Summer 2013 Update
August 17, 2013
Summercamp with LEOlingo ,
August 6, 2013
It’s my third summer at LEOlingo
and this year I was a co-trainer with Jenny McBean. The week went well and, in fact, I think we have one of our
best teams yet this year. This summer is different, though and I think it’s
because I’ve been teaching all year.
The past two summers have been my “fix” of kids for the summer but this
year is just the opposite. Because
I’ve been teaching all year, I need a proper break from kids and I haven’t
really had that. I’m still doing
well, but I can feel myself getting frustrated more often than I used to.
This past year has been full of
events and more lessons learned. I
taught at the English Gymnázium in Pardubice where Maru goes to school. I taught Juniors and Seniors
(Maturants) English Conversation and P.E. to the Junior class as well. The Juniors are my weakness
as far as classes go. Because their level of English is so high, I can joke with them or teach them slang, etc. I also
continued with last year’s 8th graders and this year’s 9th
grade and graduating class from Opatovice’s basic school. That’s the longest I’ve ever had the
same students so I’ve got a soft spot for them as well. I filled in my time with private
lessons at night and other after school programs. One weekend a month I
taught intensive English courses as well in Pardubice for some
extra cash.
I didn’t do much traveling last
fall, but I managed to visit Germany again, and take weekend trips to see some places in the Czech. I went home for
Christmas and New years 2012-13 and it all came out then. It was great to be home for the
holidays and Julie flew in too! Us five were together for the first time in
about two years!
I went back and
started my second semester, which wasn’t filled with as many visitors the
previous year. The winter was a
bit long, but we all got through.
In the meantime, my school year
finished LATE, as schools get out in late June in the Czech and I was looking
forward and planning for when Mom was coming to visit for two weeks! Dad was suppose to come too and we had
booked a resort in the south of Spain to relax. In the end, plans changed so they decided that only Mom would come. With that, she wanted to experience my life, so she flew in
and out of Prague and we had our long weekend in Barcelona together. In that
same first week, I managed to surprise Mom with Leyre coming to Pardubice and
staying with us in Prague, while Ali, Glen, and Katelyn came as well! It was
Ali and Glen’s first time to Europe ever and the night before, Glen had
proposed to Ali beneath the Eiffel Tower. I couldn’t be happier!
Anyway, the quick two weeks went
by and Mom left Saturday, July 13 in the morning and just a few hours later I
was off to my Czech summercamp in the
Krkonoše Mountains. It was a
beautiful week and full of fun. I came back to Pardubice on the 20th,
only to leave for eight weeks in Germany early on the 22nd. And that’s where I am today!
I'm on week four of camp and I've been night counselor this entire summer. Quite a difference but I don't mind! The kids are great and we've been getting super lucky with the weather not being too hot or cold, and not too rainy either. I went to the first weekend of the Neumarkt Volksfest with the counselors, which is always eventful! This weekend is a chill one at the Wernfels Castle, then in two weeks, Tomáš will visit in Nürnberg.
I've had some luck with wifi these past three weeks so I have been able to stay in touch a bit with Mom and Dad, etc. and it's bittersweet whenever I receive pictures of Emery and Teagan from John... how BIG they're getting!! I can't imagine what they'll be like the next time I'll see them in person...
Hope all is well back at home and across the world,
-Sarah Dee
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