Old Habits Die Hard
Today was a lovely sunny day so this afternoon my student and I decided we would have lessons outdoors. We drove to Pernstein Castle which is about 30 km from where we are staying. We spent an hour or so in an informal conversational class, and then decided that we should have a drink. I asked for mineral water, but he persuaded me to have a beer. He asked why I had wanted water and I told him that I should at least try to look like we were at work.
He smiled and said "This is hard work, but it could be worse."

As we were getting in to his car earlier I had noticed that he had a CD case with a Java logo. I commented on this and explained that my former employers had invented Java. We then had a chat about the computer industry and I described Sun's products and philosophy. Although I left Sun I still have a huge admiration for what they produce, and wish them well, especially following this week's encouraging news.

Healthy Eating
I was skinny when I was young, but now I am among the unfortunate majority who enjoy their food, but have to watch what they eat. I was interested in a report in today's Guardian about the efforts of the fast-food companies to try to provide healthier options for their customers. I was particularly amused by this quote:

The American burger restaurant Wendy's added a fresh-fruit bowl to its menu; at the end of last year, the company quietly killed it, blaming a lack of demand. "We listened to consumers who said they wanted to eat fresh fruit," a disarmingly honest spokesman told the New York Times, "but apparently they lied."

I wouldn't call it a lie, but I do have a gap between my intentions and my actions. In a country where meat and dumplings make up much of the national cuisine I may struggle.

My first week teaching in Prague went well, all of my students are friendly and keen.

Sue came out for the weekend and on Saturday morning we explored my nearest major landmark, Vitkov Hill, just a few minutes from my flat. The hill is home to the Czech National Memorial and the world's largest equestrian statue, of Jan Žižka who gives his name to the Žižkov district where I live.
The hill is popular with joggers and people out strolling, and there are excellent views from here to the north and west. On descending the hill we passed the Military Museum, which I will save for a damp day in the winter, before taking the tram out of the city to the Divoká Šárka country park. We spent a few hours walking in the park before returning to the city for afternoon tea at the Cafe Slavia.

The Slavia used to one of the places to go in Prague, and after some uncertain times has been restored to its Art Deco grandeur.

On Sunday we took the tram to the old fortress of Vysehrad, which gaves us further views of the city from another perspective. I must go up the Žižkov TV tower sometime. This was built in the 1980s, allegedly to jam western TV transmissions as much as to transmit Czech TV, and is regarded by some as an eyesore. There are those who say that the TV tower has the best view in Prague, as it is the only place from which you can't see the TV tower.

Next week I will be teaching in a small town in Moravia. One of the school's students is taking an intensive off-site course, and I will be teaching the first week. My fellow teachers have been giving me great assistance in preparing for this amount of work. I am looking forward to it, but am feeling slightly nervous and a bit daunted at the prospect.

First day at school
As mentioned in the previous post, Sue and I went to the airport on Monday for her to check in at 6:30. I made my way back to the flat for a second breakfast before going into the school. I arrived just before 10 and spent the morning learning about the school's procedures for lesson scheduling and time tracking as well as finding out about the students from the school's records and other teachers. My fellow teachers are very helpful and can offer advice on life in Prague and the Czech Republic as well as helping with tips on teaching and lesson planning.

I spent Monday afternoon planning for my first lesson, and yesterday morning I met my first students. This was a small group, most of my lessons will be to small groups or individuals, and I think things went well. My teaching load is quite light at the moment, which gives me plenty of time for planning, but I'm sure it will be harder to manage my time once I have a full teaching load.

Settling in
Sue flew out with me to Prague, and we arrived in the flat on Saturday evening. On Sunday the weather was showery, which was a change from the weather there a few weeks ago. We went out to look for breakfast and discovered that virtually nothing was open until eleven, we ended up having muffins and coffee at McDonalds at the Flora Palac shopping centre.

We took the Metro into the centra and strolled to the river, crossing over to Smychov and Mala Strana. As we crossed the street from Smychov to Mala Strana we suddenly found loads of tourists - obviously Smychov isn't recommended in any of the guides. By the time we got to the Charles Bridge it was lunchtime and the tourists were now out in strength. We managed to find a reasonably-priced lunch at the foot of the Charles Bridge (to my surprise).

After lunch we walked up to Hradcany (the castle area) and then took a tram back through the town. I showed Sue where the language school is located, then we got the Metro back to the shopping centre to buy groceries before returning to the flat.

Sunday night was wet, so after a quick pizza we headed back to the flat for an early night. We had to be up early for Sue's flight on Monday morning.

Malcolm Wotton - Celebration Of A Life

I wrote last month about Malcolm's cycling accident. He never regained full consciousness, and he died two weeks ago while I was in Prague. The funeral was yesterday. It was a very emotional occasion for everyone involved, but we all took a lead from his partner, Janice.

She wanted the day to be a celebration of Malcolm's life, rather than a mourning of his death. We were all encouraged to wear bright clothes rather than sombre ones, and the tributes and readings were a celebration of life, too.

I knew Malcolm for about ten years, and he was a remarkable man. He was intelligent, sporty, witty, caring, popular and interested in almost every subject one could think of. Malcolm gave all that he could in everything that he did. He lived life on his own terms to a greater degree than anyone else I know.

Malcolm managed to structure his career to give him what I regard as the ideal balance between work and life. He would take on IT work in intensive bursts which he would complete at full effort, then he would take some time to pursue other things. He lived fairly modestly from day to day, but was always able to enjoy himself when travelling, and always managed to keep adding to his collection of cool gadgets.

Sue and I didn't see Malcolm and Janice on a daily basis since we moved away from the North-West London area over ten years ago, but we did see them for weekends and short holidays. These trips usually involved cycling, and always involved nice meals, good beer and wine, and the occasional single-malt whisky. I will cherish all of the times the four of us spent together. The week we spent in a cottage in Bowmore visiting the Islay Whisky Festival is one I will particularly cherish.

I feel Malcolm's loss most keenly now that I too have given up the daily office routine for a less-structured career. I always imagined that in my new life Malcolm and I would have times when we weren't busy working and could do interesting things together. I also hoped that I would be able to get his guidance on making the freelance life work.

On Tuesday night, after we had returned from the funeral, Sue and I poured ourselves a dram of Ardbeg and toasted his memory.

There's no-one else like Malcolm, I'll never forget him, and I want to get as much out of my life has he did from his.

Frustrations of being a teacher?
Saturday's Telegraph had the following piece:

How can I convey to parents and others how frustrating teaching can be?

The following, which is anonymous, comes from Classroom Behaviour, an illuminating guide to good teaching by Bill Rogers, published by Paul Chapman: "Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and, gathering them around him, he taught them saying: blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed are the meek; blessed are they that mourn; blessed are the merciful; blessed are they that thirst for justice; blessed are you when persecuted; blessed are you when you suffer; be glad and rejoice for your reward is great in heaven.

Then Simon Peter said, 'Are we supposed to know this?' And Andrew said, "Do we have to write this down?' And James said, 'Will we have a test on this?' And Phillip said, 'I don't have any paper.'

And John said, 'The other disciples didn't have to learn this.' And Matthew said, 'May I go to the lavatory?' "Then one of the Pharisees who was present asked to see Jesus's lesson plan and inquired of Jesus, 'Where is your statement of objectives?' "And Jesus wept."

I'm sure that teaching adults won't be quite as frustrating, let's see what I think in three months or a year, though. In the meantime, I'll try to get hold of a copy of Classroom Behaviour to see what I can learn from it.