Pass the spare blog role...

The past year or so in Europe has been a real learning curve; sometimes exhilaratingly steep and otherwise the painstaking two steps forward and one back shuffle. Either way, it's been worthwhile. You may not have known that I had long held intentions to leave Australia on an open ticket and come and live in Europe.

Since I was there in 2003, I had thought that I would probably/like to move to southern Spain. This idea was what motivated me to go back and finish my Arts degree at ANU, and later qualify to teach English as a Second Language.

Naturally other things appeared and slowed my progress to the goal, so by the time I went back to Spain in 2007, I had forgotten much of the language I had learned years before. The 3.5 month 'reckie tour' of Europe that year was an awesome time and some wishes were fulfilled as I revisited friends & relatives and went to a few Buddhist summer courses; in Spain, Germany and lastly the Czech Republic, where I was for the week before I returned to Aus to hastily pack my bags.

I love Australia so deeply, that it's obvious (in retrospect) I may never have left without the momentum that traveling through Europe that (northern) summer gave me. I didn't settle back in Aus, I just rerouted myself back to the EU in 11 weeks. In itself that was quite a trip (and included 2,000km of heart ache and farewells in the last 2 weeks :).

Then from sunny spring in Melbourne I flew on my one-way ticket into freezing winter in Prague. Shock therapy. It certainly was a refreshing challenge to more or less spontaneously cast myself into economic exile in the Czech Republic. I acclimatised, and lived here until the summer, mostly teaching beginners & business English. It was interesting work and I got to know the city very well. I learned some Czech, which still surprises the locals who far from expect foreigners to bother, contrary to all I had assumed about languages abroad. Isn't it simply natural to learn/speak the language of where you are? I guess I am a post-colonial boy from a mostly monolingual culture. Details aside (or already mentioned) it was a perfect (but not easy) 8 months. I'd really kicked my own butt, and learned a lot from the experience.

Summer last year was the best I could imagine, without including any time at the beach (but don't you worry, I already have my flights to Spain booked for this summer: by then it will be 18 months with no surf, can you believe it!): I worked the best job of my life, it was my second year at the same UK English language summer school for European & Asian kids aged 9 - 19, and I'll be back there again this year. It’s like boot camp for ESL teachers … and future world citizens.

Then I had a few weeks at 'our new Buddhist home' in the Bavarian Alps; the worldwide network of Diamond Way Buddhists, with whom I practice meditation and so on, bought and developed a most amazing piece of land with Art Deco homestead, and turned it into a real international communications hub for our dharma activity everywhere; although we just call it 'the Europe Center'.

So last August there were 1,000s of practitioners from all over the globe camped out on the hillside overlooking the Alpine lake and breathtaking view. We meditated and partied together in equal measure and a good time was had by all. I stayed to help pack up, which took a week.

Then I took a rest in Prague & the Czech countryside before heading to Hungary for a more low-key Buddhist course with significant impact. It was another convincing step in our Karma Kagyu tradition's history that showed how much and how solidly we are now established in the West; which is reassuring for all those passionate about Buddha's teachings at a time when the freedom to apply them is being crushed in Tibet and other countries in Asia. In fact I almost feel like a modern Buddhist pilgrim being here in Europe.

So since last November when I decided to stay in the EU for another year, I've been busy reapplying myself to life. I'd moved back to Prague in September and the following autumn months were difficult; work was no longer as plentiful & interesting as before, and coming up to a year away from home I was really wondering a lot about what I was still doing here. I had some other ideas, for example to live/work elsewhere, but after a second Xmas at Gran's in England, and a refreshing 'holiday week' here in mid-Jan with a visit from one of my brothers, his girlfriend and my sister, everything turned out suddenly and for the best: I moved apartments, got new work, and settled in Prague again, committing myself whole-heartedly for another 3 months.

I am currently studying how to teach English to children, part-time, and getting the missing work experience as I now work at a bilingual pre-school and also occasionally teach early primary aged learners. After working with all the other ages over the years I think I may have found my specialist niche (time will tell). Little people have a lot to learn and can even learn more, but they do need special conditions, including good teachers. So I'm back on the steep learning curve, motivated to learn to teach. I might yawn often enough, but there is never a dull moment, because the only thing I lack is sleep!