Saturday, October 27, 2007
Jackie...the Bum Wiper
My job at the Puppies pre school has just added another dimension to it. Now I know in the past I have talked about helping the kids pee when they are outside and the fact that they just go anywhere. As in the other day a boy decided to go right where he was playing in the park and unfortunately one of the girls didn’t see the line of pee and turned right into it. Not a good situation. Well amongst other things the kids need help in the bathroom. Chelsa and Sara have been helping the kids out already with this but I have failed to help or even notice that my job includes this aspect. I worked with Sara the other day and she gratefully introduced me to this new fact. It all started when I heard little three year old Jonash shouting from the bathroom. Hum...what is he saying or what does he want. That’s right he wants me to come and wipe his bum. So I approached the situation very cautiously thinking “how am I going to do this”, “I can’t touch this kid, I’m going to get sued” and all of the above. Well no need to worry cause I got a huge, huge wad of toilet paper to prepare myself. Well he bent right over while sitting on toilet and braced himself by grabbing both my legs... I guess he has done this before. I wonder where “bum wiping” will fit on my resume?
Monday, October 15, 2007
Pre School
I have had a couple of questions regarding what I actually do at the pre school that I work at. So I thought I would share what a day there entails for me...
It’s an early start to the day - for some that is. I have to leave the house by 7:15am in order to catch the metro at an early enough time. In the mornings it usually comes every 2 minutes so that’s not really a problem. It’s about a 35-40 minute ride by the time I switch lines and get to the end of the yellow line, Zličin. From here I take a bus out to Uhonisce, the town where the school is located. It’s a small town outside of Prague...like a suburb really. This hour and fifteen minute commute really makes me appreciate how close things are in Regina and how I can usually get to work in 15min tops.
I get there around 8:30am and then for the next little while spend time playing with the kids. This involves playing board games, computer games or really anything. There’s no lack of toys at the school. On average there is about 15 kids and at the most 20 kids. Around 9:30ish we have snack consisting of tea and a donut or something of that nature. It’s really quite cute as all the kids have their own mugs with their pictures on it-very good idea so as not to get their cups mixed up.
From here we move on to the Eclipse, what is that you ask? Well it’s where all the kids sit around in a circle and share with the group, if they want to, what they did the following night. It’s quite hilarious as many of the kids talk forever and could care less if anyone is listening to them, which is usually the case. After this comes a game of some sort involving English. We have in the past watched English nursery rhymes on video, read some English books and so one. Sometimes we even act out the rhyme or story. The kids just love this and it great time filler. It takes about 15 minutes to get the kids all organized with costumes or whatever before we start the story which is 2min at max. It’s pretty chaotic but quite funny to see the end product.
Next comes play time out side for about an hour or so before lunch. There is a fairly big back yard with a couple of play structures, a sand box and teeter todder. I spend about 20 minutes helping kids put on jackets/play clothes, taking of slippers , putting on shoes and throwing them out the door. Some days we take walk out to an old church with a large grassy area in the front. It’s really beautiful and a great place to play games. The kids love playing “red light/green light” along with “What time is it Mr. Wolf”. On Friday’s we head out to a small farm where the kids get about a five minute pony ride each. This of course is the highlight of the week.
After being outside things become very chaotic...it’s lunch time. Kids come flying in from outside and take off their stuff in record time. The older kids are pretty good and usually do not need help, but with the younger ones it’s a different story. We have 3 year old twin boys that go to the school, and I think every day we lose their slippers and regular pants in which I spend about 15min looking for them before lunch. Lunch is catered in and consists of some sort of soup to start and then a meat and potato or dumpling type deal. Next it’s quite time, where some of the little ones actually nap. If they chose not to sleep then they sit in a chair around the perimeter of the room and Iranka reads stories to them. Iranka is another Czech worker who comes for the afternoon. This is my quiet time as well once I have cleaned up lunch and eaten some myself. Katie, another Czech worker comes after lunch and does crafts with the kids. I love doing crafts so I usually try to get in on the action myself if I don’t have too many kids to help.
After some more play time, my time is up and I can head home. I should mention that throughout the day I am endlessly blowing kids noses...is this what I have to look forward to in having kids? I found out that this really disgusts me, but maybe it is different with your own kids. I also help the kids go to the bathroom, if they chose to use it. An interesting note about Czech culture is that it’s okay to pee in public. We will be in a park and the kids will just whip down their pants and go...I’ve seen it all over the city as well. I’m not a fan of helping the kids do this. I also break up mini fights between the kids and discipline them as well when needed. This usually does not go over well as of course the majority of them do not speak well enough English to understand what I am saying. But in any language a no means no. And of course picking them up under each arm always works as well. After this experience I will be ready for motherhood, or this will make me think twice about it!
A picture of Chelsa and I with the kids after a theatrical rendition of "The Gingerbread Man"
A picture of Zdaneka taken courtesy of Chelsa. Now you know what I do all day!
It’s an early start to the day - for some that is. I have to leave the house by 7:15am in order to catch the metro at an early enough time. In the mornings it usually comes every 2 minutes so that’s not really a problem. It’s about a 35-40 minute ride by the time I switch lines and get to the end of the yellow line, Zličin. From here I take a bus out to Uhonisce, the town where the school is located. It’s a small town outside of Prague...like a suburb really. This hour and fifteen minute commute really makes me appreciate how close things are in Regina and how I can usually get to work in 15min tops.
I get there around 8:30am and then for the next little while spend time playing with the kids. This involves playing board games, computer games or really anything. There’s no lack of toys at the school. On average there is about 15 kids and at the most 20 kids. Around 9:30ish we have snack consisting of tea and a donut or something of that nature. It’s really quite cute as all the kids have their own mugs with their pictures on it-very good idea so as not to get their cups mixed up.
From here we move on to the Eclipse, what is that you ask? Well it’s where all the kids sit around in a circle and share with the group, if they want to, what they did the following night. It’s quite hilarious as many of the kids talk forever and could care less if anyone is listening to them, which is usually the case. After this comes a game of some sort involving English. We have in the past watched English nursery rhymes on video, read some English books and so one. Sometimes we even act out the rhyme or story. The kids just love this and it great time filler. It takes about 15 minutes to get the kids all organized with costumes or whatever before we start the story which is 2min at max. It’s pretty chaotic but quite funny to see the end product.
Next comes play time out side for about an hour or so before lunch. There is a fairly big back yard with a couple of play structures, a sand box and teeter todder. I spend about 20 minutes helping kids put on jackets/play clothes, taking of slippers , putting on shoes and throwing them out the door. Some days we take walk out to an old church with a large grassy area in the front. It’s really beautiful and a great place to play games. The kids love playing “red light/green light” along with “What time is it Mr. Wolf”. On Friday’s we head out to a small farm where the kids get about a five minute pony ride each. This of course is the highlight of the week.
After being outside things become very chaotic...it’s lunch time. Kids come flying in from outside and take off their stuff in record time. The older kids are pretty good and usually do not need help, but with the younger ones it’s a different story. We have 3 year old twin boys that go to the school, and I think every day we lose their slippers and regular pants in which I spend about 15min looking for them before lunch. Lunch is catered in and consists of some sort of soup to start and then a meat and potato or dumpling type deal. Next it’s quite time, where some of the little ones actually nap. If they chose not to sleep then they sit in a chair around the perimeter of the room and Iranka reads stories to them. Iranka is another Czech worker who comes for the afternoon. This is my quiet time as well once I have cleaned up lunch and eaten some myself. Katie, another Czech worker comes after lunch and does crafts with the kids. I love doing crafts so I usually try to get in on the action myself if I don’t have too many kids to help.
After some more play time, my time is up and I can head home. I should mention that throughout the day I am endlessly blowing kids noses...is this what I have to look forward to in having kids? I found out that this really disgusts me, but maybe it is different with your own kids. I also help the kids go to the bathroom, if they chose to use it. An interesting note about Czech culture is that it’s okay to pee in public. We will be in a park and the kids will just whip down their pants and go...I’ve seen it all over the city as well. I’m not a fan of helping the kids do this. I also break up mini fights between the kids and discipline them as well when needed. This usually does not go over well as of course the majority of them do not speak well enough English to understand what I am saying. But in any language a no means no. And of course picking them up under each arm always works as well. After this experience I will be ready for motherhood, or this will make me think twice about it!
A picture of Chelsa and I with the kids after a theatrical rendition of "The Gingerbread Man"
A picture of Zdaneka taken courtesy of Chelsa. Now you know what I do all day!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Going to Russia...
Well it’s official...I’m heading to Russia at the end of November. This past weekend our team played in the first round of the European Women’s Champions Cup and won, therefore we are moving on to the second round which will take place in Moscow. This tournament faces off the champions of each European country. As in our team won the Czech league last year so we were invited into the tournament this following year. It is actually pretty interesting as countries have placed teams in the Championship Cup where I had no idea they even had women’s hockey...a.k.a Norway, Romania, Estonia and so on. We will now face a club team from Finland, Russia and Kazakhstan in the second round. I have no idea what Kazakhstan will be like but I know Russia and Finland will be tough as most of Russia’s national team plays on the club team we are to face. As a team we got flu shots yesterday after practice, so I am all set to head to the “motherland”.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Retirement is Officially Over
Well after spending about a month here in the Czech Republic, I am no longer retired. Unfortunately my days as a 24 year old retire are now over! Sara and Chelsa have been working 2 days a week pretty much since I got here and I on the other hand have been playing the role of a retire. Kind of nice actually, as it’s amazing how you can fill your day spending time on the internet, shopping and playing hockey.
My job is the same as Sara and Chelsa and I am now working at that same pre school 2 days a week. It’s not exactly a pre school but more like a glorified day care. It’s a pretty nice place situated in a 200 year old farm house that has been redone where the first floor is the whole pre school area and the 2nd and 3rd floors are where the lady who owns the school, Hanna, lives. The back yard is huge and have been professionally landscaped, so it's perfect for the kids! The big novelty is that it is an English orientated pre school, hence where we come in. Hanna does a good job talking to the kids in both languages so they can start to learn English at a young age. I'm basically there to interact with the kids in English and help them improve. The older kids are pretty good and understand most of what I am saying, but the younger kids look at me like I have 5 heads. I’ve survived the first week and despite not knowing the language I haven’t missed anything too crucial and no children have gone missing under my care.
Along with starting the job I have also enrolled in Czech language classes. Chelsa and I go to class on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s for an hour and half. (Sara goes with a friend Mon/Wed.) It’s the perfect amount of time and things are moving slowly which is great as second languages are not my forte...probably due to the fact that I never took French in high school and did not take a second language in college. I did not for see myself living in another country at that time. I currently know numbers and how to speak a simple formal conversation consisting of introducing my name and telling people where I’m from. I’m well on my way to mastering this language!!
My job is the same as Sara and Chelsa and I am now working at that same pre school 2 days a week. It’s not exactly a pre school but more like a glorified day care. It’s a pretty nice place situated in a 200 year old farm house that has been redone where the first floor is the whole pre school area and the 2nd and 3rd floors are where the lady who owns the school, Hanna, lives. The back yard is huge and have been professionally landscaped, so it's perfect for the kids! The big novelty is that it is an English orientated pre school, hence where we come in. Hanna does a good job talking to the kids in both languages so they can start to learn English at a young age. I'm basically there to interact with the kids in English and help them improve. The older kids are pretty good and understand most of what I am saying, but the younger kids look at me like I have 5 heads. I’ve survived the first week and despite not knowing the language I haven’t missed anything too crucial and no children have gone missing under my care.
Along with starting the job I have also enrolled in Czech language classes. Chelsa and I go to class on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s for an hour and half. (Sara goes with a friend Mon/Wed.) It’s the perfect amount of time and things are moving slowly which is great as second languages are not my forte...probably due to the fact that I never took French in high school and did not take a second language in college. I did not for see myself living in another country at that time. I currently know numbers and how to speak a simple formal conversation consisting of introducing my name and telling people where I’m from. I’m well on my way to mastering this language!!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Slavia Praha Road Trips
We took a road trip to Salzburg this past weekend to play a game against the Salzburg Ravens who are in the EWHL. The reason I am writing about this road trip is to tell you the difference between a road trip in North America and one here in Europe. We thankfully travel on a coach bus, slightly smaller than the ones back home, but big enough for our team. A bus trip to Salzburg only takes about 7 hours, probably about six or just under if you were driving in a car. Of course we have two bus drivers. People are not exactly troopers on the road like we are back in North America hence the two bus drivers. I’m just thinking about how many times I drove to Wisconsin by myself and did a 13 hour day in a car...they sure could not do that here.
To start the trip we almost rear ended a car while driving through Prague. Luckily the driver switched lanes at the last moment or I am sure that we would have gone right over top of that little car. Oh yes and last trip we took out a construction sign on the road. I have complete confidence in these drivers!! Our staff are all males including the parents, cause it seems that only the dads seem to come to the games. That might explain the movie choice. We have watched English movies before with Czech dubbed over them, but this road trip was the first time that we watched a real Czech film...that made things interesting as at one point I looked up and saw a bunch of naked women doing sexual things to a man in the movie. Oh my goodness! Imagine watching those shows on a bus trip back when I played for Wisconsin, that would not fly at all! Sara got up at one point and started shielding the eyes of some of the younger girls on the team. Our coaches/mangers got a kick out of that but of course did not stop the movie.
Alcohol is freely passed around the front of the bus as well. I’m sure our coach had a couple of beer before the game. Oh yeah and to make things more interesting when we stopped for a pre game meal along the way our bus drivers had a cold one as well! Oh wow!
We made it okay so no worries with that, granted we were super late and pretty much got off the bus and played our game. (Felt like I was in high school again) We came through and won 3-2 which was great because we are still undefeated in the EWHL.
To start the trip we almost rear ended a car while driving through Prague. Luckily the driver switched lanes at the last moment or I am sure that we would have gone right over top of that little car. Oh yes and last trip we took out a construction sign on the road. I have complete confidence in these drivers!! Our staff are all males including the parents, cause it seems that only the dads seem to come to the games. That might explain the movie choice. We have watched English movies before with Czech dubbed over them, but this road trip was the first time that we watched a real Czech film...that made things interesting as at one point I looked up and saw a bunch of naked women doing sexual things to a man in the movie. Oh my goodness! Imagine watching those shows on a bus trip back when I played for Wisconsin, that would not fly at all! Sara got up at one point and started shielding the eyes of some of the younger girls on the team. Our coaches/mangers got a kick out of that but of course did not stop the movie.
Alcohol is freely passed around the front of the bus as well. I’m sure our coach had a couple of beer before the game. Oh yeah and to make things more interesting when we stopped for a pre game meal along the way our bus drivers had a cold one as well! Oh wow!
We made it okay so no worries with that, granted we were super late and pretty much got off the bus and played our game. (Felt like I was in high school again) We came through and won 3-2 which was great because we are still undefeated in the EWHL.
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