Acquaintance

Life in Prague is a bit too American for my tastes at this point, but that's just an observation, not a complaint. I can't wait to immerse myself in Prague culture, to become as Czech as I possibly can. For now, however, I have to pass this course.

School days are Monday through Friday from 10am-6pm. We have two afternoons each week for the painful process of lesson planning and work in teams of four people, but are responsible for our own 45 minute class every other day.

Whenever we aren't creating lesson plans and teaching classes, we're at the mercy of two very British instructors who obviously know their stuff and have taught nearly 100 groups of native speakers how to teach English. They're tough, strict and want no excuses. No sitting on the floor, no eating during class, no computers or phones except at breaks or your electronics fly out the window (just a promise so far, none of us are willing to try them). No leaning back in chairs. Do not throw your coffee cup into the bin, place it. And on the second day of class, stand up and teach English to a group of Czech natives.

I kid you not. At the time of this writing, every student has already taught short lessons and a full length session to native Czech speakers at all different levels of English. It seems our instructors prefer throwing us into the deep end and teaching us as we go, which is fine by me but it requires surprisingly long hours and an exhausting amount of brain power.

The students are wonderful. Incredibly nice, patient with their new teachers. And their English is impressive at every level. It is a good feeling to have the answers to their questions and actually be able to help them improve.

As for Prague itself, I don't feel like I've really captured it yet. We've been introduced, but that's it really at this point. A simple acquaintance. This weekend every student in the program has plans to run around the city getting lost among ancient buildings. I have the same plan.

The people here are very very reserved. It's considered professional to remain distant, and manners are extremely important. When you're on any form of public transportation and an older person or a woman comes on board, you are expected to stand and offer your seat. Not doing so makes you an incredibly rude punk. If you're invited to someone's house you bring flowers and take off your shoes when you enter. They may offer you house shoes or slippers. Men are to enter a resaurant or pub in front of a woman to clear the way and protect her from unwanted stares.

I went to church Sunday at the International Church of Prague and met a church planter and a few girls who teach English. That led to the cooking class, a Bible study set for Friday in a coffee shop and plans to run around this weekend, not to mention a lot of insight into how to find a job or a place to live.

So getting here was tough, but here we are and it's good to be busy. I'm learning a great deal, including basic Czech and how little I actually know of how English works. The Italians, Russians, Scots and British are killing the Americans in grammar and phonetics. But we have the upper hand in presentation! I had to laugh when our instructor, who's British, emphasized the importance of correcting students when they pronounce things incorrectly. Pointing to two British students, he said "these two will have no problem correcting, because that's what you do in England. In America, you know what they say? 'Awesome! You're just awesome. You can't speak but you're awesome!'"