When I Go Downtown, I Always Wear A Corduroy Suit

Note: Do not wear this coat in summer. Apologies to Gabe. Thanks to Deb.


I had an interview this morning. I left 45 minutes before the appointed hour and took the Metro to a part of town I had never been to, Praha 10.

Praha is Prague by the way. That's what the locals call in. Czech is "Chesky" though written in an entirely different manner.

I wasn't quite sure about the formality of the interview, but I figure looking sharp is never a bad idea, so I put on a decent shirt, some trousers, and as it has been raining the last few days and in the low 6os (albeit with serious humidity) I didn't think a blazer was a terrible idea either.

"Blazer" turns out to be an apt turn, because by the time I got out to the appropriate Metro stop, it was nearly 30 (for you uncouth yokels in the States, that's in the mid to high 80s...with humidity). This is a recurring problem for me, a complete an utter lack of ability to judge what attire would be appropriate to the weather. I maintain that this comes from living in Seattle for so long. Not until mid-July can you really count on summer weather. On the other hand, looking at the date....

Another problem I am continually having in this city (and which I am absolutely certain is not limited only to me) is my ability to judge distances on a map. Depending on the age of any given neighborhood, streets and blocks can be extremely short or unexpectedly long. I will look at a map (either a physical map or one online) and have difficulty determining whether the distance I have to walk from any given Metro station is long or short. The number of blocks seems to have absolutely no bearing on how fast one can travel. I know I'm not the only one that has this problem; most newcomers to the city have complained about it.

I carefully checked the neighborhood out on an online map, and as it was adjacent to a neighborhood I had visited earlier in the week, I more or less figured out how far I would have to walk. There were a couple of trams I could take, but I find it easier to orient myself in this city when I walk around, and I hate waiting 10 minutes for a tram to take me a 10 minute walk away.

As you might have guessed by now, the two block walk was not exactly 10 minutes. It was quite a few more meters than I had anticipated (really, do I have to translate everything for you people?) I arrived in Praha 10 with 20 minutes to spare, and ended up 2-3 minutes late to the interview, never a good sign. On top of that, I was soaked in sweat from wearing a long sleeved button up shirt and a courdoroy blazer in 30 degree heat. Quite a first impression.

The good news is that they actually seemed quite impressed and it sounds like I have the job, contingent on a test lesson I have to give on Tuesday night. It's going to a rough day....I have class for seven hours that day, which includes another lesson I have to teach, followed by my test lesson on the other side of town, followed by a private business lesson I have to give back downtown. The good news is that for the business lesson, all I have to do is help her translate Coldplay lyrics. At least I think that's good news....