it is time for a list again

Things I like about Prague

1. Night trams that run literally all night.
2. The Starbucks has "for here" cups.
3. Fashion. Relaxed, funky, professional but not as OCD as the rest of Europe.
4. The old man who looks like a sailor in a land-locked country. ¨
5. People attempting to dash over tricky cobblestones in tricky heels to catch the tram.
6. Not being a tourist.
7. The high percentage of people reading everywhere.
8. People-watching, so much scope.
9. Watching people people-watching. No shame in staring. After all, what else do you do in trams.
10. Bridges
11. Stunning night walks.
12. Balconies


Things I dont like about Prague
1. Czech pronounciation
2. Dogs
3. Expensive museums
4. Lack of available flats
5. Beaurocracy.
6. No free tap water anywhere. Not even in resturants.

Love, Laugh, Grow

These were the goals I set out for myself for this year in Prague. I have the tendency to forget.
Instead of opening my heart to my surroundings and loving with all my heart, I have the tendency to critisize, using culture shock to excuse my lack of understanding.
Instead of laughing and joyously experiencing the beauties of this place all around me, I look down, focusing on my needs instead of my blessings.
Instead of looking at the difficult facets as a joy and a privilage and an experience which will broaden my horizons, I complain.
But I do not want to lose the chance to be enlightened by things far beyond my control. So instead of judgement, I chose love. Instead of looking down I choose to look up and to laugh. Instead of complaining, I choose to grow.

And, in the words of St. Francis,

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring your love.
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in you.

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness, ever joy.

Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all men that we receive
And in dying that we're born to eternal life

What a dehumanizing feeling is lack of sleep. At least for me, without sleep I simply don't have energy for life. My schedule is rather messed up in that I have no evenings, usually getting home between 8 and 10 and getting up at 6 every morning (except Fridays). So for four days, I exist in a strange Zombie-like state where every moment is spent finding energy for the next. I do not want to spend a year like this. I did manage to get rid of one of my children's classes so that means I have a rather large gap on Mondays where I can sneak in a long nap. That is bound to help. Furthermore, lesson planning is becoming less stressful and quicker, so again, time will be saved there.

I want to live fully every moment not just on the weekends! Is that an unreasonable request?

Tram #20

The metro, despite its extreme convenience in strange cities, is, when taken daily, a disgruntling experience. Mornings, especially, are no time to take the tram if one is sleepy of eye. Like drones, the slightly thinner throngs trudge down down down from the darkness of the sky to the belly of the city. Conversation is limited, faces are long, and it is generally a depressing experience, even to a sunny morning riser like myself.
Which is why, after the very forgettable 7:20AM classes are over, I opt to take the tram instead. The #20 is particularly delightful. It winds around dignified residential areas; around national monuments where caretakers plant and nurture beautiful flora, through old, narrow streets filled with quaint and modern alike. It winds around hills already bursting with autumn colors and makes a convenient stop right by the only Starbucks I have yet to find in the city (and which, of course, i only allow myself an occasional moment here and there). But if all this looked weren't here, and 90% of the path looked like Mordor, it would be worthwhile for a 1 minute stretch which makes up for all the misery of the morning. As the train leaves the residential area of Hradchanska, it winds down the mountain and for a brief moment one can view heaven as it hugs the largest castle in Europe on the one side and gives the trammers an amazingly beautiful view of Prague in all its glory: spires, cobbblestones, the predominant green and black colors, and Karlov Most (or Charles Bridge) can all be taken in.
It is this daily minute that reminds me why I am here. In that minute I forget about my cheeky teenagers, my terrifying kids, and my keener adults. In that minute, my sense of adventure comes back and I remind myself that somewhere in that panorama there is a home waiting for me! I am reminded of all the art galleries yet to enjoy, the streets to explore, the coffee shops to discover. No matter what new complications the day throws at me or the odd characters back in my hostel room. With a view like that, I tell myself, I can have no complaints.