Sasha

aleks581 @ 2007-12-03T23:23:00

2007-12-03T14:24:59Z

lawyers, doctors, and teachers get the title "sensei" ;)

aleks581 @ 2007-12-02T15:26:00

2007-12-02T06:32:14Z

oh! and apparently Christmas cake and KFC is the traditional Christmas food. according to one of my new co-workers it's 'cause decades ago when KFC just got to Japan no one would eat fried chicken, so there was a major ad campaign showing american families eating KFC on Christmas. result? one has to order KFC 2 months in advance for Christmas. (KFC is still not so popular on any other day of the year though)

первые впечатления

2007-12-02T06:24:13Z

everything and everyone is really calm around here, maybe it's just because i'm actually a bit north of Tokyo for the first week, but then so was the airport, and the trains(it wasn't rush hour though).
it hasn't quite hit me that i'm in Japan, i have this impression that i'm just in the international district in seattle, just as many asians and signs and foods i cannot understand, the only difference is when cashiers or restaurant servants try to speak to me...and my first reaction is to answer in Czech. Mam gulas v hlave (i've got goulash in my head)

first day of training: punctuality was stressed again and again, and the trainer (american) insisted that it's not just in japan but in the business world in general that this is important. ha! he never ventured into microsoft land

ja mata! (see you later)

p.s. i've had more rice in the last three days than ever in my whole life!

Tokyo de sundeimas

2007-11-30T14:52:41Z

DUUUDE, i've moved from a landlocked country to an island!

Hello-o-o Tokyo :)

Полный П...ц!

2007-09-25T19:40:09Z

This is what Sergey Zverev meant by "Полный П...ц!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7egalhwbik&NR=1

p.s. (http://img.blogonline.ru/bl/posts/thumbs/39/1176725839_zbvvvz002.jpg)

"I did TEFL in my gap year"

2007-07-27T16:05:38Z

Hilarious! a student shared this with me...hmmm :)
http://evilchili.com/mediaview/7072/The_Translator__Catherine_Tate

Tatu

2007-07-17T07:07:19Z

a couple years ago, it was huge news that a baby gorilla was born in Prague Zoo. even a year ago one could spot huge posters with the monkey's portrait all over Prague. now, there's a new kid in town, another baby gorilla with her own posters...the adorable Tatu

Life ambition

2007-03-27T17:41:59Z

(one of) to read Murakami in the original

Oсобенности Пражского полумарафона

2007-03-24T17:57:59Z

в Сиэтле, за несколько миль до финиша раздают GU gel (for a chance to quickly replenish the lost carbs and have enough energy for the last part of the run)

в Праге же, стоят стаканчики с холодненьким Staropramen :)

Вообщем, пробежала! 21км за 1:47, a personal best! Может теперь решусь на целый марафон в мае...
фото

в Праге хорошая погода, в Сиэтлe опять идут дожди

2006-11-24T09:49:54Z

Vsem bol'shoi PRIVET!
budu v Seattle 14go i 15go, potom Tacoma do 28go
tipa raz vi vse tak po mne skychaete... :)
voobshem, Dilettantes? sushi?........Neighbors/Contour? LOL
I hope everyone's in town!!!

pa pa,
Sasha

aleks581 @ 2006-11-03T07:11:00

2006-11-03T07:11:35Z

p.s. i've uploaded new pics of Prague and Cz.R. up on fotki...yesterday...the last is an autumn theme (these pics are just from last weekend :))

Yra, yra, yra snezhok!

2006-11-03T07:02:44Z

наступил ноябрь а сегодня утром уже лежит первый снег

...it's so beautiful and peaceful

Happy Columbus Day!

2006-10-09T05:04:34Z

A French advertising agency where I teach was giving out free postcards

the boy

2006-08-22T07:10:27Z

a quickie: went to Czecktek - a lot of alcohol, smoking, just OK trans music, garbage everywhere, of course nothing like BM...but, there was nothing pretentious - it was natural, it was real. My bro was visiting, so we ran around the tourist sites, among them: Cesky Krumlov (a cute town with the second biggest castle in Prague, beautiful nature/panoramas), Karlovy Vary (another place with beautiful architecture and nature, also lots of "Sovkovih" babyshek/dedyshek and Arabs with burka wearing wives - yes, a very interesting mix), pictures on "fotki" - skoro :)

David, remember this one?

Czechtek

2006-07-27T19:58:08Z

Big techno festival this weekend Czechtek, this is the wiki for it...last year it made headline news for the riot that broke out. Police were called because the event wasn't officially registered or that they didn't quiet receive permission to gather at the place where event was held. This also had made the not too popular Prime Minister Paroubek (communist party) extremely unpopular when he took the side of the police after accusations that the police had unnecessarily hurt people(kids).

This year it's on a military base, and all the way by Karlovy Vary somewhere, so the chances that i'm going are slim, but it'd be interesting to see how the whole thing turns out as hippies, punks, etc. mix with the soldiers on the base...

Another funny from a student: "Programist"

prazdniki

2006-07-06T09:17:55Z

y nas kakie-to prazdniki...

5 July -Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Den slovanských věrozvěstů Cyrila a Metoděje) In 863, Church teachers SS. Cyril (Constantine) and Metoděj (Methodius) came to Great Moravia to propagate Christian faith.
6 July -Jan Hus Day (Den upálení mistra Jana Husa) The religious reformer Jan Hus was burned at the stake in 1415.

yra vihodnie!
nakonets-to vchera otkrili plyazhnii sezon, otmechali with big mojitos :)

a funny from a student:

(if anyone would like to enlighten me on how to do the feature where you "click for more here" so the huge pictures aren't annoying please do so :)) Mashka, sen'k'u!!

aleks581 @ 2006-06-22T21:24:00

2006-06-22T19:30:04Z

"yo" here is something like the American "yep". So, frequently Czech telephone conversations go something like "yo....yo....yo-yo-yo..."

also, the word for cucumbers is okurki

Hi

2006-06-20T20:51:36Z

voobshem, ya ponyal chto ni do kakogo "catch-up" y menya ryki ne doidyt, tak chto poprobyem pisat' pro poslednii izvestiya, ny a tam vozmozhno i dobavki poyavyatsa :o)

1. What do people in Prague do on Sat. night? visit museums of course. last Sat. about 20 museums were open until 1am and entrance was free of charge. Tolpi (i ne tol'ko tyristov) s intusiasmom shagali po museyam, zaglyadivaya v pererivah na Staromestska Namesti (samaya tyristicheskaya ploschad' goroda) gde na bol'shom ekrane yzhe neskol'ko nedel' pokazivaut World Cup, complete with fireworks whenever the home team wins, all complete with Czech beer and German sausages.

2. so, Czechs are either indecisive, flaky, or maybe are just overly flexible and expect others to be: 6 of my lessons have already been canceled, rescheduled or moved to another time this week and it's only Tuesday evening...one lesson was scheduled, rescheduled, then canceled because of a bbq (which i was also invited to), then a bit later there was an email that the bbq isn't gonna happen and the lesson was back on...to which i replied that i'll teach but we gotta move to a different time (i'm learning as well)

3. Tesco (not to be confused with Costco though it is a food hypermarket) is already accepting Euros. i wonder if an inflation in prices is to follow

4. oh, yeah, and apparently i've moved from a gay neighborhood in Seattle (Broadway) to a gay neighborhood in Prague (Vinohrady), or at least that's what one of my roommates keeps insisting on...and there is an overwhelming number of gay bars and clubs that i'm starting to take notice of now, on the other hand i've also discovered a russian book/food store/restaurant/library just on the other side of the housing block, and the helpful/bored cashier finally explained where i would be able to find cream of wheat :)

Privetstviya iz Pragi!

2006-06-07T17:00:50Z

So, what's more annoying than the MS Word's "paper clip helper"?
MS Word's "paper clip helper" in Czech :)

Vsem privet, y menya vse zdorovo, mnogo rabotau, mnogo interesnogo che mozhno (I NADO) dobavit' v LJ, no ne znau, kak-to vse s mislyami ne sobratsa, a kogda "oni sobirautsa" to vse ne vo vremya........no, voobshem i'm still alive and so far life is goooood :)))

Ikea to the rescue

2006-04-29T13:50:42Z

So, yesterday was a huge finale: three-hour written test, a short oral test, then an interview ("the management are taking steps to make improvements" is apparently correct, and the Brits "flick" through a book), then I came back for an end of the course champagne celebration, then the celebration continued with some beer, and then some slivovitsa (ny, tipa odin raz nado poprobovat'), then teachers left, then more beer, then a different bar, then some quesadillas (kvesadilas), then some more beer? and then my roommate poured slivovitsa into my beer?..........got keys to new apartment, this morning i moved! (no, not 'cause of roommate :)

amerikanets, nemets i rysskii..................no, this is not a joke, this is my new flat! and a slovakian girl, too. (can we say L'Auberge Espagnole) Ummm, so i got no furniture, literally nothing, it's just me and suitcases.......will Ikea help? I really hope so, b/c otherwise it'll be a sleeping bag on a cold floor.

Holiday: May 1st is Labor day
Holiday: May 8th is Liberation Day (the Americans were there on the 8th! vot tak vot)

another picture :))

aleks581 @ 2006-04-27T20:56:00

2006-04-27T19:26:00Z

Photo again, re-sized but still beautiful:

job search is going :)
there are interesting peculiarities that I'm finding out about along the way...for example, not many schools can give you a full schedule, (i.e. one's gotta try to piece together a schedule with classes from 2-4 schools), also, many students (including adult students) like to take time off during the months of July and August (countrywide school vacation months), so again this means that jobs are not as plentiful...
on the other hand, seems like i'm much more motivated than many of the "teachers" here, most people I've met are planning to stay here for a year at the most, and a lot of them are staying for a shorter time and their thinking goes something like, "I would like to chill in Prague for a few months, I speak English, this must mean I can teach English, this is a great plan, i can earn money and spend it on beer"...and I gotta say they're finding work!! There are also summer camps for when regular classes aren't available, and September is the job search "blitz" month (students are starting the school year), so plenty of jobs to go around if you time it right...because of the last one, i might have to move my September Israel trip up to summer :( voobshem, posmotrim

Oh, and it's Prague Spring!!! (mostly I mean that it's quiet beautiful, the trees are turning green, it's still warm at 7 in the evening, and Vltava River isn't rising too much this year)

Tomorrow, Final Exam! (wish me luck, i'll need it)

Catch-up

2006-04-23T13:37:07Z

Almost a month has gone by since my move and I'm still loving it here :) It's been all new, busy, fun, hectic, uncertain, beautiful, entertaining, interesting, educational, and...it keeps being new, busy, fun, hectic, uncertain, beautiful, entertaining, interesting, educational!

Highlights:
trip to Brno, it's the center of Moravia, best way to describe: "mini-Prague"; Jazz concert by a local band, very talented and the venue is a cozy bar, the room is underground with brick walls and ceiling, looks like some medieval wine cellar, great acoustics, talented musicians; many, many trips to bars, and lots of walking around the city (i finally have some pictures up on fotki.com); oh, and I tried sushi in Prague, it was a great restaurant with Sushi Land food quality, so never again
Also, it's always challenging but i'm really enjoying teaching and meeting Czechs and talking about their country and US and current events, or just teaching them grammar, so far so good, let's see if it stays this way

I'm now looking for a permanent apartment and a job, interviews are coming up and it's the last week of the TEFL course, a big finale for everything...wish me luck :o)

A view from a park I pass everyday on my way to TEFL school

Пусть повезет, тем, кто рискнет! - Кипелов "Не сейчас"

2006-03-31T11:29:13Z

NYC was super!! Do sleidyuschego Biennial :)

PRAGUE, PRAGA, PRAHA!!
The building style reminds me of Kronshdadt, if anyone's been there
I love riding the metro, the trolleys, makes it very easy to get around.
Lots of foreigners here...at the airport, there were herds of Italian high school age kids, i guess it's very popular to come here for vacation b/c it's cheap for them
There's a cafe with free internet Wi-Fi, i re-eally hope they don't go out of business
pickpockets are EVerywhere, b/c there are so many tourists...and the tourist season is only starting
Czech is funny (Pozor! - caution) i can't understand a word when people talk and the pronunciation is tough at first, sometimes vowels are dismissed all together "Strč prst skrz krk" (translation: stick finger through throat)
Prague Half Marathon is coming up on the 1st and then full marathon in May. I'm not participating, but hopefully next year.

pictures budut, as soon as I find a card reader for my comp.

Nueva York

2006-03-28T02:56:03Z

NEW YORK, NEW YORK...

first night, we went to Duvet http://www.duvetny.com/index.html, it's a club that was featured in an episode of Sex in the City:) they have beds instead of tables
next day, went to MoMA http://www.moma.org/ it's free on Fridays, huge line but totally worth it - Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Dali, etc, etc, etc, in the evening went to a huge club that's 4 stories high, called Opaline
went to art galleries in the Chelsea district, the art was always weird, interesting, some I also liked :) but all fresh, new, fashionable :) and I swear I saw Lisa Ling (she's a very good journalist, and i agree with a lot of her views, she used to be one of the hosts from show The View :) and i also thought i saw Miranda from Sex in the City...but maybe i'm just seeing things b/c we had breakfast at a place that had unlimited Mimosas for $4
saw The Beauty Academy of Kabul http://imdb.com/title/tt0439130/, it's one of those independent kind of films which i like...many good moments in the movie: shots of Afghanistan that are not via Fox or CNN, views of the Afghanistan situation via hair dressers (this is somewhat random but all the more interesting)
Biennial at Whitney - not as good as last year, but there was one painting i really loved, it's by BILLY SULLIVAN, this picture DOES NOT do the painting justice http://www.markbarryportfolio.com/works/Assorted/ionarts/2006whitney/sullivan.jpg at the least because the painting itself is like 5-6 feet tall and the colors are bright and the way the woman's hair is drawn with many colors is genius, but also because the lines in the facial expression are minimal but convey the contrasting mood of the woman with the beautiful day so well
this one was another favorite http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/saltz/saltz3-2-06_detail.asp?picnum=2 the guys expression (can't see it well in the i-net picture :( ) is that apathy that i could have related to so many times when i would come back from work at msft, he's "looking" at the candles moving around in a circle in front of the photo, as the two candles melt the wax creates circles on the floor

gotta run, more later, p.s. Kotik's b'friends are getting cuter each time i visit :)

aleks581 @ 2006-03-20T09:52:00

2006-03-20T17:53:14Z

Sunday was beautiful.

Spasibo ... .