I love it when a plan comes together . . .

Gosh, the last few days have really solidified the reality of this whole thing. Over Memorial Day, I cleaned out all my closets and completely transformed my random "junk room"/second bedroom into a hospitable living space for two children I've never met. I still have a bunch of paperwork to complete, but the housing preparations are pretty much complete. It's pretty amazing! It seemed really overwhelming to get it all finished, and now it's done--who knew?

I've also had an email exchange with a woman who is finishing her Fulbright year in the CR right now, who has offered some really important and useful information about lesson planning, as well as emailed me thirty-or-so files that she created over the course of the past year to use in her classroom. If I am understanding Honza correctly, I will be more of a wandering teacher next year so that all of the upper-level English students, particularly those preparing for their Maturita exam, have the opportunity to practice their English with a native speaker. It just really occurred to me, as I was reading through a set of essays on The Grapes of Wrath, that grading papers will not be a prominent feature of my teaching position next year. While there will undoubtedly be some new challenges and struggles to conquer professionally, it many ways next year is going to kind of feel like a year off--I'll teach fewer classes each day and grade fewer papers. Odd! Exciting, of course, but odd!

I received my packet today regarding the Washington DC orientation at the end of July. I made my travel arrangements today, so I'll fly out on the morning of July 31 from Eugene to DC, and then leave DC on the afternoon of August 3 for Prague, which will be the same day the Machs arrive in Oregon! It's crazy--at the risk of sounding kind of stupid, it's finally occuring to me in a visceral way that this is really happening! I'm going to Europe for a year!

If nothing else, mark your calendars for the evening of Friday, July 27--big party in my parents' backyard!

63 days to go (which will undoubtedly go by in what will feel like five minutes) . . .

Prague!

In my most recent email from Honza, he communicated the thought from his parents that perhaps I might like to spend my first few days in the CR hanging out with them in Prague so that I could adjust a little to the country while having some people at my disposal to offer guidance and keep me company. I don't know why I didn't think of this myself, and I also don't know why this idea has me so excited, but I am! I know this whole next year will be one big adventure, but knowing that it will start out by being focused on what many people feel is the greatest city in Europe sounds really exciting--like a vacation! I'm so excited. Honza's father keeps a second apartment in Prague that he has very generously offered me to use whenever I like and I will spend those early days there as well--I can learn the environs a little and get ideas for future adventures in the city. For those of you, like me, who have never been to Prague, here are some photos to help you understand why I'm so excited!

These two photos were taken from the balcony of the apartment I can use when staying in Prague. The first photo shows Bekov Tower, which is some sort of media tower that people can also climb for views of the city. There are statues of small children seemingly crawling up the tower as an added touch. Several people have told me that the art scene in Prague is spectacular and that I might want to budget generously for purchases of unique and fantastic artwork. The second photo is St. Vitus' Cathedral, all lit up obviously.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!

I think this is the most visited site in Prague--it's the Charles Bridge, spanning the Vltava River. Another suggestion that was made to me is to get up really early to walk across the bridge, before the vendors get set up and the tourist "hordes" take over. Knowing how I feel about getting up early, we'll have to see if I take this suggestion to heart, but I suppose I'll have to try at least once.

This is Prague Castle, as seen from the river--another of the most popular tourist sites in the city. What I really hope for is a day as beautiful as the one Honza experienced while taking these photos to tour the city myself!

Prominte!

A few thoughts after my first lesson in Czech:

1. I cannot roll an 'r' to save my life.
2. Hard 'd' into a rolled 'r'? My tongue does not go that way!
3. I worked on about three sentences for over an hour, and now two hours later I can't remember any of them. This could take a while . . .

I just got a new Czech phrase book as well, so hopefully if I can just get the new consonant sounds down, I'll be able to muddle my way through the grocery store when I arrive at least! We'll see . . .

In other news, I get to go get a tuberculosis test on Wednesday and then the bulk of my paperwork will be completed. Hurrah! Also, I get to spend a weekend in San Francisco for the spring meeting--the urge to shop will probably be overwhelming but I will have to control myself. My 100 pounds of luggage isn't going to go very far as it is!

83 days and counting!