Friday, June 15, 2018 (Prague)

I had a hard time sleeping during the night. The bed has the thinnest mattress on it and the absence of sheets made me a little uneasy. There were two duvet covers, one on each side and a cover over the pillows. I had a hard time believing the host would laundry these with each guest and it made me sort of have the “willies”. I looked in the bathroom for sheets in the linen closet but there were only towels. I knew I couldn’t lay a towel on the pillow or I’d wake up with a terrycloth patterned face. Tiffany was out and sleeping hard. I finally pulled out my swimsuit cover-up and used it as a makeshift pillowcase. While Tiffany slept, I looked on my phone for economy priced chain hotels (Best Western) as an option for our next nights. Unfortunately, they were way out of our price range. I then googled where to buy sheets. I did find a couple of places, none real close, but in my search I found other people had questioned the use of duvets instead of sheets. Guess it was more common in Prague but still others had the same concerns as myself.

We woke up about 7:30 and took showers, getting ready for a busy day. We left for breakfast and found a little place down the street. We ordered an omelet and scrambled eggs. The omelet was dry and the scrambled eggs too runny. After breakfast we caught a variety of public transportation, (first a bus then metro then another bus) all heading towards our 10:00 appointment at the International School of Prague. Months ago I had contacted the school after reading they have a strong STEM program. I was thrilled to hear back from their librarian, Jaye Shaer, who is originally from Kansas.

Johnnie at the International School of Prague

Tiffany at the International School of Prague

International School of Prague map

Jaye, Johnnie, Tiffany

Flags representing countries that students hail from

Fun hallway art

Make magnetic marble maze--Coming to Truman now!

Tiffany and Jaye in the Makerspace area

Elementary area of the library

Book display board (empty as school was ending soon)

Makerspace library

The school was out of the busy city area, with a large campus and nicely landscaped. The campus was fenced and there was a guard at the gate. We checked in at the front desk and Jaye came up to meet us. The school is beautiful, very modern. Each grade level has a color designated to that grade. Areas with multiple colors are common areas, such as the cafeteria and library. The school serves Pre-K to 12 th grade with approximately 880 students. There is an average of 20 per class average, 3 classes per grade. All of the teachers speak English and it was the common language heard throughout the school. They use a Reggio curriculum for the primary grades, a Montesorri type curriculum where student interest guides the units of study. Every child has 1:1 technology in elementary but cannot take the devices home. The primary grades have 1:2 technology and grades 6 to 12 have 1:1 technology and may use the devices for school and at home.

Two awesome students showing us a project they were finishing up

Infinity mirror the boys built

Idea Lab

Idea Lab

Classroom storage of iPads

2nd grade classroom (I think)

Just leave messages right on the desk

The school has an Idea Lab where three teachers work as technology facilitators. They had two 3D printers, robotics, and other equipment. They teach classes, collaborate with teachers to help them so they can facilitate future learning, and also have an open lab for students to come in and work on projects most anytime. It reminded me a lot of the Innovation Hub at OU. The library was very big and had two study rooms. The school will be remodeled next year and there will be more study rooms available. There was a nice Maker Space area in the library that will be moved to the Idea Lab next year when it is expanded. This is a private school and the tuition is equivalent to $25,000 per year. If you are a teacher at the school, your child/children may attend free.

Guided Inquiry Wall

Love this idea!

We have an extremely hard time even being able to do recycling.

Tiffany, Patrick, Johnnie

Johnnie and Tiffany

Jaye invited us to join her for lunch in the cafeteria. There was a large variety including vegetarian hot dishes, salads, sandwiches, desserts. Jaye paid for our lunch which was a very nice gesture. There were only a couple of days left of school and everyone was busy. The PreK students have their own little cafeteria and they eat in their rooms. Their learning area was center based with the playground area right outside the windows and private from the rest of the school. There was a nice theater in the round area for students to use for assembles and programs. The morning we arrived, the 6th graders had put on a play of Romeo and Juliet. We appreciated everyone taking time to meet with us and while we could have stayed and watched a lot longer, we left in a couple of hours so they could return to their schedules.

At the suggestion of two of the educators at the International School of Prague, we took a tram to the Czech Technical College. It was very modern. The outside of the building had the measurements of the building. Inside there were many technical “posterboard” type displays. There were three stories and everywhere there were groups of students very focused and very quiet. There was a big open foyer in the middle and very creative and witty stick figure drawings on the walls surrounding the foyer. A few were a little off color but most had a lot of hindsight into the message and illustration. I couldn’t help but think what our students might want to communicate if given this same type of scenario. I did notice a very futuristic shopping cart which I had to take a picture of since the original shopping cart was invented in Oklahoma. After leaving the College, we took a metro to Old Town Prague. We are so appreciative of this opportunity to see other parts of the world and bring back STEM ideas for our students. However, this is our third week and we are also a little fatigued and homesick. We always feel relieved once we have accomplished our set goals for a particular city. This gives us some time to see more of the city, learn about its’ history, and there are always unexpected STEM ideas that surface along the way. As we walked through the Old Town area, we were ready for lunch. We saw some stands smoking hams that smelled delicious. The sign read 100 crowns (about $5.00)/ 100 g for ham. I kept seeing people getting a chunk of the ham and a slice of rye bread. This was a great lesson in knowing measurements/weight. I placed my order and was given a plate with a big chunk of ham about the size of a hamburger. I was then told it was equivalent to $25.00. When I said that was too much, the guy said it was like buying a steak and it was not nice to walk away. Nice or not, we’re on a budget so I did. We asked at another stand if we could only purchase 100 g but they said no. This is a high tourist area and I’m sure many tourists make this same mistake thinking they will only be paying around $10.

Metro newspaper girl with Johnnie

Czech Technical College library

Czech Technical College library
Looking down on the main floor

Such interesting illustrations at the Czech Technical College library

Such interesting illustrations at the Czech Technical College library

1+1=3 (man + women=couple with baby)

Little American humor

Little dig at Communism

Stats on the stairs

Old school Nintendo games

Sonic was very popular at my house at one time

Fun shopping cart

It is tiring to continually be reading schedules and maps to navigate a city and Tiffany has been doing a great job doing this throughout the trip. I have taken the Hop On Hop Off tours in other cities on prior trips so after looking at a variety of tour options, we decided to try this tour. Our first part of the tour would be a walking tour of the Jewish quarter. We had a beautiful and fantastic guide. She was a student from the states that was going to college in Prague getting her Masters in International Diplomacy. She said the masters program in Prague was only about $3000. Sounds like a great financial deal but we couldn’t help wondering if the degree would be as credible as a degree earned elsewhere.

The Jewish tour was very interesting and moving. We heard about how the Jewish had been treated throughout history in Prague and then during the reign of Hitler. We saw small brass plates set in the street outside of the Jewish homes called stumbling stones– one set with the name of a father, mother, and eleven year old son. All had been taken from their homes and sent to the nearby concentration camp to meet their deaths. We noticed several more in the few days we were in Prague. There was a tour out to the concentration camp but both of us felt it would be too emotional to visit. It was close to 6:00pm. Our guide told us the shops and quarter would close up soon and would not reopen until Sunday. Saturday was the Jewish day of worship. She told us there would be armed guards standing outside of the church so no one would bother their time of worship. We will planned to return on Sunday.

Stumble stones

One of the synagogues

Looking toward the Jewish cemetery

Prague's Brutalism architecture

Franz Kafka--rub his foot and you will return to Prague one day

Our fabulous tour guide, Johnnie, Tiffany

After our walking tour, we decided to ride the Blue Line and Red Line of the Hop On Hop Off bus. This would give us some time to rest as we drove around and heard about the various city landmarks. We passed the Strahov Stadium, which has a capacity of 220,000; 56,000 seated. It has a field three times as long and as three times as wide as a standard football field. During the days of communism, there were mass synchronized gymnastic exhibitions held at the stadium. While it was impressive, it was also a symbol of the power and control of the government. We also saw the Lennon Wall, Charles Bridge, and many landmark buildings before deciding to take public transportation back home. As we waited for bus 14, we saw it parked about ½ block from the stop. We thought we were in the wrong spot for the pick up so we walked back to the bus. The driver shook his head no and pointed to the bus stop. We turned and walked back to the stop, thinking he must be taking a break and it would be a few minutes. We were hysterical when he started the bus immediately and literally drove the bus about 8 feet to pick us up at the official bus stop. Definitely a rule follower.

The Dancing House

That's one way to divert traffic

Johnnie at the Lennon Wall

Johnnie and Tiffany at the Lennon Wall

Johnnie's mark on the Lennon Wall

Tiffany's mark on the Lennon Wall

Johnnie and Tiffany at the Lennon Wall

We were now tired and hungry for dinner. Finding something we both want and within budget is a little challenging at times. We looked at several menus along our walk but neither of us were too keen on fish or traditional Czech food. We wound up back at the mall and surprisingly tried a traditional restaurant because Tiffany wanted to try fried cheese, a popular dish in Prague. The fried cheese looked sort of like a round mozzarella stick with no marinara sauce. She also had mashed potatoes with cream that were similar to scalloped potatoes and delicious. I had grilled chicken and dumplings, another Prague favorite. The chicken was adequate but the dumplings were round like the center of Wonder Bread only a little spongier. My mom is a Dumpling Diva so this was no comparison!

Both had some moments of homesickness today and tonight. We were having fun, seeing amazing cities, meeting new people and getting a plethora of ideas but “There’s no place like home.” We were hoping to keep ourselves really busy these last few days as we were on the countdown now. Two more nights here, three nights in Amsterdam and then we’re flying home.

WALKING ACTIVITY: 10.6 miles; 22,727 steps; 14 floors; 73 degrees F