How I almost went for another ride with random Germans...

Life in a foreign country really is a rather fascinating thing. There are so many things we take for granted in the US. For instance, being able to speak and be understood, and conversely to understand most of what the people around you are saying. Then there's the ability to get in your car and just go. Any time, and place. If you want to be there, and can afford the crazy high gas prices, you can make it happen.

Generally speaking I'm a fan of public transport. It's usually fast and effective. The price is lower because you're not completely supporting the price of getting from point A to point B. It is relatively comfortable to take the train, although it would be awfully nice if they learned a thing or two about WD40 and didn't deafen me every time they stop! There is less pollution created, and fewer traffic jams. Well, at least in theory. However, there are days when I get internationally screwed. Yesterday was one of those.

I had a nice afternoon with Crystal in the little town of Loket, which has a lovely castle we were too cheap to actually go in this time. The weather was less than perfect, but we still managed to do some wandering and take photos of some glorious old Communist era cars. We also enjoyed fabulous thick hot chocolate at our favorite cafe where they generally speak English and have a really nice and clean bathroom.

We also checked out an old church we'd never been in before. While I'm not usually overly thrilled by the gaudy decorations in the old European churches, they usually possess some beauty, and a certain feeling that the people who put so much time into decorating them really did so with good intentions. This church, however, felt like something out of a horror film somehow. At every moment I was waiting for something to come crashing out from behind the curtains around the altar. The walls were cracked and the paint was mostly gone. The statues around the room looked gaunt and hollow. There was an obnoxious wind that kept blowing the doors open and causing them to squeak eerily which served to knock it up from mildly creepy to verging on haunted. Crystal did take a moment to light a candle, and I tried out the feeling of the confessional booth, but we both were pretty happy to get out of there, except that the rain was falling again.

The rain drove us out before very late and we headed back to Sokolov for the rest of the afternoon. I had a round trip ticket, and generally if you get off and have already had it stamped for a portion of the trip they won't let you back on, but fortunately the conductor seemed to recognize us from when we were traveling to Loket, and didn't stamp our tickets so I felt pretty confident that I'd be able to just get on in Sokolov and make it back home without having to buy another ticket.

We decided I should go back on the 6:15 train, giving me plenty of time to run through the grocery store before going home. In the end we rushed a bit to get there, but we managed to be on time. Thing was, the train wasn't there. A notice was given over the loudspeaker indicating a delay of some kind, but not being able to actually speak Czech, we just had to satisfy ourselves with the fact that 6:15 was only a rough estimate for my departure time. If only we'd realized then just how rough.

After about half an hour Crystal decided to run to the store in her town before it closed, and said she'd come back and see if I was still there after her shopping was done. I waited restlessly and watched as other travelers were growing impatient. An older lady started chewing out the conductors for the horrible treatment, and was clearly demanding a bus to take her to her destination. I didn't blame her, but had no way of throwing in my two cents worth.

At about 7 one of the conductors started explaining things to a teenage boy who was standing in expectant annoyance nearby. The boy headed off, and the conductor began to address all of us. Thing was, I had no clue what he was saying. Apparently the people standing next to me had no idea either. They were German, and could make even less sense of Czech than I can.

The conductor, who clearly spoke neither German nor English, came closer and continued to explain. With some patience I figured out that he was telling us of a bus we could take. I had trouble hearing if he was saying at 19 or 20, but eventually he wrote it down and pointed at a couple other teen boys, indicating that we were to follow them. The Germans and I shook our heads resignedly and followed the two boys toward the bus terminal nearby.

On our way there we ran into Crystal. She couldn't believe this was happening either. We stood at the station (it's all outdoors here) and waited as buses came and went, but none of them were for us. Somehow the 7:20 bus to Cheb never made an appearance. Crystal texted her roommate Che for more bus and train times, but it was far from hopeful. The next bus wasn't until after 9, and supposedly the next train would be there at 8:30, but that wasn't sounding very optimistic either.

We could only spend so long watching some of her students milling about the bus station bar, which is apparently a hip place to spend a Friday evening. Clearly carding isn't even thought of around here! The drinking age is 18, but these kids weren't even that old. Eventually we were too cold and frustrated to stand there any longer. Crystal suggested walking back to the train station to wait for the next train where it would at least be a bit warmer. It was at this point that the Germans decided to take action.

The man was really nice. He said they'd decided to call his brother who lived nearby in Germany to come and pick them up and they would be willing to drop me off in Cheb. The only problem was that they didn't have a phone. I was more than happy to lend them mine with the prospect of getting the whooha out of Sokolov. So he made the call, and Crystal agreed that it was no doubt as safe to travel with them as it had been when she and I randomly got a ride from my German student Fred who I had only met once before. My German skills are decent enough to understand what he was saying on the phone, and it was clearly all on the up and up, so we decided this was probably my best option to not end up staying there all night.

The brother agreed to come, and the Germans and I headed back to the train station while Crystal hurried home to drop off her perishables. The couple was very friendly. They'd been enjoying the day biking in Loket and Karlovy Vary. Sadly the weather hadn't been quite to their liking either. They asked me about my job and why I was in Cheb, and it was all very pleasant.

After several minutes in the train station the boys who had led us to the bus stop - and who had consequently gotten so bored of waiting they'd pulled out a lap top to entertain themselves, the joys of modern technology! - arrived back in the train station. They went to the counter and proceeded to express their unfortunate plight, in which we were also suffering. A few minutes later another conductor looking person came in, looking very hurried. He ended up coming over to the boys, and it appeared that he had a bus for us. I asked if it was going to Cheb and he nodded, so I thanked the Germans for their kind offer of a ride and bid them goodbye as I hurried out to get on the bus.

No one ever checked my ticket.

The bus did, indeed, take me back to Cheb. I arrived at my flat a full 3 hours after we went to the Sokolov station. Usually it would only take an hour total for the ride and the walk home. What insanity.

So like I said, public transport may have it's benefits, but there are definitely drawbacks as well. I'm just thankful I was finally able to make it home.

Happy May Day!

I know we don't really do a whole lot for May Day in the US, but here they get the day off. Pretty cool. It has actually translated into a four day weekend. Unfortunately I didn't know in enough time to think of anything spectacular to do, and having spent last weekend away, didn't really have the financial means to just go running around the countryside. So I have the day off and I'm sitting in the office on the computer. (sigh)
This will give me the chance to finish up on talking about my trip to Rothenburg. Besides all the natural beauty of the place, we also enjoyed the beauty of the food there. The city is famous for it's dessert called the Schneeball (snowball). These confectionery masterpieces are truly a sight to behold. All along the streets we were in awe of the displays. Schneeballs are made of a dough similar to pie crust. The dough is dripped into oil and fried, then collected together in the shape of a ball and soaked in plum schnapps for over a week. The balls are then dipped in one kind of frosting or another, or merely sprinkled with powdered sugar, giving them the appearance of a snow ball. How could we possible pass up this mouthwatering invitation?

Unfortunately, as we all should know by now, looks can be deceiving. I think Crystal described them best when she said it was like eating the dry crust of a pop tart! Eww! The frosted outside part was good, but once you got beyond the edges it was just dry and tasteless. Nevertheless, we were so taken by appearances that we actually gave them a second try, only to be disappointed once again. But you really do have to give them an A for presentation.

We had a chance to sample some other interesting German cuisine as well. While my students found it difficult to believe that there was anything worth eating in Germany, we really enjoyed our meal. I even managed to try one of Nicole's bratwursts. I must admit that, in my mind, a bratwurst is a really big sausage, by reading the menu I learned that bratwursts were originally developed during an era when it was illegal to sell take away food after a certain hour of the day. In order to get aroudn this pesky little detail, bratwursts were developed to be small enough to fit through the keyholes. Fascinating little bit of trivia there. I ordered a meal that was like glorified macaroni and cheese. It was very tasty, and the other girls enjoyed sampling it as well.


I guess I don't really have a whole lot more to say about the trip. It was just a lot of fun. It's so nice to be able to escape the daily routine a bit.
I will make one more round of comments about May Day though. It really is a pretty interesting celebration here. Last night in the town square we came across a massive throng of people. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen so many people in Cheb. There were all sorts of small children dressed up as witches and carrying Chinese lanterns. I felt a bit like I'd stumbled on the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong instead of the May Day festivities in Cheb.
In the middle of the square the people had gathered around a crew of dancing witches ranging from very small girls to teenagers. A band played enthusiastically as the witches danced and twirled, throwing batons in the air. After several songs the procession continued on in a grand march. Naomi and I joined the crowd and followed them up to the theatre, listening to them screaming in the distance. Very exciting. At the theatre they danced again. Sadly, Naomi and I were both really hungry, so we headed home before the fireworks started.
The thing I'm really saddest about is that I missed out on the big burning ceremony. They take a witch effigy and burn it to symbolize the end of winter. It's really quite fascinating. But Naomi had plans to leave early in the morning and Tammy had gone to one somewhere else, and not knowing exactly where it would be, I didn't want to wander around in the dark among the drunken crowds on my own. (sigh)
I asked my class about the celebration last night and learned some more details. Every village has a special tree that they must protect. It only has branches at the top, and there is a large wreath with streamers hanging from it. The young men are supposed to stay up all night and guard it from boys from other villages who want to come and chop it down.
The final celebration of the holiday has to do with kissing. Girls are supposed to be kissed today beneath the cherry blossoms or the birch trees. Those who are not kissed are destined to have a "dry" year. Hmmm...guess we all know how things are going to go for me in the next year in that case...

Weekend Get-A-Way

Can I just say how amazing it is to live in a place where I can travel to amazing little hide-aways at the drop of the hat for the weekend? It's easy to get all worn down in the day to day living here, but the weekends can provide such amazing bliss. This was definitely one of those weekends.
Several months ago my friend Nicole had received an article from her dad about the little Medieval city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. She was determined to see this jewel of a city, and was nice enough to include me in her plans. My friend Crystal, who lives in Sokolov about 45 minutes away, was also able to join us.
Rothenburg is only about 4 hours away by train, and the trip really flew by. I think that was due, in part, to all the transfers we had to make. The great company helped as well. In Germany we are able to buy a cheap train ticket that can cover up to 5 people, so it really cuts down on travel costs when you're able to drag more people along on these little expeditions.
We arrived in Rothenburg at about 6PM Friday evening. After making our way to our incredible hostel:

We were ready to take on the town with our cameras. At every turn there was another wonder to behold, and Crystal and I were more than happy to keep our digital cameras active. Nicole, with her good old classic film camera, had to be a bit more cautious about what she chose to capture, and was constantly exclaiming over all the wonders she couldn't possibly pass up!



This last picture is over a butcher's shop, and I had first seen it in the article Nicole showed me, so I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take my own photo of it.
After wandering the city streets for a while, we passed through an archway in the ancient wall and found ourselves in a magnificent garden. I took about a bazillion photos here, but I'll keep my numbers down for now ;)



The views were really amazing, and we had no doubts in our mind about why this is one of the stops on the romantic road. We took in the sunset and headed back to the hostel to call it an evening.
After our evening of exploration we were ready to head to bed early so we could get up and go all day on Saturday. It's important to take advantage of every moment on these weekend excursions. Even I, who generally refuse to even look at my bed until after 12 on a Friday night, conceded to turn in early. Unfortunately, the two young American girls who were sharing our room had not yet learned ANYTHING about hostel etiquette. They were sitting at a little table in the room talking with the lights on until well after 12 despite the fact that everyone else in the room was trying to sleep, and there was a small room outside of the sleeping room where they could have gone. To make matters worse (as if the hard bed and lumpy little pillow weren't doing their best to keep me from sleeping) I was awakened by "Let's Get It On" at 5 AM. After the first line it was silenced until the returned ten minutes later, and every ten minutes after that until about 5:30 when the girls finally managed to get out of bed so they could bang chairs around and dig through the plastic bags they'd filled their backpacks with in order to make every moment as loud as possible. Just to make it all even more interesting and varied they said the word "like" incessantly. Good times with those little Americans to be sure. I had to fight the urge and give them a little piece of my more experienced traveling knowledge. Helpful tips like, "if you don't want everyone you stay with to HATE you, you might consider having everything ready to go the night before, etc." Grrr!
Needless to say, we were up and showered well before they started serving breakfast at 7AM. The breakfast was spectacular I must say. Were it not for the bad roommates, the hostel was truly terrific. Since they can't exactly refuse people just because they're annoying, we really can't make any complaints. Well except for the fact that I've now clearly entered old age and am no longer young enough for any sort of youth discount. Only Crystal got to enjoy the baby privileges. (sigh)
After stuffing ourselves on semmels with meat and cheese and/or chocolate and lovely lattes we headed out to take in the wall. The old city of Rothenburg is surrounded by this ancient wall that was built a considerably long time ago (can't find an exact reference as to when at the moment) and sections damaged during WWII have now been restored so you can walk most of the way around the town on the wall. The view was so incredible that I got downright snap happy. Here are a few shots so you can feel like you were there too!




Are you getting a feel yet for just how incredibly picturesque this place is? Honestly, I took over 200 photos in less than 48 hours. Pretty ridiculous if I do say so for myself. Anyone thinking of checking out all my pictures when I get home are in for a rather excruciatingly long treat! We spent the whole day just wandering around the city. It's the sort of place that I can't imagine real people living in. If I were to live some place like this I would fear that there would come a point where I would stop being in awe, and would take for granted just how beautiful and historic it all is. It's so easy to do that. But for these few days we were able to maintain the awe.

For the sake of saying something

I don't know that I really have a whole lot to say just now. I just feel like I should post something. It's a nice day out today. I'm really thankful for that. I walked down by the river on my way to work today, checking out all the visiting birds and the newly budding trees. I think Spring really is doing it's best to take on Cheb. Slowly but surely. There was a man fishing with two poles, and I saw a pretty big fish jump, so there must be something decent out there. I watched the ducks lazing by the side of the river. I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of ducklings. There were mostly drakes out, so there is hope that somewhere, hopeful mother ducks are sitting on their eggs to protect them from whatever crazy weather might be thrown in their direction this time of year.
I walked up by the castle (it's always so fun to be able to say that!) and made my way past my hopeful future dwelling place and through the square. It was warm enough I had to take off my coat even. Yes, there is hope yet that there will be positive changes in the weather.
I'm in the office now. Oh the joy. Have some lessons that need planning, and a quarter of a can of coke I need to finish off, possibly with a Cadbury egg from Julie Sousa :) My dentist students about had a conniption fit when I told them I drink a can of soda every day. Sometimes more...They're sure my teeth are all going to rot out of my head. Reminds me of the dentist I had as a kid who wouldn't let his kids have any sugar on their cereal, and told Dad he should give up eating fruit! As if! So maybe coke isn't the healthiest choice, but I just love the burn as it runs down my throat, all cold and hot at the same time. And then there's that little kick that I keep telling myself the caffeine gives me.
Kelly, our leader from Prague, is in town today to sign our contracts for next year. It's pretty official by this point. As if it wasn't already before. I've got another year stretching out ahead of me, and it's hard not to spend most of my time wondering how things will be next year. I really want to take these days, one at a time, and enjoy them for the moments they are, rather than comparing them with how they might be different next year. Living in the moment is a whole lot harder than it sounds!

It's the weekend and I'll sigh if I want to.

With relief that is. It's been a long week. The first bit was normal, but Wednesday sort of threw things into an uproar. I'd just been having an excellent time helping Tammy enjoy the amazing clothing sale going on at my favorite Cheb store, Kenvelo, when we were first warned of a subbing job. Now let me just say, that I've done my fair share of subbing, and the thought of doing more wasn't exactly high on my to-do list. In fact, I'd told Tammy I wouldn't do it. But, as usual, when it came right down to it and Kate asked me, I said yes. I'm such a sucker.
I'd actually subbed for this class before, around Easter time and they were REALLY quiet. This time, I had two different students and one of them was quite the live wire. Oh the memories of Alaska. At least they talked a bit. And they didn't even seem to mind when I made them play Simon Says. Not always the biggest hit with 12 to 15 year olds, but it worked.
When I was done I had only an hour to make sure my evening classes were all in order, which meant I had no time to plan for Thursday. Generally I'm pretty good at planning a day in advance, so when Kate also informed me that she would be coming to observe my teaching on Friday, meaning I would need to plan both for Thursday and a Friday review all in one day I was a wee bit stressed. Especially because we also have our Czech class on Thursday. (sigh)
Needless to say Thursday was very long, and since I didn't sleep much last night I was a bit concerned about how my observation would go today. The students are at the point in the year where they're pretty much done with class. They're currently doing a book to prepare for a test, but it's almost exactly the same material as what we covered in the book they just finished, so the review can be painstaking at times. I mean, who wants to repeat the same information twice in one year? All the same, they managed to look alive and cooperative, and they even wrote things down when I asked them to (an activity that tends to draw groans and rolled eyes on other days) and in the end Kate told me it was a nearly flawless lesson! Pretty high praise coming from her to be certain.
So now I'm happy to announce that it is the weekend. I can stop thinking about classes for at least the next 48 hours, and just enjoy life.
One more point of interest, I learned today that my new teammate will be a girl named Laura Myers. So far all I know is that she is from Kansas and has a degree in English Education. Sounds promising thus far. I'm really looking forward to getting to know more about her. And on that note: Happy WEEKEND!!!

Bring on the ducklings!

I have to admit I'm super excited about Spring. I can't wait to see new life peeking out from the ground and the tips of tree branches, small heads poking above the edge of the Stork's nest outside the school windows, and little ducklings following their mothers down to the river. It fills me with a thrill that I can't quite explain. The beauty of renewal. The freshness of beginnings. Not to mention my hope in the warmth of the sun.
At the same time, in the midst of all this burgeoning new life, I have also seen the sinister side of nature. This morning the sidewalk was littered with corpses, small bodies strewn in careless disarray. Some still wriggled with life, seeking solace from their hopeless exposure. Others had lost the will to live altogether. Bits and pieces curled helplessly, nearly unrecognizable. Those who had died first were smashed in places, the wounds swelling up in bulbous pustules, bloated and lumpy. I could scarce contain the urge to vomit as I did my best not to step on any of them. The macabre scene was not the way I wanted to begin my day. But such is a commonplace experience in Spring.
I couldn't help but ask myself why. Why would the surrender themselves to such hopelessness? Why forgo the pleasures of life and security within the confines of the soft earth for the harsh reality of death on the sidewalk? We generally associate Spring with life, but all around me I saw only death and dying.
How fortuitous that I am not a worm. But do I sometimes expose myself to things equally as harmful? Am I drawn by the cool temptation of the rain to entertain a life that will lead only to brutal ruin? A little food for thought as the temperatures rise...
But even in the midst of this darker side I'm still filled with the hope of something more. Something better by far. Despite the candy coated offerings of the world, there is good to be found. There is an abundance of joy in my heart as I look forward to Spring, and further still into summer.

When it rains it pours

and I write a little more frequently. Our stellar weather has gone all April on me, and we've been having what I described to my class as "torrential downpours." Fortunately they've been fairly sparse. Rather like afternoons in Hong Kong, only a WHOLE lot colder. At least there hasn't been any more snow this week.
During a break in the clouds, Tammy and I went on a little outing with a few of our students today. When they got out of class they invited us to come along and try out the bumper cars with them. A small impromptu carnival has been set up in the parking lot, reminiscent of small town USA complete with Haunted House, spinning swings, and a Lion King ride with substitute animal characters that would look very out of place in a jungle.
The guys weren't sure if it would be open or not, given the weather and time of day, but they were certain that the prospect of making a few krowns would undoubtedly encourage them to start things up for us. Sure enough, the entire place was looking like a ghost town when we arrived. A large dark German Shepherd let us know that this was his turf we were trespassing on.
A man, in typical carnie attire, came over to us and said something in Czech - no surprises there. Henry convinced him that we were paying customers, and that it would be worth his while to let us go a couple of rounds. What fun! Having "invited" us, the Martin and Zbynek paid for the first round of rides, then Tammy and I turned the tables and offered to pay for the second. It was a total blast. I don't remember the last time I was in bumper cars, but I wouldn't mind hitting the place up again before they leave in a couple of weeks. There are some very exciting head on collisions, as well as some great side shots. I really do miss my car!
After two rounds we thanked the man for letting us take the cars for a spin, and headed back to the school. In all, it was a great little interlude before getting back to the work of the day, and before the Heavens burst forth with rain once more.