And then there were none...

So as of today, I am officially one of two Americans remaining from Oxford TEFL's September/October class in the Czech Republic. I was under the impression that most foreigners came over here for the same reason: get certified to teach English, and then live abroad for an indefinite amount of time. Apparently, that's not everyone's agenda...some people just do the program and then go home. Not that one option is better or worse than the other, but it just surprises me that people would cough up almost two grand for a certificate that is recognized the world over and then opt to not even try to get anything out of it. Several classmates talked about how they couldn't bear to be away from their families, friends and significant others and what not. One guy even said that he felt that being so far away was "completely selfish."

I beg to differ. Certainly, being 3000 miles away from home during the holidays isn't going to be easy, but then again, who wants 'easy'? 'Easy' doesn't make you learn, it doesn't make you think. I have to thank the Powers that Be to finally find myself in a situation that makes me think.

Speaking of holidays, Thanksgiving turned out to be a lot of fun. We actually had two celebrations instead of just one...my friend Mark hosted dinner at his flat on Friday night, and then Beth and her friends organized a second dinner on Saturday at Ian's flat. While some of the basics were there (turkey and stuffing, natch), both meals had a distinct European flair. Kurt made a Serbian potato casserole, and Scott made an Italian dish involving steak stuffed with ricotta. The Saturday dinner involved a few more of the traditional holiday dishes: mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and salad, but due to the lack of American ingredients, we often had to find Czech substitutions that made the final products a bit more 'unique,' for lack of a better word. I was able to justify inhaling everything in sight by making note of the fact that I wasn't able to eat anything for almost an entire week while I was sick. Noticeably absent from Feedbag Weekend, part 1 and 2: no pumpkin pie (pumpkins are quite exotic over here) or traditional desserts! We had to make do with some chocolate wafers.

A word to the wise: if you decide to purge yourself all day prior to a Thanksgiving meal, don't attempt to start drinking without ingesting at least a little bit of food first. At Feedbag part 2, I wound up passing out BEFORE the meal was served. Lots of photos were taken. Egad.

On a slightly irritating note: all of the ex-pats here find my musical tastes and admiration for Madonna a source of great comedy. I honestly wish it didn't get brought up every time, but despite my best efforts, somehow it always gets mentioned (typically in the same sentence as "crap" or other choice words). Even Death Cab for Cutie is considered a sell-out. Apparently, an ex-pat's soundtrack should consist only of Bob Dylan and other shoe-gazer moody rock poet types from decades past. Sigh! We've found some common grounds (Ben Folds, Manu Chou, Patti Griffin for example) but they are few and far between.