My last farewell

Holy crap! I’m leaving. It’s one of those things that you know is inevitable but you block it out of your mind for sanity’s sake... like going to the dentist.  But alas I must leave.  Tomorrow is May 16, 2011 and that is the day Cassie, Madison, Bryce, and David arrive in Praha. That is the day a new adventure starts. And that is the day I must begin to grasp the fact that I am leaving my beloved city for good (well at least for a while).  But the scary thing is that I can’t predict the future, especially because I am in that phase where I have absolutely nooooo idea what I want to do with my life or where will be in ten years, and therefore no idea if I will ever be able to be here again.  Will I ever go to the strudel man again, or  have a beer at U Sudu? Will I ever be in a situation where I can jump on a tram after school and go to the opera for $5 as my afternoon activity?  Will I ever see my Czech friends again? will i ever do homework at Cafe Pavlac or get choclate soup at Coco Cafe? Will I ever play card games a The Big Labowski's or drink cocktails at Bacowski's? WIll I ever go to another Zizkov carnival or walk the beer gardens of Petrin hill?  Will I ever eat goulash three times a week again and wander the Czech country side on my days off?  

It's not that I dread the future; it is more that I know I will never be able to repeat this stage in life.  On one hand that is a good thing because what is to come has the potential of being just as exciting but on the other hand it will always be different. 

So because of this realization I decided to live up my last weekend in Prague to an epic proportion. I started the weekend on Friday volunteering at a Czech preschool. I woke up a 6:30am to be at the school by 7:40am, walked in, took off my shoes and played with the cutest little toe heads you have ever seen in your life for a good three hours.  By the end they were calling me "maminka" (mom in Czech) and speaking to me as if i knew what they were saying while i nodded my head and continued to repeat 'good' and 'pretty'.  Then at one point the other English teacher came over to remind me that us Americans aren't allowed to speak in Czech for fear we will ruin the learning curve of the young ones.. haha. how humiliating.  I probably learned more about Czech culture from the kids in one day then a month here in Prague talking to adults.  you learn a lot about a society from the way the kids act because they merely watch and repeat what they see, which gives you great insight into what goes on behind doors in Czech houses. For example the girls run around crazy while the boys sit silently playing with their toys and obeying all the rules :). 

Later in the day I met up with one of my friends from Slovakia and started the process of 'the last hangout before I leave" which will no doubt last until Wednesday night and which regrettably only prolongs my agony...

The next day I went to Karlstien castle with a friend (Magda) who lives nearby and my two of my friends from kazakhstan.  Let me paint a little picture for you about this little village an hour outside of Prague.  You exit the train and there is nothing in sight expect miles and miles of green rolling hills and forests.  You walk across this bridge and round the corner and suddenly you find yourself at the bottom of a long, windy road, which leads to a fairy tale white and blue castle glistening in the sunlight at the top of the mountain (not exaggerating just to make you jealous... cuz my description is actually more of an understatement). We walked up the cobble stone street where all the little 18th century cottages have been turned into tourist/ souvenir shops and 'traditional Czech food' restaurants, but have remained picturesque nonetheless.  Once you walk up the path through the forest you finally ascend to the hunting Castle of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who picked the site because it reminded him of the French country side and was the only place he found peace and solace.  Lets just say I have been to a lot of Castles all around Europe and Karlstein is in my top 3.  After touring the intricate architecture and climbing the tower to see the most spectacular view of the village, we followed a path down the mountain to Magda's favorite secret place for lunch.  We had Kofola (Czech communist coca-cola) and Svickova (beef and dumplings with cranberry and whip-cream...very interesting flavor) in a restaurant that was tucked away in the side of the mountain.  It was a spectacular day.  That night I visited my friends from bible study and had a movie night pigging out on snacks and candy, which was also great. 

The next morning I got up really early to visit my friends from Pardubice (about 1:45 min outside of Prague). I have been meeting with my friend Darina for English conversations since February and actually became really good friends with her over the months. So I finally got to visit her and her boyfriend Marek, (who has also become a good friend) in their home town. After I arrived we drove into town, saw the town square, their local Castle and learned all their local legends. After a great lunch at their favorite place we drove about 30 minutes into the country side to a small village called "happy hill". Literally Czech style disneyland...expect real. This village is unique in that no one actually lives there anymore but has been preserved into an exhibit type space where all the houses are originals from the 17th, 18th century.  The houses are wood with stone floors and are scattered throughout the forest with a stream that circles the outside. The open fields and rolling hills go on for as long as the eye can see and all the shades of green overwhelm the senses.  It is amazing that just a couple miles outside the city is the beautiful nature of Eastern Europe and the breathtaking Czech countryside.  After our little adventure we head back into the city and get dessert, walk around, get coffee, and then say our final goodbyes. But never fear they are going to come visit me in LA! :) (or at least that is what i tell myself to make my goodbyes less devastating)

Anyway, I came back home and am now getting ready to pick up my friends from the airport tomorrow! 

So my last and final thoughts are: I LOVE PRAGUE! I have loved every minute of my time here (even the lonely, homesick moments because they simply added to the overall experience).  I Love Zizkov (my district in Prague)! And lastly I love Jesus because he has blessed me beyond belief and given me siblings who loved me enough to pay for my experience, parents who supported me during my time here, and friends and family who miss me and will be there when i come home. I didnt do anything to deserve this. I was born into privilege and was born into a world that allows me to travel, be mobile, experience, learn, observe, relax, and live freely.  I cannot ignore the fact that not everyone gets this experience, but that just means that I am in more of a position of service to those around me.  I have been given the world and now it my turn to serve and bless the world the same way it has blessed me.

So thank you for reading my blog and joining me on this journey. It was comforting to know that I was not alone and that I shared much of my life changing semester with the people I love most.

this is my final goodbye and me (for the last time) 
Czech'ing out

So who are these Czechs anyway..??..

After living here for 4 months I am hardly an expert on Czech culture or the spirit behind Czech people; but I have spent my time here listening, asking questions, observing, and soaking up any information people have to offer.  From the university professor I met in a jazz club once, to my Czech friends, 

to missionaries who have been living here since communism, to random conversations with Prague natives, to my official Czech culture class, and finally from all the Czech books I have read this semester, I have accumulated knowledge about his strange and enchanting city that has fully captivated my heart. So I decided to write it all down and make one final assessment and interpretation of what is really means to be Czech.

The first thing you have to understand is that Czechs are naturally reserved people. They have been used and abused and told what to think since the Holy Roman Empire in the middle ages.  Under the Hapsburgs they were servants and peasants in their own land while the Austrians reigned as nobles. But I already gave you a history lesson earlier in this blog, so all I will say is that Czechs are justifiably cautious of ‘the other’ or ‘the foreigner’.  The newer generation is not as overtly racists (unless you are talking about Russia, then the hate streams out of just about anybody), but it is primarily the older generation who just wants to be left alone. They want to be Czech; they want to discover what that means, and in a way tourism is a new form of invasion. Tourism is a new concept for the Czech lands and many people don’t know how to deal with it. So when you think you are being ignored when you walk down the street or purposefully ostracized unless introduced by a connection or mutual friend, then you are right. Why should you be trusted unless you prove yourself to be a friend first?  BUT once you are a friend then Czech’s are sweet, thoughtful people who would love to get a beer with you and talk about America and what it was like under communism. However, when you do find yourself in this honored position, something to remember is that Czechs don’t understand American pride.

They love their country and want to be left alone to enjoy it, but they don’t gush over it like we do.  The old buildings don’t mesmerize them as they do with us. They are cautious of the old and want to simply think about the Czech Republic in the future as new, modern, and progressive, which creates an ironic paradox considering Prague is considered by foreigners as a gem of the past, and outside powers (from HRE Charles IV to Hitler to modern day tourists) have desperately tried to preserve the city for themselves as a place to step back in time and experience history starring at them in the face. The problem with this is that Czech’s don’t want history starring at them in the face. They did history, they tried it, and it failed them.  Ask any Czech person and they hate the old looking, thick brick walls with red roofs. They want glass houses with modern architecture and a feeling of light and freedom.

This love/hate relationship with tourism gets complicated however because tourism fuels their economy (as one might assume) and foreigners are a necessary element in that process. But once communism fell in 1989 and the ecstasy of freedom and seduction of the west wore off and they realized that the democracy was just as screwed up as communism…just in a different way. Don’t get me wrong, the Czechs HATED communism (probably as much as the Hungarians) but there is this paradoxical nostalgia for those times, the simplicity of life, and most importantly the fight. The velvet revolution provided the poets, the musicians, the intellectuals, and the young and passionate students with a purpose and a noble cause to fight for. Prague spring and the velvet revolution (both anti-communist movements) cultivated more pride and more artistic culture than ever before in these lands and people miss having a common goal to unite under.  Their last heroes, their last celebrities were the Plastic People of the Universe, a dissident rock band form the 80s.  Since then there has been a lull, a lack of inspiration, and nothing to fight for. The corruption of the new democratic government is disheartening and a much more complicated giant to tackle. You can’t blame corruptions like you can blame a dictator.  For this people look back on those times and say, ‘maybe they weren’t so bad’ at least passion filled the streets back then.

So current day Czechs walk around, going about their lackluster lives of work and home, work and home suffering from an inability to fill the vacuum of what once was.  Vaclav Havel (the Czechs most famous dissident turned president) once explained that “They must pay for the attempt to seize nature, to leave not a remnant of it in human hands, to ridicule its mystery; they must pay for the attempt to abolish God and to play at being God.” In this way Prague is uncanny. There is a left over sprit that was once there, and will be again, but is currently blind and searching for its way back through the darkness.  You can almost feel the remains of an artistic fervor and political oomph leftover from its glory days and every once in a while you can catch a spark in the eye of a neighbor.  But suddenly a gust of wind sweeps through and the sent is gone.  Prague is uncanny because it is not dead but it is also not alive.  It is not ostentatious but it is also not silent. The streets are not completely strange but they are not familiar either. There is a missing piece that haunts the city.  Paraphrased from Havel, Prague is missing a horizon that will place the smoke in the distance and will ground them into the now. It will reignite the excitement of mystery and spark a need for sincere collective thoughtfulness. There is a future for Prague and it is slowly making its way back home; but in the meantime Prague must remain long suffering and wait for its redemption.

In plain words there is a lack of passion and lack of caring.  Beer consumption has increased ten fold over the last couple decades and it now ranks number one over Ireland for beer consumption per capita.  This is what they live for now, beer and finding a significant other… and PDA.

And while that all may seem a little harsh truly none of the words are my own. I have simply paraphrased what I have heard over and over and over again throughout the last couple months.  The Czechs are their own biggest critics.  They see what is wrong but no one knows how to change it. In all my conversations never once has anyone offered me a solution or movements to change public opinion. They simply state problems as fact and move on. 

But don’t get me wrong. I love this place.  I love how introspective Czech people are and how they regard their artists, musicians, and intellectuals as the highest and most respected.  I love how even their puppet shows are operas or political commentaries. I love how they still pride themselves in their communists ‘kola’ and how restaurant/ pubs fill every street corner. I love their language. I love that they eat fried cheese for dinner.  I love that the cardinal sin is to eat meat without ordering a beer alongside it.  I love that everyone reads on the tram. I love the cobble stone streets. I love the miraculously obedient Czech canine species.  And while I don’t love t that you have to pay for water I do love that you can sit in a pub for hours and never be bothered unless you ask for the check on your own time.  I am going to miss this place. I am going to miss meeting new people every day and sitting back and soaking up a new environment, a new culture, a new way of life. 

I will do a farewell post next week but for now I just want to say that I love these people and I love Prague and this semester will always hold a very special place in my heart. 

Some things never change

Those of you who know me know that about once every couple of months I get violently ill because I refuse to listen to my body and relax.  Well living in a foreign country is no different I guess.  I’ve been sick for a while but nothing really too serious: a headache, a cough, and a stuffy nose.  But today turned out to be drastically different than I planned. I go to church in the morning feeling fine, well relatively speaking.  I come home for an hour or too and my friend Kristen and I decide to go back out to check this other church we have been hearing about.  But I as get ready my body suddenly turns into ice and my headache starts flaring up again.  So naturally my response is to put on more layers and pop in a couple more Advil.  I make it down to the tram and meet Kristen at the metro.  But now I’m a little worried because it feels as if a war is about to commence, both sides are recruiting forces and setting up camp.  Well Prague metro stations have these really intense vertical escalators that are intimidating to even the most clear-headed passenger.  So of course as soon as I step foot on the downward decent into the eternal abyss of the metro station some stupid artilleryman from the enemy side lets loose the first arrow and it sticks me right in the gut.  No joke, it is as if I have sudden vertigo and my muscles simply give way.  I turn dead white and look to Kristen unable to comprehend what just hit me.  By the grace of God we make it down the escalator and I legitimately lie down in the disgusting, dirty floor for I am sure I am about to pass out.  After I feel as if I can muster up enough strength to make it back up the escalator we start the journey back up. But halfway through I know I am not going to make it. Sheer will keeps it in until I get to the top where then I spill all my insides into this poor, innocent trashcan at this random metro station. My body is clearly in full-fledged war by this point.  And whatever is inside me is trying desperately to retreat as fast as it can. We then find a near by bathroom and I live there for the next half an hour.  While sitting there I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation and acknowledge the fact that this would happen to me because sick stories are my specialty.  Well Kristen, being the Godsend that she is helps me back to my apartment and I walk into my room to find my roommates appalled at the sight of me.  Apparently I look like death.  Being safe and sound in an apartment rather than the streets of Prague, I curl up in my uncomfortable bed, finding solace only in the fact that I can officially cross ‘first time sick in a foreign country’ off my list.  

Fat Tuesday in Žižkov

Prague is split up into 10 districts. I live in Praha 3 in a town called  Žižkov. Now let me tell you about  Žižkov. It has an unusually high gipsy population and is known as being economically challenged. Therefore there are mini casinos and Las Vegas replicas on every corner with the occasional sketchy flower shop that stays open all hours of the night.  But recently Mallory and I were online looking for the famous strudel man who apparently lives around the corner from us and we stumbled across a description of  Žižkov I will never forget.  They said, ‘this is  Žižkov. It doesn’t pretend to be anything it is not. It just is.’ I love that.  Žižkov used to be an independent city and I think that got to their heads. They are offbeat and proud to be different.  But despite that it is easily forgotten, easily passed by; but those who do miss out on more than they know. 

For example, last Tuesday happened to be Fat Tuesday in Žižkov, a day within carnival that celebrates and encourages pigging out on meat – pun intended.  Each neighborhood is responsible for organizing their own carnival, but everyone comes to Žižkov cuz we da bomb.  Here is a segment from an expat newspaper called Stars and Stripes that I read "We are the most original," claims Zizkov town hall spokesman Jeronym Janicek, who notes that the neighborhood was one of the first in the city to resurrect the tradition in the early 1990s, after communism fell. A lot of people give the neighborhood credit for helping bring new life into a festival that had fallen into obscurity."

 So we headed out to explore this so called ‘carnival’.   As soon as we caught glimpse of all the commotion we realized we were the sole representatives of the age group ranging from 16 to 35.  It was clearly not the ‘cool’ thing to do in  Žižkov if you weren’t entertaining your sugar high toddler or benefiting from the senior citizen discounts. But nonetheless we were determined to partake in the festivities and so naturally we bought this gross, fat, greasy street sausage topped with a potato patty and a dry piece of bread.  I swear I don’t even remember what it tasted like because I had to swallow most of it in one bite so as to not offend my taste buds.  We’ve have a rocky relationship recently because I’ve started to cook more and more often.  My stomach wasn’t the biggest fan after that fiasco either.  But, never fear,  Žižkov came to save the day once again when we realized they were offering free beer and pastries just one tent over.  Suddenly the day got a lot better. And that’s when the party really kicked off. 

The drums started beating and the mob instinctively responded by sweeping us due east to the heart of the city center. Little make shift floats and men on stilts came out of nowhere and simply started to stroll down the middle of the street. So we followed their lead and took to the streets.   Seriously it was like the a silent dog whistle went off for all of a sudden the road was jam packed with people of all ages wearing masks, ridiculous costumes, and questionable accessories.

At each stop there was either a folk band from back in the good ole days or a truly cheesy clown juggler comedian thing, which the Czech seemed to love strangely enough – maybe it was something in the beer but I guess wouldn’t know, it was all in Czech – and ended with a speech from the  Žižkov mayor (or at least we think).  But, in conclusion, it was a successful day and it taught me a lot about the neighborhood that has been so kind in housing me for the past month.  It’s a bit wonky at times but it’s real.  They don’t hold anything back. They are proud to be  Žižkov and they will laugh at the really corny tricks from the comedian man if they want to gosh dang it! It’s  Žižkov. Don’t mess. 

A History of the Czech Republic

The History of the Czech Republic: Prequel to “the spirit of Prague”

            We had an interesting discussion in class today, which I felt deserved some extra attention. It all started with an assigned reading in which famous Czech author, Ivan Klima, describes the Czech Republic as a paradox, a barren and sort of uncanny city existing within the elaborate and decorated walls of beautiful Prague. But as I started to dive into the philosophical interpretation of Czech identity I realized it would be helpful to understand the more historical but just as confusing events that make up that identity. The Czech Republic has an impressively complicated past containing everything from contested ancestry to evil tyrants to haphazard borders to constant disagreements over the formal name and definition of the state and surrounding territories. Needless to say the Czechs have seen it all and experienced it all; the question is simply has it been too much? 

So before I go any further let me begin with a disclaimer that this is Czech history as I understand it from listening to the many different opinions of my Czech friends and an even separate opinion from my even closer friends called Wikipedia and Google.  So now let us start at the beginning. Apparently the first to settle in the Czech lands were Celtic tribes called the Boii in the 3^rd century BC followed by Germanic tribes a couple centuries later.  Around the 5^th century the Germanic tribes moved out to settle in the westward lands of Central Europe and the Slavic tribes moved in and took their place. By this time the Celtic tribes also seemed to have disappeared but not without leaving one very important legacy: the Celtic name ‘Bohemia’.  The Slavs lived at peace during this age but one tribe seemed to grow more powerful and prominent then the others.  They were known as the Czechs.  The area of the land from Germany, to the Czech lands, to Austria was called Bohemia, but the boundaries of which are even to this day questioned and disputed.  A sub culture of Bohemia started to gain great prominence and was coined Great Moravia by a Greek historian who heard of this ‘distant Slovak land’.  But by the time the 9^th century rolled around the Bohemians had their shot at glory and reigned during the Middle Ages ultimately being grafted into the Holy Roman Empire.  During this time many Germans moved back into Bohemian lands and formed German colonies throughout central Europe mixing the two people groups both racially and culturally. Finally during the mid 1300s Charles IV became emperor of both the Holy Roman Empire as well as Bohemia. This is known as the Czech “Golden Age” because Charles settled in Prague and founded Charles University (one of the oldest universities in all of Europe).  [Also...little known fact… one of the first reformations started in Prague lead by Jan Hus who was burnt at the stake as a heretic. But his followers succeeded from the Catholic Church and formed the Czech Hussite Reformation movement, an event that had a profound impact on the famous Martin Luther] Anyway, during this time 90 percent of the Czech inhabitants converted to Protestantism giving the Hapsburg dynasty (currently reigning over Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire) reason to enter into a ‘religious war’ in the name of Catholicism while conveniently gaining political power and more centralized control.  The Protestants in Bohemia tried to revolt but were squashed under Ferdinand II. This tosses Bohemia into the ‘dark ages’ as now Protestant Czechs are forced to either convert to Catholicism or leave. O and the Ottomans invade Moravia (which still exists off to the side) and take with them over 12,000 slaves.   Meanwhile over in central Bohemia the Holy Roman Empire falls and Czech lands fall into Austrian rule. 

            Once the Austro-Hungarian Empire falls after World War I, an independent Czechoslovakia is created combining all Bohemian, Moravian, and Slovak lands into one.  A little later Hitler gains power of the German presence in Czechoslovakia and the Slovaks take advantage of it.  They choose to align themselves with Hitler’s coalition in order to gain the right to secede from Czechoslovakia in order to maintain their national and territorial integrity. The Czech side was occupied by Germany during Nazi reign and it was reported that 345,000 Czech citizens, including 277,000 Jews, were killed or executed and thousands more sent to concentration camps during this time.  All the while Hitler continued to call Czech lands ‘Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia’ after Hitler ‘granted’ them independence from Slovakia. Well we all know how World War II ended and American and Soviet armies liberated Czechoslovakia.  Almost the entire German minority living there at the time were expelled and forced to either go back to Germany or were put in prison or detention camps...ironic. Soviet influence quickly took over and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia increased in popularity (I’m confused too.. I thought Slovakia succeeded ... but it apparently it is still called Czechoslovakia at this time?).   Shortly after the communist revolution took control of the government and for the next 41 years Czechoslovakia became a Communist state within the Eastern Bloc. The government nationalized means of production and the small farms were forced to produce as much as the larger farms, which of course resulted in over production completely killing the land and the Czech spirits.  In 1989, the year before I was born, the Velvet Revolution liberated the Czech people, which happened to take place on the same street I walk on everyday on my way to class. The country peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the Czech people were finally free to be their own culture, celebrate their own history, and experience independence.  The only problem is no one really knows what that means.  What is Czech exactly? To whom do they owe their ancestry? How do they incorporate the years of harsh emperors, persecution, and communism into their celebrated history?  How do they react to the beautiful Baroque buildings constructed for the purpose of propaganda or the statues of Stalin and other communist leaders? Is this their history or is it the history of their oppressors?  Czechs have been searching and struggling to find answers ever since the revolution, which leads us to today; to little American Kristy walking down the streets of Prague just as confused about the spirit of this place as the Czech’s are themselves.

Coming up next: a philosophical look into the people and character of Czech society

 (I'm dorky I know)

Riding Solo

So after being thoroughly chastised for keeping you all in suspense about my o’ so exciting day trip by myself into the Czech country side, I have decided to make up for it by spending half my day trying to figure out how to add pictures to this blog while using a combination of the world’s worst internet and a computer that so conveniently has decided to take on the task of symbolizing all that is wrong and faulty with Apple.   Thus if you are currently reading this blog and there is an astounding lack of pictures popping up everywhere, it simply means that I was so mad at the computer I did not have enough energy to go back in and erase this sentence.  But then again maybe this just means I need to ask for a double helping of patience in my next life…

So I know I promised I was going castle hopping this weekend, but lets be honest my good friend Murphy and his annoying law would have never allowed it to happen knowing how much I built it up to everyone. It’s Friday night, everything is scheduled and the alarm clock is set when all of a sudden my roommates prance in feeling really… confused. Five seconds later they are out cold, snuggled up in their beds where they will be for the next day and a half. Well, I guess that means the castle ain't happening. But it worked out for the best because I woke up the next morning to the worst traveling conditions I’d seen since I planned that ski trip last week.  But with my heart set on an adventure I pack my bags anyway and head to the train station, jump on the metro, take it to the end, and get off in a random small town way on the outskirts of Prague.  After walking outside into the bitterly cold wind with snow quickly filling the streets I start to question how effective my day will be.  I look around and literally see nothing. There are unmarked buildings randomly scattered to all sides of the train station and a single road heading into the distance.  As I start to walk an incredibly profound thought enters my head; ‘this is the Czech Republic’ – But in all seriousness it was quite the revelation. The bitter cold, the dead land from all the years of over production under communism, the empty streets (mostly because even the Czech’s know you would have to be crazy to be leisurely walking down the streets in that weather), and the feeling of an uncanny loneliness are all attributes of this paradoxical city known as Prague.

However, as I am walking I do end up stumbling upon a path that leads up this hill and disappears into a sea of dead trees to which there is truly no way out; so naturally I skip toward the entrance, put on a little country mix, and groove my way throughout the haunted, black forest of the random Czech town I don’t even know the name of.  I try taking some artsy pictures along the way but, plainly put, it fails.  After about a 20-minute walk I finally find my way out the other side and continue down the highway like a true hitchhiker. And in the spirit of the wondering traveler I seek out a small, random little diner to rest my feet. Being that the restaurant is all in Czech I simply point to the markings on the menu, look up, smile and hope the waitress speaks intuitive sign language.  She does. But what she does not do is warn me that what I am ordering is a traditional Czech meal for construction workers on a budget who prefer their pork/steak extra fatty while swimming in a creamy Italian sauce.  But at least my café latte came with a little chocolate mint, because even when the world goes bad chocolate will always nurse the tongue back to health. 

After that I simply make my way back to the metro station and to my apartment to find the place exactly the same as I had left it J

There is just one last piece of juicy information I feel I must share with you all.  Within the last week I have managed to spend over $500 in airfare…but don’t freak out I got a lot of bank for my buck thanks to some expert bargain shopping and 13 hour layovers in random cities throughout Europe!

I am officially going to Berlin not this weekend but the next

Sicily, Rome, and Athens over spring break

And Edinburgh (and possibly Wales) two weekends after spring break

All flights booked!! Now I just have to figure out how to spend less than $100 a month while here in Prague.  Strategy.. don’t eat (definitely stop ordering all the Housky) 

A Typical Day

Wake up at 8:30am, scramble one egg, maybe make some instant coffee and out the door by 9.  Plug in my earphones as I finish putting on my gloves, scarf, and down comforter jacket because waking up at 8 after being at the pub till 3 equals a very anti-social Kristy.  Ride the tram 20 minutes into the city, get off near Starbucks, and arrive at this huge, gothic looking brass door as entrance to my University.

‘Ahoj’

‘dobry den’

‘cau’

Learn a little Czech and history of the beautiful city I can officially now call home. I figure two weeks is a sufficient amount of time to now truly consider myself a local.  I mean I can say 'hi', 'how are you', 'I’m sorry', 'please', and 'I don’t speak Czech', definitely a local.  I have a thirty minute break in between my three-hour long lectures so I hit up the local café, which is no longer going to be apart of my daily routine since I look at the money in my wallet at the end of the day and I realize I have mysteriously misplaced it all…

Fortunately I am inevitably one of the biggest dorks here so class flies by while I furiously try to soak up 2,000 years of history, art, politics, language, culture, and tradition in about three hours a week.  But then I step outside and I get a different sort of history lesson.  For example, I’m not sure if they even realize it themselves, but Czech people are incontestably in love with chocolate and value it almost as much as their beer.  Thus I have strategically chosen the ‘coco café’ to be my adopted secret spot here in Prague.  I walk in with my backpack and 50 layers, curl up on a couch in the back, open my book or reading for the afternoon, and order this hot chocolate snack thingy that deserves a sentence to itself in explanation.  This hot chocolate isn’t the wimpy drink we think of in the states, it is straight up melted Godiva with hot strawberries and raspberries mixed in with a huge swirl of whip cream on the top and a rich yet fluffy aftertaste allowing the cocoa to penetrate the taste buds up to a couple minutes after you take a bite. This is my true home here in Prague.  I can proudly say I already know the family that owns it and they recognize me.  I am working on having a usual every time I come, which may result in a serious change of my body structure…but hey do as the Czech’s do right? If they love chocolate then so do I.  That’s really the only reason why I’m doing, since as my little sis Lindsey knows I don’t even like chocolate; I’m just taking one for the team.

Every once in a while I check my phone out of pure habit because the Lord knows I have absolutely no one calling me or even knows my phone number, and if they do they are in the states and should not be calling me because it will probably end up costing them a fortune and a half, which they will end up resenting me for and end up right back at the beginning with not calling me.

A good three hours later I finish my chocolate elixir of the Gods and make my way back to the apartment.  I take one of those two hours naps I told you about earlier and wake up just in time to go out again.  Tonight it is a hockey game, yesterday was a jazz club, tomorrow will hopefully be this puppet show I really want to go to that is doing a rendition of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, which I find to be the cutest thing about Prague culture; they love Mozart and aren’t afraid to show it.  There is an entire Mozart museum in the place where he stayed once while visiting an old friend. It is a big deal here.  But alas I feel I’m gonna have to do some serious convincing for this one and figure out a way to make the puppet show sound cooler than it is if I’m gonna get any sort of backing from my roommates. Any suggestions?!!

This weekend we are castle hopping in the Czech countryside.  I’ll let you know if it is as cool as it sounds… I’m just hoping for some more fun adventures and hot Czech men. But again, I’ll keep you posted.

Cau 

My first and last ski adventure in Liberec, Czech Republic

Ok so let me preface this blog post with a disclaimer releasing me from any responsibility for the events about to be discussed.  I am an English speaking American in a country that apparently doesn't believe in reliable forecasts and whose websites straight up lie. (tangent… I looked up an internet café online and went on this wild goose chase across downtown Prague yesterday only to find the address dead end at a store doubling as an abandoned warehouse.  This has happened three times so far. Lesson learned- the Internet is still under communist control and is not to be trusted)

Anyway the story starts two days ago when Mallory and I get this bright idea to go skiing at a local mountain after an incredibly girly moment giggling over our shared obsession with the mountains and anything rugged and wild.  So we look up a local ski resort only an hour away with rentals, a lift ticket, and transportation under $50.  We then proceed to coerce three of our friends into joining the escapades and set out 7:00am Friday morning on the adventure of our lives (so far).

This is where it gets good…

We miss the train (of course. What good story starts with anything but a missed train) and so no problem we just take the next one.  Well the next one has hidden stops that more than doubles our transportation time to about three hours and we arrive in Liberec at noon.  But this aint Prague anymore.  It’s a much more friendly yet much more Czech countryside where all communication must be done in the most basic sign language attempts (because apparently even sign language is America specific).  Sooo about thirty minutes later we make it to the base of the mountain, which isn’t actually a mountain at all but rather an ant hill on steroids.  And from what we can see there is one lift going straight into a forest of green, lush trees full of dirt and very little snow.  But alas we are reassured that there is snow; we just have to run up this crazy little metal butt pusher to find it. And as they are telling us this they so kindly give us a discount on the ski lift ticket since apparently today is the absolute worst day of skiing conditions this mountain has probably ever seen and they are laughing at us for even stepping out of our house.  (see yesterday, the day before that, and the week before that the air was warm, the sun was out, and life was good.  But we woke up today and clouds had beaten joy and comfort at a wrestling match the night before and the earth was crying hailstorms over its loss. – ok a little over dramatic – but it truly was wet, cold, drizzly, and miserable) O and that wasn’t the only thing they were laughing at us about.  Apparently there is a direct student bus from Prague to the mountain that not only takes an hour, costs half the price, but also gives you a free complimentary cup of hot chocolate for the ride. Is that a joke??!

But the day wasn’t all bad.  I did realize that even after all these years I can still kill it on a pair of skis (Like if I was racing a bunch of 4-year-olds in snow school I could for sure make top ten) and Mallory and I had this great moment on the ski lift when it started pouring straight up rain and we looked at our mitten liners, hoodies, and water absorbing pants and just started to laugh so hard you would think we had truly gone mad this time.  It was one of those moments in life when you evaluate all you are, all you have become and you realize that in actuality your not that smart and you might as well enjoy life because at least it will make a great blog post when you get home. And last but not least, by far the best thing about this whole experience is that I met my husband.  I’m not even lying. If he had proposed I would have said yes.  If Julie Virjee is reading this let her know that she can be expecting a save the date.  I am not kidding the man working the rental shop was not only the most attractive Czech man I have sever seen but he was just straight up the most attractive man I have ever seen.  All I know about him is that his name is John and when he comes home to meet the fam im gonna take him to a dodgers game because he loves baseball, which I just conveniently found a new found passion for myself.   The only bummer about this situation is that it’s going to look really suspicious when I show up the mountain every other weekend claiming the snow is just so good I couldn’t stay away and he starts to realize that either I have no idea what I am talking about or that I am stalking him. But ill keep you all informed on any updates.

So anyway that was my day. I think the only thing I left out is that we missed the train on the way back as well, but this time it was literally just pulling away as ignorantly and casually strolled up to the station.  So we spent the next two hours sitting on the icy cold tile floor in our soaked and below freezing clothing, eating our miseries away in totally undeserved calories. 

In my book it was a completely successful adventure and totally worth the story I got out of it. 

Time to put the 'study' back in Study Abroad

     Well yesterday marked the first day of class for me at the Anglo American University here in Prague.   Currently I am enrolled in European History 2, Art History 2, Czech Language and Culture, and Composition 2.  It is actually such a blessing not taking classes for credit because I can truly learn for the sake of learning and enroll in classes I have always wanted to take at USC but never been able to with my Public Relations major. On Tuesday I sat through my first European History lecture and learned that even with leaving school a week early and taking a week off for my birthday I will still be able to take all my midterms and finals and potential still pass the class… typical. I am also really excited for this class because my professor will focus on understanding the true nature of a European from the 1500s to present and from there be able to have an understanding of why things happened the way they did, not simply memorize what happened.

            I would have had class today but it was cancelled, which actually turned out to be a blessing because I woke up today completely bed ridden from Eve’s curse and therefore spent the day watching Little Women and answering e-mails.  J  And for those of you who know, those are truly some of my favorite pass times.

            I have still yet to find my ‘special place ‘ here in Prague but I am not worried, there is still so much to do and so much to explore.  But I will admit it is weird not having a million things to do and it is almost hard to maintain this state of relaxation for such a long period of time. I have decided I am going to make mini goals and have lists of things I want to accomplish during the week so I don’t end up wasting any time and getting the full experience I can.   What can I say, lists are just a part of me I cant ignore it. 

Example:  Before the end of this week

1)    Wednesday- Go to the State Opera house (I tried to last night and failed miserably)

2)    Thursday: class – seminar by Andy Steve’s (rick steves son!!) - Listen to famous Mozart concert at the National Museum

3)    Friday: local ski trip day

4)    Saturday: museum of Contemporary Art - National Ballet Theater at night

As you can tell this week has a more artsy feel to it.  Next week will be a little more sporty with a ice hockey game (shout out to Maddy!) and day trips hiking and climbing in the Czech Republic country side.  What a  life!

Love you all and please add ‘kristypyke’ to your skype contact list and stay signed in so I can message you if we happen to be on at the same time 

First Weekend in Prague

So its been a couple days since I’ve arrived and I’m finally starting to get on the Czech time schedule, which in Prague means you get up at noon, go out at midnight and come home by 5am. Now you would think I should be used to it being a college student of three years but I am actually quite horrible at it.  I’ve been so tired I’ve resorted to napping – but not just any nap, Im talking three hours long, Cassie Geibel style nap.

But anyway, down to business.  Day one: wake up at 6 am with complete jet lag. Decide to explore the neighborhood with my roommate and walk into a little market.  Now I had been told that “everyone in Prague speaks English” … so being the annoying and ignorant American that I am, I walk straight up to the woman and ask if the milk they have is non-fat.  That conversation didn’t go over well. I had to spend the next 5 minutes saying no to all of the items she haphazardly pointed at while trying to heroically interpret the origin of my question.  Bless her heart.  We then took a walking tour of downtown Prague with our CEA program, but only after being late because I absolutely had to have my coffee that turned out luke warm/to cold and a quarter filled since I apparently forgot to specify I wanted it hot and filled to the top.   Anyway, not bitter about that at all.  

The first stop was the quintessential public art attraction of Prague – one to define the very heart and soul of their culture – a fountain of men peeing at each other representing the relationship between the Czech republic and Slovakia. …Truly classic.  

But don’t let their humor fool you.  Czech people are stern, contemplative, and task oriented people. Don’t get in their way and definitely don’t smile without knowing full well that you are to receive one back.  But at the perchance that you run into a friendly, English speaking Prauvanka (our made up word for a Czech woman), make sure you utilize every minute with worthy questions. For example, is it simply socially unacceptable to ask people if you can pet their dog or is it that ‘dog’ is a bad word in Czech?  Or how do you say ‘I am a Canadian’ in Czech?

Moving on.

Sorry this is going to be a long one because it’s been a couple days.  So from here on out I am going to make a quick list of all the things we did and elaborate where necessary

1)    Tour of old town Prague and the main downtown castle

a.     Commentary: LEGITTTTTT

                                               i.     Turn to one side and it is this gold encrusted ancient cathedral will all the necessary gargoyles, hundreds of pointy tops, and gaudy stain glass windows.  Then look to the other side and it is the most spectacular view of all of downtown Prague.  Ya that’s right. This is my city. What now.

2)    First night out

a.     Pub downtown and random 80s club

                                               i.     Ps this particular pub is designed with under ground tunnels and secret passageways seemingly designed for the single purpose of tripping out newbies and girls in heels. But in all seriousness it is literally Harry Potter chamber of secrets – I kid you not- I would know, I watched the movie.

3)    Second day: sleep all-day, do a little shopping for the apartment, and go out again at night.  We went to this super touristy, 5-story club that will be solidified in my mind forever as the place where I got my first free drink in Prague, compliments of my new Belgium friends.

4)    Sunday morning- go to the International Church of Prague and meet some legit new friends.

a.     Alyssa- the most beautiful Russian woman I have ever met. I  kinda have a girl crush on this woman.  We are going to be besties.

b.     Angelo – not even exaggerating this man speaks so many languages that he actually doesn't know the exact number.  He is also the college pastor and might actually be mentally insane.  And he prays like a boss.

c.     Joe and Marshall- two guys who are actually students with me at AAU and also arrived a couple days ago.

5)    Super bowl

a.     We got the privilege of watching the game at 12:30pm, which meant there were literally three locations in all of Prague that actually showed the game.  So naturally my group shows up late and there is no room.  But instead of leaving we just become buddies with the owner and get hooked up with a private VIP room with couches, a giant big screen TV, and a sick sound system.   Got to love Prague!

Sorry this was so long… ill try to write more often.  But overall I have to say that I am truly in love with this place and might actually not come home. Sorry mom. 

PS- Today was gorgeous! I wore a long sleeve shirt and jeans.. no jacket.  all that worrying for nothing! (knock on wood!) 

just pray the weather stays this nice!!!!

love you all, 

kristy