Last week in Prague

Oh My! Time is flying but crawling at the same time! I have turned in my last assignment for Czech class and have finished my projects for Alternative Culture and Kafka to Kundera. On Thursday, I turn in my project for Gender and then I am all done! I really cannot believe it. I have a few more Christmas Presents to buy, a suitcase to pack and then I'll be home. ooo man!

p.s. i got an A on my czech final, woo woo!

life is grand

ohh I am in such a wonderful wonderful mood. I spent the whole tram ride home counting my blessings, I have so much to be thankful for.

My day got off to a late start; it was after 4pm by the time I got real clothes on. However, the rest of the day has unfolded royally.

After finishing my sole errand, I decided to go to Andel. Andel is an area of town that I do not get to very often as there isn't much there except for a huge mall. Sabila had told me that there was a Christmas market there, though, and since I'd already been to the ones in Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square and Malovanka Namesti I thought I would check it out. It was fantastic. First of all, the weather is perfect today. It is a pity I was inside for most of it. When I got out of the Metro I started hearing music. Set up at Andel was a stage. There were children dancing and a man singing "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi, an extremely popular song over here. I started cracking up. I got the rest (!!!) of my christmas shopping done (!!!) except for some Becherovka ;) and then I got a 1/2 kilo of candy for the boys. The candy stand had huge gummy dinosaurs. amazing.


I am so excited for Christmas!!! It just gets better every year.


Oi, life is grand. I feel like I've accomplished what I came to Prague to accomplish.

Muj Pobyt v Praze (My Stay in Prague)

So, as a second part of my Czech final, we had to write an essay in Czech. Mine is full of errors but I am still pretty proud of it. I thought I'd share it with you, first in Czech then in English. The sentences are pretty basic so bear with me!


Muj Pobyt v Praze

Jsem přijela z USA. Jsem z Bostonu. Cestovala jsem v Praze jedna roky zpátky za tři den. Přijela jsem do Prahy v zaři. Jsem v Praze asi tři mesice. Jsem ubytovánna na Kolej Komenského v Praze. Libi se mi ale mám radéji bydlim v byt. Také, mám radéji bydlim v jednoluzkovy pokoj béz dvouluzkovy pokoj. Na Karlové univerzité studuju česky jazyk, literaturu a alternativni kulturu. Učim se česky jazyk protoze je zajimávy a chci mluvit jazyk za česky republicky. Mám čestinu dvakrat za tydén. Doma v USA, studuju media. Muj obor komunikaci.
Mám narozeniny z lété. Narodila jsem se čtrného červenu. Je mi dvacet dva let. O vikendu, ráda cestuju a tancuju. Mám ráda divadlo í film. Mám ráda divadlo protoze ráda se nastrojím hezky šaty. Ráda jdu do kina protoze je levna. Obvykle, jdu do hospody na pivo nebo jdu klub s kamaradí. Jezdím ve meste radéji tramvaji protoze cesta trvá asi dvacet minut. Ve volnem case, ráda varim a tancuju. Mám koníčka se ličií. Za snidané, ráda jim vejci a piju mleko. Za obéd, ráda jim sandvic a piji vodu. Za večere, ráda varim ceské jidlo; gulaš nebo kuře a branborové krokety.
Moje rodina je velká. Mám jedného bratra ale mám mnoho přibuznych. Mám šest sestřenice, pét bratranec, ctyři stryc, ctyři teta a jeden dédeček. Moje bratra je voják z vojsko z USA. Má dvacet let. Má nerozeniny v únorú. Maminka je učetni a tatimek je bankéř. Tatimek hodné cestuje va volnem case. Ve volnem case, maminka pracuje v zahradé.
V budoucnosti, budu chytela cestovat. Také, budu chytela studujovat a pracovat reklama. Zajimám se o cestuju a studuju kultury z svét. Také, zajimám se o uméni. Mám radéji surrealism a art deco. Mám ráda Dáli a Mucha. Chytela bych vratim se k Praze jedna den. Praha je staré a heské. Praha se me líbi. Má dobré jidlo a pivo. Také, Praha má moc galerií. Mám ráda socha Jan Hus z staré mésto naméstí. Mám rada Petrin Hill protoze muzu videt moc Praha.
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I arrived from the USA. I am from Boston. I had traveled to Prague one year before for three days. I arrived to Prague in September. I have been in Prague about three months. I am accomodated at the Komenskeho Dorm in Prague. I like it but I prefer to stay in an apartment. Also, I prefer living in a single room instead of a double room. At Charles University I study the Czech Language, Literature and Alternative Culture. I am learning Czech because I think it is interesting and because I want to speak the language of the Czech Republic. I have Czech class two times a week. At home in the US, I study Media. My field is Communications.

My birthday is in the summer. I was born on the 14th of June. I am 22 years old. On the weekend, I like to travel and dance. I like theatre and film. I like the theatre because I like to dress up in nice dresses. I like to go to the movies because it is cheaper. Usually, I go to the pub for beer or to the club with my friends. I prefer to go to town by the tram because it takes about 20 minutes. In my free time, I like to cook and dance. My hobby is painting. For breakfast, I like to eat eggs and drink milk. For Lunch, I like to eat sandwiches and drink water. For dinner, I like to cook czech food: goulash or chicken and croquettes.

My family is big. I have one brother but I have a lot of relatives. I have six female cousins, 5 male cousins, 4 uncles, 4 aunts and one grandfather. My brother is a soldier for the army in the USA. He is 20 years old. He has his birthday in February. Mom is an accountant and Dad is a banker (the professions are sort of lost in translation). Dad travels some in his free time. In her free time, Mom works in the garden.

In the future, I would like to travel. Also, I would like to study and work in advertising. I am interesting in traveling and studying the cultures of the world. Also, I am interested in art. I prefer surrealism and art deco. I like Dali and Mucha. I would like to return to Prague one day. Prague is old and beautiful. I like Prague. It has good food and beer. Also, Prague has a lot of galleries. I like the statue of Jan Hus in Old Town Square. I like Petrin Hill because you can see much of Prague.

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some pretty deep stuff, huh? haha... but I'm still kind of proud of myself...

mam rada vanoce (i like christmas)

Christmas markets have popped up all over Prague and all of a sudden a new flood of people has shown up. It's even crazier here than it was at the end of the summer. People are still lining up and waiting (in much larger masses than the summer) to see the anti-climatic hourly ringing of the astronomical clock. The actual clock is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful but there's no need to wait to see the hour change. I can't even explain it, but I think anyone who has seen it would agree.

ANYWAYS,

Christmas turns Prague into a another beautiful Prague and I've been going on walks just to look around. I keep forgetting to bring my camera around, it seems that I've almost gotten over that part of the trip, but I've really got to sometime over the next two weeks. There are decorations everywhere, the Christmas booths have taken over most parts of the city, there are constant carolers in Old Town Square and they've even uncovered the Jan Hus monument again, which I have gone to see twice since it was unveiled on Saturday.

Classes are winding down and final projects are underway (kind of...). All the commotion and the idea of leaving soon keep forcing me to think about what I am going to miss the most (writing essays in czech about what you're going to miss help this train of thought along as well). I think I've decided. I think the thing that I am going to miss the most is the sky in Prague. I love it. It is so so so beautiful. It's HUGE (not bombarded by skyscrapers) and it is gorgeous. Walking home from class today I caught the sunset just behind the Prague castle. Pinks and purples... ahh. It was magical.

Yes, I'm going to miss the sky the most.

Americanka

I'm increasingly excited about returning to the United States. I love Prague and Europe in general, but I'm also missing the United States. I'm excited for friends and family, ovens, sushi, English and even Miller High Life. I'm excited for my computer, NEU campus, driving around in cars, nostalgia, the OtherSide Cafe... I could go on and on.


I'm very thankful I was able to do study abroad, I think I've changed a lot as a person. I've had a lot of time for self-introspection and I've been able to stand back and look at my life from the outside (which has been very scary and humbling) and I think I know what steps I want to take to change it.

I'm excited for the future, I just have to finish up this semester first.


procrastination!!

long overdue

once again I have a huge, huge, HUGE post....

From the anti-fascist rally to Jackson and Suzie's arrival, Thanksgiving, our trip to Budapest and finally my time in Prague coming to an end.

I took Jackson out for dinner for his birthday since I will not be able to spend it with him:

While they were in Prague we also went dancing:

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Mike and Sabila's







Afterwards, Suzie, Jackson and I traveled to BUDAPEST!!! It was just as cool and amazing as everyone had told me before hand. We spent the whole time walking, walking and walking some more. We tried to see as much as possible and I think we did a pretty good job.














as always, more pictures on flickr...

I realize this post is pretty picture heavy, but I'm much too tired to type it all out now... later... i promise!

Jackson and Suzie will be here is 12 hours!

new pictures up on flickr, blog soon!!

Yesterday Mikey and I were talking about non-verbal communication. I think that being in a country that speaks a foreign language has tweaked my nonverbal communication skills. I can make an educated guess about what someone is talking about based completely on their hand gestures and facial expressions. I may not always be correct, but I wouldn't be able to understand if I asked them, so I just assume I am. It's just easier that way, haha.

Mikey remarked that he's also become a talented mime. He claims he can carry on a deep conversation using only hand gestures. How impressive :)

We both agreed that being immersed in a different language has made us more aware of the English we use when trying to express an idea.


Thursday night, I discovered 1.5 liter bottles of champagne. They cost $5. oh la la!

krakow

Last weekend I was able to travel to Krakow, Poland. It was sort of a last minute thing... Salzberg, Brussels and a few other cities were in the running, but Krakow prevailed as other people we knew were headed there (which ended up being an organized group from the dorm of 80 people- ack!). So, 8 hours later, I found myself in Krakow.



Krakow is very very small and full of beautiful churches. The area is extremely religious, as it is the general belief that the dragon (devil) was slayed there.














Most of those churches were in the middle of town, around the market square (sorry for the blurriness in some of those photos- i did not want to use flash inside of the churches)






The main part of town is surrounded by a green, grassy ring. It is beautiful. There is almost NOTHING outside of the ring, it was strange. I felt like everyone that lived in Krakow must work in the tourist industry.





on the outskirts were the Prague Castle, the Globe House and a bunch of funny/confusing street signs:




girls with lollipops crossing...


no pedestrians, soccer, corners, cars or supervised children??


On Sunday, we visited Auschwitz and Birkenau. It was a really hard experience for me. It was something I wasn't looking forward to, but I knew it was important. It was really important. It is not something that I will ever forget. I... I cannot even put into words how strange it was to be there. It was a very emotional experience. I cannot believe that such a horrible horrible disgusting thing could have ever happened. I remember when we were in Berlin and our guide explained that they had put the Holocaust Memorial on the main road because they do not want people to forget what happened because if they forget, it could happen again.



I did not feel that it was appropriate to take pictures within either of the camps.


Something that has been troubling me since I returned is the population of Neo-Nazis in Prague. They are planning a march that is supposed to take place on November 11 ( i think?). They have stickers up around the city. I've been tearing them down and throwing them away.


That's all from me for now - I've got a midterm to study for!

Until next time,

virginia