I went into the second week of the course brimmed with confidence. I've taught before, this is going to be a piece of cake! Which is perhaps why I fell the hardest out of anyone. I had done hardly any work on my lesson plan by Monday morning. I had an idea of what I wanted to teach, but in this program, we were expected to follow a very stringent teaching structure. I somehow assumed I would be a natural and didn't start worrying about it until Monday afternoon…which is when a brown, paper bag would have come in handy. I prepared my lesson plan which I knew was pretty weak, but hey, I had to show up with something. I got to the classroom early and my observer, Emori, walked in, and asked how I was doing. I burst into tears. I couldn't get a hold of myself for about an hour and a half…basically until it was my turn to teach. It actually didn't go too badly, but it was nice to get it over with. That night I went to the potraviny on my block. A "potraviny" is a small convenience shop that you can find on every block in Prague. I picked up some candy and chocolate, and on my way back I saw this:
YES. A puma. On a leash. Sitting outside a bar. (Bars are also on every corner). I didn't have my camera on me so I ran back to my apartment and grabbed it. Luckily it was still there! I didn't feel too much like a creeper taking a picture, because everyone else was taking pictures, too.
The rest of the week passed in a kind of blur, as stressful times tend to do. Wake up. Lesson-plan. School. Lesson-plan. Quick lunch. School. Lesson-plan. Teach. Homework and lesson-plan.
A break came in the form of a bike ride on Saturday. The school organized this bike ride to a little town outside of Prague called Karlstejn. I don't typically enjoy bike rides, but I didn't remember that until I showed up. Turned out ok, though, even fun! It was great to get away from classes and teaching. We rode along the river, and there were beautiful views of hills and farms covered in autumn leaves. We stopped along the way to grab a snack at a bakery, but the bakery was too full for our group, so we went across the street to a pub. It was like stepping into an old movie, with old men smoking and drinking at 11:00 AM. Most people ordered coffee. I opted to run back to the bakery and get a treat :)
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| The crew is ready to ride |
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| Our indy band cover |
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| Nom nom nom |
Karlstejn was quaint and charming. We grabbed lunch, and while we were eating, we saw a camel across the river! I didn't get a picture, but it was pretty cool. We walked up the hill to the castle, but decided not to pay $8 to actually go in. We took some fun pictures, though! We explored the town a bit, ate crepes, and took the train back to Prague.
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| My new boyfriend <3 |
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| Photo bomb by Hannah |
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| Jasmine was tuckered out. |
