Heading to the mountains!

The exclamation point is more about the weekend as a whole, not about the procedure of getting there. See, we're taking a train tomorrow morning at 6:04, and have been instructed to arrive at the station at 5:40. The station is about a 15-20 minute walk from my house. Getting out of the house requires a shower and some general preparation, for two. All this to say, wake up time will be in the wee hours of the morning. Can't say any of that equals a happy smile on Sarah's face. I've already informed people that I'm not likely to be capable of coherent speech until after Plzen (about 2 hours into the trip.) Even then I make no guarantees.
Still, overall, I'm super excited about this trip. We're heading out with a group of 30 people to spend a couple days in the Czech mountains. I can't say I expect the mountains to be what I would classify as mountains, but I'm sure they'll be beautiful all the same. The people in our group will be daily students, teachers, and some other native English speakers with some mixed in significant others and locals who just like to speak English. Sounds like a crazy time.
In order that it not turn into a drunken orgy, as events around here can do thanks to the national pass time being alcohol consumption, there are activities planned to keep people active and mostly out of trouble. Come what may, it promises to be an interesting weekend.
It's hard to believe we're already two weekends into May. The end of the year is fast approaching, and with it comes more sunny days, fewer students attending class, lower motivation to lesson plan and stay indoors, and deep thoughts on the beauty of Taco Bell, Zero (my car for those not in the know) and Dr. Pepper. For now I'm just trying to keep my head in the game with teaching and "finishing strong" as the catch phrase goes. We'll see how it goes...