There and back again

So, I find myself returning to this blog, as something interesting is about to happen -- in the teaching-English-in-a-foreign-country-again sense.

Oh, blog! So much has happened since I last clicked on you!

Yes, yes! Before I left Prague way, way, way back in May, I interviewed -- on a whim -- for a job at a really great-looking school in the city. It was actually just a few blocks away from my flat so, y'know, I didn't have to travel far in my business attire, and that kinda sold me on interviewing.

My previous entry from May explains a little about my feelings then about how the interview went and the prospects for fall. And so far, those notions have been correct. The school e-mailed in July to say they wanted to hire me for the fall. They sent a contract, I looked at it, over and over again. Considered. Questioned myself and those around me. All that.

The pay wasn't all that good, but this is to be expected in a saturated teaching market in Europe right now. The work schedule is under 30 hours a week, but that's technically considered full-time to the TEFL folks, and there's always the opportunity for part-time work (more about that later).

The biggest draw was that they were willing to help me apply for a work visa. That was enough to get me to sign the contract. After all the problems and stories I'd heard since the spring about Americans getting denied work visas and schools not even willing to entertain the idea of hiring Americans because of this, I was worried I'd hear the same mantra from this school. But fortunately, they seem to be pretty positive about the work visa situation for the fall, as I heard from other sources as well -- most people I talked to were saying the visa-approving bodies of the Czech Republic would start loosening their grip for the fall, when most teachers are hired.

And I've already sent the school all the documents they needed to start the work-visa-applying process. So, fingers crossed everyone's theories and expert opinions and analyses will be right so I can actually fulfill the year contract I signed with the school. They are called Caledonian School, by the way. I'll be teaching business English for them, going to different companies around Prague each day to teach on-site. Lots of running around the city involved. They also offer free Czech lessons to their teachers and have an excellent resource center and computer lab, so I can get all my materials together.

Oh yeah, the other exciting thing about all this is that I leave Monday. Like, three-days-from-now Monday. Holy craziness, I know! I think I'm ready, but actually, I have no idea. It's funny how, even after all this traveling, I still find myself getting outdone and mindboggled by the process of packing.

The next other exciting thing is that, even though I leave Monday (which was the day I booked to return way back in May because it fulfilled the required three-month leave from Europe to get a new tourist visa, plus a few days), school orientation doesn't start until two weeks later. So, two days after I get to Prague, I'm running off to Croatia for a week to squeeze in some Mediterranean sun and pretty coastal towns before I am banned from seeing the sun for a while. Expect pictures!

The some more other exciting thing is that my friend Shannon, who I met at Oxford TEFL Prague, got a contract with the same school and will start teaching at the same time, too. We're hoping to split the rent on a flat in Prague, so I'm very happy about that.

The and even more exciting thing is that, as I said, I may have time for part-time work. And I may even have some of that lined up already in the form of freelance writing. More news as that comes to fruition.

OK, I'll end this here for now. Good catching up with you, blog! I look forward to more frequent visits in the future, and more positive rants now that I actually have a job!

Edit: Spellcheck doesn't like "mindboggled," but I do.