This blog might need a new name.

Another twist. We are now considering going to Seoul, yes even though we have tickets to Prague. There are several pluses and minuses for both cities, but it comes down to money and job security, unfortunately. So! For those of you paying attention, we were first going to Spain, then Prague, Istanbul, and now Seoul! We keep moving east. Before you know it, we'll be planning on California and then Boston. Hopefully we actually leave! Everything is up in the air now. First step is to apply to schools and see what happens. We are running out of time!

One major plus to Seoul is there are yogurt places there. I know at least Red Mango for sure. I miss Yogurtland so much!! It was in my life for too brief of a time! And now I am miserable without it. So if I could enjoy Red Mango in Seoul, it might ease some of the pain. It's def no Yogurtland. I mean, they had Mother's Cookies there for crying out loud! How do you get any better than that?!

Here is a pic of my last delicious yogurt from you know where. Sigh...

Plane tickets, Czech!

It's been a really busy couple of weeks around here. First off, it took me forever to find an English classroom that would allow me to volunteer. Who knew?! Part of it was that there are less classes in the summer, and part of it was haters who don't allow volunteers. Luckily, my fabulous friend Elena recommended I try the International Institute of Boston and Lowell and they are happy to have me. I am going to be helping out for 10 hours a week through the end of the summer. I love it there. Really, I am surprised at how enjoyable the class is. The students are all refugees who have come to the US in the last 6 months and they are so excited to be learning English! They are from all over, predominantly Nepal, Burma, Iraq, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Apparently there is a large influx of Burmese in Lowell in the past year, especially in the last 6 months, and I would say about a third of the class is Burmese. I hope teaching abroad will be as fun as volunteering!

I've been working a shit load. Too much actually. Over 50 hours a week of waitressing is brutal on your body. After an 11 hour shift on Saturday, my legs were aching when I got up Sunday. I am not going to work any more weeks like last. It was too much, and my tiredness is reflected in my attitude at work. When so much of your pay depends on your personality, you really should be nice to your guests. Or care about them at all. By the end of the week, I really didn't give a shit if your burger was overcooked or the cheese wasn't melted on your nachos. You're a chunkaaa, you shouldn't be eating those nachos anyway! Ok, apparently having 2 days off hasn't improved my attitude...I am just permanently bitter about restaurant work.

The forums at Dave's ESL Cafe are effing with my head. I read some posts that say we can roll into Prague and as long as we have a solid interview and are able to present a compelling lesson plan along with our certification, we are in! Others drinking the haterade (yeah, I said it) say an online TEFL course is like not being certified at all and good luck to us. So I am nervous. Another concern is culture clash. Apparently, the Czech are pretty reserved by nature, and to put it lightly, Jullia and I are not. At all. So pos no one is going to hire us and we will be yet again without work, but this time in another country. Worst case scenario!! Oh well, plane tickets are bought, so as of August 31, I will officially be an "ex-pat!" tee-hee-hee.

On a lighter note, Mom and I dined at Blue Taleh tonight. De-lish! I was introduced to 2 new things, which I LOVE! First was the Asharhi Cucumber Roll which we had as an appetizer. It is salmon, yellowtail, tuna, and avocado wrapped in thin cucumber slices. OMG, it's awesome. Even better, if possible, was the Cucumber Margarita! OMFG, absolutely delicious. Patron silver, with simple syrup, lime juice, and just a touch of watermelon schnapps with thin cucumber slices floating around. THE BOMB!! Mom had a Mango Martini served with a fresh pineapple slice, also fab. Do they serve these drinks in Prague?!

Appropriately, Czech words today are: Unemployed = nezaměstnaný

Homeless = bezdomovec

Can I get the veggie burrito?

There are no Czech vegetarians. Yes, I am going to make that bold statement before I even get there. Apparently Czech cuisine is all about roast pork, sauerkraut, and some boiled bread dumpling that is sliced and served with meat juice. Oh, and tripe too! Tripe soup is supposed to be popular. Even if I was a meat-eater, these things are less than appetizing to me. Ok, I'll just come out with it, Czech food sounds nasty!! There is only one vegetarian dish named in Lonely Planet: smazeny syr (fried cheese!). LP advises me to eat at a Chinese food restaurant if I want to go out. My only hope is dessert! There are crepes and fruit filled dumplings with chocolate and ice cream. Ughh, I just did a google search for Czech restaurants around Boston because I was curious to check out the menus. The closest one is in Killington, VT!! That is not close! I guess there isn't a huge demand for houskove knedliky (the boiled dumpling) around here. Plus this place seemed pretty Americanized -- I mean, they had spinach dip on the menu. I will be sure to post a review and photos of my first authentic Czech meal when I get there.

The poll has closed. Prague beat out Istanbul 7-5. I would have been pretty surprised if Istanbul had won, considering it has never been mentioned as a possibilty before I threw that poll up. We were considering going there instead for about a week. I read some places that we may be able to find jobs easier, then I read some other places that we wouldn't. Pretty much the same as the Prague research. Anyway, the main draws were the awesome weather - 85 and sunny everyday - and being near the water. But we are sticking to Prague! The voters have spoken and this is where we'll go ;-)

The weather continues to suck here in MA. It rains every single day. And it's cold! Low 70s, cloudy skies everyday. I hate it. Weather has a strong effect on me, and the type we've been having here makes me want to sleep...all the time.

Already mentioned some Czech words today, but just to recap, they are:

smazeny syr = fried cheese

houskove knedliky = weird dumpling