Saturday, December 26, 2009

And the Honeymoon Begins...




Hello everyone!

I bet you were thinking that we'd given up on this whole blogging thing! Well, you may have been right for a few months. But after letting some of our experiences sink in, we are ready to write a few words about our life abroad. Well, where should we start? There has been so much movement, so much action since we married in August, 2009. Let's start with Prague.

We arrived in Prague in late October, 2009. The fairytale city was accommodating from the start. Prague is full of winding, granite cobblestone streets, beautiful baroque churches and castles and bridges, and pubs galore. Around every corner there is History waiting to be explored. And explore we did, even in the depths of jet-lag. We wandered and got lost and wandered some more. There were only 4 free days before Drew's TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) program began, so we tried not to waste any time. Walking through the city, we did everything we could not to get too excited. We had moved abroad! Indefinitely! The freedom we had granted ourselves was hypnotic, and entranced by that beautiful city on the Vlatava River, we began our acclimation to a new, and sometimes odd, society.

The first month flew by. Drew was busy with school and student teaching internships, while Allison studied Bikram Yoga, searched for dance opportunities, and took after the flat. During the first month, we shared a flat with 2 Brits, 1 Scotsman, 1 Russian, 1 Canadian (via London), and 1 other American (via Washington state). There were 8 of us in total. Can you imagine the possibilities for drama? Surprisingly, there were very few "episodes," and everyone became fast friends. But every morning before school, everyone made breakfast at the same time and left the kitchen in shambles. Poor Allison! She cleaned up after all of us and kept the apartment as tidy as possible, and that was no small job. She unwillingly became the flat mother to all of us (what a woman!). And even though it was sad to leave all of our new friends after only one month, we were both ready to have our own apartment again.

Our shared flat was in Dejvice, Prague 6, which was the last stop on the Green Line of the Metro. It was only a ten minute train ride into the heart of the city, but we wanted to be closer. Through the director of Drew's school, we were able to find an apartment near Namesti Miro, one of the many town squares within the city. We moved the third week of November and made ourselves at home in no time. It was like we were on another honeymoon, one that had no end in sight. With no TV and no internet, we made a happy little life together. We made dinners together, became masters of Gin Rummy, and read everything we could get our hands on. It was a wonderful month. But what about work? Hadn't we moved to Prague to find jobs, make a living, and become upstanding examples of the American workforce abroad?

During the second week of Drew's program, he began sending out CVs (the European resume) to a list of 200 schools within close proximity to Prague with no luck whatsoever. After meeting with the director of his program to seek advice on different teaching destinations around the world, he heavily recommended we look into Southeast Asia, where the demand for English teachers was very high and there were less restrictions for an American couple seeking a long-term work Visa. Now, let's get boring for a stint and discuss what we learned about obtaining a work Visa in Europe, and why we decided to leave Prague.

In Europe, if you're a citizen of the European Union, you can travel and work within any country that is a member of that union, except Britain (for reasons that we never cared, nor inquired towards; we just accepted that the EU's exception-to-the-rule was Britain and would always be so). So, if a Brit or a Scot wants to move to Prague and work as a teacher, they don't need a Visa to stay. If you're an American or a Russian, for example, you need to acquire a Schengen Visa. The Schengen area of the EU is every country except for Britain, and recently, due to the "worldwide recession," the union has tightened the restrictions for foreign workers within the Schengen area. For example, if Drew were able to find a company that would sponsor him for a Schengen Visa, and after several months of toil acquired one, Allison would still have to obtain her own, separate Visa. There is no longer a long-term spousal Visa available, so Allison would have to find a company to sponsor her separately for a Visa. And aside from teaching work, there is not much else available for foreigners. Needless to say, we were concerned over our prospects of spending significant time in Prague.

After seeing 3 of our flatmates interview for work before the program had ended, and with Drew getting no response, we deeply discussed our future. Not wanting to move home, not wanting the honeymoon to end, we decided first and foremost that we would go home to Minneapolis for the holidays, and to attend Allison's sister Emily's wedding on January 1st. (And what a wedding it was!) But then where would we go? After weighing every option, after many emails and advice from family and friends, we decided to move to Chiang Mai, Thailand. After all the strife surrounding our long-term stay in Prague, it seemed that our luck was changing, and that we were meant to spend 2010 in Chiang Mai.

One last, ironic note about Drew's search for teaching working in Prague. In the first week of December, Drew went to watch a footy match (soccer) with one of the Brits and the Scotsman from his TEFL program. The Scotsman's name is also Andrew, and he had recently interviewed for a teaching position. After 15 minutes or so of small talk, the company's hiring manager pulled out Drew Marquesen's resume, and started asking Andrew (the Scotsman) questions about Drew's work history. Sadly, neither Andrew nor Drew got the job. The only success Drew had in finding teaching work in Prague, the only interview opportunity he had, was given to the wrong Andrew! What luck!



By the third week of November, Drew had finished his TEFL program, and we had decided that we were going to move to Chiang Mai in January. We had 1 month of work-less, responsibility-less time to spend together in Europe. Our first priority was to visit as much of the Czech Republic as possible. Then what? Allie had always wanted to see Michelangelo's David, so we decided to hop over to Italy for a week where we visited all the wonders of Rome and Florence.

Then we got a recommendation from our friend Kat about a backpacker's hotel in the Austrian Alps. After confirming our reservation, we hopped on a train and headed to Grunau im Atmal, a tiny town at the base of the Austrian Alps. The lodge was empty: we were the only guests! It was the off-season, supposedly. There was a stream behind the lodge with water cleaner than the tap water. And every night, we ate dinner next to a fire. In-general, we decided, more dining rooms need to have fire places. What a luxury! It was here that we climbed to the top of a mountain and Allison got to fulfill a life long dream: to sing "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music," while spinning around with outstretched arms, just as Julie Andrews did in The Sound of Music. The experience at the lodge was amazing. We will never forget the sounds and smells of that little town. Someday, with luck, we will return.

How were we going to afford all this gallivanting? Weren't we supposed to be saving money for our trip to Chiang Mai? Yes, we were. But we figured this might be our only shot to explore and travel through Europe before we are retired. :) We decided to paddle upstream, sail into the wind, and fly against the jet stream. We would travel and explore and eat and drink and do and see as much as possible before our trip home for the wedding. We would worry about money and responsibility only when absolutely necessary. It was well worth throwing caution to the wind. We were blessed to be able to enjoy such loose and reckless behavior. Everyday, still, we are thankful.

Without a care for responsibility or time, we spent 4 weeks traveling. And in-between, we spent as much time out and about in Prague. Christmas in Prague is fabulous. The whole city is decorated, and every town square in the city fills with stalls selling everything from sausages to Christmas ornaments to hot wine. It was a special time to be in Prague. Every day held the potential of seeing a free concert or performance in one of the squares. We were saturated with Christmas, and loved every minute of it!

And then our time in Prague, in Europe, ended, and so it seems our first blog entry has ended too. Thanks to everyone for supporting us. We've had to make some big decisions, and so many people helped us to make them. And there will be more decisions to come. So thanks in-advance for the support! As always, we have more stories to tell about our adventures in Europe and our experiences in Chiang Mai. Stay tuned!