Ok the first two months really flew by, but now officially at the end of 3 months I have to say it feels like I've been here for a year haha. I know it's usually the opposite but my days feel short and the months feel long now. Not really a bad thing! But definitely different haha. I think this may be the last month I'm able to sit out here on my balcony and write these recaps - it got cold fast :(
During our orientation they showed us these graphs of moving abroad and culture shock, and how our emotions will likely fluctuate over the coming months. And I have to say mines right on cue haha. The first 2ish months is usually pretty exciting and busy, but as the 3rd or 4th months come along, there's a natural dip in everything, finding a new normal. This also happens to be around Thanksgiving time where we were told a lot of Fulbrights tend to feel some feelings of homesickness settle in if they haven't already. This is why I felt the word for Month 3: plateau was applicable - It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I've gotten much more into a routine where some days start to feel monotonous and less exciting than maybe before. Weekend trips still occur but not as much or as extravagant as we did in the first months. So a natural plateau is here for sure haha.
But I have to say a plateau of a month in the Czech Republic is still so much more eventful than a month at home feeling this way haha. This month was full of a lot of little moments for me including many many day trips to Prague for various reasons, and finding the beauty in the small things around me here in Tábor. Here are some small but memorable moments from month 3:
We visited an American candy store in Prague which felt like a little time machine or something that transported me back to the US with the most obscure foods I forgot I missed haha.
A group of high school boys walked by me on the street and gave me a little flower saying something in Czech I fully didn't understand but it felt nice haha
Got to see a local Tábor FC soccer game which made me miss playing so much
Went to a bigger Hockey game in České Budějovice and even though it was ~6,000 people felt like the closest thing to an NFL game I'll ever experience here haha
Got my 3rd booster vaccine in Prague!! As numbers get worse this felt really necessary to me and let me take a sigh of relief for a bit. Also who the heck gets to take a little day trip to Prague for the vaccine haha insane
Finally got into baking a bit! We made classic Trdelnik at my mentor's house and then made some banana bread and carrot cake on my own in my trusty toaster oven haha. Overall a success and used Annie's birthday as an excuse to do it even though all she got was a video and I got to enjoy it haha
Lots of time with my students! Went to get sushi with one group, and coffee and Chinese food with another one. They're such great students and although they admit they get nervous to speak with me, have really great English and should be more confident :)
Got to experience Czech's Independence Day in Prague which felt really special and different marking the end of Communism here - but the festivities were unfortunately conjoined with an anti-COVID restrictions march as well that I think made international news? not sure, but sad to say the least.
Honestly it's hard to remember all these little things because every week I have random last minute plans to do something. It's so different than home to plan last minute but I really enjoy it and keeps me on my toes haha. I've just gotta get used to planning lessons at school so when I get home I'm really free to do anything last minute. So with all of these little things here's my rose/bud/thorn!
Rose: Might sounds kinda broad but the fall weather this past month as been SO incredible. On my long walks to school or around town, the bright orange and red leaves fall everywhere and I think it's just one of the most beautiful things in life. The sunsets around this time of year are just stunning and you'll see many examples in the pics below :) One day I just walked around Tábor with my camera and tried to capture it all. It was even more incredible in Vienna and Salzburg where I got some pictures too but you just had to be there. The perfect fall weather like 50-60 degrees came and went way too fast though. I love wearing sweatshirts and feeling cozy but not too cold, but I think that only lasted a solid 2 days before we went straight to winter weather haha. It genuinely boosted my mood to walk the long way home or sit out on the balcony and see the leaves change, which is something I learned to not underestimate. It's the little things you gotta hold on to!
Thorn: Kind of similar to the weather but on another note - day light saving has been killing me. I already feel like my afternoons after school are short because I'll stay late for English club or something, but now with the sun fully setting at 4:30pm it's like I never see the sun. I know I felt similarly at home, but in a way I kind of liked the coziness of it. I could stay in with friends or just appreciate the homey feel to do nothing and relax. But here it's hitting me in a different way that I'm not loving so much haha. Most of my free time activities would involve some sort of walk or run, even grocery shopping to waste some time. And none of that is as attractive when it's 35 degrees and dark. We were warned that November is the worst month here for a lot of the same reasons, so I'm grateful we've almost made it through but there were definitely some nights where 5pm hit and I was tired, lacked any ambition to be productive, and just wanted to shut off for the rest of the night. I'm still in the thick of it, but I think November is the worst because as December approaches there's too much Christmas festivity to keep you down haha. Any suggestions for activities to keep you feeling good when its dark and cold 24/7 would be much appreciated :)
Bud: I've been debating how to feel about this for a while, but I've finally decided it's a good thing to look forward to - my family visiting and going back home for a week in December! For majority of my time here I debated going home because who gets to spend Christmas in Europe and why shouldn't I stay to soak it all in!? I didn't even feel the urge to really go home quite yet because I still haven't faced any real homesickness. But I think a combination of all these things I mentioned, a nice break to go back home is a positive thing I'm allowed to look forward to haha. I struggled with feeling like, ugh I should be perfectly happy here and never want to leave, etc. but at the same time realizing it's completely normal to not identify with all that and crave a bit of your old life and friends. So everyone keep your fingers crossed COVID doesn't mess up any of our plans and my family can visit before we all head home for Christmas!! Also Thanksgiving is coming up and Fulbright is hosting us all in Prague for a dinner which is a huge thing we're all looking forward to :)
Soooo not all months are perfect, and if this is what an "off" month looks like, I think I'm prettyyy lucky haha. Here's the monthly photo dump (mostly of food lol)!
