Prague...I missed you

So after a great time in Vienna, we head back to Prague. I start school the next day and it would be my first night sleeping in my apartment. Luckily, my mother and I before leaving for Vienna moved all my stuff in the room so I could just collapse when I got home which I did. The next morning I woke up around 6:30am and started my day. I get to work by taking Tram 16 to the red station. I take the red metro for 2 stops then am at the main train station. Purchase my ticket out to Ricany which I still cant pronounce and always have to end up writing it for them. Czech is one of the most difficult languages to learn because of the dialect that we are just not familiar with. I get on the train and it takes about 25 minutes to get to Ricany. I walk a few blocks and there is my school. I met all my coworkers. There are 5 czech teachers and 3 english teachers and 1 spanish teacher. The staff is great and they love the fact that I'm from California and cant wait to see me reaction to winter and what it is really like to be cold. The summers here I feel can be a winter day in San Diego...cloudy chilly but honey, that's nothing from what I'm told! Yikes! I have my own little desk and share the room with the other second grade Czech teacher and first grade Czech teacher. I feel like I'm a scavenger taking any teaching materials and art materials I can get my hands on. I have no resources so its a good thing I am artistic so I can make all my posters and crafts. I met the principal Honza who is very nice and funny. How my schedule works is I teach 1 to 3 english and math lessons a day and in the afternoons have club. So Monday I teach second grade math. Tuesday I teach 2nd grade Math and English. Wednesday I teach 3rd grade Math and 4th grade PE and Thursday 4th PE and 3rd Math. Friday is 2nd grade English. Club is an English immersion program where you read aloud in English, play English games, sing English songs, talk in English, and group activities in English. My days usually will end from 2-5pm so not too shabby. The school has 48 students from grades 1-5 so some classrooms have 14 and some have 4! Its a big change from 30 students in one classroom that's for sure. The first day of school in next Wednesday Sept. 1 where we have a theme week and it's the Zoo! Coming from San Diego which has the world famous Zoo I know a thing or two. But for trying to make things as easy as I can for myself during this transition, I chose butterflies :) What I'll do it I have made giant butterflies out of cardboard and giant flowers. They will come in and decorate butterfly sugar cookies, I'm sure I'll be accepted right away. I have been so busy all week preparing and I am getting adjusted to having a full time job. This is my first full time job so its exciting but now I know why people are so excited for Fridays to roll around...phew I am exhausted. But gives me lots of time to update my blog.

So now back to the government again....I had to go to the foreign police to register and asked Carrie (my coworker) how I do it. She started to bang her head against the wall...uhoh. She said, when she went people were screaming, fighting, crying, yelling just to get inside! She said she had to try a few times to get in and how it is inhumane! She told me that it is even on Youtube of how horrible it is. My roommate Mylene told me her horror story of going at 5:30am and couldnt get in and the next at 4am and she could not get in and third day arrived at 3am and had to push and shove to get in! BUT she said now they have another entrance for American, Canadians, and Mexicans. The next morning at 7 am I find the station. It was great, grabbed a ticket, waited in a chair, no problem right? Did you forget they dont do anything easy here. I get called and she opens my passport and said, "NO" and started speaking in Czech. I told her I dont speak Czech and English and she didnt speak English. She just wrote an address so I knew I had to go to another police station. I called my boss Martina and she told me that I guess they are sending me to the Old foreign police station. I take a taxi to the station because I have no idea how to get there. When I arrive, it is jam packed with people and everything is in Czech. Even the ticket to grab your number was covered with a sign in Czech. I assumed maybe it said out of order so I was like great where do I get the number. Tried to ask around but no one spoke English. Well I saw a line and decided to stand in it. Well good thing I did because one hour later I got a ticket. I waited 5 hours to get my number called. When I walked in it was one woman who looked my age. She opened my passport and said, "NO" and I said English and she said, "You needed to be here August 2nd when you arrived and register" I said no I was a tourist and in Vienna I have my work visa/short term visa that needs to be registered. She argued it was the same (which doesnt make sense....thousands upon thousands of people visit Prague and do NOT have to go to Foreign police...) Well she makes a call and hangs up and she says, you have to pay a penalty! I am hungry, tired, stressed, scared, confused so I just paid the penalty. I got it done so now all I have to do is wait for my long term. Hopefully no more government for the time being otherwise I will burst! Now back to some happy thoughts.

My apartment in Prague is soooo amazing. I am so happy here and I love my roommate. We went on a walk last night to listen to a band performing on the street playing Czech music and she took me on a tour of Vinohrady where I am living. I couldnt have picked a better place to live. We have a third roommate moving in next week. Her name is Sharka and she is from the Czech Republic. I am really looking forward to living with her and hope she will teach me a lot of Czech. Today, after work, I went grocery shopping. I can not tell you how nice it is to cook for yourself and not eat out every meal. When I go shopping, it takes me a good hour to complete it because I basically stand there and try to figure out what everything is. Luckily a lot of things have pictures so I feel I have some good stuff. Although I bought some sandwich meat that I was hoping would be turkey. My sister said what if its horse meat...good question. oh well! This weekend I plan on just relaxing. Tomorrow Mylene and I are going to Ikea to buy some stuff for the apartment. I am going to get a desk, lamp, clothes rail, and stuff for the kitchen. I have pictures I brought from home I'll hang up and start to make my room feel even more homey. Speaking of homey...I am on Skype every night my time which is lunch time SD time. My screen name is alison.lavine if you need to add me. I love skype and it is like you are sitting there with me. I can give you also a grand tour of my fabulous apartment.

Well now you are all up to date with Czechin up on Ali. I miss you all and thank you so much for reading my blog. Til next adventures!