2010

The majority of this year was spent focusing on and achieving a goal. From New Year's day 2010 we knew that we were setting out on a path that would meander into what we hoped would be a stream of possibilities. We began by researching (and by we, of course, I mean Jay) and preparing for our TEFL course. This turned out to require a ton of resources, some of which were so graciously handed to us and some we sacrificed for. We sold more than half of what we owned, packed up what was left, canceled contracts, and put our whole life in two suitcases. This last year I've had walls, barriers, and notions of what we should become shattered. In place of these walls we've seen an greater field of opportunity and blessings than I have ever imagined.

I've had the hardest and best times of my life, as of yet, in 2010. I saw what it meant to achieve goals, what it felt like to feel like a failure, and what it's felt like to pick up and move on to greener pastures. I was advised by a very wise man that I should not judge our success in Prague by finishing the year and that there was success in simply going. I didn't always adhere to this logic, but I've come to repeat this to myself over and over.

The best thing that's happened in this year is how much closer I've grown to Jay. For almost six months he's been the only person on this side of the world who I even like. We've been together almost 7 years now, and in April we will celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary. To see how loyal, supportive, and unfaltering he is truly magnificent. I don't know what next year holds for us, but I know that we will conquer it. We have a better understanding of what we want to happen this next year, and now we have to figure out how to achieve it. It's amazing how learning what you don't want can open your eyes to what you do want.

This year we visited Prague, Berlin, Dresden, Warsaw, Vienna, and Venice. By next year I hope to see that list at least double. I hope to be fluent in Spanish, to be an asset to the business endeavors Jay and I will soon dive into, and to continue to walk these feet around the globe marveling in the beauty of God's creation.

Krasne Vanoce- Merry Christmas

Feeling a huge case of bahumbug this Christmas. Everything is so different from what we would normally do during Christmastime that it's a bit surreal. Normally, we'd be so busy trying to get things ready for our four Christmases that we attend. Yup, just like the movie, we have four Christmases to attend due to the dynamic nature of multiple divorces. And that's just my side of the family- I can't imagine how busy we would be if Jason's family lived on the west coast.
To go from the insane Christmas rush to this is a bit unsettling. We aren't exchanging gifts with each other this year, as money is really tight and we hope to travel next week. So that's a big change, I really love getting Jay presents and seeing his face when he opens them. Our flat is too small to fit a Christmas tree so we don't have it all festive for the holidays. We do have some really cute Christmassy candles that add a bit of flair. Ok, enough complaining. We ARE getting something pretty special for Christmas- two good friends! I can't wait until they are here, it's going to be awesome to share this experience with them. Ashley will be here for a week and Pat for three- like one big sleepover. Though we don't have much Christmas decorations around our flat, this tree is really breathtaking and it just so happens to reside right around the corner...Krasne Vanoce everyone!

Winter Snow

Winter is here! My idea of winter is the Southern California version- 60 degrees and cloudy, maybe 55 degrees on a really cold day, so for this California girl, the proper winter here in Prague feels a bit more like the North Pole(or as the Brits like to call it, Santa's Grotto). Every day I layer up with as many layers as I can possibly get away with and take a deep breath before I venture into the frozen tundra.
We've had snow on the ground for a month now, and it's truly remarkable how beautiful the landscape looks with a blanket of snow, but travel to and from work has been a bit interesting! After a few nasty spills and a trip to the Czech Foreigner's Hospital I have had to rethink my plan for surviving this winter. First, I've increased my walk to work by about 20 minutes to avoid walking down the slippery, unmaintained hills near my work. Second, I've lost all manner of fashion sense and bought some ridiculously expensive winter boots. We have a Christmas party to go to tonight and I'd considered dressing up. There's no way to look cute with shoes like this, I give up! I am eternally grateful for their ability to keep me vertical, however. If I can get back to California in one piece, I will gladly wait to wear my cute shoes.

Autumn

Fall is here in the Czech Republic and it is just beautiful. My walk to work is really stunning because there's lots of trees and wildlife along the way. It's getting cold. Ah I'm scared! Right now it's already as cold as it ever gets in California. I can't imagine what will happen when I experience my first proper winter. The weather here isn't much different than the east coast so I can't be too much of a wimp.
Jay and I have gotten over our funk and are really adjusting to life here. We are just focusing on the good things about being here, of which there are many. I think the reality of just how different this place really is set in and we kind of panicked. Or at least I panicked. I think that we will miss home and our friends no matter where we are. It's strange to feel so removed from everything that was once comforting and familiar. In a way it feels really amazing to be thriving in such a new environment, but every now and then I wonder if I will ever feel the same when I'm back in Redlands. I wonder if after experiencing these different countries and cultures will, in a sense, ruin the appeal of what was once normal. It's crazy how you can adjust to your surroundings when you really put your mind to it. If you had told me two months ago that I would be traveling on the public transportation by myself and walking 20 minutes into the depths of Praha 5 everyday I would've said that you were crazy. Now it's just life.
My mom and sister have been really supportive through this whole thing. I just received a big package with warm clothes, spices, snacks and food from my Mom, sister, brother, Dad, and Aunt which was such a huge blessing. To buy all of the items they sent me here in the Prague it would've cost me my month's salary. So to have all that sent out here was just wonderful.
Jay just had a successful visa appointment in Poland! We were a bit nervous as to whether they would even accept his application and I just received word that he got through it with flying colors. Poor thing had a much more difficult time with this whole process. My work offers full visa assistance and sent me in a nice comfy Volvo with a visa assistant to basically hold my hand through the process. Jay had to take a 10 hour train ride each way and do it alone. We are hoping that he can receive some assistance on the final step of the process which takes place here in Prague with the Foreign Police. The whole thing won't be complete until we register with the Foreign Police in a little less than two months. At that point if we are denied we will have been here waaaaaay past our tourist visa so I'm not sure what happens.
I received so much encouragement from friends and family after my last post and I REALLY appreciate each of you, especially Chad Turner. Your words of wisdom are truly remarkable. Now that this visa trip is out of the way Jay and I are planning our weekend trip. Right now the top two choices are Berlin and Paris. One way or another we are visiting a different country because I have a week off of work and we are going to take advantage.
Speaking of work, I just love the kids in my class. Sure, they make me crazy but it just warms my heart when I hear them speaking English. I'm also understanding so much of what they say in Czech that it blows my mind a bit. I don't know how I understand them but I do. Some are speaking in very short sentences and others use key phrases and fill in the missing details with Czech. When they are changing to go outside to play I hear a lot of "no banana" and "i help."
"No banana" is their way of asking if they have a banana foot (shoe is on the wrong foot). "I help" is their way of asking for help. The way little kids talk is stinking cute, but when they are learning another language it takes on a whole other level of interesting phrases. They tend to put I and me together when referring to themselves, and they include the Czech word with the English word when they are labeling things. Sometimes they just outright refuse to use the English word. Clearly at 3 years old they have life figured out. haha. One of the best things is the way that they say my name. In Czech the ending of your name changes depending on who is speaking to you and what their purpose is. My name usually gets changed to "Anissou" or "Anissi." I don't realize how much they really listen to me until I hear them echoing my phrases or my intonation.
Each weekend we explore a bit more of Prague. Not all of the areas are as nice as where we live. Oh and the highlight of my life happened the day I saw Tom Cruise! Jay earned major points by letting me know about this one. It was so cool, he heard about it on twitter and we went to check it out. Security was relatively lax except for this one man who kept making me move. It was the first time that I understood directions in Czech and pretended that I didn't. Part of the street was filled with tons of crew members and cranes with this zip line running through the street on the second story. They filmed him flying by several times. It was a lot like acrobatics, I was very impressed by the whole thing. He waved at the small crowd watching and said hello from his zip line. The guy standing next to me had a nice camera that took really close up pictures of everything. He probably could have made a lot of money selling them to a tabloid. If you know me and you know how much I love crazy Tom and Katie you know what a treat this was. I hear that lots of movies that are set in Europe get filmed in Prague because it's cheaper. I know for sure the Bourne movies were.
On a much sadder note, I'm really bummed that I'm going to miss my two good friends having their babies. That is probably at the top of my list of reasons I feel homesick. The idea of missing out on seeing their bellies grow and missing the delivery day is just unimaginable. I do have some time off for Easter so who knows, maybe I will be able to come home for a few days and see them. I really wish I could be in two places at once. Such is life.

So, We're Here

I've been meaning to blog for a month but my stupid iPad won't let me so I had to wait until we got our new laptop. This has been quite the month and a half, let me tell you. I spent months and months trying to picture what it would be like to move here and nothing even came close to what it is. There are so many things that I want to talk about to be able to look back on later, I could write a short book. But I won't.
The first few days were really, dreadfully hard. The time change hit us like a truck. We were not expecting 85% of all signs, directions, labels, etc to be in Czech. It made it super hard to navigate, buy food, and read signs. It didn't help that our school was out in the boonies so there was a bit less English spoken than in the center city where they are used to tourists. Everything was hard, and we got lost for a really long time. I couldn't even really enjoy the scenery at first because when you're lost and it's raining and you're walking on cobble stones the buildings around you are the least of your concerns.
We started school two days after arriving and that was, well, kinda lame. I learned a lot from the lessons, but overall I'd rate the school a 6 out of 10. Not impressed with anything about it except for the fact that they had really great instructors who are amazing at what they do. Two weeks into the course I was given the info about a job opening at a preschool. I decided to respond and just see what happens. The director of the school responded within 3 hours and set up an interview for the following day. It was so amazing how it all came together, we were lost and running really late but somehow I arrived at my interview two minutes early. Of course, God is so good. I took the job based on my gut feeling that this was the right thing to do. I knew that I was jeopardizing my TEFL certificate, the whole reason we came here, to accept the position. I signed a year contract and decided that I was in this no matter what. Afterward, I found out that this was the best decision I could have made. The school is highly desired, the pay is great, and I was able to still pass my TEFL course.
Adjusting to life and culture is going to be a process. It's absolutely beautiful here. The architecture, furniture, and landscape is just amazing. The public transportation is super nice, but navigating through the streets is a challenge. Everything has a street name, even if it looks like just a breezeway or a hallway. The roads are crazy. They are all winding and narrow, and Czech drivers are f-ing insane. They will run you over, they don't even care. I was very nearly hit full on by a car the second week here. Interesting fact- the Czech Republic has the highest rate of accidents and hitting pedestrians than any other country in Europe. The cobblestone streets are a bit insane on your feet. Anything but flats is pretty much out of the question.
I'm a bit bummed about my clothing situation. I started losing some weight as soon as we left California. Walking uphill and basically using my legs as transportation has made me drop some pounds. There's a part of me that's stoked, and then there's a part where it really sucks. Clothing is really expensive here, and I don't have much clothing here with me. We need to go into Germany to do some shopping for winter gear here pretty soon. The fashion here is strange, the rich people look really good (but don't they always?) and the regular people are really casual. Half of them look ok, and the other are just straight weird. Capri pants on men, mullets, socks with sandals, etc.
I really love our new flat. It was the first and only place that we looked at. It's located in the heart of Old Town, which has all of the historical monuments and major things in Prague. The owners were amazing, and they were really genuine people. I made the call during our first viewing that we should take it, and Jay agreed. After we'd already signed the lease they made some major renovations to get it in great condition for us. They installed a brand new flat range-top stove and new cabinets in the kitchen. She also bought us new duvets and pillows. And yes, duvets plural because...we have separate beds. I hear this is normal here? Apparently they just push two twins together if you are married. Very strange.
My job is pretty cool. I'm a teacher's assistant at this fancy preschool for rich kids. The school is at the top of, you guessed it, another big hill. It's about a 20 minute walk from the metro station and I hear it's quite fun in the winter time with the snow. Yeah, not so much. It's a huge adjustment to work with such small kids, especially since 13 out of 14 of the kids were not English speakers. It's kinda crazy how it works. We basically just speak English to them and they look at us like we are crazy and babble in Czech. The head teacher speaks to them in Czech about 20% of the time so that they know important stuff like "the soup is hot" and "we are going outside." It's amazing how quickly some of them are picking up English words though. Most say a few short phrases and words and are learning more each day. It's kinda frustrating at times because I really want to be able to interact with them like normal but I think that the system definitely works.
As for how we are adjusting now, I'm a bit hesitant to share. Mostly because a bunch of people
talked so much crap about how we would hate it here even though they knew nothing about this place and probably couldn't find it on a map. But I refuse to lie, so I will share about how we are currently doing.
It's been really hard for the past couple of weeks. The school/class in the first month was super hard because it took all of our time. Now it's hard because we are more settled and have some routine and are suddenly feeling super isolated. I really wish that we would have chosen a Spanish-speaking country so that we could make friends and conduct day to day business in a language we were familiar with. I'm missing home a lot. I think the greatest desire is for something familiar. When I see ingredients or instructions on packaging in Spanish it makes my day cause I feel like I kinda know what's going on. We hear many unintelligible languages everyday and Spanish is like a breath of fresh air.
Our visas are still completely up in the air so who knows? As a backup, we have decided that if either, or both, of our visas don't go through we will go back home for a couple months and save money and then try again in a Spanish-speaking country. Buenos Aires would be our first choice. There's 3 steps to a visa, and I am in my first step. Unfortunately Jay can't begin his first step until the October 6 as his work required a 30 day trial before signing an official contract. So he's just over a full month behind me in the process which is a bit scary. If his does not go through I will definitely not being staying alone for 3 months while he goes home before he can enter the Schengen zone again. Not happening.
We are definitely in make it work mode. We knew that some parts would be hard, but walking it out in real life is a whole other story. I still believe that we made the right choice to come out here. 1) We got our TEFL certificates which are a great asset to our future travel/teaching. 2) We actually put our money where our mouth was and made it happen.3) It broke up the monotony of routine and gave us an opportunity to see parts of the world that we may never have seen.
I don't believe that everything in life comes easy, so this is no different. We just started looking at tickets to Paris in the end of October and we might go to Austria in October as well. Going to Paris would pretty make my year so I'm looking forward to that. Juliana told me that she heard in a yoga class that "the key to peace is to maintain joy and sadness at the same time." I think about this every single day. It's so much easier to focus on the sadness, and shouldn't it be the other way around?
As far as food goes, it's really not much more of a problem here than it is at home. In some ways it's a bit easier. We have three great vegan restaurants within 1.5 miles. One is directly across from our flat which is pretty awesome. Vegan food is a bit different. They don't really use the processed veggie meats like we have in the states. It's all based on tofu, legumes, and whole grains. I think that this has helped both of us to trim down too. Of course there's a lot of places that don't have vegan food, but not really much more than back home. We eat loads of bread, just tons. They have freshly baked mostly dark breads here that are fantastic. They aren't super processed and always have nuts and whole grains in them. We eat so much bread and potatoes you would think we would be giant by now.
I already talked about some of the language issues. A really cool aspect about the languages spoken here is that it's truly a huge mixture of a ton of different ones. We are getting better at distinguishing between which ones we are hearing.
The public transportation is wonderful. The metro/subway takes us in all directions of the main parts of Prague. There's also trams that take us other places but you have to really know where you are going for that. Finding places can be a total nightmare sometimes. Their addresses don't go in numerical like we are used to (or the logical way). On any street you can have number 264, 5, 13, and 49. How they do this I have no idea.
There's so much more to say about this place and our experiences here, but I think this is the gist of it.

In Transit

These past few weeks have felt like a whirlwind. So much preparation has gone into this move that it feels so weird to not have one million things to do anymore. Jay did such a great job organizing the business side of things, and that took months of planning on his end. This move felt like moving x5. All the shit that you end up throwing in a box cause you don't know what to do with it had to be dealt with before we left. Our storage unit is a lot more full than we thought it would be but we still did pretty well. Three pieces of furniture and 11 regular size storage bins later, our whole loot of worldy possessions are sitting inside of Stow Away Storage.
The night before we moved was so, so, so hard. We had all of our close friends come by for a lovely dinner catered by Phoenicia thanks to the Kivetts. Hanging out was fun, but knowing all the little things we had to do kept us a bit distracted. After everyone left was so stressful because we finalized all of our packing only to realize that all of our bags were over the 50lb weight limit. Mind you all of our stuff was already in storage so we no longer had bins to throw stuff in or any reasonable means to take care of these loose ends. At 1 in the morning it felt like the world was ending. We were so exhausted and emotionally drained from all of the goodbyes. In the end I got about 3 hours of sleep and Jay got about 2.
I saved the worst part for last. I was dreading, absolutely dreading, saying goodbye to Juliana. All of the goodbyes sucked a bit, but this one was the worst. Well, maybe it ties with saying goodbye to my mom at the airport. I'd been trying to prep myself for it for weeks but I knew nothing would make it better. I did ok during the actual goodbye part, but when she closed her car door and they were about to drive off I felt like someone punched me in the stomach and I didn't even want to stand. Poor Jay was standing there with me as I bawled. It's not that I felt like I wouldn't see her again, it was the companionship and everyday things I was going to miss. The idea of not seeing her and Scarlet about every two days is just unfathomable. God I miss her already. Saying goodbye to my mom and sister was really hard. Luckily they were short goodbyes cause otherwise I might not have survived them.
This time in Pennsylvania is going by dreadfully slow. We geared up for all these goodbyes and this new adventure and then there's this lull before all that actually happens. It's funny because I already feel like I'm in a foreign place. Our propensity for drinking coffee and eating vegan food and pretty much anything normal that we did is not received well here. I guess I better get used to it. I'm looking forward to Wednesday, it looks like my dream will come true afterall and we will go to New York city before we fly out. It is still undecided exactly where we will stay, but if my instinct serves me correctly I envision a trip to Red Bamboo and some great coffee in our future. Hallelujah! I could use something to cheer myself up.

2 Months and Counting

A lot of people ask me if this time is flying by, but really it isn't. Perhaps if I had a lot going on, like Jay, I would feel that way. There hasn't been a whole lot of progress in terms of preparing to leave. We did find a really cool language program to help us learn some Czech words. It has some games and it associates every word with a picture so it's much easier to learn than just writing out words on flash cards. I do, however, need to seriously kick it into gear if I expect to be able to survive in the next 2 months. I know that they speak a lot of English out there so I'm sure we'd be fine, but with the way my husband likes to talk to people I'm sure we'll need more than a few Czech words.
Lately I've been trying to concentrate on really taking in and being appreciative of each phase of life that I'm going through. For instance, we just celebrated our second year of marriage. It struck me that we would never go through the newness of marriage in the same way as these last two years. We won't ever go back to the first apartment we had together, or figure out how to sleep comfortably in the same bed. We won't plan our first trip out of the country. It makes me feel grateful for this time even when I feel like I'm ready for the next thing. Jay and I both have this sense that this phase in our lives, living in Redlands and working locally, is something that we won't ever come back to. Not that we won't ever live in Redlands again. I think the permanency of this place as "home" will not change. We will gravitate toward this place in waves but we both know we are meant for something different.
We're coming up to our 6th month living at my mom's house and it's been so much easier than I expected. I'm not sure how we would have been able to prepare for this trip without this opportunity. It looks like we will be able to stay here until we leave or very close to the date of departure. Such a relief! It looks like we also have our first two visitors lined up for the end of summer/fall. It's hard to picture what it will be like during that time but I'm so stoked at the possibility of seeing friends in Europe! Na shledanou!