First Student, but Still Waiting for Spring...
Welcome new Andel arrival Christian, from Germany! Lucky guy gets to live in the "girls'" section, because we are running out of room... Lucky for the other (2) girls that I am willing to shack up with a guy;) Raph's pretty good about doing his laundry, though-- can't complain.
I recently put up an ad to teach English, and now have my first student here in Prague. Everyone here is interested in learning "business English," and although he is German, my student is no exception, so I've been brushing up on words and phrases like"Bull market" and "outsourcing." He's a nice guy, and extra income is good, so should be fun:)
I've made a new good friend here (you guys know how picky I am) from work: Hana, a Prague native who got her Masters Degree (and feminist streak) from Georgetown University in D.C., and was a presidential attache for the EU. She is fabulous, my age, and I'm excited to see all the good places her life will go! On a fun side note, her boyfriend of about eight years is an American film editor who recently worked on the "Narnia" film in NZ!
The internet cafe and infamous expat hangout across the street, "Kava-Kava," has started holding open-mikes on Friday and Saturday nights, so last Saturday, I sang. Just two verses from"Can't Help Loving that Man..."-- and I didn't tell anyone!! Even Raph came running in from the next room, saying "I know that voice..." It was good for me. I signed up for a real spot next Saturday.
The "Jeden Svet" ("One World") film festival has been going on this past week, and Raph, Jenny, Erik and I have been trying to see as many films as possible. A lot of them are human rights documentaries, and very provoking. A few examples: "Brother Gordon" documented a Vietnam vet and Harlem native who has spent the last 35 years living as a monk at a rehab monostary in Thailand, "giving lives for lives taken." "Vierka" documented the story of a Roma (gypsy) girl in the CR, with such an incredible singing voice, that a talent scout took her and her entire family in to try and start her career and give them a better life. They disappeared one day without a trace. In "Winter's Children," the grandson of a Third Reich Nazi turns the camera on his own family to try and represent and deal with the repressed and painful denial of the past, to try and reconcile the beloved parent with the murderer. Some of these films aren't in English or German, and only have Czech subtitles, so it can be a challenge! "Sex Slaves" (called "white meat" in Czech)-- which I didn't even have to force everyone to come see-- is on Wednesday, luckily, in English. These films have also got me thinking about the aboriginal situation in Australia. The research I've been reading in this area has been heartbreaking, and Raph and I really want to do something about it...hopefully, we will get the opportunity to.
I finally went to an Irish Pub here, and due to their yummy Shepard's Pie, I'll have to add it to my favourite (non-Czech) restaurant list. And I'm still waiting for Spring. I've been waiting since I got here, as I hear Prague is a completely different (happy?) city come turn of the season. No matter what, we have secured the sun some May, by way of a visit to Turkey, to see my dear friend Elif, who I haven't seen in eight years...
I recently put up an ad to teach English, and now have my first student here in Prague. Everyone here is interested in learning "business English," and although he is German, my student is no exception, so I've been brushing up on words and phrases like"Bull market" and "outsourcing." He's a nice guy, and extra income is good, so should be fun:)
I've made a new good friend here (you guys know how picky I am) from work: Hana, a Prague native who got her Masters Degree (and feminist streak) from Georgetown University in D.C., and was a presidential attache for the EU. She is fabulous, my age, and I'm excited to see all the good places her life will go! On a fun side note, her boyfriend of about eight years is an American film editor who recently worked on the "Narnia" film in NZ!
The internet cafe and infamous expat hangout across the street, "Kava-Kava," has started holding open-mikes on Friday and Saturday nights, so last Saturday, I sang. Just two verses from"Can't Help Loving that Man..."-- and I didn't tell anyone!! Even Raph came running in from the next room, saying "I know that voice..." It was good for me. I signed up for a real spot next Saturday.
The "Jeden Svet" ("One World") film festival has been going on this past week, and Raph, Jenny, Erik and I have been trying to see as many films as possible. A lot of them are human rights documentaries, and very provoking. A few examples: "Brother Gordon" documented a Vietnam vet and Harlem native who has spent the last 35 years living as a monk at a rehab monostary in Thailand, "giving lives for lives taken." "Vierka" documented the story of a Roma (gypsy) girl in the CR, with such an incredible singing voice, that a talent scout took her and her entire family in to try and start her career and give them a better life. They disappeared one day without a trace. In "Winter's Children," the grandson of a Third Reich Nazi turns the camera on his own family to try and represent and deal with the repressed and painful denial of the past, to try and reconcile the beloved parent with the murderer. Some of these films aren't in English or German, and only have Czech subtitles, so it can be a challenge! "Sex Slaves" (called "white meat" in Czech)-- which I didn't even have to force everyone to come see-- is on Wednesday, luckily, in English. These films have also got me thinking about the aboriginal situation in Australia. The research I've been reading in this area has been heartbreaking, and Raph and I really want to do something about it...hopefully, we will get the opportunity to.
I finally went to an Irish Pub here, and due to their yummy Shepard's Pie, I'll have to add it to my favourite (non-Czech) restaurant list. And I'm still waiting for Spring. I've been waiting since I got here, as I hear Prague is a completely different (happy?) city come turn of the season. No matter what, we have secured the sun some May, by way of a visit to Turkey, to see my dear friend Elif, who I haven't seen in eight years...
posted by Michela Illesa at 13:28
1 Comments:
Easy way to hook up business English for your student - The Economist is a good textbook to read to him...
"Ok, today we are going to learn "Output, demand and jobs"...":)
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