Jack Frost Nipping at My Čenich

Hey!

It’s been a while since my last post, so I thought I’d treat you to a few photos, even if I’m not able to supply you with your regular dose of wit, philosophy, and culture in the form of a big, long blog update.

Plesi (student formal dances), semester-end rituals, hand and feet warming, and winter weekend trips are in full swing, leaving me with little time internet correspondence.  

For those of you on my mass-mailing list, fret not… I’ve penciled you in for later this week, so keep an eye on your emailbox.

I like you guys a lot.
Mike

Winter in Kralupy. The big building in the middle is my home/place of employment, Gymnazium Dvorakovo. When you send care packages, this is where they are received.

Stoic Mike and Kevin. Kevin is a great friend currently working with YoungLife in Ostrava, Czech Republic as well as teaching a few English lessons along the way. Bonus points if you can identify the owner of the arm in the foreground.

The city of Ostrava at sunset.

Aaron, Aram and me. On a train to West Bohemia last weekend. Aaron is currently the country director in the Czech Republic, and Aram is a Canadian friend visiting for a few weeks. Tomorrow (Monday) he'll be speaking to three of my classes about the mysteries and complexities of Canada. For the record, Aaron and Aram aren't normally as affectionate as they appear to be in this photo.

Apart from the mad waltzing and various other hijinks that inevitably come with a ples (student ball), it is a great place to spend time with students old and young. Pictured are me, Magda (graduated student from last year) and Martin (current Senior).

Czech One... Czech One Two

This past weekend I took part in the annual Lednovy Underground Music Festival in Kralupy. As a second-year veteran of this grand event, I'm proud to report that I was upgraded to Czech singer.

You may recall a post last year about this time regarding the same festival. Basically the school I work for, as well as a number of local companies and radio stations sponsor this 7 1/2 hour event featuring a half dozen of the Czech Republic's most promising musical groups. This year featured such bands as Miou-Miou (Czech/French Electronic/Alt-Pop), Sto Zvirat (trans. "100 Animals" : Ska/Swing), November 2nd (Czech/American Alt-Country/Rock), Jablkon (trans. "Apple tree": Czech Folk) and Milo (Czech Folk-Rock).

Not only did I get free food, drinks, and backstage pass, but was also asked to play a few songs to open the show with my school's headmaster and another Czech friend. At their request we played Neil Young's "Heart of Gold", John Denver's "Country Roads", and Emanuel Frynta's "Anglicane" (a Czech tune about the burden of learning the English language.) I sang half of "Country Roads" in Czech, and provided backing vocals for "Anglicane." All went well, and I think I even managed to build a bit of rapport with some of my "harder to teach/like" students.

I've used lots of parentheses and quotation marks in this post. What kind of English teacher am I?

In honor of a highly mellisonant weekend, I submit the following albums for your listening/thinking pleasure.

Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself
Derek Webb - Mockingbird
Lizz Wright - Dreaming Wide Awake

Petr and me. For the record, Petr had 5 teeth extracted the week before the concert and still managed to not only play, but to also harmonize on all three songs. I would have bought him a beer if it wasn't for the heavy medication he was on.

Lednovy (January) Underground

Czech the Halls with Boughs of Harvey

Hi.

I feel both honored and pestered by the number of people who have emailed me about my delinquent blogging habits. Unfortunately this post will have to be a short one. I feel like I’ve been in a boxing match with jet lag for the last seven days… and jet lag is winning. Honestly, I don’t know that it has ever been this bad. I’m fairly certain it has something to do with a sunrise around 8 and a sunset around 4. It is now 9pm my time. It has been dark for 5 hours. No wonder my body is so confused.

Enough complaining.

As many of you know, I had the privilege of returning home for the holidays this year. My two weeks were so good. I spent time with so many people I love, ate Chipotle Chicken Fajita Burritos on more than one occasion, and managed to take a two-week long deep breath from the hectic Czech life I’ve been living lately. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, but being home was such a welcome change of pace.

Pictures are below.

Rumor has it, my head English teacher will be returning to work tomorrow (for the first time in 7 months). This means lots less work for me. (Smiling as I type)

I hope you’re all doing well. As always, I’d love to hear what is happening in your lives.

I’m currently accepting suggestions about what I should do with my life next year. Submissions may be sent to: harveyme@gmail.com.

Talk to you soon.
Mike

The way it should be.

Two of my favorite people in the world. As I write this, Emily is in Thailand changing the world one orphan at a time. Next month, Josh will be changing the world starting in Afghanistan. I couldn't ask for better friends. (On a side note, it took Josh like 30 minutes to set his camera up for this picture.)

Mike in Nurnberg. If you're looking for a good "picture on the refrigerator" picture of me, I submit this.

The Christmas Market in Nurnberg, Germany. I took a solo day trip across the Czech border a week before Christmas. Sure, it was a bit over-priced... but well worth the trip.