Happy Anniversary

This month marks my 3-year anniversary here in Prague. And it doesn’t seem like just yesterday that I got off an airplane in the middle of the night, scared and alone in a new and very foreign place. It’s been quite a long journey. I didn’t know a soul here, and I was running away from what I thought was home. What I didn’t know was that I was running towards home. Prague is my home now.

When I landed here in October of 2006 I had short red hair with black highlights. I was insecure and frightened. I had no job and no friends.

My hair is not the only thing that has gone through a transformation.

I have been up and down here in Prague. I have been gainfully employed, and I have been broke. I have been fired and found work when I had too. I have had over 10 roommates. I have lived in great apartments and I have lived in rooms with no heat. I have made Thanksgiving dinners with all of the trimmings and I have spent weeks eating nothing but potatoes and ramen. I have spent the last three Christmases here watching the snow fall with other ex pats that could not afford to, or didn’t want to go “home” for the holidays. I have traveled to great European cities with not more than an hours notice. I have been blessed.

The biggest blessing has been the people I have met here. Since my very first day in Prague, I have had friends. I remember meeting Ben and Christina quite vividly – walking down the street from the Villa and headed towards the Norma market in Prague 9. Ben turns to us and says in a slight southern drawl, “So, ya’ll passionate about teaching?” We started laughing and a friendship was born. I met some amazing people in my TEFL course that will be close to me forever. Some of us spent 2 years here together before making our way to new adventures. I consider the staff at TEFL Worldwide Prague to be family. Even when I wasn’t working there, Cheryl and Terry (and Hana!) have taken the best care of me and looked out for my interests. For this I can never be grateful enough.

I have gotten used to some of the crappy things about living here – such as being pushed daily. Whether I am waiting for the Metro or waiting in line at the Albert, an old Czech lady will push me. I have gotten used to the lack of spices in food here, and have devised ways of making my own food flavorful. I know that service will not come with a smile and that it might not come…ever. I know that going to the post office in a former communist country is as close to hell as I ever wish to be. And I know that taking the tram in the middle of summer here requires nose plugs. (Still haven’t gotten used to the men and children peeing in the streets…and I won’t. Not ever!)

But for all of its faults, Prague is home. I live in a city with an actual castle! I have amazing friends here from all over the world. I look back at the girl who came here and I don’t really recognize her. I have learned how to survive anything and just roll with the punches. I guess the biggest lesson I have learned here is that ultimately in life you have only yourself to rely on. For the very first time in my life I am completely independent. (I realized that somewhere on a bus in the middle of Mexico.) I am living my life the way I want to. I make my own money and have fought to stay here. The friendships I have here are not due to convenience or locality – they are friends I have chosen. I came to this place three years ago a victim and I have recovered. I am my own person now. Sure, that person is a little quirky and maybe crazy sometimes, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Heck, without the sour the sweet just ain’t as sweet.

To all of the people who have helped me get to where I am I want to say thank you and I love you. You know who you are.

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Take one beautiful Princess and introduce her to a handsome, charming Prince. Let them fall in love. Then add an ugly, wicked, evil Queen who spites the Princess for her beauty or her lovely voice or just because she’s bored. Place the Princess in peril or mortal danger and let the Prince rescue her. The happy couple will live happily ever after. The end.

That ladies and gentlemen is the basic formula for a Fairy Tale. I have always loved Fairy Tales. Cinderella is my favorite; although when I was a little girl I was convinced that she was two different people - the maid, and the girl who goes to the Ball. I never said I was a bright kid…vivid imagination though. Cinderella would be a totally different story if she had a split personality. Sybill-rella?

I have read reports saying that Fairy Tales are harmful to children, that these stories teach a kid that being pretty is the most important thing in the world. These people claim that attractive women and men are more “socially rewarded” than unattractive people. And this is due to reading fairy tales. It is also said that women expect their lives to end “happily ever after” because of stories like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

To this I say – poppy cock. I never expected to be rescued by a Prince, and a wicked Queen has never cursed me. Well, not that I know of. I have been giving this matter a lot of thought lately, as I seem to have taken the relationship version of the road less traveled. I look on Facebook and see many of my old High School comrades married and with scores of kids, cars, pets and other trappings of domestic bliss. They seem to be living happily ever after. But is there more than one way to live happily ever after?

Sure there is. People in Fairy Tales have perfect lives and perfect histories. Cinderella and the Prince never get in fights about money, and Rapunzel never gained twenty pounds or cut her hair off for ease and comfort. Real people, meaning you and me folks, we have imperfect lives and histories when we meet someone and fall in love. Think about it. What if Snow White had an ex-husband? What if Sleeping Beauty had a couple of kids before Prince Charming walked into her life? And what about the Prince? What if he was great looking but had a low paying job or his feet smelled really bad? This is real life and if you want to live happily ever after out here in the real world, then these are the kind of things that you have to deal with.

I haven’t given up on finding my story book ending. I just don’t expect it to be perfect. I expect it to be fun and difficult and joyous and exciting. I don’t “need” anyone to make my life complete or to (pardon the Jerry MacGuire quote) complete me. I am complete. We need a witness to our lives. In a relationship you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the boring things... the laundry, the lay offs, the great sex and the happy birthdays. All of it. All of the time. Every day. You are agreeing with your partner to notice their life, you are saying – “Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness.” (That was lifted from a film…)

So, I’ll take my imperfections and his as well. I’ll have a heaping portion of romance and reality in equal amounts and leave the knight on his gallant steed for some other girl. Because in my Fairy Tale the Prince loves the Princess and they fight and make love and dance and pay bills and have kids and well...
they live.

I like Books Better Than I like Most People

Once a year I like to give a little round up of what I have read. It seems a lot of ya'll appreciate some ideas of what to read, and I am a huge dork who likes to make lists. So...Here is this years list of what I have read. Enjoy!

OCTOBER
*Darkmans - Nicola Barker: Um, yeah...a little tough to get through. Let me know if you managed to finish this one.
*Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Read it about 4 times...love it every time

NOVEMBER
*The Portrait - Ian Pears: Strange little book about art and revenge and the art of revenge. It was alright.
*The Book of Laughter and Forgetting - Milan Kundera: Czech author - GREAT read. Love him.

DECEMBER
*No Saints or Angels - Ivan Klima: Another Czech author. Depressing but VERY well writen. About family in Prague...and love and...well...read it.
*Snow Falling On Cedars - I liked this more than I thought I would. The story was less all mushy girl stuff and more - war is bad. Good read.
*The Beach - Loved it! Super fun read and WAY better than the movie. Great narrative voice. Good for anyone who likes to travel

JANUARY
*Sophie's Choice - William Styron: AMAZING. One of the best books I have ever read. That being said, it was also very difficult. Not writing wise, but topic. Just incredible and horrifying.
*Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers: Cute. Being an English teacher added a little something as well. It tells about love and sadness and how it translates into any language. Very sweet and poetic.

FEBRUARY
*Glass Books of the Dream Eaters: Action packed from start to finish. Almost too many characters to keep up with, but a lot of fun.
*The Probable Future: I loved it. Typical Alice Hoffman - magic, love, tragidy. Fun book.

MARCH
*The New Earth - Eckhart Tolle: 2nd time around with this one. READ THIS BOOK.
*This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald: Hi. Pretentious much? Ugh. HATED this. If you want to read about rich young kids and their problems go for it. I had no sympathy for anyone in this book.

APRIL
*Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao: Just perfect. A really fresh new voice and characters you won't forget.
*A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley: WOW. Great book of family tragedy. Wonderfully written.
*Mosquito Coast: Great, but made me mad at the same time. I guess its good writing when you want to punch a fictional character in the face.

May
*If You Ask Me... - Libby Gellman-Waxner: Movie reviews from the fictional reviewer. Very funny.
*Innocent Traitor: For all of those Phillipa Gregory fans out there. This tells the story of the girl crowned Queen for 9 days and was the...done away with.
*Quiet Belief In Angels - R.J. Ellroy: Someone keeps murdering and dismembering little girls...for about 20 years. The story of how a young boy and a town deal with it. Great book.

JUNE
*Saving Fish From Drowning - Amy Tan: I liked this book. It is a BIG departure from what Amy Tan usually does, but that was a good thing. It gives a really neat perspective on how Americans act and how we THINK we act.
*Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - Sedaris: Totally funny, as usual.
*The Virgin's Lover - Phillipa Gregory: Yawn. She dialed it in and I didn't pick up. Snooze fest. Fans of hers should pass this one up.

JULY
*The Shadow of the Wind: GREAT murder Mystery set in Spain in the fifties. Really well done!
*pride and prejudice and zombies: WAY tooo much fun. Worth it just for the illustrations.
*Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler: Agian, family saga that is very well written.

AUGUST
*The Right Stuff - Wolfe: I might be the only person alive who didn't really like this book. His wrting style gets in the way. I liked the movie better.
*The Constant Gardner - LeCarre" Thriller, murder mystery and love story. It was a fast and good read. I don't usually read these types of books, but this was fun.

September
*The Hummingbird's Daughter - Really beautiful. A lot of the story took place in the town I lived in while in Mexico. This book is full of culture, magic and beauty.
*My Sister, My Love - Joyce Carol Oates: A really different voice for her. She is one of my favorite authors and I really enjoyed the departure she took here. As usual though, the subject matter is dark, violent and disturbing.

So, there ya have it! i will be on to more "bloggy" blogs right quick. Don't fret. I just wanted to get this out. A few of you had been asking... ENJOY!