Visa blues.

As most of you know by now, I'm getting pretty freaked out about my Visa situation. As I started to mention before, there is an ungodly amount of red tape all over everything, and every attempt I make at pushing through is just met with an immovable wall. I've spent hours at embassies, consulates, government offices... And each place either tells me I'm in the wrong place and have to go somewhere else, or they give me no hope whatsoever that I can live/work/stay here and tells me I should basically just give up now and go home. It has been really discouraging and depressing. I've been crying a lot lately.

Of course, Scot was simply handed his job. He didn't even need to interview. Was just at the right place at the right time. They needed a male teacher and there he was, referred by another expat we've met here. What kills me is that it's my dream job. Working with young kids, in a creative setting. Great pay, holidays, vacations, Visa assistance. The works. Of course, I want to be happy for him. But it's hard not to feel a twinge of bitterness and betrayal. He would feel the same if I, by complete chance, landed some amazing music contract that allowed me to travel all over Europe and get into the best clubs in all the major cities, etc. That would be his dream. He would say 'hey, you're not even that into music, what's the deal?' But we are supposed to be "friends" now and be supporting each other. How can I expect him to empathize with my fears of not finding work, of not making it here? Of being deported and not being allowed to return to the Shengen Zone (most of Europe) for up to three years? Especially when he has never really had to struggle to survive, ever in his life? At this point, he is home-free: he has a great paying job that will get him a Visa, and now gets to enjoy the amazing Prague summer (apparently winter really sucks here) doing whatever he wants. He gets to spend his days going to places like the zoo (the Czech zoo is amongst the top 5 in the world) or hanging out in beer gardens that overlook the city. In the meantime, I'm standing in lines, applying to literally over two dozen jobs every day, and haven't been able to stop crying for the last three days/nights.

I am breaking down, friends. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. Every job that gets back to me either...
a) won't hire me because I don't have a university degree
b) can only offer part-time work and no Visa assistance
c) just straight-up won't hire any non-EU citizens
d) or all the hiring people are on holiday until late August (most Czechs tend to go on vacation during the summer), and by then my Visa situation will really be fucked and I will be nearly out of time.

I'm busting ass. I'm tapping every resource I have here. I'm looking on every job-posting website in Prague. I'm sending resumes to every school I can find in the area, whether they are hiring or not. I'm interviewing all over the place. I'm asking everybody if they know of work, what their Visa process was like, if they have any info or advice on anything... I'm exhausted but I have to keep going because I'm racing against time. I'm already halfway through my 90-day visa...

I am trying to take it easy. Take it as it comes... that's what traveling is all about. But it's hard not to get scared and anxious when I keep hearing stories about people being deported, when I'm trying so damn hard to get a job and still haven't found anything (and Scot just gets handed my dream job without even looking or having internet). This place is really testing my spirit. I'm emotionally/mentally/physically broken at this point. I want to say there is nowhere to go but up, but even that isn't true. Every time I think it can't get any worse, I run into another wall. Or find out something else that complicates everything even that much more. It's like I just can't catch a break.

I'm trying, friends. I don't know what else I can do. I want to just enjoy this summer and have fun in this amazing place... But this eminent threat of being kicked out is really scaring me. And it's even harder to have to watch the one 'friend' I thought I had here, just snatch up my dream (after already having used my wind and sails to get here) and move on with having a great time here without even thinking about how I must be feeling or what I'm struggling with.

I'm sorry this wasn't a very happy report. It's just what's happening... Please send me supportive energy and hopeful thoughts... I need everything I can get.

- Nova.

Recent pics:

Breathing deeply.

Our course officially ended yesterday. We received our certificates, went out for drinks, and said our goodbyes to the folks flying back home. What a whirlwind the last four weeks have been! I already feel like I've been here three months... Now, Scot and I are on the road to "recovery" and focused on finding job (not an easy task for the next couple of months, as we have learned that many Czechs go on holiday until things pick back up in September).

The sunset was so amazing last night, I had to throw this picture in here. This is my view from my teeny balcony in my flat.

Scot and I have decided we are better as friends, for the time being. We've agreed that he has too much growing to do before he is ready for the kind of depth he wants in our relationship, and it's not fair to ask that I wait indefinitely for him. Now that the course is over, it's time to start pursuing our individual goals. I came to Europe to start over and we both knew this split would eventually happen once we were here. So we will continue on as good friends and do our best to support each other.

We miss everyone back home so much... I hope you are all taking care of each other.

- Nova.

Test:

...Just wanted to let everyone know that we both passed our big scary grammar test this morning. Yay! Now to find a job...

- Nova.

Ack!!

Grammar test in the morning!! Freakin' out!!!! Seriously, I'm scared. This test is no cake-walk...*anxious face*

- Nova.

Another week gone at the speed of light...

Above: Czech countryside...

Honestly dear friends, I am trying to blog as often as I can. I swear, Prague is like a time-sucking vacuum...

This last week has definitely been the worst/most stressful of being here in Praha. Lots happened... So much that I can't fully explain it all. So I'll try to summarize:

Monday - We started a new level of student-teaching (Scot had Beginners and I had Pre-Intermediates), we both had group-drama with the peers in our respective teaching-groups. Great way to start the week, eh? I also met with a Scottish guy that wants to take belly dance lessons from me. Bizarre. But I could definetly use the money... We also went to a beer garden in a park that overlooks a lot of the city for a going-away celebration of a TEFL grad and fellow expat. The view waas fantastic, but it was a bit dark... So no pictures of it yet. But I promise to return and take a few proper photos on a clearer/brighter day.

Tuesday - Our main instructor called in sick for our morning classes, so we actually got more than six hours of sleep. That was awesome. I did my one-to-one session (we need to do 2 60-minute sessions outside of class with a single student) in the evening at a local bar themed like Southern Cali.

Wednesday - Scot had an interview with the same preschool I interviewed with the previous week. No dice; the director doesn't want to deal with the paperwork that entails hiring a non-EU citizen. Scot and I broke up and then got back together over the span of about 2 hours in the middle of the day. I hadn't even planned my lesson for that evening yet. Scot's teaching-group also got completely reamed by their observer that evening, who apparently was just having a bad day but still managed to completely break the spirit of one of Scot's group-mates. We spent some of the evening at a pub trying to undo the damage.

Thursday - Always a good day of the week: we have a particular teacher that is really engaging and interesting, and it's also the last day of student-teaching for the week. After the last student-teaching class, we celebrated with a few classmates at a pub.

Friday - We had a "Trial by TEFL" gameshow-style review session for the big grammar test coming up on Tuesday. Even though this test counts for 80% of receiving our TEFL certification (on which we also need to score 80% or higher to pass), this was only the third official, class time-dedicated review session in the three weeks we've been in school. Needless to say, I'm still freaking out a bit about the test. It's super comprehensive and I don't know nearly as much of the material as I should. Later in the afternoon we moved his stuff into his new flat. That evening, I saw one of the most beautiful thunder and lightning storms I've ever witnessed in my life. The rain was coming down in torrents, the streets were flooded... Thunder came at least once a minute for a good 15 mins, and the lightning was occuring as often as every 20 seconds for well over an hour. Gorgeous.

Satuday - Scot finished both of his one-to-one's (I'm totally jealous, I still have one more to do before Friday) and we make a trek up to one of the bigger Tesco's (Tesco is like Wal-Mart but not evil, and more concentrated on the food part) to pick up some things for his new pad. That night we stayed in because of more rain... The rain here is vicious. Big ol' drops that attack you with vengance. Seriously, they hit hard. I spent the evening making grammar flashcards.

Today - One of our classmates (the Aussie) and his Czech wife drove us out to the Czech countryside to their grandparent's place. Seriously: gorgeous. Super calm, really relaxing... Grandma fed us the best Czech cuisine I've had here yet. The countryside in the Czech is quite lovely. Gradually rolling hills and fields, lots of greenery, mid-height lush trees, tons of little ponds and mini-lakes, beautifully simple and elegant villages nestles in valleys... So serene. We spent the day driving, wandering, studying (we combined our flashcard-making awesomeness), eating, relaxing, and driving some more. All in all, a perfect Sunday.

This nest week isn't going to be an easy one either. Aside from the dreaded grammar test, we also have a considerably higher amount of homework than usual, and I'm also nervous about switching into the Beginner level (Scot moves to Pre-Intermediates) because of the rough feedback our classmates have been getting from the observer. But hopefully because of this week, my skin has been toughened up a bit and I won't take it too hard.

Also, I'm finally on Skype! You can find me by searching for my gmail email address...

- Nova.

Walking around.

Our classmates:

So here is everyone. From left to right: back row - Drew from Iowa, Niko from San Fran, Lauren from northern Cali, Naaz from northern Cali, Carly from Indiana, Rich from the U.K., Virginia from Arkansas, Govin from Singapore; front row - Gavin from Australia, our lead instructor Indigo, and of course, me & Scot. We are the only ones wearing sunglasses 'cause we are just that cool. ;)

- Nova.

P.P.S.

...I hope everyone has realized that you can click on each picture and see it much bigger and in more detail! ;)

- Nova.

Wowzers.

Ok friends back home, I know everyone is just dying to hear what's been going on with us!! Thank you for being patient -- this week has really just flown by for us both. I can't believe we are half-way through this course already!

Week 1... Well, I don't remember any specifics from it at this point. Week 2 has been SLAMMED. We are in school over 10 hours a day, starting at 9:30am and then student-teaching in the evenings until about 8pm. Here's a little taste...

Every morning we do a couple of "Teaching Methodology" workshops (usually focused on a particular skill, i.e. Grammar, Speaking, Reading, etc.). These are very specifically outlined lesson plan structures that we are NOT to deviate from while earning our certificate and being observed by Language House staff. We then have a lunch break and a few hours to prepare that evening's lesson. Yes, you heard correctly: we don't have time to prepare what we are teaching that evening until about three hours before it starts.

In our class, there are four groups of 2-3 people that rotate student-teaching between Beginner, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, and Advanced levels of students. We could be teaching anywhere from 1 to 7 students from day to day, so the student-to-teacher ratio is sometimes tricky.

Interestingly enough, though recieving our certification is dependant on passing a grammar test at the end of the course (which we must score 80% or higher on), we have only spent one day on grammar. Almost every class we've had is on Teaching Methodology. And there is only one other day scheduled for grammar that I currently know of. At the beginning of the course we were given an extensive grammar assignment (mine turned out to be 12 typed pages - questions are about things like past simple present tense vs. present simple continuous, modal verbs, gerunds, going to vs. will... you get the idea). Basically we had to research the answers on our own (thank you Google!!) and fill everything in as quickly as possible... But I didn't actually learn the grammar content. I still find it very confusing and redundant. Scot is doing much better with it than I am at this point... And to be honest, I'm a bit scared about the test.

Another thing I'm getting worried about is my Visa. Getting a Visa is a total pain in the ass in the Czech Republic. I have asked everyone we've met about how their process went and what they had to do, and every answer is different. After a really confusing couple of "workshops" (mostly just really confusing lectures that describe things you have to do to get a Visa, but not in order or in a way that makes sense, by an alumn from the school) at school about the subject, this is what I've been able to gather:

• You can get either a Visa, Zivnostensky, Work Permit, a Short-Term Visa Extension, or get deported after your 90-day Tourist Visa expires.

• To get a Visa, you need to hire someone to make you an appointment at the Consulate. Then you need to train about 4 hours, outside of the Czech Republic (yes, it's outside of the country. WTF?!?) and have an interview in their office. You need to have with you a number of documents... Things like proof you have a Czech address, a U.S. address (? Why??), a signed affidavit saying you don't have a criminal record, etc. There's much, much more. Then you hopefully get your passport stamped and your papers are handed over to the Foreign Police to verify. This can take 90-120 days. Then they give your papers back to the Consulate and you go pick up a printed document within a two-day window or you dont get your Visa. (Remember, you had to train about 4 hours to get there, so this takes an entire day to do.) Then you have to take the printed document to the Foreign Police again and have them verify it within another 48-hour window. Oh, by the way, that person you hired earlier? You also need to pay them to notarize documents, represent you legally, and translate ALL of the documents into Czech, or they aren't valid.

• To get a Zivno (business license), you need an equally long list of rediculous paperwork (along with a "Residency Permit" that is given to you by the police, stating that you are in fact living in the flat you claim to be living in). The process to get one also includes multiple day-long appointments that require hours of travel, an expensive translator, and bad-tempered officials.
  

• A Short-Term Visa Extension would be nice to get, since it is basically guaranteed that you will NOT be able to get your Semi-Permanent Visa within the 90-day period of your Tourist Visa. Makes sense, right? Nope. A Short-Term Visa Extension can take up to 90 days to process, is expensive, and isn't always guaranteed to be granted.

Oh, and all of these things costs hundreds, if not thousands of CZK (their currency). The Visa costs money, the bus and train tickets to these far away Consulates cost money, and the paperwork costs money.

That's just what I learned at school. Then I found this website and nearly had an emotional break-down: http://prague.tv/articles/relocation/czech-visa . There is so much f****ng red tape. It's ridiculous. Come on people, Communism is over. Now you can have Americans come and teach you English and spend money in your economy. LET US IN!!

I had an interview last night for a Montessori preschool... Such a great job. I would LOVE to get it. But it's basically run out of this woman's home with under a dozen kids per year. What I've been told my the school is that your employer helps you get all this Visa stuff taken care of and you don't have to worry about it. What they don't tell you is that only the big schools help you with Visas. Schools that have admin departments and translators and lots of money to pay for your Visa. The interview with this woman went pretty well (we even talked about her brother that lives in Seattle and a book she recently read who's main character was named Nova), but she is concerned about dealing with all the paperwork for my Visa. She hasn't had to deal with it before, nor does she really have the time/money to figure it all out. I told her I would do my best to find out exactly what we needed and do as much on my end as I could, but that a lot of the paperwork had to be "employer-verified" so I could be granted a Visa.

***sigh***

In other news, Scot has found his own place! Literally, he is the first tenant in a 3-bedroom apartment. It's a good price in a great location (across the street from a great cafe that is a popular spots for expats - they play free movies there once a week, have Wi-Fi, and a fantastic menu). He is moving in on Tuesday! Yay!

The last few pics are from Prague Castle. We stopped in on our first day of school when we were taking the tour, and I realized I haven't put any in this blog yet. The building is so striking... Absolutely mammoth. And everywhere you look there are hundreds of intricate, subtle details. Inside the church, all sides are covered in floor-to-ceiling stain-glass tableaus like the one above. And this building isn't that small, like I said... Seeing all of that work on that scale almost knocks the air out of you; to stand in the center of the church and try to comprehend all of the technique, skill, time, and materials spent on making this one structure is truly awe-inspiring.

I think that's all I can post for now. I promise to try and post more than just once a week... :)

- Nova.

P.S. We also got to see the Big Lebowski at that cafe I mentioned earlier on Wednesday! They even had decently-priced caucasians... ;)

First week of school down...

Hi everyone! My apologies for not writing in a while. I know many of you have been waiting with suspense for the next update. ;)

Phew... What a week. We started school at The Language House, took our first ride on the metro, I moved into a flat, we met a few alum's of the program, and even taught our first class! So far, our classmates are great -- super friendly, a wide range of backgrounds, and generally fun to hang out with. Our teachers are also great -- incredibly animated, knowledgeable, and always available to help (it doesn't feel weird to ask lots of questions, which you all know I do!).

Thursday was our first teaching day. We didn't have to do an entire lesson, just the intro piece (had to fill 15-20 mins though, so a pretty long intro!). This is usually composed of an ice-breaker and maybe one or two warm-up activities. Our next teaching day is Monday, which is a full 45-minute session in which an entire lesson is expected to be taught (this particular week we are focusing on lexis/vocab).

Tonight we are all going out bowling... I've been told by Czechs and expats alike that people stay out until 3am every day of the week! Prague is definitely a party-city. For now, I'll stick to staying out late on the weekends. We've got lessons to plan!!

- Nova.

P.S. My new room is HUGE. Like, as big as my last studio in Chinatown in Seattle (yes, I know it's more PC to say 'International District' but it will always be Chinatown to me). Wood floors, a teeny balcony, and already equipped with a small bed, table, chair, and dilapidated mini-sofa. Yay! Tomorrow I'm taking a quick trip to Ikea to get a couple more things (cord for my star-lamp, curtains, etc.). My new roomates are awesome, too. :)