Wow. So it's been awhile. I have been living in Prague for seventeen months now. What?! For me to even write that is crazy. If you would've told me before I moved to Prague that I would still be living here after almost a year and a half, I would never have believed you. In my mind I was staying at least six months, maybe a year if I liked it well enough. And yet here I am, still living a Czech life. So much has gone on in the nine month span since I've written my last post. Where to start?
Well, I am now living out of the city center in a nice residential area in the Prague 6 district. I have a studio apartment to myself. Although living alone can get lonely at times, I've been enjoying myself and my new place quite a bit. I have made a lot of friends and I have lost a lot of friends. I think one of the hardest parts about being an expat is the never-ending goodbyes. I have had to say goodbye to more friends in the past year and a half than I think I have in my whole life. There are only a handful of us still in Prague from our original TEFL group. All the rest have either moved on to a different country, or back to the States. Being an expat means having to deal with almost constant change. Changes in jobs, friends, apartments...you name it. But I think the biggest change occurs within yourself. I know that I'm sounding cheesy as hell right now. But honestly, I feel like a totally different person from the girl that boarded a plane to Prague seventeen months ago.
Speaking of changes, the contract I had with the preschool I worked for ended in June. I worked at this preschool from last August until the end of June. It was the most stressful, demanding, and rewarding ten months that I've had. Since then, I have been trying to pick up some babysitting and private English lessons as a way to earn extra money and fill up my time until I find another job. I would like to branch out of the teaching world a bit and see what else I could do as a profession here in Prague. But mostly, I have just been enjoying the summer. I did my first ever solo trip in July around Croatia. I was so apprehensive to travel alone. I had always taken the backseat when it came to directions and all the important stuff when traveling with a friend or group. How the hell would I manage to get myself around Croatia?! But alas friends, I did it. And guess what? It was amazing. I had the best time for those six days traveling around and meeting new people. There were so many other solo travelers just like myself that I met along the way. I met travelers from England, Australia, Brazil, the U.S., Canada, and much more. It was so lovely to pick other people's brains about their view on the world and traveling. I gained a lot of insight on those short six days. I also gained a lot of confidence. Since I only had myself to rely on, I had to make sure that I was organized and ready to get myself where I needed to be. I ended up doing much better than I thought I would. I navigated my way through Dubrovnik, Split, and Zagreb like a champ. I took a speedboat tour in Split to The Blue Lagoon and Trogir, I joined a Ghost Tour in Zagreb, and I drank a lot of wine and beer. It was the most relaxing trip that I've ever taken. There was no stress about where to go or what to do. My Croatia trip was exactly what I needed and I am 100% sure that I will be traveling solo again in the near future.
Although it is nice to have the summer off, it can also get a bit boring and lonely. I felt myself falling into a bit of a slump in my daily routine since ending my teaching job. My trip to Croatia reminded me to find the beauty in each day and really just to stop and enjoy life a bit more. So for now, I don't have a new steady job (but I'm searching!). I had an interview today that went really well, so hopefully by my next blog post I'll be ranting and raving about my fabulous new job ;)
This post doesn't even cover half of the on-goings of the past nine months. If I were to write it all out, you'd be reading a novel. So for now, I'm going to leave you with some pictures of my lovely Croatian trip.
Until next time.
Dubrovnik
Blue Lagoon
St. Mark's Church in Zagreb
Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb
Dubrovnik
