Alright, so I guess I left you in a bit of a depressing place last time, but let me assure you that I am doing much better now!!
After I left Russia, I came to Ostrava and I have to say, although I'm not usually one for believing in "fate"(as our favourite Passions character would put it), I think this is where I was meant to be. It's a really great city - small and polluted, but with loads of character and plenty of things to do and Milka bars available at most stores :)
It also helps that the people I work with are AMAZING!! It's a bit of a boy's club...that is, I'm basically the only girl at the primary school, but it's all good. They are taking excellent care of me - unless you count taking me out for countless beers every night as something else than "exellent care". They are really funny boys, too. Of course, they talk about their genitals more than most people would care for, but I've lived with Jean-Luc for 20 years, so I'm used to it and I can laugh it off.
Since coming to the Czech Republic, I've been super busy. My first order of business was trying to find an apartment. Success! I have some sweet, orange, 70's style couches, a giant closet for my not-so-extensive wardrobe, a bed with storage so I don't have to stare at my luggage every night, and a dishwasher, which I will never use. I also have a gigantic TV for scaring the crap out of myself by watching Criminal Minds in the dark before bed, but I'm still working on acquiring a wire to plug in my computer... so for now, the fear of the dark remains mild.
After finding a place to live, I started searching for friends (what a dork!). The boys were very helpful here, as they've all been around for a few years and therefore know every single English speaking person in the city! Craig took matters into his own hads and organized my very first HWP (apparently, that's Australian shorthand for House Warming Party). A bunch of people came, some of whose names I still do not know, and we warmed my house right up... with booze, of course!
After warming the apartment, it was time get out and explore. Someone, somewhere, heard tell of some kind of street party/wine festival/concert in a small town just outside of Ostrava a few weeks ago, so we hopped on a bus and pursued the adventure!! It was amazing!! A rather long street was entirely blocked off to traffic, so that people could wander from house to house, stopping at the stalls people had set up to sell home-made gulash, beer, burčak (some type of unfinished wine product), and other treats. It was an amazing way to spend the day!!
While we were there, we met a Czech couple who had spent a few years in Chicago. They were very nice and we chatted for a while. They were very impressed to find a Canadian, some Americans, and an Australian on their small-town street! So impressed, in fact, that they invited us to a BBQ they were having the following week. We ended up going, only to find out it was a family barbecue. Slightly awkward, but somehow still fun. It's always interesting when people who don't speak English try to ply you with drinks containing 50% alcohol, and when you try to wash them down with the only thing nearby (beer!) an elderly woman starts telling you what a bad headache you will have in the morning and rushing around trying to find you a glass of water instead! It's nice to be looked after!
Finally, last weekend was a long one in the Czech Republic, so Drew, Craig, Deb, Ian and I headed down to Budapest. I was not sure what to expect as last time I was there it was too cold to concentrate and no one seemed to know where anything was so I was lost the whole time. Well, let me just say - Budapest is fantastic!!!! It's such a beautiful city! The parliament building is so nice, I think I could have done nothing but stare at it all weekend and I would have been satisfied. I didn't stand in one place all weekend though - we walked around most of the city, went on two boat tours in one day (day and night... no puking on either!!), ate like kings, drank in a pub in the park and visited the famous bath houses of Budapest. Overall, it was an exhausting, but wonderful weekend! I would go back anyday!
I guess that's about it for now - I wrote this post a week ago, and have since been robbed of my wallet, cell phone, and house keys, but we're not going to go into that, because this was meant to be a happy post!!
Here's a picture for those of you who don't have Facebook, to hit the happy note again!
After I left Russia, I came to Ostrava and I have to say, although I'm not usually one for believing in "fate"(as our favourite Passions character would put it), I think this is where I was meant to be. It's a really great city - small and polluted, but with loads of character and plenty of things to do and Milka bars available at most stores :)
It also helps that the people I work with are AMAZING!! It's a bit of a boy's club...that is, I'm basically the only girl at the primary school, but it's all good. They are taking excellent care of me - unless you count taking me out for countless beers every night as something else than "exellent care". They are really funny boys, too. Of course, they talk about their genitals more than most people would care for, but I've lived with Jean-Luc for 20 years, so I'm used to it and I can laugh it off.
Since coming to the Czech Republic, I've been super busy. My first order of business was trying to find an apartment. Success! I have some sweet, orange, 70's style couches, a giant closet for my not-so-extensive wardrobe, a bed with storage so I don't have to stare at my luggage every night, and a dishwasher, which I will never use. I also have a gigantic TV for scaring the crap out of myself by watching Criminal Minds in the dark before bed, but I'm still working on acquiring a wire to plug in my computer... so for now, the fear of the dark remains mild.
After finding a place to live, I started searching for friends (what a dork!). The boys were very helpful here, as they've all been around for a few years and therefore know every single English speaking person in the city! Craig took matters into his own hads and organized my very first HWP (apparently, that's Australian shorthand for House Warming Party). A bunch of people came, some of whose names I still do not know, and we warmed my house right up... with booze, of course!
After warming the apartment, it was time get out and explore. Someone, somewhere, heard tell of some kind of street party/wine festival/concert in a small town just outside of Ostrava a few weeks ago, so we hopped on a bus and pursued the adventure!! It was amazing!! A rather long street was entirely blocked off to traffic, so that people could wander from house to house, stopping at the stalls people had set up to sell home-made gulash, beer, burčak (some type of unfinished wine product), and other treats. It was an amazing way to spend the day!!
While we were there, we met a Czech couple who had spent a few years in Chicago. They were very nice and we chatted for a while. They were very impressed to find a Canadian, some Americans, and an Australian on their small-town street! So impressed, in fact, that they invited us to a BBQ they were having the following week. We ended up going, only to find out it was a family barbecue. Slightly awkward, but somehow still fun. It's always interesting when people who don't speak English try to ply you with drinks containing 50% alcohol, and when you try to wash them down with the only thing nearby (beer!) an elderly woman starts telling you what a bad headache you will have in the morning and rushing around trying to find you a glass of water instead! It's nice to be looked after!
Finally, last weekend was a long one in the Czech Republic, so Drew, Craig, Deb, Ian and I headed down to Budapest. I was not sure what to expect as last time I was there it was too cold to concentrate and no one seemed to know where anything was so I was lost the whole time. Well, let me just say - Budapest is fantastic!!!! It's such a beautiful city! The parliament building is so nice, I think I could have done nothing but stare at it all weekend and I would have been satisfied. I didn't stand in one place all weekend though - we walked around most of the city, went on two boat tours in one day (day and night... no puking on either!!), ate like kings, drank in a pub in the park and visited the famous bath houses of Budapest. Overall, it was an exhausting, but wonderful weekend! I would go back anyday!
I guess that's about it for now - I wrote this post a week ago, and have since been robbed of my wallet, cell phone, and house keys, but we're not going to go into that, because this was meant to be a happy post!!
Here's a picture for those of you who don't have Facebook, to hit the happy note again!
