Payday!!

Today I received my first "job-that-requires-a-degree" paycheck. The woman at the cashiers desk counted out thousand bills right in front of my eyes. I decided to hold out on the crowns-to-dollars conversion in attempt to make the good vibes last throughout the day. It wasn't a large amount, but it was enough to make my first month of teaching worth all the hard work. As expected teaching is much harder than it looks. Saying the right things and explaining in the right way has been challenging. Often times I learn something new about the English language as well. There are way more differences between British English and American English than I thought- many of them in spelling. My students love correcting my spelling because the textbook I teach uses British English. "Miss Teacher, you spelled recogniSe with a Z!" Damn my smart students! Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I also didn't know the difference between Further and Farther. Maybe you don't either... check it.

I'm infamous for my terrible drawings on the whiteboard. When words fail, I try to draw a picture of the object in question. I learned recently that innocent drawings on the board can turn completely wrong. Cactus is the word. "What is a cactus?" a student asks. Instead of using my words, I let the marker do the talking. My little black squiggles were not bad, I must say. But the class clown decided he'd explain to the class in Czech what my drawing looked like in his dirty mind. Think about it. Okay, so I erased it quickly and it took a good 2 minutes to calm down the laughter. 

These are the funny moments that I will remember as my experience teaching in the Czech Republic. I will not remember when my class mocks me for saying "Awesome" or the blank stares I get when I ask "Does everyone understand?". One month down and 8 months left of making good memories.