Lots of News

Hi All,

I have a big post for you today with lots of news. First, I went to a second performance by my friend a two weekends ago. She sings with a beautiful Irish voice and is accompanied by her friend who is truly a great acoustic guitar player. I have some good pictures of the performance. I took some video, but neither the video nor the audio was good enough to share, but here are the pictures.

Second, I went to Prague Castle last weekend. It was quite impressive, and one of my last remaining major sights to see in Prague. Pictures here.

Third, I took an impromptu trip to Bratislava on Tuesday! My work permit came in yesterday, which you need to get your short-term visa, so I took the 12:40am train (there aren’t many options) to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, that night. You have to apply for your visa at a Czech embassy in a foreign country and Bratislava is one of the closest ones. The trip was nearly a great trip. The trip normally takes five hours, but there was a delay and it took six hours. This was actually a good thing for me. 5:40am is a little too early to be in Bratislava, at 6:40am the sun is out and it’s a little warmer. It was a beautiful day there, the sun was out, and it hasn’t been sunny for a while in Prague. Bratislava also has a lot of trees and it is the time of year when they were starting to change colors. It was truly beautiful, and Bratislava has a bit of a small town feel to it, which was very nice. I applied for my visa and then spent a little bit of time seeing some of the sights of Bratislava. Pictures are linked to below. I got back to the train station at 11:00am for a train that left at noon. The train was delayed for two hours and I didn’t get to leave till two. However, on the way back, I got a car nearly to myself, a window seat, and a great view for the ride home. The Moravian countryside is beautiful. Here are the pictures.

Fourth, I with with some friends to a town nearby called Kutna Hora. We saw two churches, one was the St. Barbara church, which is one of the most famous Gothic Churches in central Europe. The other was the Sedlec Ossuary, which has the bones of over 40,000 people artistically arranged for decoration. It was cool but very creepy. Here are the pics.

Finally, today (Thursday) I took another trip back out to Bratislava to pick up my visa. It was very last minute and I didn't spend any time there or take any pictures, unfortunately. However, having my short term visa is great news since my tourist visa expires on Saturday. I hope everyone is doing well, keep in touch!

An Insider's Perspective

The school where I trained, OxfordTEFL, requests updates every so often so they can see how their former students are doing and get a feel for the employment situation, especially in Prague. This is the letter I recently sent.

Hello Adrian,

I just thought I'd let you know what I was doing. I am working at the McNeilus Language School here in Prague. It is a private gymnasium that focuses on American English. The school has some very good qualities. First, all of the classes are in one location, so there is no travel time. Second, the school uses the same curriculum, so prep time is minimized. The school's director is supportive and encourages creativity in the classroom, and the school has a substantial library with lots of resources. The school is accredited by the state, so the director is very concerned about getting all of the teachers legal. She provides extensive visa assistance and has connections in the government that help her get things done quickly. She doesn't pay any of the fees, but she doesn't charge anything for the help either. She takes advantage of power of attorney, so I didn't actually have to make the trip to Bratislava, one of the other teachers did. The entire staff is full time, and, once hired, it is very easy to fill your schedule. So far, I have been paid on time with no issues. On the downside, they have a custom curriculum that I say is average at best, and the school asks for a little more paperwork than most.

I also teach 3hrs/wk with the London Institute. I teach on-site at Oriflame, which is a Swedish cosmetics company. The class itself is great, my favorite actually, just because the students are so open, friendly, and enthusiastic. The London Institute doesn't really provide any visa support, and, quite frankly, I don't think they care if you are legal or not. As long as the customer is happy, they pretty much leave you alone unless you request something. They asked to review my first lesson plan. I did an extensive, still at OxfordTEFL style lesson plan, and they said that I did much more than they expected and haven't asked me anything beyond "How's it going?" since. They do have pretty good resources and they pay on time (and in cash).

So I'm enjoying Prague and now, more than ever, appreciate the quality of training I received at OxfordTEFL. A few other teachers have asked me where I did my certification. Each time I told them it was at Oxford, they say things like "Wow, you actually went to a legit school" and "I've heard great things; I wish I went there."

See you (sporadically) at Pub Night!

Tim Minich

Karlstein Castle

Last Saturday I took a day trip to Karlstein Castle, which is a 40 minute train ride from Prague. It was my first train ride (a fact which amused the Europeans with us) and my first time to go to a castle. After the train ride, its about a 30 min walk up a hill and through the town of Karlstein before you arrive at Karlstein Castle. It was a lot of fun, and was good to get out of the city for a bit.

To see all of my Karlstein Pics, go to this link.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080926&id=44401295&l=5e29c134ea

Settling In

I've been working full time at my new job and am getting settled into a rhythm. The work isn't easy, but it really is a lot of fun. So I've done quite a few interesting things since my last post. One of my teachers at OxfordTEFL is also a singer. Two weeks ago Friday I went and saw her perform with a guitar player; they were both amazing. Think kinda Jazzy, kinda Irish (they're both Irish), with some truly amazing folk guitar. Then, on Saturday, I went to my first European soccer game. The teams were Bohemia 1905, who I'm now a fan of because that's who everyone I know roots for, and Slavia. Both teams are based in Prague, so it was a big game. The game ended in a tie, 1-1, but it was still very exciting. The crowd was extremely enthusiastic; I recorded a few of their many chants. Then, on Sunday, I played Ultimate Frisbee with a group of mainly fellow English teachers and watched some American football, which is always fun. There are only a couple of places to watch American football in Prague, so on Sunday these places a filled with very excited football fans, which is a lot of fun. Then, Monday was St. Wencesles Day (as in Good King Wencesles), who is the patron Saint of the Czech Republic, so we had the day off. I needed it after such a busy weekend.

I should be starting Czech classes soon; they're being organized at work and hopefully they will start next week, but its not in stone yet. I've made a lot of progress on getting my Visa, which is not easy to do. I have till November 1st, then my tourist Visa expires. I've applied for my work permit, which is the first step, and I'm nearly ready to apply for the long term Visa. I may going sightseeing at a really cool castle just a 40min train ride out of Prague soon, so there may be some really cool pictures coming. You all feel free to ask me any questions about what I'm doing or what things are like over here; I'd be glad to answer. Enjoy some video & pics...


Sinead singing




One of the many chants



When the Saints Go Marching In


They did this on every goal kick



And Celebrating a Goal