TEFLing in Prague
9/2/13
Gah. So apparently it's been over two months since the last time I wrote anything, but I've been pretty damn busy, both with class and with other stuff. Not really sure where to begin.
In a nutshell, what I have been doing for work is going around to various businesses around Prague and teaching people, mostly one on one. I work for a school called the Caledonian School (now owned by "Tutor") which is the school I trained with. I've now been weking with them for just over two months and have been generally satisfied. Sometimes it's a bit hectic with scheduling, but it's been all right. On the surface, it looks like I should have loads of free time because my schedule says only "22 hours" per week... But then you have to add in the lesson planning times, and the transit times. I have one lesson that's an hour away, so the transit is literally double the actual lesson time. I'd say I spend maybe 50 hours a week on work-related activities.
But, it has been a very rewarding experience. I get to travel to places in Prague that I would ever have had any reason to go to, and I know the metro system inside and out. I've also been refining my skills every day in both teaching and in the English language. If you thought I was a grammar snob before, it's gotten exponentially worse. The most hilarious bit is when I'm sitting in a pub, drinking some beer with several other people who happen to be English teachers, and we suddenly erupt into debates about the present perfect, conditionals, or the very existence of the future tense in general (IMO there it does NOT exist. "Going to" is present continuous, and "will" is a modal verb. Anyway where was I?)
Socially, it was a bit difficult after the TEFL course. During the course I lived with people who all hung out together so it was great, but since then everyone had either gone off to teach at various camps or had left the country outright. So it was a bit tough for the first few weeks living alone. Finally though, I did some Googling and found a really great English speaking group on Facebook. It's pretty much a bunch of people who get together at the pub every Tuesday and just hang out and speak English. There are people from all over: the Czech Republic, Spain, Romania, India, Germany, Poland, USA, UK... I'm actually one of maybe four or five native speakers who regularly attend. I now go every week and have met some really awesome people, and the group has basically functioned as the core of my social network here in Prague.
I have only managed to get out of Prague on two occasions. I hoped to do so a lot more during the summer but it was hard to find the time. There was always fun stuff going on during the weekends right here in Prague. The first time I travelled up north to an area known as Czech Paradise (for good reason). I went camping with several Czech friends. We did a lot of hiking, hanging out, and even went water skiing. It was a really great weekend. The second time I made it out of here was to what is called "Czech Switzerland," where the Narnia movies were filmed. It was amazing to finally be out in the woods hiking after so much time in the city. I definitely want to go hiking one more time before it gets too cold!
As far as my living situation, it's quite modest. I live in a very small room in a flat with six other people, but that doesn't bother me at all. My flatmates are all great, and the location is absolutely perfect. It's on two of the three metro station and four different trams. There is not a single time of day I can't get back to my flat via public transit from almost anywhere in the city.
Right now I am sitting in a pub drinking a coffee while I wait for a lesson that starts in fifteen minutes. I had the time wrong on my calendar and showed up an hour early, so I decided this would be a good time to catch up on this blog. I certainly didn't cover everything, but now at least you have a general idea of what I have been up to =)
If you are interested in hear more, I am always up for a Skype call! It would be great to hear from some of the people I haven't heard from yet!
Well, better start heading to my next lesson! Hope to check back soon!
-Me