The summer is over...

Eight weeks of holidays have finally come to an end. I know there are some teachers (who will remain nameless) who wish that the holidays could just roll on forever - but me? No...I've enjoyed my holidays, but the fact is that I really do enjoy my work. Even though I am not a qualified/traditional teacher as such, I love this work that I have somehow fallen into. My first week back is full of cleaning (due to the reconstruction work of the new building) & 'poradas'...but next week, the real work (& fun) of teaching begin...and to be honest, I can't wait!

But before I anticipate the coming new school year (in another post), I want to reflect on what I did during my holidays. It's only fair, as I sometimes ask this of my students ;-) So, here goes...

My holidays actually began with a minor car accident! My fault...I was reversing on the very tight car park near the Police building by Vejdovskeho tram-stop...and caught the bumper of a car (which we found out belonged to a woman who works on the serious traffic problems division!! It was all resolved relatively peacefully...but what a way to begin! :-(

I did some bike rides - although I did have one incident where my chain broke & I had to freewheel & walk home. My longest trip proved to be around 54 kms (my record is 95). I also did lots of walks (one of my favourite walks is in Strazisko...& I discovered another one from Potstat, which was very beautiful!), bird-watching, photographing...one the whole, the summer weather was excellent, and I like the odd thunderstorm too!

I saw a couple of ex-students, which is always fun - catching up, playing chess, having a beer & a pizza :-) Meeting the family! Cool!

I also had chance to watch a few films:

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - odd, but interesting...
• V for Vendetta - a bit brutal at times, but remembering the British riots of last year, I found some of it very provoking...
• Stand & Deliver - TV movie about a maths teacher & underprivileged students....inspirational & challenging!
• Dr Strangelove - amusing...but perhaps a bit dated now
• Amistad - good film, but could have been better, perhaps...
• The Way - good film about the Santiago De Compostella Walk in France/Spain...a pilgrimage... 
• Ryan's Daughter - romantic melodrama from the 70's - wonderful Irish scenery, strong story...well acted.
• Rango - Western animation - fun :-)
• And I finally watched ALL of the Batman series (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises) - I like action films, so I wasn't disappointed...well made & gripping films.
• The Grey - adventure story...but is it 'real' or just an analogy...thought-provoking about the theme of 'death & loss'...
• Treasure of the Sierra Madre - classic Humphrey Bogart film of man's greed & lust for gold...really well acted!

We also enjoyed about 12 days in England (before the Olympics) & visited Cornwall (as has been blogged here already). There was a family reunion at the cottage in Vysocina to celebrate Maminka's 70th birthday (which is in Sept) - and later we also went to the cottage & I spent 3 days chopping wood!! I calculated that I chopped over 220 pieces of wood of various sizes...needless to say, I was shattered at the end of it! 

We also went to a wedding of a Ugandan friend who married the daughter of our Czech pastor! A great experience, and Petra translated there! :-) The venue at Vletice was outstanding!

And finally, during this last week, we went to the High Tatras in Slovakia - compared to last year (which was a total washout!), this year was truly awesome - great weather, wonderful scenery, and some little drama...but what a way to end the holidays!! 

So...as I go back to work, I am a very satisfied man...bring on the new school year! :-)