I decided that the proper way to celebrate my 25 fabulous years was a weekend in Barcelona! Melissa and I had a rough start to our trip with a 2 hour delay in Prague airport and landing in the pouring rain, but after some sleep we woke to bright sunshine and the Mediterranean just down the street! In order to see all the highlights of the city we had a very busy few days.. We saw the fantastic architecture of Antoni Gaudi, ate fresh tapas, toured a couple museums and made plenty of time for the beach! Here is a slideshow of pics from our wonderful, tropical holiday.
19 May 2011
18 May 2011
100 seasons celebration
Who knew turning 25 would be so epic?? I was so lucky to have a fabulous birthday (even though it was Friday the 13th this year!) with my students, colleagues and friends here in Prague. I taught a couple of classes, took my post-secondary afternoon class to the zoo, and finished my day off with a picnic in the best Zizkov park in good company.
I took a page out of Wen's book and decided that this year I will make my birthday a week-long event. So I took my last holiday days from work and Melissa and I spent a long weekend in Barcelona- Happy birthday to me!!
04 May 2011
4 May- the day of perfect attendance
It was an IJV miracle. A once in a lifetime experience. ALL of my post-secondary students attended class today!! Luckily I brought my camera to school to snap a class picture for our year-long 'travel logue' project we've been working on for my afternoon class. I never would have guessed that I would need it for my morning class as well-- I absolutely HAD to document the whole group together. So feast your eyes on my 19-21 year old groups of post-secondary students who are lucky enough to have 3 hours of English lessons everyday!!
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| morning post-secondary class |
Back row: Michaela, Jindra, Kristina, Helena, Zuzka, Mira
Middle row: Petra, Jana, ME, Mila, Roman
Front row: Michal, Vojta, Petra, Klara
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| afternoon post-secondary class |
Back row: Isabela, Katerina, Vladia, Vojta
Front row: Michaela, Julia
It was an IJV miracle. A once in a lifetime experience. ALL of my post-secondary students attended class today!! Luckily I brought my camera to school to snap a class picture for our year-long 'travel logue' project we've been working on for my afternoon class. I never would have guessed that I would need it for my morning class as well-- I absolutely HAD to document the whole group together. So feast your eyes on my 19-21 year old groups of post-secondary students who are lucky enough to have 3 hours of English lessons everyday!!
01 May 2011
Čarodejnice- Witches Night
Spring is full of traditions here in the Czech Republic. We have the madness that surrounds Easter followed by a few days of saying 'na shledanou' (goodbye) to winter. The last 3 days of April celebrate the name days of the 3 'winter men', and the story behind it is that these last 3 days of April are the final time for winter weather before gardeners can breathe easy and prepare for the crop season.
In a final celebration to the end of winter they have an extremely pagan celebration on the night of 30 April called Čarodejnice, or Witches Night. Appropriately, the people of the Czech Republic have massive organized parties where they make bonfires and burn witches made from sticks. People dress up in witch hats, cook sausages over the fire, and enjoy the festivities. In Prague there were many organized events and we chose one on the outskirts of the city to attend. It was a nice park and had a live band, tents and booths set up, and a few bonfires going until the thunderstorms set in.
Today, the 1st of May, is the Czech's version of Valentine's Day. People gather on Petrin Hill (where the mini Eiffel tower is) and kiss their loved ones by the statue of the Czech 'love poet', Karel Hynek Macha. It is said that if you don't kiss someone under a flowering tree on 1 May then the girl will turn ugly. Side note- it is also a national holiday reserved for any rallies or demonstrations in their post-1989 life, their Labor Day. What a combo!
In a final celebration to the end of winter they have an extremely pagan celebration on the night of 30 April called Čarodejnice, or Witches Night. Appropriately, the people of the Czech Republic have massive organized parties where they make bonfires and burn witches made from sticks. People dress up in witch hats, cook sausages over the fire, and enjoy the festivities. In Prague there were many organized events and we chose one on the outskirts of the city to attend. It was a nice park and had a live band, tents and booths set up, and a few bonfires going until the thunderstorms set in.
Today, the 1st of May, is the Czech's version of Valentine's Day. People gather on Petrin Hill (where the mini Eiffel tower is) and kiss their loved ones by the statue of the Czech 'love poet', Karel Hynek Macha. It is said that if you don't kiss someone under a flowering tree on 1 May then the girl will turn ugly. Side note- it is also a national holiday reserved for any rallies or demonstrations in their post-1989 life, their Labor Day. What a combo!
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