Well. Week one at the Gymnasium, accomplished. And what a crazy week it was. I've been waiting to update until I could sum up one whole week, although a lot has happened: last Friday was actually my first day of teaching, and then we went to Prague for the first ESI retreat which was so wonderful. It was great to see familiar faces again, and to swap stories and discover that I wasn't the only one with a silly food mix-up, or who felt like they had no idea what was going on at their school. I really enjoyed my first students on Friday, and wished that I could just see them all week long: but, instead, I have 15 different groups that I see, ranging from the equivalent of 5th graders to juniors in high school. A lot I see only once a week, a good amount twice, and only one class I see three times a week (teaching the whole class, instead of sharing it with Czech teachers). Monday and Tuesday were really rough: not only is this my first real job (sorry CPO, I don't really count you--you were too much fun!), but it's my first year teaching, which is supposedly hard, and it's in another country! I felt lost, I felt overwhelmed, I felt like a flop, I felt like giving up and going home. Tuesday, I walked into a classroom full of a huge, loud class, started introducing myself, and had a student raise her hand and manage to say, "Mr. (yes) Patrick, you know this is geography class?" My face must have been priceless, because everyone laughed...and then the real teacher walked in. A little mortified, I made my way to the office and found that my schedule had changed.

Now on the other end, I'm still nervous for the rest of the year, but I'm excited and like quite a few of my classes. I made my students laugh (this time intentionally!) by acting out words like "confident," "talkative" and "shy"; and by confessing that yes, Titanic is one of my favorite movies. I got them thinking and talking. I'm learning how to be more organized, but let myself relax sometimes so I don't stress constantly. I know there are many learning moments to come...and I've never been so grateful for a Friday in all my life! It's a party on patek!

Pictures: views of Prague (with Ashley and Sarah); the sunset out our window on our balcony; and me on my first day of school!