blog

So I wasn't trampled to death watching the World Cup match, although part of me wanted to keep the previous entry as the final one in the Prague Blog. Had a good time, even though the US team played like crap and got deservedly smacked around by the Czechs. There was a contingency of USA fans there, and it...  

So it's World Cup (Mistrovství Světa) time. It's great walking around into any pub that has a TV and watching the game. Equally nice is the huge screen they've set up in Old Town Square for everyone to watch every match. And with the USA playing the Czech Republic today at 6pm (local), I am donning my USA...  

So I found myself with some American dollar bills the other day. Man, what ugly money we have. All the same size. No little indicators on the short edges to say how much the bill is worth. No color. Ugly and inefficient. Go USA!Speaking of Go USA!, I was walking around this morning hoping to get some...  

So I have less than a week left in Prague. Five days, actually. I fly (I have a one-way ticket) from Prague to New York on Tuesday. After a month of bouncing around at home (seeing friends, family, my sister's college graduation), I head to Kusatsu City, Japan, in mid-July, for another year of teaching...  

Some pictures of some of my students from this past year...Had a visit from Henry, Chris and Amanda. Good times.Part of which was a visit to Karlstejn, a castle about 30 minutes from Prague.One night, Chris captured some amazing shots right at dusk. Enjoy.Now that I will have no more visitors, I want to...  

Recently, some interesting things have come to my attention about how the Czechs handle love and marriage. First, they only say "I love you" (miluji tě) to the person they're romantically involved with. Not to parents, close friends other relatives, or things they enjoy tremendously (say, ice cream or...  

With the parliamentary elections approaching next week, the city is plastered in the usual "Vote for us" flyers and billboards. All the ads have appeared to be the positive, non-mudslinging type. Upon asking students and other locals, it's been told to me that most of the advertising done has been on the...  

My friend Jan came for a weekend visit, which was a good time. Not too much to report about that. Saw the sights, drank the beers, heard the jazz. We did come across this sign, and I'm curious what your initial thoughts are when you see it. If you said "boobs," you are correct. We also crossed this fountain,...  

On Thursday last week, at about 2PM, I walked passed this guy who looked a little drunk. He looked in his late 40s, early-to-mid 50s, and like he belonged to the homeless men who spend all their time behind Tesco.He was wearing a jacket (it was very warm out), and had his left hand oddly pushed into the...  

Some of my best teaching happens when I go drinking with my students. Friday, a little hungover from celebrating Heather's 30th birthday, we go to the pub after class. My students order me a beer when I was at the bathroom, and so I just sucked it up and said, "Well, here's to the hair of the dog." Which, of...  

Did some travelling and saw some old friends this past weekend. Spent time in Geneva, Lausanne, and Milan with Scott and Eda. Good times.The weekend's stories include finding the 7 Duomo's of Milan, walking up and down the 7 towers of the Milan football arena, some bird turd, and Tomunk.Landed in Geneva, and...  

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Some quotes thrown out by students this past week:"A woman is an adult when she can say 'yes' to a man without any bad feelings, and a man is an aduly when he can say 'no' to a woman without any bad feelings."While motioning to his stomach, "You know, the tube your shit goes into." This is how I taught...  

To be honest, I've been in Wien and Viden. Both can be "loosely" translated as Vienna.After a day or two to myself in Austria, my folks joined me, and then spent the rest of the week in Prague. I have to say that Vienna most accurately fit my original idea of a European city. Modern, but plenty of old...  

On a rainy day in Prague, I set out to find matzah for Passover. Now, I thought it would be a snap, since I found it in December at an Arabic grocer a block or two from my place. Of course they'd have it now. But it wasn't on the shelf where I found it only 4 months ago. I speak in broken Czech to the store...  

So, this is spring in Prague. Crazy weather. Gorgeous sun and blue sky suddenly switching to clouds of gray and rain. I think this picture gives an accurate representation of the beautiful blue getting swallowed up by the death gray.See how it closes the noose around the harmless sky? Damn those death...  

So on my way to bed the other night, I went to crawl in bed with Heather, as I usually do. However, I when I reached the door to her room, I wasn't allowed in. I called her name, and then made all the noises I could, even scratched at the door (which always works on her), but nothing. The door remained shut....  

So yesterday was our first real day of spring. The nicest, warmest, and sunniest day since October. The mercury reached 20, and the sun was a welcome addition. People, naturally, started shedding their heavy winter overcoats and hats. Doing this revealed some things the winter coverings had shoved out of my...  

Kate and I looked at each other and smiled. The look on the woman's face when we answered, "a little more than 21 years" was pretty priceless. A strange mix of disbelief, shock, then turning to a general "wtf?" After watching the varying emotions cross her face, Kate helped clear things up. "He's my...  

Made it to Copenhagen a couple weekends ago. It was great. I was able to see my friend Michelle, who I hadn't seen in a couple years. The weather was pretty scewy, though - switching from blizzard-like conditions to blue sky sun in a matter of about 10 minutes. I liked the city - it was small, and the...  

...brought to you by the letter p. "In the Czech Republic, there isn't much children porn.""Uhhh, what??""In the Czech Republic, there isn't much children porn.""Porn?""Porn." "Born? "Yea, porn.""So, 'In the Czech Republic, there aren't many children born.' ""Yea, in the Czech Republic, there aren't many...  

...my buddy Honza and I are heading to a pub to watch a football match. (yes, I say 'pub' and not 'bar', 'football' not 'soccer'... but a truck will never be a lorry, damnit, and they are pants not trousers, and favor and color will never have a u) We end up in the seats closest to the front door.I'll pause...  

After conducting a class on advertising and its associated vocabulary (target group, product, slogan, jingle...), the natural follow-up step was a class on propaganda. I did some online research on American propaganda, and found some pretty wild things.I imagine all Americans reading this, and probably a...  

Forgot to mention a recent movie experience. A couple weeks ago, we spotted a listing of Miyazaki's movie Spirited Away at a local theater, which usually shows foreign films (more on that in a moment). The listing said it was English verse with Czech subtitles. Perfect.This past weekend, we make it to the...  

Amazingly, the forecast was accurate. Amazing weather we had at the end of last week. (see that English? Yes, I am a teacher.) A few of us decided to take advantage of the sun, summer-like temps (45 F!!) and the beer-anywhere policy, and headed to this park with a nice view of the city.The few remaining...  

Woke up the other morning to the most glorious of things - BLUE SKY!What an uplifting wake-up call. The weather report read warm (read: 34 fahr.) and sunny. Hezky den! Glorious day! It's funny, that same day I spoke to my mom across the Atlantic, and she was lamenting that it was getting cold, as in, 36. If...  

I like teaching. A lot. It's really been a wonderful career move. But as all things, it has its moments where you want to pound your head through the wall. The working-when-not-at-work thing is a bit annoying (lesson planning, test writing, and paper grading sucks ass - though I haven't had to do the 3rd one...  

So Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. Another 6 weeks of winter. I know that all you northeasterners are just shaking in your boots about the thought of another six weeks of 40 degree weather.When trying to explain Groundhog Day to Czechs, I initially got a "wtf?" response. One person even said, "You're from...  

Something for my fellow math friends out there - at U Fleku the other night, my friend Tim (third from the left, below) opined, "If you want to have fun at a party, park yourself next to a math guy." Right on.