Laura left this morning for her flight home. So, now it's just me until Saturday morning, when I leave. I teach my last class this evening and I have some last-minute gifts to buy plus, of course, lots of packing to do. Then there are all the goodbyes with my Oxford friends. I'm wondering if I should be out wandering the streets one last time, but then, it might not be the last time.
I had an interview at a school in Prague yesterday. They are going through fall hiring. I think it went really well and they confirmed this in a follow-up e-mail saying they'd be in touch soon about "terms, etc." It's a really great school and I'd love to work there. The interview also made me feel more confident about my decision to leave for the summer. They said, because of all the visa problems in the Czech Republic, they may only allow new hires to begin work once the visa application is approved. Usually, a school will put out an offer and help the new hire through the visa process while they work. As of late, many of those new hires have been rejected from getting a visa and the school is forced to let them go.
It looks like it will be in my best interest, then, to solidify a job offer at home and start the visa application process before I even leave. So this may turn out to make things much easier. I guess we'll see how it goes.
Until then, the farewell tour continues. Like I said, I'm not really itching to run out around the city today and tomorrow one last time. I don't feel like it will be. What I am sad about is that some of my friends might not be here if and when I come back. Some are sticking around until June or July. Some are leaving the Schengen zone for countries further afield. Some are just not sure.
But I guess that's what happens. And I guess that's what Facebook is for.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Oh yeah, so I'm leaving ...
In all the hoopla planning for Laura's arrival and participating in Laura's arrival and teaching a few classes a week at Oxford, I've forgotten to mention something on here.
I'm leaving Prague next week. And going home.
Yes, I'm nearing the end of my tourist visa and the job hunt has continued to be fruitless for me and every other American I know in Prague. I'm also not too keen on staying here illegally. On top of that, most schools are asking us to put in our resumes now for the fall semester when, they (and we) hope, the Czech Republic will start allowing visa applications through again. That's not until September. Most, if not all, schools here say that's when they'll start hiring again.
I bought a ticket home. A round-trip ticket. It has me returning to Prague in late August, so I'll fulfill my obligation to stay out of the Schengen zone for 90 days. I hope by then to have secured some kind of job offer and it will likely be easier for me to work out the logistics of a work visa from my home country than while floating in a neighboring country outside the Czech Republic.
I have a lot of people offering advice and trying to talk me down different paths and toward teaching opportunities in different countries. It's made for a lot of options to drink in during such chaotic last days here. That's why I'm really looking forward to going home and stepping out of it for a while. Grounding myself again and really taking the time to do the research, think things through and prepare myself without all the distractions here — hanging out in Prague with a bunch of other people who don't have full-time jobs and are just looking for ways to pass the time.
Which is not to say I haven't been enjoying myself. Oh God, I have. And which is also not to say I haven't been productive. If anything, teaching at Oxford these last few weeks has showed me that I really do enjoy working with students, developing lesson plans and helping them with their English. I want to continue to improve as a teacher. I want to do this full time.
Now we just have to hope those options will be available at the end of the summer. From what many people have been telling me, they will. Fingers crossed, and all that.
I'm leaving Prague next week. And going home.
Yes, I'm nearing the end of my tourist visa and the job hunt has continued to be fruitless for me and every other American I know in Prague. I'm also not too keen on staying here illegally. On top of that, most schools are asking us to put in our resumes now for the fall semester when, they (and we) hope, the Czech Republic will start allowing visa applications through again. That's not until September. Most, if not all, schools here say that's when they'll start hiring again.
I bought a ticket home. A round-trip ticket. It has me returning to Prague in late August, so I'll fulfill my obligation to stay out of the Schengen zone for 90 days. I hope by then to have secured some kind of job offer and it will likely be easier for me to work out the logistics of a work visa from my home country than while floating in a neighboring country outside the Czech Republic.
I have a lot of people offering advice and trying to talk me down different paths and toward teaching opportunities in different countries. It's made for a lot of options to drink in during such chaotic last days here. That's why I'm really looking forward to going home and stepping out of it for a while. Grounding myself again and really taking the time to do the research, think things through and prepare myself without all the distractions here — hanging out in Prague with a bunch of other people who don't have full-time jobs and are just looking for ways to pass the time.
Which is not to say I haven't been enjoying myself. Oh God, I have. And which is also not to say I haven't been productive. If anything, teaching at Oxford these last few weeks has showed me that I really do enjoy working with students, developing lesson plans and helping them with their English. I want to continue to improve as a teacher. I want to do this full time.
Now we just have to hope those options will be available at the end of the summer. From what many people have been telling me, they will. Fingers crossed, and all that.
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