Step into Prague
Threshold to another world
Everyone asks why I made the move to Prague. Twice. It wasn’t until recently I could almost put the why into words beyond the cryptic, ‘it gets under your skin and is hard to shake’ ask anyone who’s left and come back again. I’m not the only one.
Prague is a mixture of constants and contradictions, of magic and modern, of shiny and gritty. Ancient buildings share space with modern sculptures. Cars, trucks, trams, bicycles, buses, and pedestrians share the roads. Bridges crisscross the Vltava River. Yes, there are more than the highly photographable and highly traveled (touristed) Karluv Most (Charles Bridge); many more.
Step away from Old Town (Staro Mesto), New Town (Nove Mesto), Lesser Town (Mala Strana) and you may discover there’s more to Prague than at first meets the eye.
This isn’t going to be your usual rehash of things to see and do in Prague.
Prague Diaries is intended to be a way station, a guide, a resource, a directory, a place for information for those who want to know what it’s like not to just live abroad, but to live abroad in Prague.
This newsletter is also aimed at TEFL-certified teachers, or those getting their certifications, who may be looking for information about what happens next after the certification. It can be as basic as how to read the tram/metro schedule, how to map out a route if you’re freelancing on a Zivnostensky (business trade license), how to complete an invoice for your school, and heck, how to find students and language agencies beyond the usual places.
Some recent grads and I realized there was something missing between getting your certificate and moving into to teaching, so I hope this newsletter may provide some insight. We also had some feedback from language agency directors and are hoping to fill the gaps a bit.
Don’t worry, there will be stories, too. Personal stories. Prague legends. Histories. And even a little survival Czech as I go back to learning a language that has little to no vowels and every other consonant has a mark that changes the sound of the letter. Hopefully, my language lessons will make for some interesting audio commentary. :)
And, of course, book reviews about Prague, the Czech Republic (Czechia, if you insist), books by Czech authors, and more. This newsletter is a living document. The more I hear from you, the better we can make it.