A New Job (for real this time)

Hi Everyone,

I got a full time job two days ago. Its at McNeilus Language School teaching 15-21 year-olds. I say for real this time because I signed a contract and start Monday. Last time I thought I was hired at another school, they told me I was hired and that they would start working on my work permit immediately, but then e-mailed me the next day and said there were no classes available for me. So at this school, normally they have two weeks of teacher training before classes begin, but I missed that so I'm kinda being thrown into the deep end. But that's OK, I received excellent training at OxfordTEFL and they're McNeilus is going to train me as I go, and there's at least one other teacher in the same position I'm in. The reason I missed training is that I was still in training at OxfordTEFL. The reason they hired me anyways is that one of the teachers had a family/medical emergency and had to leave to take care of that. She was very thankful that I was able to take her place, because she wasn't going to leave the school til she had a replacement. But the school staff seems very friendly and the school itself is very professional. Apparently, when a teacher enters or exits the room, all of the students stand up as a sign of respect. McNeilus school is an "American" school, which means while most schools teach British or International English, this school specifically teachers American English. Also, I looked at the curriculum, and it teaches about American things while teaching English, like the U.S. post office and the names of US States. I believe they only hire Americans, but I'm not sure. I will keep the 3 classes I'm teaching at my part time job, since I made a commitment to them. Also, I really like that class. I have some basic pre-training today, so I'll tell you guys more about this job as I learn more about it.

I was talking to my mom on Skype, and I was telling her about being an "expat", and she said that it would be something interesting on the blog, so here I go. An expatriate, or expat for short, is anyone living in a foreign country, but the implication is that you have no intention of becoming a citizen of that country, differentiating yourself from immigrants. Also, while I guess it could technically apply to someone from any country, since its an English word I've only heard it used referring to people from English speaking countries. At first, I thought the word was ex-patriot, therefore somehow only referring to Americans, but then my British friends told me "that's so American". Oh well, I've managed not to fall into an "American" stereotype too much so far, but what are you gonna do? So anyways, they have expatriate restaurants and bars, which cater to expatriates. Some of them cater to everyone, while some of them to the Brits (where I saw a two-piece band play a bunch of the Beetles and Pink Floyd), Americans (where I watch the Cowboys play), or the Auzzies (where I saw some cricket). I haven't seen any Canadian places, and I've only briefly met one Canadian, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere. The Americans and Brits dominate, while the Aussies have a noticeable presence.

Also, yesterday I went to a free festival and saw two Czech bands play; they were really good. The first one was an Eastern European/Skaw band lead by a singer who looked like a pirate. They were really fun. The second band was like a mamba band; their music sounded like exciting beach music. It was a ton of fun and very exciting. That's enough for this post, so everyone keep in touch!

An Update

Hey Everyone,

Finally got internet at my "flat", so I'll be online a bit more. To update my last post, that company offered my a full time job, then said they don't have any classes. So I'm working part time now and I'm interviewing to try to fill up my schedule. Its normal for English teachers to work two or three part time jobs instead of a full time job at one place (although it is easier when that happens). Otherwise, things are going well. A few friends are leaving Prague, but most are staying. Some of my friends and I went to the World Baseball Cup last weekend. We watched the "Czech Eagles" play Taiwan. Taiwan beat them 10-1; it wasn't even fun to watch, but it was good to see some baseball. In one sense it was very American. There was hotdogs and sunflower seeds, and they played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". But then they also had a stand that sold wine and cheese, so its not exactly the same. Still, a fun afternoon. Thanks to everyone who has left messages/IM/e-mail/skyped me. I really love hearing from everyone back home.

Tim


The Czech Eagles ready to bat.



Some friends at a restaurant.



A 9-11 (or 11-9, as its known over here) folk music concert...in Czech. The singing was terrible, but the music was quite good. The steel guitar player was pretty fun to watch.

New Job!

Hi Everyone,

I got a full time job today, and I also have a few classes with another company. This is great news since I've been living off savings for a month now. Luckily, Prague is very, very cheap. I don't have internet at my new place yet (I'm using the internet a KFC now); hopefully we'll have it installed by the end of next week. It takes a long time to get people here to do things.

Tim

By the Way...

I found out today that I got an A in my course. The course director said the average number of people who get As is 12 per year.

Tim

זה נגמר

Hi Everyone,

I finished the course today. I don't know my grade yet, but I know that I passed. I move into a flat on Friday and I have a little bit of work beginning on Monday.

Tim