Czechoslovak Republic

Eastern Europe is another of the spots that people ask about. Prague is the city that most persons recognize when you speak of this part of the world and we are printing a Prague story with images this month.

Work for TESOL teachers in Prague is competitive if you want to be under the umbrella of a language school. Several of the big franchised schools run programmes there to attract ‘study and play’ visitors and they also lease these students out for work experience. There are also many other small private schools and these have a ready supply of cash strapped UK/USA students, who will work for food and a bed while they also have a holiday. Street work is the way to go and no I do not mean joining the ‘oldest profession!’ My experience was interesting and informative. My Best Friend [BF] and I wandered down a side street to inspect a street market for cheap post cards and maybe an odd present. (We were later heading to UK and my in laws).

I loved this witch. When you clapped your hands it jumped up and down on the strings cackling as though practising lines for Macbeth. Needless to say I was banned from buying it for You Know Who!

Since we were off the main drag the crowds were thinner and since it was now well into mid morning and my shopping tolerance was waning rapidly I spotted an outside bistro very close to a back packers where I could sit in the sun watch the crowd and calm my nerves after shopping with a decent coffee. BF and I sat back in the watery summer sun (by Oz standards anyway)and chatted in English. She’s European and seriously multi lingual, my best efforts are American, UK and Australian English. I can swear like a Bullocky in the latter! Within a few minutes several students had wanted to sit at our table and practice their English with us. We put them off, politely, since this was supposed to be ‘time out’ for us. However when one enterprising young lady walked up with two coffees, planted them in front of us and sat down…..short of starting a diplomatic incident we were trumped!

The message here is that work is where you find it and often it finds you. I have never failed to turn up work by placing those tear of my phone number strips on the bottom of a notice and placing it on the notice board of a University or even local coffee house. If you can get a local to be your agent, and I find the owner or manager of the backpackers where I am bunking is usually a good one, since they will get some casual trade for snacks and drinks if you run your lessons there. Don’t neglect to arrange to pay them a commission for getting business for you, remember they know all of the local strings that can be pulled.

Ordinary local food in Eastern Europe is basic, but spiced and the dumplings that seem to accompany everything really put some sinkers in your gut. Get away from the tourist traps, always, watch where the local workers are heading and tag along. Even in Prague we could eat cheaply by getting into the side streets of the suburbs and finding the local hang outs. Soup, goulash, coffee for two at around $10AUD. For breakfast find a bakery, buy some rolls, then get cheese and sliced meats $2/3AUD gets you both off to a good start. In eating places, cafes, schnapps houses, even places of worship, watch out for the dogs under chairs or camped on benches next to their boss! Different folks have different ways. They treasure their dogs and I have watched the Schnapps House owner bring a bowl of water for the dog before taking the order from its owner. Very different.