Try as I might I’ve never gotten over the travel bug that bit me in 2007. I met a guy and a lot of great people on that first trip as well as on my subsequent trips. I travel to see him; I travel to see them; I travel to see the world. But I admit, mostly I travel to see him. Living 5,000 miles apart is not an easy thing and I’m always trying to figure out a way we could live closer without having to wait for retirement. So with that comes my latest idea.
I’ve been working for the last (almost) year at a temporary job and it is now ending. So I’m ready for something new and I’ve come up with a plan. I’m going to Prague to take a course in teaching English to non-native speakers and hoping to stay there for a year and work in the Czech Republic to gain experience. I’ll be only 2 hours away from London by airplane and I’ll be able to visit the guy more often, experience another culture and quite frankly, shake up my life just a little. My ultimate goal would be to teach in Europe or the US with my new found experience and skills. The class is 4 weeks long and begins on May 28th and completes on June 22nd. I plan to stay one additional month looking for a job and if nothing comes of it return home at the end of July via London of course!
I’ve been to many foreign countries before. I lived in a lot of different places in the US; I’ve stayed in the UK for 6 weeks at a clip, but I’ve never lived in a foreign country or on my own anywhere. EVER! So this is something new in so many ways. The first obvious differences are going to be the weather, the language, and the uncertainty. The weather I can tackle. I live in Florida now but I lived in New York for 34 winters and while I hate the cold I can deal with it for a while. It’s one of the reasons I picked to move at the end of May. I was hoping Spring in Prague would more mild then starting in the winter and if not I’ve purchased an appropriate wardrobe to compensate where I can.
The language will be a tough one. I barely speak Spanish and have studied it for years. But from all I’ve read there is a very active English speaking community in Prague and I do get a “crash course” in Czech as part of my schooling. So maybe I’ll learn a few words and maybe not but I’m going to give it a try and go with the flow. Worse case scenario is I have trouble ordering food and grocery shopping but hey, who couldn’t stand to loose a few pounds?
The uncertainty comes in many forms: Will I do well in the class? Will I get a job? Will I find a place to live? Will I run out of money before the first month? what about a opening a bank account? Will I get a work Visa or be denied? Will I even get to see the boyfriend more often then I do now? Will my friends come visit? I could go on but I know worrying about stuff won’t fix it. Worrying Accomplishes Absolutely Nothing and so I’m trying to focus on things I can accomplish. Things like a packing list, getting my finances in place, buying warm clothing and breaking in comfortable shoes meant for walking on cobbled stone streets in cold snowy weather. And those tasks are keeping me busy for now.
Leslie Merryman 