28 June 2011

Goodbye kimchi. Hello pig's knuckle.

Shall I start from the beginning? OK then. First, the earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came. But they got too big and fat so they died and turned to oil. And then the Arabs came and bought Mercedes Benzes ...

Never mind then. I'll start from May. I traveled to Prague. I took the Cambridge CELTA course, a brutal-yet-rewarding four-week intensive that left me sleep-deprived but a much better teacher. I got the highest possible grade. I left Prague and said to myself, "If only I had more time here to see everything." And on Friday, I got the reprieve I wanted. I've been hired at the same school that taught me the course, Akcent-International House in Prague.

Those who have followed my blog know that I take my work seriously, but myself slightly less so. But you'll have to believe me when I tell you that, for the first time in my life, I got the dream job I was after, and I'd be doing cartwheels right now except that I'd destroy all of the lamps where I'm housesitting. (That, and I can't do a cartwheel.) The school is well-organized, boasts a sterling reputation, provides plenty of support, and is located in one of the coolest cities in the world by almost any measure -- culture, affordability, location, public transport, architecture, tall women with long hair that looks awesome falling out of a baseball cap. This job, as the Brits like to say, ticks all of the boxes.



This means that you will once again be hounded by me to read my blog. This one will differ from Korea Blogging! in a few ways.

  • First, you'll notice this is not my personal website; I'll be dropping that this fall because (a) it costs money and (b) it has this nasty habit sometimes of not giving me access to any of my files when I log in.
  • Second, you'll notice that this blog will have poll questions. I look forward to seeing how long it will take my mom to figure out how to use it your responses.
  • Finally, you can comment on the bottom of the page. The most clever incorporation of Robert Green or the 2004 Yankees into one gets a prize, although I'm not sure what it is yet. A date with James Fenton, I think.

I'm scheduled to start in the fall. Depending on the speed of the visa process, that will be in either late August or late September. I got things rolling today by sending my diploma and a passport-sized photo (of me, not Baldy) to the school. In the coming weeks this blog will update everyone on the road to Prague, perhaps introduce you to the city a little bit, and share photos and anecdotes from the post-CELTA trip through Vienna, Rome, Florence and Munich.

Until then, become a follower here or join the new Facebook group I've started. Also, suggestions are welcome for the name of this blog, as long as it doesn't involve a "Czech" pun. And "Prague Blague" has already been taken. Meanwhile, my current/temporary blog title is an ode to a legendary musical group from Liverpool. (But not that one.) First person to figure it out gets a prize -- a second date with James Fenton, I think.

Finally, a photo album of my month is Prague is here. Na zdravi!

3 comments:

  1. Luv it. Bring on the posts

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  2. Erm Mark...
    am I excluded because of the quiz?

    Anyways, story goes that in my nightclub working days, a team of Liverpool ledgends were having a charity match against "celebrities" to raise money for the tsunami. Now, my old housemate was, and still is, a Liverpool fan, but had never been to the sacred ground - never even been to the city. So, folks call up the week before, asking if we'd want tickets. They were all going too.

    So, match is on a Sunday, I'm working the Saturday, and he's got a date with this girl from work, now his wife. I gets home 7am, ready to get the coach up to Liverpool at 10... and as I could, erm, hear from his bedroom, my housemate was still awake too. So I waited till the noise had died down, and said that we needed to leave pretty sharpish like.

    Que my first meeting with the new love of his life, an awkward taxi to the coach station, and a pretty sleepy drive to Liverpool.

    Anyways, all of that could have been cut out of this story, because the main point is, when we got to back to the homeland, I took him for an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet for lunch. What are they playing there, as we're sitting gourging on sweet and sour pork balls, I hear you ask. Only Atomic Kitten's Greatest Hits. The greatest Welcome To Liverpool anyone has ever had.

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  3. Ben -- If you want a date with James Fenton that badly, you're eligible, although I can always change the prize to a Liverpool kit with blue in it.

    ReplyDelete