Czeching Out the World of TEFL

After a long, grueling stretch of 44 school days, topped off by 4 p.m. sunsets, cold weather, and unrelenting COVID issues, my spring break finally arrived. I knew I’d wanted to go somewhere and see a country I’d never seen before. I also realized that would require me getting on a plane for the first time in 2.5 years. More on that later.

So where would I go? I definitely had had a few places on my bucket list that I hadn’t gotten to visit yet. Italy, Ireland, and Sweden were up there for sure. I’d also heard great things about Portugal and Greece.

In the end, the motherland won out. I was FINALLY going to see Italy. I looked forward to seeing the sights, eating REAL Italian food, and just taking some time to relax. As for which city in Italy, I chose Rome because of its rich history and it having the most affordable flights.

Before I go through my day-to-day Roman experience, I must say that I considered cancelling the trip due to the conflict in Ukraine, concerned it might spread to other European locales. However, after assessing the security situation, I determined that it was safe to go. Italy was even further away from the fighting than the Czech Republic was, and, comparatively speaking, Italy and Russia had mostly been on decent terms, making it a very unlikely place for a Putin attack. Most importantly, my thoughts and prayers remain with the Ukrainian people.

Without further adieu, let’s look back on five magical days in the Italian capital…and the other very special place that I discovered along the way.

Day 1 (Monday): I arrived at Prague airport three hours in advance of my flight. However, that did me no good because my airline, Eurowings, did not allow checking in until two hours before. Once I checked in and went through airport security (a much smoother experience than what I’d have at the end of the week), I prepared to jump on a plane for the first time in nearly 1000 days. One helpful note for those of you who may be traveling in the near future: According to Eurowings, a Czech residence permit is NOT sufficient for travel. They required me to show my passport as well. Now, this might be just one airline’s policy, but that was surprising for a Schengen Zone journey. Aside from that, my flight there was quite pleasant and made me realize how much I had missed flying (of course, a window seat makes it a lot more fun). The flight arrived right on time, and I was ready to take on Fiumicino Airport in Rome.

The airport was actually easy to navigate, as I had known from my research that I needed to find the Leonardo Express train to take me to the center of Rome. Once I did, it was a 32-minute journey from the airport to the city’s central train station. All for 14 euros. As I attempted to validate my ticket, the train manager saw me fiddling with the validator and informed me that there was no need to validate it.

After the train ride, I found my hotel and was greeted by the owner, an older, affable gentleman who gave me a map of Rome and showed me where all the main attractions were. Following a brief rest at the hotel, I was ready to take in all the sights of the Eternal City…but not before a stop for pizza at a place I’d heard good reviews about. I got a delicious margherita pizza for just seven euros! Then, I just had to indulge in some gelato for dessert.

The next order of business was the Trevi Fountain. Just as beautiful as it had looked in the pictures. There’s a tradition that says if you throw a coin into the fountain, you are guaranteed another trip to Rome. Some people think it’s a scam or an old wives’ tale. Anyway, since I didn’t have any coins on me at the time, that part would have to wait for another day.

Next up was the Pantheon, but there was just one problem. After just a couple of minutes of taking it in, my phone died! Not smart enough to have brought a portable charger or power bank, I had to scramble back to the hotel, hoping I could just find the building. Thankfully, I did get there and was able to plug my phone in. Once it was powered up, I headed down to the Colosseum, which I wanted to make sure I saw both at night and during the day. I got a number of great shots of the historic monument as darkness fell. It was one of those things where I actually had to pinch myself that I was getting the opportunity to see it in person. Then, it was time for dinner. Not far up the road, I found a place that I thought had good chicken parmesan (which I never did actually find the whole time I was there). Unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be, so I had spaghetti and meatballs instead. It was the best bowl of spaghetti and meatballs I’ve ever had. Absolutely delectable.

On the way home, just minutes from my hotel, I was greeted by a young man who was carrying a bag and some small ornaments. He asked me where I was from and said that the ornament he was giving me was a gift. However, a minute later, he asked for “small change.” My motto in these situations is: “If it looks sketchy, it probably is.” So I gave him the ornament back, not giving him any money, and went back to the hotel to wrap up Day 1.

Day 2 (Tuesday): After successfully deciphering the Roman metro for the first time, the second day of my journey began with a surreal trip to Vatican City, which, technically, is its own country. Being in St. Peter’s Square and looking at St. Peter’s Basilica, a place I’d seen so many times on TV was the “Mom, I made it” moment of this vacation. I just took it all in. The crowds in the square itself actually weren’t too bad on this blustery Tuesday morning. I also could see the Sistine Chapel and papal apartments from the outside. However, I’m not a huge museums person (at least I wasn’t on this day), so I decided against paying the 17 euros to go inside the Vatican museum. Plus, I had other things to see!

Next up were the Tiber River and Castle Saint Angelo. Fairly nice, glad I got to see them, but not nearly as memorable as other stops during the trip. Then came the Spanish Steps, and, after dodging a handful of selfie stick vendors, I reached the top and relished the view. The steps themselves were quite crowded, but it wasn’t so bad by the time I got to the top. I then found a restaurant within a stone’s throw of the steps and had a plate of lasagna for lunch.

After a brief rest at the hotel, the next item on my agenda was to see the Colosseum during the day. However, on my way there, we had a scary moment. Another scammer confronted me, and while I should have just ignored him, it’s human nature to respond when someone asks you a question as if not to be rude. He started by asking me what time it was and then tried to tie a bracelet around my wrist, saying it was a gift. He then showed me a picture of his son, when, in reality, it was just a piece of art. He then demanded I give him money to help his son and tried to guilt trip me into “donating.” When I refused, he got quite aggressive. Thankfully, I lied and told him I had no cash on me (even though I did), was able to toss the bracelet back to him, and got out of the situation unharmed. But for those three minutes, I was legitimately scared. So I did more research on this and found out that it is indeed a scam (“The African Bracelet Scam”). The ornament guy from the night before was the same thing. So for the rest of the trip, I would ignore any of these African guys, not even a “hi” or “no, thank you.” Once I did that, the rest of the ones I saw left me alone. So if you’re ever in a big city (luckily, we don’t have this scam in Prague), and you see one of these African guys with a bag and some bracelets and/or ornaments, keep walking at all costs. The selfie stick sellers are just annoying, but these guys, on the other hand, can really hurt you…and your bank account. They got no money from me, but I can see why more naive tourists would get sucked in.

After things calmed down, I got to see the Colosseum in daytime and a bit of ancient Rome before the sun went down. My second dinner in Rome was a bowl of calamarata pasta. Somewhat overpriced, but pretty good. And just like that, Day 2 was in the books.

Day 3 (Wednesday): I began the third day with an American breakfast at an Irish bar next door to the hotel. I got eggs, sausage, and toast for just eight euros. A very good meal and very friendly service. Once that was done, it was time to see the Piazza Navona, a square in the city center near the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the square was packed, but that didn’t keep me from getting quite a few pictures. Piazza Navona is a large area with two fountains, and you know how much I love fountains. Following that, I had to do a make good on the Pantheon, this time with a fully-charged phone. What I didn’t know until I got there, however, was that you could go inside the monument for free as long as you had a COVID pass and ID. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. The inside was simply majestic. Full of history. I saw the tombs of the first two Italian kings. The architecture and artwork were mesmerizing. There’s also a basilica and altar. I’m so glad I had the chance to experience this centuries-old Roman temple.

After a brief stopover at the Trevi Fountain, where I did throw a coin in this time (we’ll see if that gets me a return trip to Rome or any good luck in general), I stopped at one of Rome’s oldest cafes and had an iced granita, a type of iced coffee with chunks of ice and whipped cream on top (highly recommend).

Day 3 wrapped up with a breathtaking sunset at the Villa Borghese, a park overlooking the city. Dinner was a fettuccine and mushroom dish at a nice place down the street from my motel. It was a special day, but the only bad part was that my trip was now closer to its end than to its beginning.

Day 4 (Thursday): I had one more full day in Rome and had basically seen everything I’d wanted to see in Rome proper, so I took off to the beach. Yes, approximately 90 minutes from Rome, there is a seaside town called Ostia. You can get there and back by using the Roma-Lido railway for just three euros in total! After starting my day with the hotel’s free breakfast, I found Ostia, and boy, I am glad I did! It was a lengthy commute there, but like I said, it was worth it. I saw a real beach for the first time in four years. I hadn’t seen one since moving to Europe and it had gotten to the point where I forgot what a beach looked like. It brought me back to the days of visiting Cape Cod as a kid. Ah, to have no responsibilities again. Fast forward back to the present. Ostia and the Tyrrhenian Sea were so peaceful and soothing. I sat on the beach and then went to dip my toes in the water. I’d missed the sound of the waves and the smell of the sand so much. And with all due respect to Cape Cod, this beach had pristine water and practically no seaweed.

After sitting on the beach for a bit, I checked out a nearby restaurant for lunch and decided that I deserved the opportunity to eat like a king, if only once while on vacation. After all, it was clear that even before the trip had started, my diet was going out the window this week anyway. The meal started with free nachos and I ordered some chicken tenders as an appetizer. What got me excited was that these were REAL chicken tenders (American-style, not the knockoffs we have in Prague) with real honey mustard sauce. So good. My main course was the mixed grill, basically a sampler platter of steak, beef, chicken, and mini hot dogs. And some french fries thrown in for good measure. It was to die for. This was the best meal I’d had in a long time, and I never thought that my favorite meal on the trip wouldn’t even wind up being Italian food!

Following my indulgence, I took another walk along the beach and just listened to the waves, seagulls, and people. It was a great opportunity to recharge my batteries and just think about life. I went into the village for a bit as well. There are a lot of beach bars and really affordable restaurants in this area. A plethora of hotels as well. I remember saying to myself that I kind of wished that I’d stayed in Ostia and then went into Rome on the train. Maybe next time.

I hadn’t even planned on staying there all day, but I loved it so much that I just had to. When was my next opportunity to see a beach sunset going to be? I took in the sunset and it did not disappoint. While I had several great memories from this trip, Ostia was by far my favorite, a city break within a city break, if you will.

After my phone died AGAIN, I blindly found my way back to the Ostia train station, and ultimately, the hotel, by retracing my steps. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, dinner that night was McDonald’s (hey, it was late, I had a dead phone, and my budget was worn out). Once I watched (and attempted to understand) “Strisicia la Notizia,” a satirical Italian TV show, I went to be. Side note: The TVs are one of the major reasons I prefer hotels to hostels.

Day 5 (Friday): My last day in Rome began in a bit of a dull manner, as I had to pack and clean up my hotel room. Once that was done, I returned to the same pizza joint from Monday to get one last margherita pizza (it was a Friday during Lent, so my options were limited). After checking out of the hotel and settling the bill, I got on the Leonardo Express one more time and braved Fiumicino again. Unfortunately, this was where things went sideways a bit. First, as I checked in for my flight and handed the agent my COVID pass, he looked at it strangely and initially thought I only had had one dose of the vaccine. Eventually, he realized his mistake and recognized that I had all all three shots. Crisis averted. Then, it was onto airport security. I always get nervous in these situations, so I accidentally forgot to take my phone and wallet out of my pockets, forcing the metal detector to go off. After one of the agents berated me in Italian, I took them out and tried again. This time, I was all good.

That was, until I wasn’t.

I was selected for a random security screening. I had never had this happen before in my life, and when I asked the agent why I was picked, he just said “it’s random.” The next five minutes were absolutely agonizing because I was separated from my wallet, phone, and all my belongings. Those five minutes legitimately felt like five hours. Eventually, they let me go, but I came away shaken, angry, and insulted. Did they seriously believe I was a threat to bring down a plane? What a joke. For those of you thinking about going to Rome, avoid Fiumicino Airport if you can. It put a bit a of a damper on an otherwise amazing trip.

Once my blood pressure came down, I got on the plane, and once again, Eurowings provided a pleasant, friendly, and punctual experience. With both flights, their gate agents were a bit disrespectful, but all in all, it’s a solid low-cost airline and I’m happy I chose them. We arrived back to Prague on time, jumped back into colder temperatures (Italy was consistently in the upper 50s Fahrenheit during the day; that’s about 14-15 degrees Celsius for you Europeans out there), and picked up my baggage. I had another brief moment of panic when I thought I’d lost my passport, but thankfully, I was able to locate it deep in my bag. With that, my Italian adventure was over, sad that I had to go back to reality but happy that I’d successfully pulled it off.

Let’s wrap up this up with a few general observations:

1. Most of the Italians I encountered were kind, welcoming, and ready to help if I need it (except the airport people, of course). Also, most of them went right to speaking English to me even before I got anything out of my mouth. Either that’s just the way they do it…or I did a terrible job at passing for an Italian person.
2. My Czech Covid pass (the “green pass,” as they say in Italy) worked perfectly. The QR code was able to be scanned and read just if I were in Prague. I’d been a little worried about this going in and thought people would have to individually read my pass and not be able to scan it. And while every place I went to was technically supposed to check it, only about half actually did, and most surprising of all, the hotel never asked to see it.
3. The weather was “bellissimo.” Not a drop of rain. Considering the weather predictions had been quite lousy the week before the trip, I think we made out just fine.
4. It took me a few days to figure out Rome’s public transport network (mainly when it came to validation of tickets), but once I did, it was easy and painless. However, I’d take Prague’s system over Rome’s every day. Much cleaner and less crowded.
5. Prices were much better than I thought they’d be. Turns out you can get a really good bowl of pasta for eight to 10 euros. I’ll gladly take that.

So there you have it. My first Italian experience. Still jumping up and down that I finally got to spend some time in this country where my surname comes from (“Bevevino” literally means “drink wine” in Italian). There are so many other places in Italy (Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast, Lake Como, etc.) that I’ve heard are worth visiting, so you better believe I’ll be back.

And my final word of advice: Buy the food. Buy the gelato. Buy the souvenirs. Buy the clothes and famous Italian leather. Heck, even buy the museum tickets if you’re not as frugal as I am.

But whatever you do, don’t buy the bracelets.

Bombs going off. Missiles flying into homes and schools. People taking shelter in metro stations. Nuclear plants being threatened.

Desperate refugees being forced to flee across borders and uproot their lives. Selfless men saying goodbyes to their families before going into battle with the possibility that they may never see them again.

Innocent people, including children, are dead. Cities destroyed in the blink of an eye. The whole world order has been turned on its side, never to be the same again.

This apocalyptic situation is not playing out in a movie. This is real life. It’s in Ukraine, a member of the same continent as Prague and only a few borders away. And it’s happened due to an evil, corrupt, and dangerous dictator who will hopefully pay dearly for his actions. Putin chose this war. His unacceptable, irresponsible, and calamitous attacks have killed many and will unfortunately kill more in the days and weeks ahead.

He’s a killer. Criminal. Thug. A bunch of other things I can’t say in this space. 99.9 percent (it should be 100) of the world has turned against him, and rightly so. I can’t wait until the day Putin is overthrown, arrested, and/or put in jail for the rest of his life.

Juxtaposed with the villain of Putin is the heroic figure of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president has shown what real leadership looks like and should be a role model for us all. He hasn’t given up and won’t give up. He’s motivated the Ukrainian side, despite paling in comparison to the evil empire they are up against, to keep fighting and never surrender. He’s standing up for his people and ensuring his side doesn’t give an inch or just let Putin have what he wants. He’s not afraid to speak his mind when he feels the West has not done enough. He could’ve left, gone into hiding, or just thrown in the towel, but he hasn’t allowed that to happen. Bravo, sir.

As someone living in Prague, how do I feel about all of this? First, like anyone, I believe that this should have never, ever happened and that Putin needs to go to a place that rhymes with “bell.” Actually, either “hell” and/or “jail cell” could work there. Take your pick. But aside from merely stating the obvious, I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t a little unnerved. After all, only one country–Poland–separates us from Ukraine. At the moment, I still feel perfectly safe and have no problem carrying out my normal routine or traveling to destinations, as long as they aren’t in the direction of Ukraine (sorry, Krakow and Bratislava, you guys will have to wait). On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest danger, I feel a 2 or 3 as opposed to the 1 I’d normally feel. If Putin goes after Poland or Slovakia, then I will have to strongly consider taking measures. But currently, it’s business as usual.

To calm my worried parents, whose anxiety is even higher than usual right now, Kyiv and Prague are approximately 710 miles apart. That’s about the same distance from Albany to Chicago. Most of the attacks are from Kyiv eastward. On the whole, I’m not concerned, and my family at home shouldn’t be, either. However, I am watching the story closely and have contingency plans at the ready.

Putin’s war will have ramifications for the entire planet for years to come. This conflict will likely wind up being among the most consequential of our time. Already here in the Czech Republic, we’ve seen an influx of refugees and will see more. Applying for my long-term residence permit later this year will likely be a longer and more arduous process than usual due to the Interior Ministry being tied up with all the extra applications from Ukrainians. As much as I’d like to have my situation sorted out, I’m more than happy to wait–give the visas to the people who truly need them.

Financially, we’re starting to see the Czech crown plunge in value against the dollar and euro. Prices are going to increase across the board. There’s been talk of turning off Russian gas here and in neighbouring countries, which isn’t a big deal since the weather is warming up.

As an American, I grew up watching the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, which were terrible conflicts in which far too many lives were lost. With all due respect, however, those were on the other side of the globe, and I, thankfully, never had a loved one killed or injured in action. I apologize if this is a terrible thing to say, but those never really hit home for me.

This time is different.

This conflict is close and directly affecting my life. It will likely continue to do so for a very long time. I may have to make some difficult and life-changing decisions because of Putin’s recklessness. That’s not fair to me or the thousands of other expats in a similar situation. But so far, I’m not nearly as affected as millions of others, and I have to open my eyes and realize how fortunate I am for that.

This war also makes me feel truly helpless. Yes, I’ve donated money and will certainly donate some supplies as well. I’ve been so impressed at the solidarity that the Czech Republic and the whole world have shown with Ukraine. We had a protest of 80,000-strong in Wenceslas Square the other night. But to see the chilling images and media reports from the conflict zone rips my heart out and makes me wish there was something more substantial that I could do. The suffering these Ukrainians are going through is agonizing, traumatizing, and worst of all, completely and utterly unnecessary thanks to the madman running the show in Moscow.

I pray that world leaders will come together and continue to give Ukraine the help it so desperately needs. This isn’t a time for politics or bickering or hidden agendas. Too many innocent lives are depending on us. Putin needs to be stopped before he destroys all of Europe, as he very nearly did a few nights ago at the nuclear plant. It’s time for the most united front that the world has ever seen. There’s no excuse not to.

I also would be remiss if I didn’t comment about being a teacher during this difficult time. Most of my older students (6th-8th grade) know what is going on, and I even have a few students from Ukraine. I can easily see how stressed out and upset they are. All I can do is be there and listen. As for the younger students, I think they even have some grasp of the situation and they know that it is very bad and fairly close to us. On Friday, I asked my 4th- and 5th-grade English class if they wanted to forgo the planned lesson and make things for Ukraine instead, and their answer was a resounding yes. I actually took their work and placed it in the room of items that we had going to Ukraine itself (a colleague’s husband was brave enough to actually drive there). Hopefully, it will make the Ukrainians smile, if only for a moment.

And maybe one day, when Putin is put in his rightful place, the Ukrainians can look back on their resilience and resolve and smile.

Wow, my first post in over a month. I’ve certainly missed writing.

Obviously, I don’t have a lot of time these days, and I’ve been dealing with a bit of writer’s block. To be completely honest (more on being honest later), I’m exhausted on so many levels. Even typing this blog is tiring. Teaching has been taking more out of me than ever recently. But I’ve left you all waiting this long, so I need to come up with something, and I think I know just the right topic.

Today, I had a lesson not go as planned. The kids were not on their best behavior to say the least. One of those days. When class was over, I sat and stared aimlessly at the wall, wondering went wrong or if I need to change my classroom management strategies or if I need to just give up on teaching entirely.

Eventually, I decided. I was going to be super strict from now on. I wrote a post-it note and stuck it on my computer. It said: “Be mean. Nice Mike is gone.”

I left the note on my laptop for a short while. The plan sounded perfect, and I appreciated the alliteration in “Mean Mike.” At long last, I’d get my kids to sit down and shut up. I’d give off an aura that absolutely demanded respect.

It sounded great, that is, until I realized that I just couldn’t do it.

First, I all but burst out laughing in a later class during our Kahoot review of class rules when I saw I had made one of the choices “Mr. Mike turns into an alien.”

As tempting as it may be, it’s not in my nature to be mean. It’s not the way my parents raised me. Heck, I sleep with a stuffed frog at night (don’t judge).

I like to have fun and laugh out loud. Who doesn’t? And let’s face it, kids really don’t like the mean teacher. Ridiculing and shaming children doesn’t benefit anyone. As annoying as certain students can be some days, these are people’s children. They have feelings and emotions. They aren’t numbers or test scores.

These young humans look to their teachers to set an example. Losing your patience and blowing your top in the classroom–believe me, I’ve done it–sends a message to the students that they’ve won. It tells them that it’s OK to lose your cool in a stressful situation, which sends the wrong message to them when they face times of trouble later in life.

Being mean is not me. There’s an “M” and “E” in mean, but not an “I” or “K.”

I care too much about these children and about my career to let myself go and just be mean. Being mean would force me to be someone that I’m not. No job, no person, and no situation are worth that. Teaching is not a show that has Oscar-quality acting. Neither is life. You have to be genuine. If I’m having a good day, I want people to know. If I’m having a bad day, I still want people to know. Those of you who follow me on Instagram are well aware of that. After all, no one likes a phony.

I’d rather go down sticking to my morals than succeed by being someone I’m not. When someone asks you how you’re doing and you say you’re fine when you’re really not fine, you’re lying and doing a disservice to them. Twelve years of Catholic schooling taught me that lying is not OK. It’s OK to not be OK, and I can’t stand people who don’t feel that way. Personally, I’m much more likely to respect someone who is willing to tell me how they really feel. If I lose friends because of my approach, so be it. But if other people can’t enjoy the complete, unabridged version of you, then do you really want them in your life?

I have some critical decisions to make in the weeks and months ahead. Not only will I make sure that these decisions are what is best for me, I’ll also make sure that I can be myself and be happy with being myself in whatever I decide to do going forward. I’m at a bit of a crossroads right now, and the roads are only going to get longer if I’m trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.

Since you’re probably tired of hearing my drivel by now, let’s hear from the great Oscar Wilde instead.

“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”

There’s only one Michael Jude Bevevino in the world (my mother will be so happy to see me writing my full name) and he’s unique. He has strengths and weaknesses, feelings and emotions, likes and dislikes. He’s made it 32 1/2 years on this planet and has lived to tell about it. No other teacher is like him. No other person is like him. No other son, brother, uncle, nephew, or friend is like him. He’s Mike, a simple guy just trying to make a difference and make his family proud.

And the best way to do those things? Be yourself.

2021 is behind us. A pretty lousy year as it was, it could have just gone gently into that good night. But no, it just had to listen to Dylan Thomas and take the likes of Desmond Tutu, John Madden, and…BETTY WHITE. I’ve been saying it for a while–whichever year is the one that takes Betty White will officially be the worst year ever. Can we put Bob Barker in bubble wrap before 2022 gets any ideas?

Don’t let the door hit you in the rear end on the way out, 2021. All of us would like to kindly show you the third finger from the left (or is it the third finger from the right?).

OK, we want to keep it G-rated in this blog, so we won’t do that. Who knows? My students might be reading this (doubtful, but not impossible). And now that Baker Island and Howland Island are into 2022, we can officially say it…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The three words always bring about resolutions and promises for change, many of which don’t last more than a week, a day, or even an hour. Lose weight, quit smoking, learn a new language, blah, blah, blah. People too often make their resolutions without putting any thought into them. Or they get into them for a few days and make excuses.

Boring, recycled, and uninspired resolutions like the ones above just don’t do it for me. I need resolutions with meaningful, practical, and tangible outcomes which will benefit both me AND others in specific ways. During this school break, I’ve done a lot of soul searching and have asked myself a ton of questions.

Fun fact: a ton is just over 907 kilograms. What are “Things I Had to Learn to Teach Middle School Physics” for $1,000, Alex? So now that we know how much the questions weighed, let’s talk about what the questions actually were…

Who am I? Who do I want to be? Why is the College Football Playoff so predictable?

There were more than that, but these were the ones I liked the most. I’m not sure I can come up with definite answers to any of them. But I’ll certainly try, and my resolutions will hopefully help me to be the best version of myself in 2022.

Resolution #1: Spend 30 minutes a day bettering myself and my life situation.

I’m going to cast a wide net on this one. It could be exercising, going for a walk to clear my head, meditating, writing/journaling, listening to TED Talks, researching exciting opportunities, etc. I found that I was frequently unhappy in 2021 and often just let myself stay stuck in that rut rather than go out and do something about it. In order to become the person I want to be, I need to stay hungry, humble, and motivated. Self-improvement isn’t going to fall from the sky–I have to go out and get it myself. Whatever I can do to increase happiness will improve my physical, mental, and emotional health. No complaints. No excuses. No giving up.

Resolution #2: Relationships, relationships, relationships

As I’ve said in this space before, I didn’t always do the best job with my mental health in the past year, and it negatively affected many relationships. I said, did, and posted some things that I would like to have back. I drifted apart from key people in my life and did a poor job of communicating with others. The goal for 2022 is to restore these relationships, at least the ones which are worth restoring. Those who are meant to be in your life will. Those who aren’t meant to be there won’t be. I need to control my mental health and manage my time better so that I can strengthen the relationships I do have and maybe even develop some new ones.

Resolution #3: A new attitude

I’ve always been someone who has worn my heart on my sleeve. I let my emotions show and it’s easy for others to tell if I’m having a good or bad day. Admittedly, this will be a hard habit to break, and I certainly don’t think I can do it overnight, but I’m going to try my darnedest to stop this behavior. Obviously, I don’t try to have negative energy come off of me, but it does happen sometimes. When students and colleagues can see this, it can fill them with negative energy, too. I don’t want to be less real or less genuine, but I think that hiding my emotions, at least while I’m in the professional setting of work, might be for the best. After all, this is still a new job and I’m still getting to know many people there. I don’t want my coworkers, who I am going to need on my side, getting the wrong idea about me and believing that I’m an unhappy, impatient person. And if the kids see it, they’ll have an easier path to getting under my skin, and that doesn’t benefit anybody.

To conclude, I think the big reason that 2021 went poorly for me is because I couldn’t find that happy medium. I either tried too hard to impress people or to make something work OR I didn’t try hard enough, becoming apathetic and just wanting to be alone in my own little world. Both ends of the spectrum were driven by my anxiety. Although I shared my three main resolutions, I have one phrase that is going to be my overarching goal, or life motto, if you will, for 2022.

Don’t let anxiety win.

Last year, anxiety won far too many times. It was beating me so often and so badly that I felt like the Buffalo Sabres. That’s not happening this year. I didn’t move 5,000 miles away from home to get here and step right back into my comfort zone. My comfort zone is exactly where anxiety wants me to be and where I was too often in 2021.

But anxiety isn’t going to get what it wants. Not anymore.

I’m ready to change for the better. I’m ready to get that spark and that passion back. I’m ready to see the world again. I’m ready to show my nieces and nephews some of the things you can do if you set your mind to them.

And most importantly…

I’m ready to fight like hell.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Or if you prefer, Happy Holidays!

I apologize that this post is a day late. That’s because I really struggled to decide what I wanted to write about. I could sit here and tell bad Christmas jokes or do a corny rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” I also could complain about how my fantasy football team has had a small village go on the COVID list this week while my semifinal opponent’s team is the picture of health.

Those would have been fine topics, and my most loyal readers certainly would have tuned in. But then, I realized that it’s been a while since I talked to you from the heart and let you know about what I am really thinking. You all know how much I like being real, honest, and genuine, so if you don’t like those things, stop reading now. On this special occasion, let’s do that, while also giving ourselves kind of a 2021 report card.

In short, my 2021 feels like the state of the Griswolds’ house at the end of Christmas Vacation…except there are no people, no Christmas lights, and no singing of the national anthem.

First off, spending Christmas alone sucks. I had wanted to go somewhere, but the emergence of omicron and the fact that all school employees will have to be tested twice a week following the break made it far too risky. I stayed in touch with my family. I know I could have gone home to them and that they would have welcomed me with open arms, but I’ll be making a very special trip there next summer and it just wasn’t financially feasible for me to make two trans-Atlantic trips in a six-month period. Plus, you know, COVID restrictions and the harsh reality that you have to do a COVID test basically just to leave your house at this point. Of course, my fear of COVID testing has been well documented here, but the good news is that I took the first two PCR tests of my life this month and both were negative! But my fear–and the threat of COVID–are very real, too real to risk it at a time when cases are getting worse in pretty much every country.

I accepted that reality and really didn’t think being by myself would bother me. I received some very nice student Christmas gifts, such as alcohol (LOL), chocolate, shampoo and body wash made from real Czech beer, and a jar of personalized apricot jam with my last name spelled perfectly. The gifts definitely made things much easier.

But once the day came, I saw the Facebook and Instagram posts of people being so happy and enjoying time with family and friends. It was only then that it hit me. And it hit me like a freight train. Last year, I had friends to celebrate it with here in Prague, but that wasn’t possible this time due to many of them moving back to the States or other greener pastures.

Going from having friends to celebrate with to having no one was a stark reminder of one very uncomfortable truth.

2021 was a real struggle.

Now, to be fair, we do need to look at the good. I am healthy. My loved ones are healthy. I have a good job. I have a roof over my head. I have clothes to wear and food to eat. As much of an inconvenience as COVID is, it really hasn’t hit home for me the way it has for other people. I can only hope and pray (and perhaps knock on wood) that continues.

These things are great, but as you know if you’ve read this blog, I hold myself to a very high standard. I did not meet that standard this year. Mistakes were made. Opportunities were missed. Some decisions were not as well-thought out as they could have been.

On a personal level, I’m not proud to admit that I just coasted through most of the year. My diet and exercise goals didn’t happen. My meditation plan was a bigger bust than Allen Robinson has been this year on the fake gridiron. While I did do a good job at times with my mental health, I too often neglected it, making me more stressed and much less patient with everyone and everything. It prevented me from being the best version of myself and forced others to see a version of me that I hope no one ever sees again.

With my physical and mental health not in the best place, some of the important relationships in my life were negatively affected. Whether it was with friends, acquaintances, or coworkers, I went backwards on the social front in a BIG way. To be fair, this occurred in large part to friends moving away but also due to other reasons I’d rather not discuss here. Sometimes, social anxiety wins, and boy, did it blow me out this year.

On the professional front, I changed jobs and swapped out English File and Business Result for Scratch and Kahoot. For those who don’t know the education lingo, I went from working with adults to working with children. So far, it’s been an adjustment to say the least. If the powers that be at my school are reading this, all I can say is that I’ve tried my best and look forward to working harder, better, and smarter in 2022.

Overall, I’m not satisfied with my year. At all. While I do tend to be very hard on myself about pretty much everything, it’s really difficult to say that I’m honestly in a better place than I was one year ago. Now that’s not to say good things haven’t happened. There have been some very positive changes in my family. I got the first two COVID shots and hope to get the third one very soon. I made a much better effort to learn some Czech. I paid my bills on time and stayed in good standing with the authorities (and there are a lot of them here in the Czech Republic). I was blessed to have some wonderful traveling opportunities that I would re-live in a heartbeat. I stuck to my alcohol and drug abstinence pledge 99.9 percent of the time, although the expensive champagne and chardonnay I received from students might make that slightly more difficult in the days and weeks ahead. By the way, I was talking to my colleagues at the school Christmas party, and they couldn’t believe that I have never smoked (and will never smoke) weed in my life. I’m not going to lie: I am proud of that and want people to know about it. OK, we’re rambling, so let’s get on with it…

The bottom line is this: I left too much meat on the bone this year. And for those of you who have seen me eat chicken wings, you know I don’t do that. But the past is the past. I can’t go back and change it. All I can do is re-commit to my goals and make myself better in the new year. I still have a lot of thinking to do and plan on writing another blog with all my New Year’s resolutions. This year, no one really held me accountable for anything, and I think that’s a big reason why I slipped. I had that false sense of security because I knew no one would be up my rear end if I had a bad day or a bad week. But if I write them on paper (or in this case, on the computer), you all can hold me accountable and I can hold myself accountable.

2022 is a year in which I will have to make critical life decisions. I’m not going to get into the details of those choices, but these are not decisions such as where to order out for dinner or who to start in the flex spot in fantasy football. With all due respect to what’s left of my fantasy football team, these decisions are going to be really, really important and are going to come up pretty quickly. I need to make sure that my mind is in the best place for me to make the right decisions, not ones that are based on emotions or recency bias. Just thinking about the decisions is stressing me out, so let’s table it until the next blog.

I’m not a quitter. Unlike my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers in last week’s abomination against the Saints, I’m going to keep fighting. As Clark says in Christmas Vacation, we’re going to press on. We don’t need Bing Crosby or Danny Kaye to do that. Although some Tylenol would be nice, so Clark, if you do find it, could you send some my way?

And when Santa squeezes his bottom down my chimney come Christmas 2022, wherever that chimney is, he’s hopefully going to find the jolliest…uh, person this side of the nuthouse. But I don’t plan on going anywhere near the nuthouse, so hopefully he’ll just find a much jollier, much happier Mike.

If I work hard, treat people the right way, and make the right decisions, he most certainly will.

Things had seemed to be going so well.

Summer 2021 was full of promise and hope. There were effectively no restrictions. We could see our friends and loved ones. We could travel. We could go to restaurants, bars, and mass events and stay for as long as we wished.

People were getting vaccinated. Daily case numbers were in the hundreds. COVID-related COVID-related hospitalizations were almost nonexistent. Most importantly, only a very small number of people were dying.

Life was good. COVID appeared to be in the rear-view mirror. It appeared that we would spend this Thanksgiving being thankful for having made it through the pandemic, or at the very least, the worst of it.

That might be the case in some parts of the world. But here in Europe, it’s not to be.

In the Czech Republic, we spent our Thanksgiving setting our fourth new daily case record in the past fortnight. Nearly 28,000 people had positive tests on Thursday. Hospitalizations are back over 6,000 and rising every day. We’re seeing as many deaths in one day as we were for entire months during the summer. The Czech president, already dealing with several health issues that left him hospitalized for a month and a half, had to go right back to the hospital over testing positive this week. Since the president has to officially appoint a new prime minister, the new government of Petr Fiala, who thankfully defeated Andrej Babis in national elections last month, will have to wait before they can begin to clean up the mess of their predecessors. Ugh.

Speaking of Mr. Agrofert and friends, they spent their Thanksgiving throwing new restrictions at us. The state of emergency has returned for supposedly 30 days but will likely last for several months, just as the last one did. Bars, restaurants, and clubs must close at 10 p.m. Christmas markets are banned. Drinking alcohol in public is prohibited, as are mass events of more than 100 people. Negative tests are no longer accepted as a clean bill of health and unvaccinated people can’t do much of anything. Heck, I was at KFC the other day, and they were checking vaccine certificates just to have a sit-down meal there.

Travel is very difficult, if not impossible, and it appears my dreams of a Christmas trip may have to wait. In the Czech Republic, the government has a travel map of four different levels: green (low risk of COVID infection), orange (medium risk), red (high risk), and dark red (very high risk). In the summer, the map was mostly green with a little orange a sprinkled in. Maybe two or three countries were red or dark red. Now, the only European countries which are green or orange are the Vatican (green), Italy (orange), and Malta (orange). That’s it. Perhaps this is a good time to finally have my audience with the pope…

In all seriousness, it might take some divine intervention to get us out of this mess. It’s frustrating because these sorts of blanket measures had appeared to be a thing of the past. And now, another lockdown, while we are not at that point yet, appears to be a distinct possibility. Neighboring Austria and Slovakia have already chosen that path. If our numbers continue to go the way they’ve been going, it’s inevitable that we will join them before long.

The war is not over. In fact, a new battle has begun, and we’re on the wrong end of it right now.

I’m scared.

One reason I feel that way is because it’s starting to hit home. A number of students at my school have come down with it, sending classes into quarantine and distance learning. Colleagues, including a fellow English teacher, have tested positive. Next week, we’re starting mandatory PCR testing for students and employees, vaccinated or not. I’ve always had a deathly fear of COVID tests, and it’s not because of the funny feeling the swab gives you in your nose. It’s because I have so much to lose if I ever, God forbid, tested positive. My whole world could be turned upside down and everything I’ve worked so hard for here in Prague could go up in flames. Plus, I’m really not a fan of the agonizing wait for results, and now, I have to go through that once a week. Yes, it’s probably the right thing for our school to do, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s not good for someone who has through-the-roof COVID anxiety. All I can do is hope and pray. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. If it’s not, it’s not.

Hoping and praying can only do so much. Caution and common sense are key, too. If I were to test positive, I could also be in a world of trouble health-wise. Yes, I’m vaccinated, but I’m 32 years old and have a family health history which is far from glowing. Asthma, being overweight, and anxiety are not necessarily a great combination, either. It’s not out of the question that I could get really sick and land in the hospital.

Before you start screaming at the computer screen with cries of “Mike, you’re young” or
“Mike, you’re vaccinated,” let me tell you the story of Mike Tagliere. I did not know this man personally, but I feel like he had an impact on me. Not only did we share the same first name, Mike and I also had two of the same passions: Writing and fantasy football, and boy, was he ever good at both. I would never set my typically futile lineups without reading his 20,000-word weekly article which masterfully detailed all the games and players for the coming week and often included a well-articulated personal story.

Mike was 39 years old, fully vaccinated, and probably in better health than I am. But in August, he contracted COVID. A few days later, he wound up in the hospital on a ventilator. Six weeks after that, he was dead. He left behind a wife and two children. To see someone so young, likable, and at the top of their field taken from us just like that is a sin.

As I’ve said in this space before, it can happen to anyone. COVID does not care who you are or what you do.

With all this being said, PLUS the students and colleagues testing positive, PLUS the fact that it’s another month and a half before I’m eligible for the third dose and that my immunity is wearing off by the day, PLUS the emergence of the new Omicron variant, I’m more nervous than ever. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve paused virtually all non-work related social activity. I haven’t even been talking to my roommates. I had to decline an invitation to a Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. I go to work and to the store. That’s all. For someone like me who thrives on social interaction and wants to keep my friendships healthy, it’s gut-wrenching. If I come out of this with no friends, so be it. I’d much rather not have friends than not have a job, a flat, or good health. Priorities.

Friends, the COVID war is not over and won’t be for quite some time. A long winter lies ahead. Like I said before, I’m fearful, hence the lack of bad jokes in this post. We need to take this threat extremely seriously, even if it means giving up some of the things we love. We can save lives.

Keep fighting. Keep using common sense. Keep using hand sanitizer. And above all, keep wearing masks and keep getting vaccinated.

And hug your loved ones a little tighter this holiday season. And during your embrace, remember Mike Tagliere’s family and the millions of people who can’t.

I’ve never been a fan of fall.

I just don’t see anything exciting about falling temperatures, shorter days, pumpkin spice everything, or worsening COVID numbers. The MLB postseason is nice, but it’s become a bit stale these past several years as Dodger and Astro fatigue has set in. (although I was elated to see the trash cans go down at the hands of a likable Braves team).

Obviously, as someone in the education field, I can attest to the fact that we go from 0 to 60 once the book closes on summer and opens on autumn. The stress goes up tenfold. As we talked about in our last piece, we have to find ways to deal with that stress.

So what’s my favorite stress reliever?

Traveling.

Yep. I always love seeing new places and having different experiences. There’s nothing better than having a free day in a new city. I don’t mind being one of those annoying tourists who takes photos of everything.

Even though I don’t like a lot of the things that come with fall, the season is still a great time to travel. And with COVID getting worse in essentially every European country right now, who knows for how much longer we’ll be able to jump on a bus, train, or plane and have an adventure?

Before I get into the three amazing trips I took this fall, a brief disclaimer: None of these journeys involved a plane. I’m still uneasy about flying. I’ve heard horror stories about vaccinated people being denied boarding because they don’t have a COVID test, people being stuck in foreign countries due to COVID restrictions, and flight cancellations causing hundreds of dollars to go down the drain. As someone who didn’t have a super-long break at any point and as a new employee in a probationary period at work, flying was just too risky. That and because of my irrational fear of COVID tests. I will 100 percent fly again in the future. But this wasn’t the right time.

I still like to think I made the most of it, though. Let’s jump in the time machine and have a look back.

Trip #1: Wroclaw, Poland

My only previous exposure to Poland had been a rather ordinary day trip to the border town of Jelenia Gora. I did that merely to cross it off the list. But I had three days in late September to further immerse myself into Polish culture. Wroclaw is a nice city, not as far and not as touristy as Warsaw or Krakow. But I would definitely recommend it. The architecture was impressive and reminded me a bit of Prague. There were also some tremendous riverfront views along the Oder. The food was amazing. The pierogies and potato pancakes were well worth it. Polish food >>>>>>>>> Czech food. AND they have a Papa John’s Pizza (not available in Prague), which was my choice to splurge on as I took in a Sunday night of American football from my hotel room. Yes, I shunned the the hostel route frequently taken by many of my compatriots and paid up for a hotel room to treat myself. It had been nearly two years since I stayed in an honest to goodness hotel (I love hotels), and the Hotel Scandic in Wroclaw did not disappoint.

Like the Czech Republic, Poland doesn’t use the Euro, instead preferring the zloty for its main currency. As far as I could tell, the prices were about the same as in Prague. And when it came to COVID, no one really checked much of anything. Granted, this was before the terrible surge that Europe is facing right now, and that the Czech Republic wasn’t much better in this regard, but it was still disconcerting.

I was lucky enough to be in Wroclaw on September 27, which is an important day in Poland because it was the anniversary of Poland’s surrender to the Nazis during World War II. I saw a small part of a ceremony held in the city center, and while I had to watch it from afar, it was kind of surreal. But if it’s anything that involves a piece of history, I’m in. Let’s move on to another historic place.

Trip #2: Terezin, Czech Republic

Especially if you live in the Czech Republic, Terezin is one of those places that you have to see once in your life. The former military fortress was the home of a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. In late October, I decided to take a day trip, as the village is only about 90 minutes from Prague by train.

The first thing I noticed about the town is how eerily quiet it was at first. I think that must be part of the ambiance. I only had a few hours there, so I didn’t see everything. But I did see the memorial and decided to put the phone away for a half hour and just take it all in. The reason I decided to go to Terezin at that time was because I was coming off of a terrible week, personally, professionally, socially, fantasy sports-wise, you name it. I felt that Terezin would help put things in perspective for me. I didn’t want to completely invalidate my feelings, but I needed to realize that what I was going through was absolutely nothing compared to the horrors that happened here over eight decades ago. OK, so it’s not hard to realize that, but sometimes when you get caught up in life, you need a reminder. I was not, by any means, being tortured. These people, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandmothers, grandfathers, etc., were literally going through torture, and many didn’t survive. I needed the eye-opener and certainly got one. After the trip, I thought for a long time about what I saw and I just remember thinking how lucky I was to not have had to go through that or knew anyone who did. I also recall saying to myself that it was a place I’d never want to be in at night.

With that history and life lesson in the books, let’s review our last trip.

Trip #3: Zurich, Switzerland

Typically, I’m a person with a lot of structure and I like to have schedules. But I do have a bit of spontaneity in me, especially when it comes to traveling. I woke up on the second day of my five-day autumn holiday and realize that, as usual, I had no plans. I far well knew that, because of COVID, this might be my last chance to cross a country off the list for a while. I know I had been debating between just using the time off to rest and maybe take a day trip or two. But when RegioJet has an affordable overnight bus to Zurich and you have four open days ahead of you, who says no? I booked the bus and hotel at 3 p.m. that afternoon and left at 11 p.m. It happened that quickly.

Switzerland was kind of a milestone for me because it was the 10th country I’ve ever visited. Double digits at last! Honestly, I hadn’t ever had that much interest in visiting the poster child for neutrality because of how expensive everything was. And when I was there, that’s the first thing I noticed. Things cost money. A public transport pass was over twice as much as it would have been in Prague. Six chicken tenders and a water at McDonald’s cost the equivalent of 17 U.S. dollars. One night at a three-star hotel was about $125. Speaking of money, nearly every car I saw was a high-end brand. Ford and Toyota need not apply here. Zurich was dominated by the likes of Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Lamborghini, and Ferrari. I even saw Teslas and Maseratis.

If people are going to have cars that cost this much, don’t you think they’d at least know how to drive them? Nope. Not at all. While I (thankfully) didn’t have to drive while I was there, I heard car horns honking every time I turned around and even saw a minor car accident happen right in front of me. Yikes.

On the topic of getting around, the public transport in Zurich was incredibly confusing. I remember standing at a ticket machine for 20 minutes because it was quite unclear as to what ticket I needed. I eventually was able to figure out the right one…I hope. But if you use the wrong ticket and don’t get caught, did you actually use the wrong ticket? No wonder people want to continue to poorly drive their luxury cars….

When it comes to food, I know the main draw of Switzerland is chocolate, but I’ve never been much of a chocolate guy. Instead, I stuck with delicacies such as Domino’s Pizza (once again, Prague, step your game up) and a local American-style diner where my vaccination certificate was checked…twice. Overpriced, but tasty. And while I didn’t get anything from either place, I also noticed a Dunkin’ Donuts (not hard to say no when you’re overweight and a single donut costs $3.50 USD) and a Popeye’s.

Perhaps the influx of American food should have been an indication that the Swiss speak English extremely well. Far better than the Czechs. Nearly everywhere I went, I heard and overheard English being spoken, almost as much as the native German. I was impressed.

The highlight of my trip, however, was seeing Zurich at night. The word “magical” gets thrown around way too much in my opinion, but it was truly magical. Listening to two churches instantaneously ring their bells for 15 minutes was special. It was one of those surreal (in a good way) things that you just have to pause for a moment and take in.

You see, the workaround that I used to make this trip work was to go on the overnight bus on Thursday night, arrive on Friday morning, spend all day Friday there, wake up and check out of the hotel on Saturday morning, and then spend all day Saturday walking around the city before leaving back on the overnight bus to Prague on Saturday night so that I could be home Sunday morning. That way, I would have two full days to see the city but only have to pay up for one night in a hotel.

Having to carry a heavy bag and not having a place to use the restroom was less than ideal, but overall, the plan worked out OK. I will say, however, that having to walk around with all my belongings and valuables on a Saturday night brought my attention to one thing. In Zurich, I never felt nearly as safe as I do in Prague. Maybe it was just the unfamiliarity, but I found myself looking over my shoulder and checking my pockets a few extra times. Other than that (and two German border police officers raiding our bus for passports at 4 a.m.), the trip was enjoyable and stress-free. The policemen were actually very nice and spoke German, English, and Czech, but why check our passports when leaving the country and why check only our passports and not our COVID passes? I’m no expert in immigration law, but it seemed like a waste of time and an unnecessary stressor to people trying to get any semblance of sleep they can get at that hour. Maybe someone who’s smarter than me knows the answer…

In a perfect world, the border policemen won’t be my last memory of traveling in 2021. I sure hope not. But with COVID out of control here in Prague and in every neighboring country, I can only hope.

• 

I’ve always had an issue with anger management.

I’m not proud of it. But as part of my continued effort to be as transparent as possible in this space, I felt like I had to admit it.

I’m not sure how exactly how, when, or why it started. Maybe it was because my brother was a two-sport star in high school and my sister was a straight-A student. They gave me a high bar to live up to, and I knew that I was never going to be them. All I could manage was 16th place in a class of 80 and making it to the farm level of little league baseball with my father as my coach. He was very hard on me, which, looking back on now, I’ve grown to appreciate very much. But my 10-year-old eyes didn’t see the good in it. As a child, I quickly became frustrated with myself when I struck out or got a bad grade on a test. I then developed a very low opinion of myself which still resonates today.

I love my family dearly and I’m certainly not blaming any of them for my problems. Even as an adult in the Czech Republic with my folks 5,000 miles away, I still have problems controlling my temper. That’s never been more true than recently.

As I’ve said before, I don’t have a lot of patience. Even though I’ve been working on that, I still have a long way to go. I’m the most competitive person you will ever meet and I have an extremely high standard for myself. Of course, I tend to blame myself for everything that goes wrong, not accounting for external factors and other things I can’t control.

My fuse has been growing shorter and shorter. I’ve been letting trivial things, such as my opponent’s player scoring a touchdown in fantasy football, get me riled up. Even the everyday inconveniences like just missing the metro have been setting me off. At school, some of my colleagues have seen me get frustrated over things that aren’t worth getting worked up about.

Nothing is the end of the world except for the end of the world itself. My failure to grasp that has been raising my blood pressure tenfold.

Why is this happening?

Honestly, I’ve never been more stressed than I am right now. I know we all get stressed, and I’d be lying if I said this is the first time in my life I’ve been stressed. I’m living in a foreign country, far, far away from the support system that has carried me through the first three decades of my life. The prospect of being alone for Thanksgiving and Christmas scares me. Even if everything were all sunshine and rainbows at the moment, being alone in a foreign country would not be easy.

To add to the feeling, I’m working at a new job, constantly dealing with students, parents, colleagues, and administration all at once. I never had to do that when I taught adults. The end of my probationary period is looming and I’m nervous. Have I done a good enough job? Will that one bad math lesson or one angry parent email be enough for them to let me go? I wanted this job so badly, worked really hard for it, and impressed a lot of people along the way. It needs to work out. And then there’s COVID. What is we go back in lockdown or we have to move to distance learning? What if, God forbid, we get an outbreak at our school? What if the definition of ”fully vaccinated” changes so you have to have the third dose (which I’m not eligible for until at least January)?

Of course, all of this has been exacerbated by my search for a new flat, which has been about as successful as the Montreal Canadiens’ season so far (it feels good to not have to use the Sabres in that comparison for once, though I think we’ll be back to that before long).

Amid all the stress, I haven’t been sleeping or eating well. The stress has also added to my anxiety and weakened some friendships. I think all these things have been major contributors to my trigger pulls of late.

How can I get out of this funk? And yes, I have absolutely no choice but to get out of it. I was doing some research and found that anger management can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Scary stuff. No job, flat, or fantasy football game is worth that.

As I was preparing for my fake pigskin matchups this week, a scribe put it in perspective. If I may paraphrase, he stated that losing loved ones is a hardship and that starting a receiver with a bad hamstring is an inconvenience.

Lightbulb on.

I think we all get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives that we see everything as a hardship. But the reality is that someone out there has it worse than you. No one is going to die because I screwed up 8th grade’s math test (and I did screw it up, royally). If Cooper Kupp, who I’m playing against in two leagues this week, drops 30 points on me, the sun is still going to come up on Monday morning.

There are people who are unemployed. There are people who have had to bury loved ones. There are people on ventilators with COVID.

Those are things worth getting upset about.

So I’m going to go on the record and make a promise to myself. I’m going to be kinder, gentler, and better in the weeks ahead. Not only will I be kinder and gentler to others, I’ll be kinder and gentler to myself as well. Yes, I’ll continue to have that high standard for myself, but I’ll work a lot harder to not beat myself up over it when I don’t exceed that standard because of something that’s not completely in my control. This change won’t happen overnight. But it needs to happen quickly. I have too much riding on this teach abroad experience, an opportunity that so many people around the world would kill to have.

I need to develop more patience. This past week during my observation, my observer told me that he was proud of me because I didn’t lose my cool. However, if he had seen some of my other lessons this week, he would have seen me lose my cool. What would he have said then? When I lose my cool in the classroom, the students might think that’s OK. It’s not. I need to be the role model. Getting visibly frustrated, no matter the reason, sends the wrong message to my students, their parents, and my colleagues, all of whom I need to have on my side.

The only reason I get angry is because I want the students to have the best experience. Their parents are paying their hard-earned money for them to be at our school. I want to be not only the best teacher, but the best and most empathetic person. When they fall short of my expectation for them and when I fall short of their expectation for me, I get angry and go right to beating myself up.

So how do I get that patience that I (and they) so desperately need?

I honestly don’t know if there’s a magic switch. There’s no pill I can take. Again, it’s not going to happen without a lot of work and dedication on my part. Maybe I can do one little thing each day. Going back to meditation might help. Perhaps read some books or post some quotes. How about a little laughter every once in a while? (side note: I actually can’t remember the last time I laughed.)

On the school front, I’ve come to the realization that I need to be more consistent with discipline, communicate better with parents, and overprepare for lessons. A lot of the problems I’ve been stressed about lately could have easily been alleviated had I done these things. I’m spending this weekend making a plan of action to improve my situation at school and to help ensure that the kids have a better experience. I just hope it’s not too little, too late.

It’s possible those things could work. But the fact I’m giving myself this wake-up call is a major step. After all, the first sign of solving a problem is admitting that you have a problem, right? My realization that most of the things I’m stressed about really aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things is another critical step.

As mentioned before, being alone on Thanksgiving and Christmas is going to suck. But it can’t possibly suck as bad as being alone in a hospital room or being alone on the unemployment line.

That, friends, is what I could be facing if I don’t start handling stress better. Maybe that’s hyperbole, but it’s certainly not too far-fetched if I don’t figure this out…and figure it out soon.

It’s time to turn off the ticking time bomb and make my life more dynamite.

• 

Think back to your favorite teacher. What made them special? What made them memorable? What things did they do that others couldn’t? On this World Teachers’ Day, we should take some time and reflect about how our best teachers helped us. It’s highly likely that these teachers worked a lot of long, sometimes unpaid hours on our behalf. They may have skipped a meal or a bathroom break or two along the way. They had to ensure their lessons were aligned with Common Core standards while consulting students’ individualized education plans to see those with special needs had a fair shot.

Believe me, until you become a teacher, you don’t actually know what we go through. It’s a lot of hard work that often leads to burn out (which is very real, by the way). A tremendous deal of pressure from parents, administrators, and trustees (yes, I’ve dealt with them).

And then, there’s the issue of time. Until I entered the teaching field, I thought that 168 hours was more than enough go-arounds for a week.

It looks like plenty until you look at the to-do list of a teacher…

Planning. Copying. Grading. Entering grades into the system. Emails. Paperwork.

As a colleague joked to me the other day, ”we need three-day weekends and just four days of school a week.”

Sadly, I’m not even sure that would be enough.

Is it all worth it? I think so. I would have left the field by now if I didn’t think that. That’s not to say there aren’t days when I come home and question whether or not being a teacher is for me. Those days happen often, especially when you’re dealing with the adjustment period of a new school (as I am right now).

So why have I not called it quits on teaching yet?

It’s because of the kids.

And the impact.

The thank yous. The Eureka moments. The safe spaces you can provide for the students with difficult home lives. The life lessons that are far more important than any English, math, physics, or ICT I can teach them.

(You might ask what ICT stands for, and to this day, I don’t actually know. Basically, it’s computer class.)

The best teachers not only educate, but they inspire and create a lifelong love of learning in their students.

So what actually separates the great teachers from the average ones? I could talk for hours about the best qualities of teachers. But you don’t want to read for hours. Let’s narrow it down to five…

5) Humility

You are the teacher. In theory, you should be well prepared and know your material. Of course you should. But you’re not perfect. You don’t know everything. Students will ask questions you don’t know the answer to. You might even make mistakes in the middle of class. Of course, no teacher wants to or tries to do that, but it happens. A couple of weeks ago, I was teaching a math lesson and an astute student raised his hand. He believed I had the wrong number on the board. I checked my calculator and sure enough, he was right. I had forgotten a zero. I thanked him and praised him for being sharp. I then said to the students that this stuff is hard and easy to make mistakes with. Of course, I went and beat myself up over it after the lesson, but a colleague later put it in perspective for me by saying that was a genuine teachable moment that we both benefitted from. Instead of being stiff about it and insisting it was my way or the highway, I allowed the student to express his opinion, even if it might embarrass me in the process. Nobody’s perfect, and pretending you are only lies to the students.

4) Attention to detail

This one wears a lot of different hats. Primarily, teachers need to be well-organized. Your lesson plans need to make sense and have fall-back plans. You need to know exactly which materials you need and ensure you have enough for each student. Teachers need to organize their thoughts and present the material in a way that makes sense even to the lowest-ability students. Educators must make sure there are no typos in their work (and when you do, express the humility mentioned above) and that rubrics and expectations are clear. You need to keep student work organized, sometimes with dozens of different classes. The same goes with behavior. For example, I keep a behavior book with notes about every class on every day. This way, I can justify giving a student a poor comment or a low behavior grade on their report card. But I have to keep it organized so I know where to go when a parent contacts me and asks why. Schedules are another essential to keeping organized. Some days, I teach all four of my subjects, while others are lighter. Knowing what I teach on what day, as basic as it may seem, is critical. Planning ahead is a major part of the process, and balancing your schedule so you have time set aside to accomplish everything you need is a must. As a teacher, you need to set boundaries for yourself so you don’t stay at school until 8 p.m. and get locked in the building…not that that’s ever happened to me. Oh, wait, it has, but it will never again because of the boundaries I’ve set and the organized routine I’ve built over the past couple of weeks.

3) Patience

Not all students learn at the same pace. At our school, we have five different levels for middle-school English classes, from borderline advanced to those who struggle to form a sentence. You have to respect students’ abilities and be ready to devote more time to those who struggle. If students keep asking the same questions, teachers have to answer them with a smile, not a sigh. They have to be ready to hear “I don’t understand” and deal with it. Never give up on a student, no matter what. Patience is also required with smaller children. This year, I’m working with 4th- and 5th-grade students on a full-time basis for the first time. They can get too enthusiastic or get off topic sometimes. They talk out of turn or get out of their seat without permission. There can be a lot of things happening in one classroom, especially with kids at these ages. It might seem easy to yell at them, but that doesn’t accomplish anything. When you do that, it sends a message to the troublemakers that they won, and the students might even enjoy it and try to push your buttons further. Yelling may even scare some students. You are not there to be the students’ enemy. With younger students, understanding why they make poor behavior choices is important. It may be because of a poor home life, because of bad influences in their class, or because they just don’t know any better. Maybe a previous teacher didn’t come down hard enough on them and they believe what they are doing is perfectly fine. You have to be patient, because the students are not only learning academic concepts but are also learning right from wrong.

2) Communication

Teachers communicate with EVERYONE. Students, parents, colleagues, administration, support staff, HR staff…the list goes on and on. It’s crucial to emphasize your expectations to students and parents right away. Make sure they know the rules and consequences. Make sure they are familiar with policies regarding assignments, homework, tardiness, etc. Teachers need to respond to emails in a timely manner. No parent should be in the dark about their child’s grades, behavior, or what they’re learning in class. And the communication with colleagues is just as huge. At school, many of us work with the same students, so we have to know if they are having similar or different issues in their class or if they have a behavior management technique that works better with these kids. Of course, there are the customary emails, group chats, and meetings. But we’re all on the same page (in theory) and have the same goal. Being able to work in a multinational team is an underrated skill teachers must have. At the moment, I work with teachers from the Czech Republic, the US, Canada, Slovakia, England, the Philippines, Spain, and more. What works in my country may not work in theirs. Furthermore, I can learn from their experiences and stories. I look at it not as a United Nations, but a melting pot that can open our eyes to different cultures and practices.

1) Empathy

You knew this was coming. As a former colleague used to say, ”it’s not about what you teach them, but how you make them feel.” You simply can’t be a teacher without empathy. You need to be a person first. Teachers have to listen to their students and respect them. Empathy builds a great classroom culture and dynamic learning environment. If students don’t feel safe and valued, they will not learn. Yes, students must learn the concepts you are teaching, but the life lessons are just as important. Keeping an eye out for students’ emotional health will not go unnoticed. If students know you care, they will see you as a role model and someone who is worth having an impact on their lives. Students are not numbers and are certainly not problems. They are humans with feelings. If you are a teacher out there, realize that the next time you want to curse out Filip or Honza or Terka for acting out in class. Like I said before, yelling at them and degrading them accomplishes nothing. If you don’t care about their feelings and emotions, they won’t care about your lessons. If they believe you see them as a problem, that’s how they will see themselves. Getting to know them and their feelings is the key to a lot of doors. Empathy builds trust. When your students trust you, the sky is the limit.

There are so many others I did not include, and many will disagree with some points mentioned above. That’s fine. These aren’t the be all and end all. These are just the first five that came to mind for me. Am I the world’s best teacher? No. Far from it. But if I include these five qualities, even in small amounts, in every day, I’m doing something right.

On this World Teachers’ Day, remember your own teachers who had these five qualities. And then, look at where you are today. These qualities probably helped them become teachers in the first place. And they helped you get to where you are today.

The average teachers taught you concepts. The good teachers taught you concepts and a few life lessons. The great teachers inspired you to become good people.

And good people can change the world.

It recently occurred to me that most of my posts deal with teaching, traveling, or mental health. There are parts of my personality that you haven’t really gotten to know. So I wanted to do kind of a fun post where I would open up a bit more. This week, I posted a Q and A on my social media stories and got some great ideas from that. I also Googled some of life’s common questions and will take a gander at those as well. A few of the questions are serious, some are silly, and some will lead to disagreements. But that’s OK. If we all agreed about everything, life would be boring and pointless.

So let’s get into the questions…

Why did you become a teacher?

For those who might not know, teaching wasn’t always the plan. When I was growing up, I actually wanted to be a meteorologist. Around the time I started high school, I changed my interest to journalism. My undergraduate degree is in journalism…sports journalism, to be exact. But as newspapers were being shuttered in favor of digital media, I realized that a simple by-line wasn’t going to change the world or have that much of an impact on others. I wanted to better society and my community. People told me for years that they were impressed with my public speaking abilities and my limited exposure to children had been fun and rewarding. So I went to graduate school, and although I’m still not sure I’ll teach forever, I think it was a good move. I feel like I’m making more of a difference and building human-to-human relationships.

• 

Why did you move to the Czech Republic?

I was growing tired of my normal, ordinary, and stale life in upstate New York. The education degree I had worked so hard for was wasting away. I was 29 years old and had never left the United States. It was time to step outside of my comfort zone. Originally, I had wanted to move to China, but I decided that would’ve been too much of a step. The Czech Republic was centrally located, had a high demand for English teachers, and had a top-notch TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) program. That was good enough for me.

What is the hardest part about being an expat in the Czech Republic?

Isolation. By far. And COVID hasn’t helped with that. I know that no matter how far away I am, I will always have the unequivocal support of my family. But some days, they feel like my only supporters, and feeling so alone while 5,000 miles away from them is gut-wrenching. I’ve had trouble just getting through a lot of days. But after over 800 days of being in Prague, I’m still here. I’ve also forgot how special some of the little things are. I miss driving a car. I miss Taco Bell. I long for Bob Kovachick’s and Steve Caporizzo’s accurate weather forecasts (one thing I’ve learned over here is that if the radar doesn’t have any green on it, that means it’s probably going to rain). Then there’s the language barrier and the fact that many Czech people are so reserved. In line at the supermarket? No one’s just going to strike up a conversation with you.

• 

How much longer are you going to stay in the Czech Republic?

It’s not comforting, but I really don’t have that much of a long-term plan at the moment. My work contract and residence permit expire next summer, so I’ll at least be here that long. Some days, I feel like I really belong here and want to stay forever. Other days, I’m looking for the next flight back to Albany. So I guess a lot of it depends on the day. A better answer would be that I will leave when a chance to significantly better my situation comes along. Whether that’s tomorrow, next month, or next year, I’m keeping my eyes open. Going back home right now, for example, would be a mistake because there wouldn’t really be a great career opportunity for me right now. There’s too much of a chance I’d go backwards. But could it be an option at some point? Sure.

How easy is it for you to say no?

This is one I have to be brutally honest about. I can’t say no to anything. I’m definitely a people pleaser. For instance, I’ve Facebook RSVP-ed to three events on the same day, far well knowing there’s no way I’ll make it to all of them. I crave social interaction and always want to have new and memorable experiences. I generally try to shy away from staying at home on Friday or Saturday nights. People tell me I need to rest, make time for myself, and set boundaries. They’re right. But when you’re a stubborn people pleaser like me, that’s not so easy. I think anxiety has given me the fear that people will be upset with me and won’t want to engage with me anymore if I say no. I know that’s not actually the case, but anxiety messes with your mind and does a good job of tricking you.

Why don’t you drink or smoke?

I stopped drinking a little over a year ago. The decision came after a doctor’s appointment and blood tests that weren’t so great. I just have never really liked the taste of alcohol and don’t like the way I feel after it. I want to be able to remember experiences the next day. Alcohol can also do some horrible things to your body. I’m overweight and have a family history of heart disease and diabetes–I’m up against it as it is. As for the smoking, it’s just never appealed to me. As an asthma sufferer, I don’t think I could afford to smoke, and I’ve seen the lives of multiple family members cut short because of it. Not for me. While my stances on these things have gotten me my fair share of questions, looks, and social exclusions, my health will always comes first.

Have you tried Czech food? What do you think of it?

Czech friends, with all due respect, your food is atrocious. It’s heavy, it’s meaty, and it just doesn’t taste right. I’ve been to summer camps and similar places and just gone without food because the only option has been Czech food. I’d rather not eat anything. It’s that bad. It’s like the Buffalo Sabres of cuisines. Luckily, there are enough American restaurants around here to get by, and Prague does have a wide range of fabulous eateries with other delicacies, too. And if all else fails, you can always hop the border to Poland and grab some pierogies. Oh, and another Czech custom that I dislike is the use of phrase “dobrou chut” when someone gives you your food. Enough already. Just let me have my food.

• 

Is a hot dog a sandwich?

No. A hot dog is a hot dog. It is a piece of meat with a bun wrapped around it. A sandwich involves two pieces of bread with meat or something else separating it. They are two separate things.

Does pineapple belong on pizza?

Until recently, I was firm about the answer to this query being no. However, during my trip to Slovenia this summer, I decided to try it. I must say that it was actually really good. I’m a believer!

• 

Paper books or e-books?

I’m a traditionalist–paper books all the way! I need the book in my hand. I need to turn and smell the pages. An e-book is not the same, and staring at a screen often gives me a headache or makes me fall asleep.

Mac or PC?

No preference. I’ve used both and both have gotten the job done. I just need a reliable machine that does what I ask. Although I will say that my new job has given me a really nice Dell i5 computer, which is a change of pace from the Mac I’ve mostly been using the past several years.

Bumble or Tinder?

Now that’s a funny one! I gave up on dating/romantic relationships a while ago.

Playstation or XBox?

I don’t game much anymore. But when I did, Playstation was always the way to go. I remember getting my first Playstation for Christmas when I was eight years old. I grew up with Playstation and become comfortable with it. I did try XBox, but it just didn’t feel right and there was too much of a learning curve. I had to look down at the controller to make sure I was pressing the right buttons, and you can’t really be doing that when you have to be looking at the screen the whole time.

Cats or dogs?

I don’t have a strong opinion on this, but dogs. Dogs are more fun. Cats are kind of boring. Side note: I’ve met some great dogs during my time in Prague.

Do you like turtles?

Of course. Duh.

Do you use the Oxford comma?

YES! If someone tells you it’s okay not to use it, they’re wrong.

You’re from New York–why do you like the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Growing up, I was a bit of a rebellious kid. I wanted to do things differently than the rest of my family. Just going along with them and being a Yankees fan wasn’t an option. The White Sox pick was kind of random, but I was a big Frank Thomas fan. My sister went to college in Indiana, so at that age, Indiana kind of felt like a second home for me. Chicago is close to Indiana and the Cubs were really terrible when I was young, so the White Sox it was. And since I didn’t want to join the club and be a New York Giants fan, the Bucs became my team because my uncle liked them, they had a cool name and uniforms, and they had some players I loved. Boy, rooting for the Bucs instead of the Giants sure looks like a great decision now, doesn’t it?

If you won the lottery tomorrow, what’s the first thing you would do with the money?

Help my family. Then pay off my debts. After that, I’d travel. A lot.

• 

If you could have dinner with any three people from history, who would they be?

The Dalai Lama, Albert Einstein, and George Washington.

Where will you be 10 years from now?

Hopefully somewhere I am happy and making a difference in the lives of others. And ideally not shedding too much hair at the ripe old age of 42. My parents will be 80 and my siblings will be in their 50s. That’s a scary thought!

Since that is so terrifying to think about, let’s just live in the present and be focused on the now. It can be difficult some days, but we have no choice. We need to embrace our differences. Not everyone will have the same answers to the questions I just answered, and that’s OK. Yes, we can disagree and still be civil. Diversity makes the world a better place.

And that’s a much more valuable lesson than anything me or my fellow teachers can ever teach out of a textbook.