Dublin Review

So Dublin was a lot of fun, we liked it very much. It was so green, and also nice that English was a language spoken by most. 

The day we went to Malahide was a lot of fun. I think I expected the castle to be bigger and more than it was, but it was still nice to see. Its strange to think that those buildings are older than our country. While in Malahide, we also went to the beach and walked down it a ways. Very peaceful. 

Yesterday we walked around Dublin again, but not before having a picnic in a park. 

One thing that was crazy about it was the amount of people. It was very crowded, but even stranger was that no matter what we did, which direction we were going, if we were walking or standing still: we were always in the way. We couldn't help it. It always seemed as though we were moving against the grain. The airport was no different: whether it was 1 in the morning or 5 in the morning. Even at the crack of dawn this morning, that place was wide open and stuffed - even every single little gift shop was open. Even the big airports in America are somewhat shut down at 5AM. 

Going away to another place was nice because it made Prague feel more familiar and welcoming. 

Here are some pictures: (click on them to go to an album with more, and in full size)

Dublin Day One

We are currently in Dublin, got here LATE on Wednesday night - technically it was Thursday morning by the time we got out of the airport. The immigration line was easily an hour and a half. 

Other than that, things have been great! I applied for my Visa at the Czech Embassy in the morning (I know last update said this would be happening in Vienna, but red tape changed that) and then we spent the day exploring Dublin on foot. We saw some great parks and old cathedrals and the Dublin Castle, all were gorgeous! They have a lot of parks here, and they are so green you wouldn't believe it. One park had a few statues in it, including one of Oscar Wilde relaxing on a rock. 

Today we are going to a place called Malahide Castle on the coast of Ireland - I am very excited about this! 

I failed to bring my camera cord with me, so I am unable to upload any pictures at the moment, but I have already taken over a hundred and we still have two full days to go! 

Letna Park

There is a park that is just a short walk from our apartment. We went there today when I came home from work (I love it by the way, can't wait for the kids to arrive) with some of my co-workers. Its a great park, really big - I may try and run there at times, and this is the view from it: 

I plan on spending a lot of time here!

First Day of Work

Everything went well today. Not too much to report, we pretty much sat around in a circle all day and listened to some lectures. But I got to learn a little more about the school. It seems really great still, and the other employees seem great as well. About half of them are Czech, and a couple are from the UK, and one or two from Canada. I am the only one from the United States this year, which isn't too surprising as it is becoming difficult to work in the EU. There are 12 teachers in all and that is split between two campuses. It seems that I will work from 8-3 everyday, and maybe one or two afternoons a week. I will have ten students, ages 5-6, and most speak English quite well I am told. 

We go horseback riding every week (even in winter, so lost as it isn't "too cold") and every other week we go swimming (at an indoor pool at a hotel), so that is pretty exciting and unique. We share our basement with a gym, and a perk of that is the teachers get a free massage every month! We use a non-directive approach in our teaching - originated by Carl Rogers. Essentially the children get to make their choices but within boundaries set by us. Essentially it sounds like they strive for a really positive atmosphere for the children's development, which is great for me. 

When I got home, Jace had done laundry - and this is currently our bathroom (I give him credit for the makeshift clothesline): 

But then we went to the store and bought a dryer (it was a lot of fun on the subway): 

and also a coffee maker: 

We are set!

A note about tourists, and pictures

So I don't know if its because we look Czech, we look like we know where we are going, or if there are simply so many lost tourists out there, but in two days we have been asked for directions four different times. Only once were we able to help.

Jace in the net cafe where I often talked to him online

Me in the little park near the old apartment

In Old Town Square, in front of the Tyn Cathedral

Again, in Old Town

The Tyn Cathedral

Settling In

We've been taking it easy since we've gotten here, I think we're still adjusting to jet lag, and since there hasn't been anything forcing us to wake up at a certain time, we've been taking advantage of sleeping in, and admittedly being a little lazy. 

These past few days we have gotten to see some place and also got some stuff taken care of. On Friday we bought our metro passes so we can now travel around further and easier. Friday evening I took Jace to my old neighborhood where I stayed when I studied abroad. I got to show him where I used to live (or at least the front door) and the net cafe where I would frequent and use the computer, and also to one of my favorite restaurants called Pivovarsky Dum. We got some "traditional Czech dishes" meaning meat and dumplings with gravy - I really liked it. 

Saturday we wandered into Old Town to do some sightseeing, but I definitely wasn't using my best judgement on that part. Being a weekend during tourist season, it was quite crowded. It was great to see again, of course, but I think we will wait until it gets a little colder to go back and spend some time there. Oh, and Prague has Starbucks now. One smack in the middle of Old Town (right across from the Astronomical Clock) and the other a little ways down on the other side of the Vltava after crossing the bridge. We have not gone and I doubt we will. 

We woke up this morning and went to church, it was great to be there again, and I got to see the family who was so welcoming to me last time. Everybody was super friendly and it seemed like people were eager to meet us. We ended up staying after church talking to people until they needed to close it down. Then we went out to lunch with a couple we met (Liza and Dan) and then went to Tesco where we bought some Shampoo and such. We still need to do some more shopping to be fully settled in , a trash can is needed - for example. 

Work starts tomorrow for me, I am excited about it and looking forward to meeting the people I will be working with. No kids yet, they will arrive next Monday. 

All is well, and Jace is really liking it. I think he's almost fully gotten the public transportation, and I have full confidence that he won't have any problems. We took a trip to where he will be having his school, so he knows he will be able to get there, and also how long it will take. 

The Castle

We went to the Charles Bridge last night. It was crowded, but the castle was beautiful - as always. 

Click pictures for larger images. 

First Day

We fell asleep no problem last night and ended up sleeping for pretty close to 12 hours. Beautiful. But somehow we are still both a little tired. 

This morning we began unpacking a little bit and then ventured out for a little exploring and walked to my school. I can take a bus most of the way, but today Jace and I walked the whole way, and it wasn't bad at all. Maybe only about a 20 minute walk. 

My school is the cutest little thing - it is in a building that looks like it used to be a house, the top floor has offices, and the little classrooms are all downstairs. They have a coatroom (which was funny to me, but I guess pretty standard with the winters here, plus all the children take off their shoes, or wear inside shoes in the classroom) and each room has a theme (mine is exercise and sports), and their playground (garden as they call it) is also adorable, they have a "rock climbing wall" which is more like a 45 degree slope, but still fun for the kiddos. I will have ten students, ages 5 and 6, and most of them are Czech, but know great English as they have mostly all been coming to the school since they were 2. 

On our way to the school, we stopped for lunch, which was a very comical (and probably common for us) affair. They spoke practically no English, and I speak minimal Czech. I ordered Jace a beer (which was strange anyway, I have no idea why I defaulted to that in the afternoon) and managed to order two - one for me as well. Then, I ordered bread since it was the only thing I really knew how to say. Fortunately at this point, a gentleman came in who knew some English and translated for us. He told me that they had a cold kitchen only, with things like smoked meat and cheese. So I got one smoked meat (for Jace, me and my tummy were barely OK with bread) and he ended up getting this fat, pink sausage with pickled onions inside and the whole thing looked like it was boiled. I was expecting cold cuts, so this thing was surprising. On our way back home we stopped in a little store to get a drink and sandwich items, and I saw a whole jar of Jace's lunch. Surprisingly, he didn't want to buy some. 

Now it is almost 4 (9 AM) for all of you, Jace is napping, and I have to sit in the kitchen with the windows open and computer on the windowsill to get some internet access. I think soon we will look into getting our own so I can have enough signal to use Skype. 

The weather has been surprisingly nice, we both wore T-shirts today, and brought light jackets with us, but after some walking - ended up sweating because it was quite warm. At night last night, when we got pizza, we ate outside and both had long sleeves on. So the nights are wonderfully cool. 

Tomorrow we may try and get our metro passes, and do some more exploring. I'd like to take Jace to the beautiful spots downtown. I don't think it has fully hit me yet that were are here. All the places we've seen today have been new to me as well. I think once I go to some of my favorite spots from last time it will hit me much more. 

Jace is doing well, he seems to be just as excited and adventurous with this as I am. I asked him what he thought and his impressions, and he says he likes it. 

We love you guys so much, and thanks for the comments. Keep leaving them, and feel free to email us too! 

The Fridge! PS - no one quite earned the 20 bucks!

And our washing machine too

A toilet bowl cleaner found in a cabinet - 

all the surfing Jace will see.

My current internet perch

We are here!!

Well, we have arrived safely in Prague, after quite a bit of traveling. All in all, things well very smoothly. We got picked up at the airport and took a taxi to our apartment. It is very cute, and really not so small. 

oh yeah, and there is a fridge, it is actually one of the cabinets - the one furthest to the right from the stove. And...there is a washing machine! Jace was opening the cabinets in the kitchen looking for pots and said "here's a washing machine!" and I thought that he was lying - but he wasn't 

The neighborhood is cute, a pizza place right across the street. 

Oh yeah, I am writing from the apartment too! I get one faint bar in the kitchen. Probably not enough to utilize Skype from here, but enough to let you know that we are here and safe. 

Will update soon with more info and pictures, but we are very hungry and tired. 

Tomorrow...

We leave for Prague! Our flight leaves DFW airport at 7PM and will take us straight to London and from there we will have a few hours before departing for Prague. We will get there at 6PM the next evening. Prague is 7 hours ahead of us, just FYI. 

Saying goodbye to people has been tough, but I have also gotten the chance to see a bunch of people which has been great.

It is all so surreal, so it is difficult to feel many strong emotions about it, but of course I am excited - that remains constant. My level of nervousness rises and falls: currently I don't feel very nervous at all, but I bet I will as soon as I get on that airplane. 

I don't know much about our internet situation over in Prague, but "net cafes" are pretty common, so I should be able to write an update within a couple of days. See you in Prague!

My handy guide book Jace bought me when we first decided to move. Just to keep with the photo theme.

Two Random Additions

1) Some of you have asked me about the true location of the mystery fridge. The answer: I have no idea, which is why I enlisted the help of your eyes. I will let you know the answer when we get there and can figure it out.

2) With the Olympics on, I am feeling my loyalties shift just a little. The very few times I have seen a Czech compete, I find myself cheering them on. Perhaps it is just general Czech excitement and the fact that they currently only have two gold medals, so its not like they are actually any competition to the USA. Apparently the Czechs are good at shooting.

Talk To Us

So a few people have gotten on to me about lack of updates. I promise that in a week you will be sick of them! In a nutshell, we are now in Arlington until we fly out of DFW on Tuesday, we are pretty much all packed with most of our loose ends tied.

But for now, I thought I'd talk to you about Skype. Skype is a software you can download for free (the link is to your right) and it allows us to talk for free so long as both of us have internet connection. It is pretty easy, and not bad quality. Plus, I now have the capability of video chat, so when you talk to us, you can see our pretty faces ;-)

The website will help you out further, it also has some pretty neat features that are optional and cost a little extra. But essentially, if you get Skype and we are on the internet at the same time (and it will tell you when your contacts are online) then we can talk.

My Skype name is SarahCMcCain

WARNING about Skype: apparently there is another Sarah McCain on here, so searching by my name may not work out so hot. She also happens to be married to a Jake McCain. That's not us. It may be best to search by my email. It should work if you just type sarahcmccain and add me to your contacts. Good luck!