Plzen Fest

Tomorrow begins the beer fest in Plzen. I'm taking a hour and a half train to the small Czech village and after an educational tour of the Plzen brewery, I plan on getting shitfaced. We haven't figured out where we're going to sleep (maybe in a park, maybe in the train station) but we know there will be beer and music and if the rumors are true, a magician. I'll post pictures.

Beyond looking forward to Plzen Fest, I've been working. Not the 25 hours that my agency promised they would give me, it's a little closer to 18 which leaves me with way too much time on my hands. I've been wandering around a lot and I begin Czech lessons next week which should be good. And the drinking. Don't forget the drinking. I'll survive.

Not really digging teaching business English to adults either. I'd rather be in a real classroom goofing around in front of a bunch of kids but hardly any agencies specialize in working with children. I found one that has offered me a few hours working with high school students which will be a nice break. and I think I'll look into switching to kids permanantly next quarter.

That's the plan at least. I hope to be here at least till next July (we still doing the World Cup guys? Let's get on that...) and after a cool Summer spent somewhere cool (that's right) I plan on heading back to Asia. Korea is on my list. From everything I've read there is tons of money to be made in Korea which would be very useful in getting set up in Japan. Or Thailand. Or Vietnam. We'll see.

The sinking ship

These were three text messages I either sent or recieved, that, upon rereading them, has brought me joy:

No red light. I hate prague no one is going to sing Karaoke. We are realy drunk. I am going to sleep in a park. I hate this shit.

~~Text I sent to my friend The Todd (aka, The Game) after he asked whether or not we were still on for Karaoke at the Red Light bar last Saturday.

We are reeealy drunk. At some bar. We are going to burn down Praha. We are the middle children of history man. We're not your fucking khakis. You are beautiful.

~~ We had watched Fight Club the night before. I sent this text to my friend Nikki in response to her question of "Where the hell are you guys?" We were at a bar drinking way too much tequilla. 58 shots between five people. I was sick three times and was kindly escorted home by my girlfriend.

Don't know. I've been drinking wine and sucking dick since I saw you last. I do know that Prague is a sinking ship.

~~This is a text I recieved from my friend Katie after I asked her if she knew where her roommmate Jeff was. A clear example of too much information. And we have taken to calling Prague "the sinking ship" ever since.

Karaoke and the French Foreign Legion

So I found a bar not too far from my flat that offers free wireless internet. As long as you order a sandwich and order coffee every once in awhile the incredibly beautiful, but bitchy, waitresses leave you alone. This allows me free reign to check email, baseball standings and download rockin new music. I'm not really sure what's going on right now but some Czech guy is trying to sell T-shirts to the waitresses while I sit here. I'll add it to my list of shit I just don't understand here in the CR.

There are a lot of weird things that go on here. Why are there only 19 cigarettes in a pack that could easily (and usually does) hold 20? Why can I not find a liquor store open past 9 pm but there are four casinos that are open twenty-four hours all located on the same block? Why did that guy try to pick me up (seriously, physically lift me off the ground) when we were waiting on the tram? What's the deal with picking mushrooms? There are probably no answers to these questions and if there were they would undoubtedly lead to more questions. I'm just going to go with it.

Things here are great. I start teaching at one of the largest English language schools in Prague on Monday. I'll be teaching 25 hours a week which is the average work week and this will provide me with a lot of extra time which, more than likely, I will spend drinking. With beer costing a dollar a pint, one can do a lot of drinking. Also, the usually schizophrenic weather has calmed down and it's been hot and beautiful. This also leads to drinking but at the park while playing Frisbee. Good times.

Another side effect has been the rash of Karaoke outings that have been occurring lately. I didn't know of my love for the ancient and beautiful sport that is Karaoke, but now that it has grabbed hold of me, I am a better man. Thirsty Thursdays at Aqua Club 2000 offer beer specials and the "Largest collection of Songs in the Czech Republic!" (though I'm not sure how tough the competition is on that last point). It's an awesome time but I'm not sure how accurate some of the lyrics are. Last week we sang Loser by Beck and were told the chorus was sung "Sooo, just open the door" instead of the correct Spanish lyrics of "Soy un perdidor". Close enough I guess.

And I've met tons of great people here as well. Mostly people from my TEFL course but a few others as well. Sadly, however, I am finding that Prague can be a very transient city. I've already seen a few people leave for home or for the ever popular teaching destination of Asia. And now one of my good friends, Jeff, has decided that he hates to teach and since he is quickly killing his bank account, he is going home. We have tried to come up with some get rich quick schemes but they mostly all boil down to robbery in one way or another. Also, he thought seriously about joining the French Foreign Legion. Interesting fact: You don't have to be French to join the FFL. You just have to enjoy crossing the dessert and be able to properly use a bayonet. They provide the white, floppy sun hat. So, I guess if teaching falls through I can always help the frogs conquer whatever it is there is left to conquer.... Take care.