Month 1 Recap: Pleasantly Surprised

So much has happened in this past month and I don't think I really can explain all of it, so I thought at the end of each month it might be nice to do a quick summary of the best and the worst. Maybe like a rose, thorn, and bud thing haha. And most importantly add all the pictures I wish I would write about but there's way too many to explain everything going on haha.

So, month 1 DONE! And I think the best word/phrase to describe this first month is pleasantly surprised. I really have this way of expecting the worst and preparing myself for the worst possible outcome. I know I'm only just beginning this whole thing, but I haven't really been hit by a ton of homesickness, loneliness, or fear when it comes to teaching. I'm aggressively knocking on wood as I write this because it's something I was 100% sure I'd be feeling by now. Maybe it's Fulbright's great support system, maybe it's my grandparents taking care of me from up there, maybe it's just luck, I don't know. But I'm holding on to these positive emotions and gonna make them last as long as possible.

Rose: The rose of this month is pretty simple - it's Tábor. This town is such a classic small European city with the cute buildings and cobblestone roads and rolling hills off in the distance. It has been SO lively

towards the end of the summer with massive concerts I wasn't expecting, live performers in every little corner, and the cutest little festivals like all the time. It's a little over an hour to get to Prague and close to there major cities too, which is so great to have. There's also a lot of pride in Tábor from the people who live here and I think I love that the most. Hearing about other ETAs locations and struggles with their areas made me feel extra extra lucky. There's so much more to see, but first month impressions are pretty close to perfect?!

**Also other rose is my balcony. I sit here almost every morning if I wake up early enough and eat dinner out here almost every night. Something about sitting out here now, writing this, smelling some bonfire in the distance^^^ So good.

Thorn: I think the thing I'm struggling with most this month is just a lack of a routine. Things are all still so new and overwhelming in good and bad ways. So I'm kind of waiting for the dust to settle and figure out what my day to day will actually look like. I've been getting pretty lucky with random plans here and there but there's definitely some anxiety about routine and wanting to feel in control of what my plans are. It's not the worst thorn to have, but can get pretty scary when I let myself think about it for a while. What am I gonna do when the sun sets at 4pm, when it's too cold to go on 2hour walk, etc.

Bud: Looking forward to a lot of things actually!! I have my first break coming up at the end of September so I think I'll do my first bit of traveling and visit some other ETAs in South Moravia - which is also wine county! I'll also do my first weekend excursion to Ceske Krumlov in just a week, which really helps to mentally get me through the school week. Making exciting plans to vacation a bit and reunite with other ETAs I'm finding is sooo important to look forward to.

Okay and now for the picture recap of some things I've seen, done, and eaten :) Check out the photography page too for some better ones lol