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.

South America

As we said last month South America seems to be on quite a few travel plans. So we are continuing with Joyce’s recent travels there and hope you continue to enjoy reading about her experiences.

Since last month Joyce has sent me a CD with a hundred or so great images from her trip. Obviously too many to think about publishing here. We covered her time in Galapagos last month and now we can catch up with just a few images before we go on with her diary.

I’ve decided that I am the grandma of the trip. I am now traveling with 4 Couples most married less than 2 years and all honeymooners and much younger. However grandma here has been the heathiest and most evergetic.

They all go to bed and I am ready to hit the town but of course do not as i will not go alone.

She has Moose though and he got into all sorts of scrapes on Galapagos! (Ed)


Maxchu Pichu
So we are back from Maxchu Pichu. Those Incas knew how to pick the best real estate. Location is incredible. Surrounded by the Andes and covered in clouds it is a magical site to see and explore.

Walked several hours among the sites. They must have had long legs because the terraces and steps between each row was quite wide. I was double stepping the whole way. The twon has hot springs so a few of us went to the springs to relax. Of course it was a 100 step walk up to get there. They make you earn every site and activity here. So much for 24 hour fitness.

Christmas is not such a big thing here (neither is Hanukkah). We were in a restaurant and a local band came in to serenade us. Before long we were doing the Perusina version of the hora around the room.

So lets talk food. I have not tried nor do I plan to try guinea pig which is the specialty here. I did eat alpaca and it wa quite tasty although I still prefer wearing it. Trout is garlic butter is very nice. Pizza is everywhere. Here they have a special tea which you drink to help with the altitude. It is a type of leaf which would be illegail in the US. There are over 500 types of corn here. Popcorn is common but quite different.

South Korea

More from Dave…

Its hard to give you exact figures of prices, especially utilities as mine sort of come bundled under one 'fee'. The most expensive thing by far is oil heating. It can cost from $100 upwards a month in winter, depending on how much you use it. I dare say the winters here are fierce but from my knowledge most people are happy to part with the money. I'm extremely fortunate in that I don't actually pay for any oil, I have a very good director.

Food is cheap. You can live comfortably for $50 a week. Eating out is often cheaper and a full meal costs between $5 to $10. Of course the more 'fancy' you go the more you pay, as one would expect.

Power is also dirt cheap. Again, I don't see my power bill, but it isn't very much. $50 a month is top.

Tax here is at best dodgy. Officially, and hold onto your hat for this one, its only 5%. Your employer deducts this from your salary and you really don't even notice it.

Insurance is about $30 a month. All contracts state you have to have insurance and generally your employer pays for 50% of it. In my experience its worth having. Its a small price to pay in the event of something going wrong. I also ride a motorbike here so it's peace of mind for me should I ever be in an accident.

I actually live at my academy so I don't pay rent as per se. All up I pay $100 for all my utilities, tax and rent for one month. As you can see I pay less then 5% tax, but the tax laws here aren't stringent. The most I've ever heard anyone pay for rent is $200 a month. Most contracts have the employer paying for rent.