On the calm before the storm-

If you were to have asked me four years ago where do I see myself post graduation, teaching and studying in Prague would not have even crossed my mind. I had dreamt of faraway places, but never did I think it possible to call them home. Being here now feels less of an accomplishment and more so I have absolutely no idea what my life is going to look like tomorrow, why try to reach into a year from now? Those very words would have paralyzed me just months ago, as I fell asleep each night in my little mountain town attempting to fill the void of my tomorrows, imagining the possible layers of paint I would add onto the canvas that is my life. I remember the sensation of wanting so many things at once, feeling as if all the wanting would equate to a fear of moving at all. Perhaps I am most proud of myself for acknowledging the possibility of a variety of chapters in a life; may I never limit self by choosing just one. I shall keep turning the page, never stop moving into the next if it is in fact necessary.

In this chapter I am a student of TEFL at a Language House in Prague, Czech Republic. My days are long; my debit card doesn't work quite right; my very old flat isn't clean or modern enough for my taste, my flatmates are beyond lovely, and the other TEFLS are a lively bunch. They tell us we're going to become like a family by the time we're finished. I think of all the families I already have, the lives I've accumulated. I wonder if there will always be room for more.

After an introductory week of class, we spent the day in an attempt to deTEFLlize. This consisted of a wine festival, grocery shopping, and collectively cooking in a tiny kitchen. It was all so messy, the space so congested, the laughter loud, and the food delicious. A perfect day if you ask me.

A tricky little food this is: fried bread, smothered in ketchup and cheese. Yes, ketchup. I couldn't stop laughing as Justin expressed how he was fooled into getting this when seeing Czechs lined up, and an old woman stuffing her face. "It has to be good, I thought. Fried bread, I mean that just sounds amazing! Then I bit into it and tasted ketchup. The ketchup ruined it for me." As you can imagine, Justin did not finish his fried ketchup bread, and I don't blame him.

This television tower located around the corner from my flat also makes it on the list of odd things. Those are indeed babies climbing up it. 

        

Our attempt at a flatmate photo...

Second time's the charm, I guess. 

This may very well be the calm before the storm, the gentle breeze before the hurricane. Things are expected to pick up as we go into our first week of teaching completely on our own. I guess the best way to learn is to jump right in. It's comforting to have twenty three other people who are in the same place as you. We may come from different walks in life, but our hearts are made of the same thing. I'm banking on after the many failures in this first week of teaching, at the end of our long day we can remind ourselves we made it here. We moved across the ocean; some may say we are running from life, from normalcy, but I like to think we're running towards. This week is the beginning of the rest of our TEFL life; that is for however long we choose this life. Until we turn the page, wish us all the best in this one?

It's going to be a good chapter, I can feel it. The cast is extraordinary.