Hello followers (if I have any left!)
If you are reading this blog to hear about the trials and tribulations of moving abroad, you can simply take the last months' silence as an indication of just what it's like to be an expat. Busy, tiring, with not enough time to even update a paltry little blog, let alone do all the things one actually needs to do - that's what it's been like. But I'm not complaining - if you know me, you know that busy is how I like it best. Until it all finally takes a breather and lets me pause - like it has tonight - and then I like nothing better than a hot bath, my pyjamas and a bit of peace and quiet.
Crikey, the last time I updated this blog I'd just been to watch Zizkov play football! Well, the football's on its Winter Break right now since we seem to be permanently underneath at least 30cm of snow. That match seems an age ago! The snow started falling last weekend, the 28th November, at which time I was spending a weekend in Manchester and so I missed the first flurry. However, as I waited for the tram to take me home after that weekend jaunt, the snow began again at 8pm and did not stop until very very late the next day. We've had a little more on most days ever since, with a substantial amount again today; there is definitely something absorbing about gazing wide-eyed out of the window watching the snow drift down and wrap everything up in its soft white blanket, while you are supposed to be supervising 9De1 German complete their December Levelling Test...
This being the Czech Republic, I am pleased to report that the country seems to cope largely very well with the freezing conditions. The trams work (bar the occasional freezing tracks and digging-out sessions); the metro works (bar the treacherously slippery floors and huge accident potential); the buses work (bar the perpetual threat of road-rage due to the drivers' tendency to drive faster in the snow!). Walking around Prague at the moment is a dangerous game, though: snow and cobble stones do not mix. But hey! I'm certainly living the 'abroad' experience, in that every day is a new and slightly more dicey adventure...
The transport system has failed me once, however. And at a most inconvenient time. There I was last Thursday, after four months' planning, standing on the platform at Hlavni Nadrazi accompanied by 31 twelve-year-olds and three intrepid and shivering colleagues, waiting to board the train that would whisk us off for EISP's first Linguistic and Cultural Visit to Germany. It seemed that the powers-that-be decided right then to unleash the largest amount of train-related chaos imaginable onto the Czech and German railways.
Imagine thus: 1o mins delayed.. 20 mins.. 30 mins.. (at this point we were thankful that our train was not delayed 90 or 100 mins like those before ours on the Departures board!).. platform 3.. RUN, kids! RUN! ... no train at the platform... -10 degrees air temperature... train cancelled. But wait! That's our train over there on Platform 1! RUN, kids, RUN like you really want to go on this trip! Get on the train! That's it, everyone.... oh, train cancelled. Everyone off. Can we change the tickets for the 12.31, since ours was cancelled? Excellent, we can, although the 12.31 already has a 20 min delay and it's not even 12.00 yet. Right, everyone, eyes on the Departures board for further announcements. 30 mins delay, 35 mins... PLATFORM 3!! Let's go! GO GO GO! Everyone on the train? Everyone got a seat? Yes, great. Relax, kids, we might be 3 hours late and frozen solid, but we're on our way to Germany! Except, erm, we're not. The train needs to wait in Hlavni Nadrazi for 60 further minutes due to 'technical problems'. Right, well if we've not moved by 2pm, we need to abandon- our 3 day trip is already down to the best part of 2 days. 1.55pm... the train's moving! Hurrah! We really are off this time now. We lean our heads back in our seats and relax, thanking our lucky stars, as the snowy scenes flash past our windows... aaaaaaand then we stop. Yes, that's right kids, we're going to sit for 40 minutes on the track, all of 5km out of Prague, due to more 'technical problems'. Great. The Fatherland has never seemed so far away.
Finally, after all that palaver and accompanied by 31 very downhearted kids, I made the decision to abandon the trip and return to school. Tails firmly between our legs we trudged through EISP reception, admitting our defeat by the weather. We'll try again in the Spring. I don't imagine Germany is going anywhere fast, and it will probably be a whole lot easier to enjoy a visit once everything's defrosted.
Right, a brief summary then of some highs and lows of the expat life in Prague.
High - a Sunday afternoon walk in Divoka Sarka park on the outskirts of Prague, an hour well spent in the fresh air and Autumn chill just before the snows. Beautiful.
Low - getting my bag stolen a couple of weeks ago from right by my side in a bar, losing the passport, keys, wallet, phone, camera (hence the lack of photos on the blog from now on)...
High - getting most of it back including the vital passport, via a couple of kindly souls on the other side of town :)
Low - three consecutive days spent journeying to the post office to pick up replacement bank cards/travel pass. See an earlier post on how much I detest the post office.
High - getting the 17th November off work for Revolution Day, and using it very profitably for a visit to the countryside and a day's walk to Karlstejn, finishing with a well-earned beer in a Hospoda below the formidable castle. Great scenery, great company. Thanks Dykesie, Nush, Rhian and Jon!
Low - needing a pair of 'sensible winter boots' in order to make my way through the snow without getting frostbitten, soaking ankles.
High - finally finding said pair of industrially grippy boots in the good old Doctor Marten shop (where else, you might ask!)
Low - working a long, long term until the Christmas break
High - Christmas coming early - beautiful Christmas markets; plentiful hot wine stands; and a wonderful Christmas weekend just gone spent planning, cooking and eating Christmas dinner along with 15 of our friends. It's times like that when I feel so at home here, and it's testament to how welcome everyone's made me feel from the start.
It has to be said that there are many more highs than lows so far. I love my job - it's easy, it's fun, it's not without challenges but those are not insurmountable. I love the city - it's stunning to look at, it's easy to get around, it's full of little hard-to-find gems of bars, cafes and restaurants - all the good things in life! I love my friends - the fact that last week I was at parties or gatherings on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights says it all. And I love my little flat - it's cosy right now with all the candles going and the view through the window of the snow coming down. There are a few key people missing - I do miss you, though I find it difficult to say - but they're never far away on Skype, on the phone or by plane - in fact right now I'm preparing for an influx of visitors starting 20th December. So, it's all going well, and life here seems so far to be suiting me just fine.
I just can't wait for those 9 more get-ups to pass, and then I really will be able to let the Prague Christmas take hold!
Festive greetings to all, I wish you less snow, and plenty of winter warmth!
Love to all x
