Mama, Mama I'm coming hooooome...

When I can't find the words to express my feelings or circumstances, I often turn to the great Ozzy Osbourne for inspiration. Once again, he has come through for me:

"Times have changed and times are strange
Here I come, but I ain't the same
Mama, I'm coming home"

On July 2nd, I'll be returning to the United States as originally planned. However, I'll be staying there...which definitely wasn't part of the original plan. Due to some unforeseen Visa issues, I'm being "politely" asked to leave the country and am not allowed to return to Europe for 90 days. The plan is to leave before I get the official deportation order - sort of like quitting a job right before you know you are about to get fired. Sneaky.

After two weeks of crying and trying to find a way around my imminent deportation, I've accepted that my time in Prague is being cut short and am focusing on the positives. I really wanted to get two things out of this adventure: 1) Get back to being the "old Emily" who was happy and jolly and excited 2) Figure out what I want to do with the rest (or at least next stage) of my life. Honestly, I feel like I've done a pretty good job accomplishing those two things. My time in Prague has no doubt been challenging but I've learned to function (quite well if I do say so myself) in a foreign country, discovered a talent for charades (for those times when my mastery of 7 Czech words just isn't enough), conquered my fear of Tesco, snapped out of my "I don't have the energy or desire to date" funk and, most importantly, developed a love of teaching. I really do love my job and will miss my students so much! I'm hoping to continue teaching when I return to the States. Fingers crossed...or thumbs held as my Czech friends say.

So...one month left in this amazing city! I will definitely miss it. My job, my students, my friends, the pivo, a certain manfriend that I enjoy spending time with, the ease of public transportation - I could go on and on...but now a new adventure awaits! Things happen for a reason, right?

Here's me at the American Embassy preparing to beg them for help. Their idea of "help" was telling me to get the hell out of the Czech Republic as soon as possible.

Rhymes with Dirty Nun

Tomorrow I will be SOLIDLY in my thirties. The past year has just been a test run...tomorrow is the beginning of the real deal. 31. When I turned 30, nearly everyone who had already reached that milestone said "Oh my thirties have been the best years of my life so far!" or something to that effect. Ok life...I'm ready! 30 was a roller coaster year. I like to think that 31 will be a bit less bumpy but I'm not so sure my current lifestyle lends itself to stability. We'll see how it goes!

Last night, I celebrated with sushi and bowling! A few weeks ago, one of my friends from home said "Do your Prague friends understand how important your birthday is?"...she knows me pretty well. :) Good news - we had an amazing time and they didn't disappoint! (well there was one person who did but it didn't come as a surprise) There were flowers, traditional Russian toasts, singing, dancing...and now my apartment smells suspiciously like cake so I have a feeling that the celebration isn't over! Woo! Mama and Daddy are coming to Prague on Thursday for a birthday visit and I am REALLY excited about it! Happy Birthday to me!


The waiter gave me a beer, a rose and a stick of gum in honor of my big day.


Serious bowlers.


Serious sushi.

Presidents, Giraffes, Communism and Men with Jacked Up Teeth

Easter Monday is a national holiday in the Czech Republic...a country that is 75% athiest. I don't get it but I'll accept it. I needed a long weekend! Been a bit down in the dumps here lately for no good reason. Perhaps the newness of living in a foreign country has worn off and now instead of being excited by all the little differences, I find myself becoming a bit annoyed. And there is the fact that my lifestyle is pretty much completely different than it was 4 months ago. Three roommates, eratic work schedule, no Chick Fil-A, no option of picking up the phone and talking to my best friends every day and very little money. But hey, this is what I signed up for! I'm sure I'll snap out of it soon and be back on Team Prague in no time. The lovely Spring weather is definitely a mood booster and Pam and Marshall will be here in a few weeks for a birthday visit....woohoo!

Here are some pics of what I've been up to lately - Weekend in Berlin (yes, that's me climbing over the Berlin Wall. classic.), Obama in Prague, Czech National Hockey Playoffs (Go Slavia!) and the Prague Zoo. I've tried for 20 minutes to get these pictures in nice, orderly rows but it isn't working! ahhhhhhhhhh...

Another First!

I just experienced another "first"...snow in my bed! I've been sick for the past couple of days so I opened my bedroom windows to let some fresh air in. Fresh air kills germs, right? Next best thing to Lysol! "It's nice and sunny - almost a spring-like day," I thought. About 30 minutes later, I was in the living room trying to function like a normal, healthy human being (sitting on the couch rather than lying in the bed) when I glanced out the window and saw a blizzard! I came back in my room to discover snow on my bed!!

It's pretty and all but did the weatherman in Prague not get the message about SPRING?

No Shirt, No Shoes? Come Right On In!

Last week was all about boobs. Yes, I said it...boobs.

It all started on Wednesday afternoon. There I sat with my two students, both girls about my age, working on a vocabulary lesson. Sort of a "find the one that doesn't belong activity". We got through the whole exercise with no problems and then came to #10. The words were 'gaffe' 'faux pas' 'boob' and some other word that had nothing to do with the first three. The only word they knew was "faux pas" so I had to explain the other two to them. Gaffe -a mistake, blunder, blah blah blah. And then on to boob. Boob? I've never used the word "boob" in my life to refer to anything other than, well, a boob. So I struggled through the PC definition and then said "Ok look - so the most common use of that word in American English is to talk about these" and pointed to mine. They laughed and laughed. It was only fitting since in the previous lesson I had to point out a difference in British and American English when Marta said "Hold on - I'll go to my office and get a rubber" and then returned with an eraser.

So then on to Thursday. It was a very long day. I usually only have two classes on Thursday but had picked up a few substitions for extra money. I had plans to meet Anya, one of my flatmates, for a drink at our neighborhood Irish pub on my way home from class at about 8pm. Now this is the SAME pub we went to last Thursday night so I expected that it would have the same basic atmosphere as last time. How silly of me! I got there first, sat down and began looking over the menu...not noticing anything out of the ordinary. The waitress came over and asked for my drink order in Czech and, as I looked up to give it to her, I came face to...er...nipple with her bare chest! She was topless!?!!? All of the other waitresses were wearing shirts. Did she just forget? Was it laundry day? Now she did have a piece of fabric across her back with two sleeves attached. Not showing her arms...so modest of her. Despite the somewhat shady atmosphere, the spaghetti was excellent!

It has to be over, right? Oh no. Friday. More boob. I had about 30 minutes to kill before class so I went for a walk and came across Kavarna Cirkus (Circus Cafe). PERFECT! A nice relaxing spot where I can have a cup of tea and make my grocery list. I noticed an odd ramp at the entrance but didn't really think much of it...I just thought ramps at cafe entrances would be the next addition to the long list of things I don't understand in this country. I walked up the ramp, opened the door and BAM...you guessed it - boobs. Evidently, Kavarna Cirkus is a coffeeshop for women to come breastfeed their babies while their other children run wild. The ramp was for strollers...makes total sense now! I wasn't going to let a few snacking babies stop me - I sat down in the corner and enjoyed my tea, all the while deflecting curious, somewhat annoyed stares from the La Leche League. Single, childless women need tea too, dammit!

And Saturday I went to a strip club.



kidding.

Dreary (but fun!) Dresden

Since we've all spent most of the last two months within the city limits of Prague, some of my fellow teachers and I decided to bust out this weekend and go explore a new city and, for Anya and I, a new country. We took an early train to Dresden, Germany on Saturday morning and returned late Saturday night. Despite the unbelievably cold/rainy/windy/dreary weather, we took in the sites and enjoyed an amazing traditional German meal! Here are some pictures from the day -

I Apologize You

I'm back...

I've had a lot going on lately and not a whole lot of energy/motivation/brainpower for blogging. My sweet PaPaw passed away on Feb. 15th so I made an unexpected trip home to be with my family. I missed my first week of teaching but, after two deaths in one month, home was EXACTLY where I needed to be! It was great to have our whole family together (cousins and all) despite the reason. My grandmother was blessed with total lucidity for the few days surrounding the funeral so she was able to tell stories about Papaw that I'd never heard before, which was very sweet. As much as I loved being there, I really hope I don't have to make any other unexpected trips home while I'm living abroad. Rough year so far for the Ledbetter clan!

I returned to Prague on Sunday, Feb 22nd and started teaching at 7:30am on Monday morning. Nothing like a little jet lag on your first day of work to make you forget how nervous you are! So far, so good! Despite the early mornings, I look forward to my classes - my students are interesting, they want to learn and are they also really appreciative. And they like me...they really like me! (Isn't that what life is all about anyway?) They say funny things like "Eh...that's not really my cup of coffee," (rather than tea) and "I apologize you. I need go peepee" and "Thank you (elevator door closes, reopens). Bye bye (elevator door closes, reopens again). Have a nice day." I love that I am helping these people! While my previous job provided for a much higher standard of living, I never really got that warm and fuzzy "I'm really doing something great for people" feeling that I have now...it's all about the trade off. Now if I could just find someone to provide the standard of living to which I've become accustomed while I teach people the difference in pronunciation between photograph and photographer all day, I'd be set!

I'm sure I'll be singing a different, much more jaded tune at some point in the future, but for now just let me be naive and happy dammit!

Thank you. Bye Bye. Have a nice day.