Interviews are over and all went well. Not scintillating conversation but when all you talk about is phenomes and elision, what's left to say. The lady from Trinity was very nice. We are now certified by Trinity College of Oxford to teach English as a foreign language. Look out students.
Our last few days in Prague were busy. So many souvenirs to buy and so little time. We took a day trip to the town of Karlsbjrg. It's claim to fame is a picturesque castle sitting on a craggy hill over looking the the quaint little souvenir shops that seem to make up the entire village of Karlsbjrg. It was 45 minute train ride from Prague with trains rolling through every half hour. It was quite quiet the day we visited but I expect that it can be quite a busy place in the high season. It was cold and windy and castles are not exactly energy efficient. Did not spoil the day as the castle was awsome. Once a facility guy always a facility guy.
We woke up Friday, our departure day to find Prague completely fogged in. Ohoh! Hey, we don't fly out for five hours, no problem, the fog will be gone by then. OhOh! We arrived at the gate for our flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver 10 minutes after the flight left the boarding gate. Seems the fog in Prague is denser that other places and so our flight for Frankfurt departed two hours late. Re-booked for Calgary and we only lost 2 hours. Whoohoo! Flight was great arriving to Calgary on time and in the middle of a blizzard. OhOh! Boarded the Vancouver plane 45 minutes late then sat on the tarmac for 80 minutes waiting to be de-iced and the blizzard getting worse. We eventually depart for Vancouver. Flights great, on time to Vancouver arriving in a blizzard. What the hell! It's April for pete's sake. Global warming my ass! Our 14 hour travel time from Prague became 25 hours. Ah but the fun is not over. The snow continues to plague us as we drive from the airport to downtown Vancouver then out to the wilds of Surrey/Langley to find our hotel. Finally a small blizzard to complete the cycle as we drove home through the Hope Princeton highway. Whoohoo! We are home!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
How Do You Spell /rilef/
Week four has come and gone, two more projects handed in and just the 15 minute interview with the Trinity moderator standing between us and a Trinity CertTesol designation. Will it have all been worth it. Only time will tell. We certainly haven't become expert English teachers but at least now we have some jargon to spout as well as write in phonemes. If anything we can sound almost like an English teacher. The real training will come when we are teaching our own students and not the guinea students that volunteer for the Oxford evening classes where we hem, haw and stutter our way through a lesson in things like using the passive form. I use it all the time but never had to think about it. Some of these students have been taking courses for years and nothing is worse then trying to teach your class something that most of them know better than you. On the whole the experience has been worth it but there were times that we weren't too sure.
We had the entire weekend to explore Prague. We did a quick re-visit to Prague Castle and then on to some palaces, monastaries, churches, an imitation Eiffel tower and finishing off with ride on a 100 year old funicular. That was just Saturday. Today, Sunday we have visted the old Jewish section of Prague. Wearing a yarmulka with no hair was a challenge. One look up and the darn thing slipped off my head and on to the floor. Wearing a yarmulka, is why most Jewish men have good heads of hair. The Jews have lived in Prague since the 13th century. We visited the Old/New Synagogue buit in 1257. It is called the Old/New because they built a new New Synagogue which burned down shortly after it was built. The Old/New synagogue was home to Rabbi Lowe. You may not remember him, but you might remember his creation, the GOLEM. The Golem was a creature created from clay by the Rabbi to help protect the Jews during one of the frequent pogroms. The Golem went a little off and had to be destroyed by the Rabbi. They say that the Golem was the inspiration for Frankenstein's monster.
When we had had enough, we jumped on to the Metro and hit the Prague suburbs for a little malling and exploring. Ikea was our destination as Nonie wanted to replace a plate form the apartment that we had chipped. The burbs are the same as you would see anywhere but with one big difference, no single family homes. The burbs consist of block after block of apartments. Not very esthetic but certainly functional. The malls on the other hand are the same, just the names have been changed so franchise fees don't come into play. Places such as Cotton Ujenny and the Gip along with the Gip for Children. The mall included a huge entertainment complex with golf, bowling, billiards, 8 movie screens, bars, the ever present McDonalds and a KFC. You can buy a beer at the KFC. Great idea, one we should explore for North America. In fact you can buy beer anywhere from the corner store to the kiosk on the street selling hots dogs and bratwursts. Yet despite the easy access to beer you seldom see it flaunted or a huge problem with public drunkeness amongst the Czechs. If we saw any, it was usually a tourist but even then, we have not witnessrd any real problems. Why then in Canada do we hide booze away in bars and pubs. Perhaps if we did not mystify the drinking of alcohol we could have the same attitude as the Czechs. Some beer making lesson would not hurt either.
We had the entire weekend to explore Prague. We did a quick re-visit to Prague Castle and then on to some palaces, monastaries, churches, an imitation Eiffel tower and finishing off with ride on a 100 year old funicular. That was just Saturday. Today, Sunday we have visted the old Jewish section of Prague. Wearing a yarmulka with no hair was a challenge. One look up and the darn thing slipped off my head and on to the floor. Wearing a yarmulka, is why most Jewish men have good heads of hair. The Jews have lived in Prague since the 13th century. We visited the Old/New Synagogue buit in 1257. It is called the Old/New because they built a new New Synagogue which burned down shortly after it was built. The Old/New synagogue was home to Rabbi Lowe. You may not remember him, but you might remember his creation, the GOLEM. The Golem was a creature created from clay by the Rabbi to help protect the Jews during one of the frequent pogroms. The Golem went a little off and had to be destroyed by the Rabbi. They say that the Golem was the inspiration for Frankenstein's monster.
When we had had enough, we jumped on to the Metro and hit the Prague suburbs for a little malling and exploring. Ikea was our destination as Nonie wanted to replace a plate form the apartment that we had chipped. The burbs are the same as you would see anywhere but with one big difference, no single family homes. The burbs consist of block after block of apartments. Not very esthetic but certainly functional. The malls on the other hand are the same, just the names have been changed so franchise fees don't come into play. Places such as Cotton Ujenny and the Gip along with the Gip for Children. The mall included a huge entertainment complex with golf, bowling, billiards, 8 movie screens, bars, the ever present McDonalds and a KFC. You can buy a beer at the KFC. Great idea, one we should explore for North America. In fact you can buy beer anywhere from the corner store to the kiosk on the street selling hots dogs and bratwursts. Yet despite the easy access to beer you seldom see it flaunted or a huge problem with public drunkeness amongst the Czechs. If we saw any, it was usually a tourist but even then, we have not witnessrd any real problems. Why then in Canada do we hide booze away in bars and pubs. Perhaps if we did not mystify the drinking of alcohol we could have the same attitude as the Czechs. Some beer making lesson would not hurt either.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Week Three And It Ain't Getting Any Easier
This Monday after the end of week three saw us handing in another project. This one required us to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the ligusitic, phonetical, grammarical, writing and reading skills of one of our students. It was a killer. With little or no understanding of what we were talking about, we had to write 30 pages to complete the project. Hopefully the instructors can be easily baffled by bullshit. If not, I am in trouble. The project basically ate up our weekend. Just some quick walks around to clear out the cobwebs and see more than the four walls and the loft of our apartment. Our biggest outing was a trip to the laundry
Eating out in Prague is a challenge. Mostly because there is not a block or street or lane or alleyway, or knook that does not have a pub, buffet, cafe or restaurant on it. The one we have been frequenting has a grand total seven tables with three of them sized for two midgets. How can they stay in business?
There are other challenges in picking a place beside where. Price! Depending on location the same meal can cost $6.00 all the way up to $26.00. Beware of table clothes, cloth napkins and bread baskets. They are not free. We discovered this when we went into a nice looking pizza joint with what appeared to be reasonable prices. We ordered two glasses of wine and shared a pizza and one salad. We received our bill and it worked out to over $60.00. Seems that they have a cover charge of $9.00 that is automatically added to the bill. Is this purely a money grab from naive tourists or a way to recover laundry and bread costs. You be the judge.
Don't get me started on surly waiters. I think that they all went to some waiter school in Paris to capture that bored look of disdain when they take your order. Not at our local. No cover charge meant a nice tip from Nonie. We now get a big smile and good service. The food is soso but we feel appreciated and that is all that counts.
Brett and Nonie
Eating out in Prague is a challenge. Mostly because there is not a block or street or lane or alleyway, or knook that does not have a pub, buffet, cafe or restaurant on it. The one we have been frequenting has a grand total seven tables with three of them sized for two midgets. How can they stay in business?
There are other challenges in picking a place beside where. Price! Depending on location the same meal can cost $6.00 all the way up to $26.00. Beware of table clothes, cloth napkins and bread baskets. They are not free. We discovered this when we went into a nice looking pizza joint with what appeared to be reasonable prices. We ordered two glasses of wine and shared a pizza and one salad. We received our bill and it worked out to over $60.00. Seems that they have a cover charge of $9.00 that is automatically added to the bill. Is this purely a money grab from naive tourists or a way to recover laundry and bread costs. You be the judge.
Don't get me started on surly waiters. I think that they all went to some waiter school in Paris to capture that bored look of disdain when they take your order. Not at our local. No cover charge meant a nice tip from Nonie. We now get a big smile and good service. The food is soso but we feel appreciated and that is all that counts.
Brett and Nonie
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Prague Is!
Prague is a walkers city. It is small and compact and if your feet are tired it has a great transit system. The streets in the older sections of Prague are all cobblestone. The sidewalks are made up of smaller stones of different colours whick they make into simple patterns. The cobblestones used in the streets are larger, around 8" x 8". These stones are tricky to walk on as there are significant gaps between each of the stones. These gaps and the dog pooh keeps you pretty busy scanning the ground in front of you. Its to bad, because the beauty of Prague is in many cases above street level. Every second house has some art or stone work decorating the facade. Not just murals, but 20' high statues clinging to the side of building. Churches higher than God intended, I think. This beauty has not been dwarfed by high rises. There are no high rises in Prague Central. (Praha 1) Nothing to remove the feeling that this is an old City.
It's roots go back to the ice age, as Mastadon bones have been discovered nearbye. Around the 10th Century it started to grow with things really kicking off in the 13th Century when the first vestiges of central government made Prague the seat of power. It continues to be the seat of power today but for a much reduced empire now known as the Czech Republic.
The life style here seems pretty laid back. We have not left the tourist zone much, so I cannot say if this chilled out feeling is just here or extends beyond to where the Czech people live. Dress is very casual with hints of Euro style. Very little remains of the Communist era except in the Museum of Communism. A tacky little museum for tourists or a least those of us who remember communism. Prague is a young persons city. It is a favourite destination of other European countries as a great place to hang and chill. The streets are clean and feel very safe. There are a few street people about but I think Penticton has more than what we have seen so far. We keep runnning into the same ones. We are now on a first name basis.!
Brett and Nonie
It's roots go back to the ice age, as Mastadon bones have been discovered nearbye. Around the 10th Century it started to grow with things really kicking off in the 13th Century when the first vestiges of central government made Prague the seat of power. It continues to be the seat of power today but for a much reduced empire now known as the Czech Republic.
The life style here seems pretty laid back. We have not left the tourist zone much, so I cannot say if this chilled out feeling is just here or extends beyond to where the Czech people live. Dress is very casual with hints of Euro style. Very little remains of the Communist era except in the Museum of Communism. A tacky little museum for tourists or a least those of us who remember communism. Prague is a young persons city. It is a favourite destination of other European countries as a great place to hang and chill. The streets are clean and feel very safe. There are a few street people about but I think Penticton has more than what we have seen so far. We keep runnning into the same ones. We are now on a first name basis.!
Brett and Nonie
Thursday, March 27, 2008
More Readin and Ritin Part 2
We are now heavily into our second week. Wow! Successfully handed in our first major assignment. I would estimate that there was over 24 hours put into the project. That is on top of our regular class work and preparing our teaching lessons. We are usually in the school by 9:30 am and don't plan to get home before 8:00 pm. The day starts with course work then we have some preperation time before we starting teaching at 5:00 pm. The day ends with your tutor telling you what you did wrong that day and sometimes what you did right. Picky, picky!
The guinea students are pretty forgiving. They sign on to take the course for a small fee and are aware that we are just learning to teach. The attendance swings quite a bit so you never know how many are going to show up. We have 18 registered but not everyone shows up every day.
We made some time over the Easter weekend to do some sight seeing. We spent some time at Prague Castle. It sits on a prometory that overlooks the City. It was only a short walk across the Charles Bridge and a few hilly blocks to get to it from our apartment. The castle's age runs form the 14th Century to the 20th Century. It was added to and added to till it sprawled over the entire hill. The moat is empty and the castle guards are for show only. I admired some 300 year old graffitti. Coincidently, the people of Prague have continued this tradition to this day and there is graffitti on everything, even the local police station. It is to bad. It really is offensive.
Hopefully I will find some time over the weekend to give you some thoughts on Prague. It is gem!
The guinea students are pretty forgiving. They sign on to take the course for a small fee and are aware that we are just learning to teach. The attendance swings quite a bit so you never know how many are going to show up. We have 18 registered but not everyone shows up every day.
We made some time over the Easter weekend to do some sight seeing. We spent some time at Prague Castle. It sits on a prometory that overlooks the City. It was only a short walk across the Charles Bridge and a few hilly blocks to get to it from our apartment. The castle's age runs form the 14th Century to the 20th Century. It was added to and added to till it sprawled over the entire hill. The moat is empty and the castle guards are for show only. I admired some 300 year old graffitti. Coincidently, the people of Prague have continued this tradition to this day and there is graffitti on everything, even the local police station. It is to bad. It really is offensive.
Hopefully I will find some time over the weekend to give you some thoughts on Prague. It is gem!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Readin, Ritin and
We have survived the first week and it has been marvelous except for that pesky school stuff. The first week of classes have been a challenge. Very intense with lots to take in and assimilate. Thankfully Nonie is an organized person. I would have been expelled by now.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Praha Prosim
For the next five weeks we will be going to school in Prague. One day into classes and I have a headache already. This learnin stuff is mighty vexin!. The homework is already starting to mount up. Why last alone we spent three hours in the pub learning Czech brewing techniques. Perhaps that explains the headache. I believe that I will definitely require more time and effort in this study area. The Czechs are famous for their beer.
The first day of classes was pretty overwhelming but we should be in the groove by the end of the week. More about that in a later post.
Our inbound trip had a three flight minimum. Vancouver to Toronto on time. Toronto to Frankfurt, on time but the sound system from the entertainment system was not working at my seat. I ended up watch foreign films most of the trip so I could read the subtitles and didn't need sound. Frankfurt to Prague, on time and all our luggage arrived. All in all, a good days work.
We arrived to find our little apartment as advertised. The emphasis on little. They must have used a terrific wide angle lens to take the pictures that were posted on the web as the place looked much larger on line. The pictures did accurately describe the place. It is filled with IKEA furniture, dishes and knicknacks. We will be very comfortable here. It is Nonie approved and that is all that matters.
The first day of classes was pretty overwhelming but we should be in the groove by the end of the week. More about that in a later post.
Our inbound trip had a three flight minimum. Vancouver to Toronto on time. Toronto to Frankfurt, on time but the sound system from the entertainment system was not working at my seat. I ended up watch foreign films most of the trip so I could read the subtitles and didn't need sound. Frankfurt to Prague, on time and all our luggage arrived. All in all, a good days work.
We arrived to find our little apartment as advertised. The emphasis on little. They must have used a terrific wide angle lens to take the pictures that were posted on the web as the place looked much larger on line. The pictures did accurately describe the place. It is filled with IKEA furniture, dishes and knicknacks. We will be very comfortable here. It is Nonie approved and that is all that matters.
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