School Days

This week truly marked the beginning of a routine. With school and work starting, we really are beginning to feel that we actually live here. Max began school on Monday. He was really ready to go and meet some new friends his age. Because it is an international school, there are a number of new students each year, and the children are quite friendly. The students is his class are from the UK, Begium, the Czech Republic, Russia, Thailand, and the US. How is it different from home? Well, there is a uniform, for one thing. Navy pants and a red or navy shirt make getting dressed easy. Also, an indoor pair of shoes (crocs or slippers) are always worn inside the classroom. The schedule is also a bit different: 8:30-3:20. There is also chapel twice a week as the school is affiliated with the Church of England.
Max has joined the school soccer, er "football" team and also looks forward to being in the digital photography after school club. Many things are the same, however. His teacher is from the US and the curriculum is very similar. All the classes are taught in English, except for the Czech language class he has. There is hot lunch, recess time, and the things 8 year old boys find funny seem to be pretty universal!


Charyssa also began teaching Business English as a large Czech bank. It was recently bought by a Belgian bank, and it seems that English is the language used for communication between the two, so the employees need to improve their English skills. This has really made us realize how important English has become so for international communication in many parts of the world. It should be a really interesting experience for her.

Rod has learned his way around the transportation system of Prague as he picks up the children after school. This has involved considerable effort and timing on his part. Let's just say that it involves a commuter train, two city buses or trams, and walking by foot. We'll have more on the transportation piece in a later post.

Our weekend included a sightseeing trip to Vysehrad castle grounds dating from the 900s with a beautiful old church and children's playground. It is on a high point overlooking Prague. We also went rollerblading and shoe shopping at the mall. Katrina needed new shoes, already. We're not kidding about the walking!
Here is a picture of the church at Vysehrad, and then a view over Prague from Vysehrad.