"Are you Czech?"

Despite my lingering cold, today was absolutely fantastic. After two weeks of 5 days a week, 6 hours a day, intensive Czech classes, yesterday we finally finished. While the classes were entirely exhausting, I'm so glad we took them. One thing I will continue to love about this country is how much the Czech people appreciate any attempt to speak their language. With a simple "Dobrý den", you immediately break down a huge barrier and are greeted with smiles and friendliness. Being able to go to the Lékárna (Czech pharmacy), where they speak absolutely no English, and tell them that I had a cough and needed medicine for it, was extremely rewarding.

Today Ata and I explored Malá Strana (The Lesser Town). We started off wandering around near the castle, and stumbled upon a wine festival. Of course, despite it being 12:30 pm, we stopped by and tried some wine. Absolutely delicious! Above is a photo of Ata enjoying her wine and the beautiful view!


After some more aimless wandering, we found our bearings.  We stopped into a Starbucks (yes, so American, I know). After ordering, the cashier (who was, by the way, the first good looking Czech man I have seen in this country) said to Ata "Are you Czech?". Upon hearing her say no, I'm from America, he looked back with shock and said "Wow! I thought you were Czech!" So exciting to see what just two weeks of class will do!

After Starbucks, we crossed the street to check out the pictures this man was sketching on the sidewalk. I'd been looking for one of these vendors for the past 3 weeks, as I was hoping to get a picture for my brother. Yet until today, all I had seen was vendors selling these drawings, but none of them were actually drawing them. We talked to him for awhile, and once again, our abilities with the Czech language were complimented. He couldn't believe how much progress we had made in just 2 weeks! His drawings were absolutely beautiful, and buying one was so much more exciting having spoken to him, even for the short time that we did.

Then we went to the John Lennon Peace Wall. I'd be looking forward to going here, and it completely lived up to my expectations. I got to sign the wall; if you zoomed in on the first heart in "Choose", you'd see "Sam Kubek Was Here". I've left my mark on Prague!

We then met up with Mara, Kelly, Paul, and Jim to go to the Eiffel Tower. Yes, you heard me correctly; they have one here too. The walk was entirely uphill and I legitimately was crying through my knee pains, but when we got to the top, it was entirely worth it. From there you climb up the actual tower, and the view was utterly breathtaking. As we climb partway down the path back to the city, we stopped at the Mirror Maze. As you can see, it led to some pretty ridiculous pictures.

Dinner tonight was superb--Ata and I cooked some grilled cheese, and a spinach salad with blue cheese, chicken, walnuts, cranberries, and balsamic vinegrette. A perfect way to end the evening! Getting ready to go out now, so I'm gonna jet. Loving this city more and more every day!

 

The Return of the Internet!

Finally! After over a week, our internet has returned to Pod Karlovem 12. It's amazing how dependent we all are on the internet, and how after one week without it, we were all going crazy!

So much to write about! I guess I'll leave the craziness of week one out, and summarize by saying that Prague is crazy. In the best way possible. Most nights that first week started early, and ended around 4 am. Then we had to wake up at 8:50-9:30 for Czech classes and other orientation shenanigans. The week was a blast, but I have to say, the rest I've been getting only slightly more of lately is welcome.

This past week we had our first Intensive Czech classes. This language is impossible! But I'm amazed that after only a week, we actually do all know some basic Czech. Class is utterly exhausting, starting at 9:30 and going till about 3:00. But at least now we all don't sound like the arrogant Americans we once did, wandering around saying "Hi" instead of "Dobry den".

This weekend was amazing. Friday night we went to Lucerna, just like last week. This is everyone's favorite club, and the 80's 90's retro music is a very welcome blast from the past. Despite Ata and my promises to ourselves to be home on the early side, I didn't make it home till 4 am, where I immediately crashed. We had to wake up at a disgusting 7:30 am! to make it to Kutna Hora. Yet despite the extreme exhaustion each of us were feeling, the trip was fun. We went to a church decorated with over 12,000 human bones! The picture above is the chandelier from the church. I guess we know now: die in Prague, and you may end up as decoration!!

Saturday night was uneventful, as Ata and I decided to frequent the local McDonalds to get some wifi. We walked up the stairs, and sitting in the McDonalds was every girl from Pod Karlovem. Within the hour, the boys arrived as well. After three hours of skype and facebook, we headed home to make a midnight dinner before sleeping "early". Best. Decision. Ever. The 9 hours was needed.

Sunday we woke up early to explore the Jewish quarter. By far one of the most moving things I've experienced in Prague. One of the synagogues, the Pinkas Synagogue, has the names of the 80,000 Jewish victims from Bohemia and Moravia during the Holocaust written on every wall. The above photo shows just one wall. The 80,000 names are overwhelming to see, and I found myself crying as I wandered the synagogue. The Jewish quarter consists of 5 synagogues,  the Old Cemetery, and the Ceremonial Hall. We visited all but one of the synagogues, which we'll have to go back to visit another time. After the synagogue we found some of our friends and visited one of Prague's open markets. Ata and I bought some cheese that was absolutely phenomenal. As is the case often here, we had no idea what we were buying, but the cheese was delicious, so no regrets.

Later on Sunday we went with our Czech roommate, Jana, and her boyfriend to the Poland vs. Bulgaria volleyball game. Wow are Polish fans nuts!! Watching the fans was more entertaining than the game itself! To Ata's dismay, Bulgaria won, but we had a fantastic Czech meal after the game which more than made up for it. To end the night, we met up with some CIEE kids at the Drunken Monkey, a bar that makes you feel as if you're back at home in America. NFL on tv and a ruit tournament going on as we sat and listened to American music. A perfect way to end the weekend!

Well, this was long enough. I'll write more soon. Hopefully we keep our internet!!!

Settling In!

Well I'm finally all arrived and settled in here in beautiful Prague. After a cancelled flight, a four hour layover in Frankfurt, and navigating the Prague airport, I'm here. I got here Tuesday night around 6:30 pm Czech-time, and have gotten around 10 hours of sleep since then. Regardless, I'm having the time of my life. It's amazing how quickly a place becomes familiar, and things stop feeling so foreign and scary. The picture above is my first view of Prague from the airplane!

Today we had to go on a scavenger hunt-type thing around the city. It was surprisingly helpful in showing me that I actually do know how to navigate this city, and the public transportation system is a lot easier to follow than it originally seemed. The days are exhausting here, and I'm hoping that my feet get used to all this walking quickly; as of now, I'm dead by the time I get home mid-afternoon. The nights have been crazy already, and if last night was any inclination of how the rest of the semester is going to go, I can't wait.

My apartment is incredibly beautiful. My in-room roommate is our Czech buddy, Jana, who is so sweet and bubbly and just excited about showing us everything. My other two roommates, Araceli and Honorata are also really nice. I'm so happy with where I live. The location is also really convenient as well, as it's only a 15-20 trip to the study center. The pictures above are of my room, living room, and kitchen/dining room.

Well I'm gonna go try to nap before dinner. Hopefully I'll be as diligent with this blog as possible. Until next time!