Stephen Cuffey

In honor of the Christmas spirit of not doing actual work in any classes in the week or so leading up to Christmas, I decided to introduce the idea of caroling to my 3.C (11) class, the more advanced half of the 3.C class. We practiced for a couple days Rudolph, Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. They caught on very well. Yesterday morning during class, I took the group around to the other English classes and one other classroom showing off their singing. That is what these pictures are from. There is no better way to celebrate the Christmas season that to sing or hear sung English songs with a heavy Czech accent.

The 3.C class singing Christmas carols to the other half of the 3.C class. 

The 3.C class singing Christmas carols to Ben's class (notice Ben on the left side of the picture). 

The pictures you will view below are of two different events. First, our town had fireworks to celebrate the beginning of Advent on the 24th of November. Then this past Saturday-Sunday we took a trip to the southern part of the Czech Republic to visit two towns, Cesky Budejovice and Cesky Krumlov. A fellow teacher, Pavla, drove us and a student, Jiri (pronounced yirgi with a soft g sound, the Czech version of George) the hour drive south. Pavla had attended the university in Cesky Budejovice and so we stayed with one of her friends, Katka, on Saturday night. Cesky Budejovice is famous for housing the factory that produces Budvar Budweiser beer, not to be confused with the American Budweiser brand. There have been a few legal battles in the past over the name, but I think they have now agreed that they cater to different niches, and so can both have the same name. So enjoy the pictures and pretend you are there with me.