Home is where the heart is...

Ok I know, it's been radio silence here on the old blog front.

It's that I didn't want to write, it's just that I couldn't write.  It's been a stressful month or so deciding whether we should stay in the Czech Republic or return to the UK.

And finally we've decided to stay for one more school year, we weren't ready to go back yet just because school beauracy was forcing our hand.  Instead for better or worse we've made a decision and we hope it works out....one more year in Prague then starting secondary school back in Blighty.

Although we are having a great time here, and family is happy I can't quite imagine spending the rest of my life here, or certainly 8 more years of school education.  And if I'm honest too, I want my kids to have their secondary education in English.  No offense but Czech ain't exactly internationally recognised.  I also miss being back at 'home', it's not time to go back yet....but it's on the horizon.

Humans are adaptable creatures really, give us a bed, some creature comforts, give us a task like making sure the kids are settled and ok at school, and a job to go to, and there we go boom suddenly a year goes by.

But it's getting a bit of squash and a squeeze Chez Nous.  While the kids are growing every year, our home always seems to be shrinkin', we currently living in the family's small flat.  We're getting it all wrong - instead of upsizing, we keep downsizing.  When the kids have left home we'll probably be moving into a mansion.

So we've had to do some creative re thinking about how we're fitting in, and as our brood gets old and needs more privacy.  Good old Ikea to the rescue.

Before....

...and after

Whenever I think the walls are closing in on me, or start salivating over 4 bed Victorians on Rightmove, I have to remind myself that we are still lucky to be on an adventure, living life....and this is the small price we have to pay.

Expat

It’s official.  I’m an Expat.

In fact I’m so expat, that I went to an ‘Expats Expo’ a few weekends ago where an estimated 6,000 or so people like me jabbered away in English in a beautiful exhibition hall.

There were a lot of stalls offering services to help us expats acclimatise: - banks, gyms, English newspapers, internet services, etc.

The event was organised by Expats.cz, a website offering invaluable information to those of us looking for libraries/ yoga studios/ restaurants/ providing advice and forums, discussing everything from car insurance to clubbing.

There was a stall selling English products – tea, marmite, Shreddies, English bacon, Flakes, After Eights you name it.  I didn't feel that desperate to buy anything (just give it a year).

But the biggest surprise were the English speaking schools, offering the British national curriculum.   Not just one school - but I counted seven stalls...trying to tempt those of us with kids with face painting, 

bouncy castles, clowns, and sweets....

but also appealing to our paranoia, our inner fears, saving us from the Czech school system with its antiquated draconian style learning, non existent teaching of critical thinking, lack of creative outlets like drama and creative writing.

But of course it comes at a hefty price (even more than private schools in the UK).

And so with that I noticed a distinct difference between the expats - those working for English speaking firms who have a fat relocation packages, kids in English-speaking private schools, memberships to the gyms, investing in wineries and enjoying fine dining...and those who sit on other side of the fence whose kids go the local Czech schools, who shop like the locals do, and drink good Czech beer instead of terrible cheap wine.

Just don't ask me which side I fall on ; )