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.