Coincidentally, Dan Brown’s latest book, The Secret of Secrets, just released this month, is based in Prague. I bought an English language copy (surprisingly, it was less expensive than the Czech language version) and read it in five days, in time to finish it before a big book tour event held in Prague. I didn’t […]
Read More Dan Brown in TownIn 2010 the US enacted FATCA (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) to combat tax evasion by US taxpayers holding financial assets outside the United States. This act requires, among other things, that foreign financial institutions report information about financial accounts held by US taxpayers. Banks outside the US must identify and report US account […]
Read More Czech Account and Bank IDWhen spending so much time in Czechia, it is helpful to have a Czech phone number and to be able to access apps available only in Czechia (or at least for non-US Google accounts). I didn’t want a landline, of course, but I needed a solution for my mobile phone. For many of the running […]
Read More Czech phone number and mobile appsNow that I’ve been back in the US for almost two months, I have confirmed that I do indeed enjoy dividing my time between Asheville and Prague, with each offering various highlights and advantages. Why choose just one?? It’s the best of both worlds. I admittedly at times feel a bit discombobulated from living two […]
Read More Czech visaI’m done with the 30 days of intensive and immersive Czech language learning!! Yay! Phew, what a relief. The photo above is of me smiling while overlooking the city. Pleased to have done it, happy to be finished. I’m still getting used to not having to go to class or do homework, though the sound […]
Read More Intensive Czech Course, Week 7 (Finished!)Because of multiple Czech holidays during my stay in Prague, the six-week course (30 days) actually takes seven weeks to complete. So my final four days are next week, finishing on Thursday, May 15. At this point, I’m very ready for it to end, but I can certainly see it through. At the same time, […]
Read More Intensive Czech Course, Week 6Above is a bonfire, not a dumpster fire, though sometimes my brain feels like a dumpster fire during the course. But I’m definitely on the home stretch now. I’ve been vacillating between considering signing up for the next course, and then wishing it could all please just be over with. My leaning often changes daily, […]
Read More Intensive Czech Course, Week 560% done now – 18 out of 30 sessions completed! It continues to amaze me how much we learn each day, and how the more I learn, the more complex Czech seems. In class on Friday I just had to chuckle aloud when the teacher showed us all the various word ending changes and rules […]
Read More Intensive Czech Course, Week 4Happy Easter! Or Hezké Velikonoce! I hope you have a great holiday weekend. I’m quite pleased to have both Friday and Monday off from class – I really feel like I need a break! On the other hand it means that I’m not yet halfway through the course, not until Tuesday afternoon. Another student and […]
Read More Intensive Czech Course, Week 3Whew, 33% done with the course! “Intensive” is an apt descriptor for this immersion course. Thinking about it, the course is 150 hours of instruction time, plus about 50 hours of study and homework time, so ~200 hours total of Czech language focus. And yet… Czech is so difficult that even that amount of dedication […]
Read More Intensive Czech Course, Week 2
Major Meander 