plane for Prague. I was trying to keep the panic at bay the whole plane
ride. Here I was, headed to a country by myself, where I know no one and
can't speak the language. By the time we landed, I had worried myself to
pieces.
I had written down the address of the penzione on a piece of
paper in Dublin, so after retrieving the monsters that pretended to be
my suitcases and going through customs, I headed out the door to find
the CEDAZ minibus driver. I gave him my address and got on the bus.
After the terrifying bus ride [the streets are VERY
narrow and people park on both sides], I arrived safely at the penzione.
After dragging my suitcases [which apparently were packed by Imelda
Marcos...or...ahem...me] up the stairs to reception, I got my room key
and went searching for my room.
Ok...I know that living spaces aren't roomy in Europe, and
that's fine...except when you have to pack for three months. I got to
the room and realized that there is nowhere to put my stuff. No drawers,
no shelves, only a stand up closet with no hangers. Excellent. I dump my
suitcases on the floor and sit on the [rather hard] bed.
'Awesome', I thought.
A few minutes into unpacking, I heard something that made me
come out of my reverie. English! I poke my head out the door and see two
girls struggling to drag a mountain of luggage into their room down the
hall. They said hello and I asked them if they were with State.
They were! They had just gotten in from three weeks of traveling
throughout Europe before the program with four other people from State.
They were about to go out to dinner with the State professor and asked
me if I wanted to come!
We went to a local restaurant and got some Czech food. I got
something with chicken...it was pretty good, but there was a lot of it!
After, we went to a bar really close to the penzione to hang out.
We met the craziest people who wanted us to do improv with them. We did
a rousing rendition of 'Sweet Home Alabama' or something like that with
blow-up guitars and funny costumes. They loved it! They invited us to a
club the next night [tonight] for an open mic night.
The professor, Art, decided that we needed to do this, so we are meeting
in an hour to rehearse. You know that's right up my alley...I was put
in charge of vocals.
This morning we met in the lobby to go out to breakfast... in
the penzione, they serve a continental breakfast that [so they tell me]
gets a little old after a while. We went to Bohemia Bagel, right off of
the Old Town Square. They have the only American breakfast in
Prague...Art said that we would be grateful for it soon.
After breakfast/lunch, we all went to Tesco, the Czech version
of Target. I needed toiletries and such, so I was eager to go. Reading
the Dove bottles in Czech was challenging, but I think I got the right
stuff. And I got a hair straightener. I was pretty pumped about
that...don't laugh, we all have our priorities. I am not going for three
months with bad hair.
I left with another girl to go back to the penzione. We got on
the Metro and proceeded to get hopelessly lost. We took the wrong train,
and when we finally got out on the stop, we got lost in the streets.
In our defense, it was our first day in Prague and we didn't have a map
yet. We eventually made our way back to the penzione.
I just got back from the grocery store which is right around the
corner and now I am in a cafe [drinking a Coke Light, of course] that
has free wifi a block from the penzione.
Have I not mentioned how beautiful Prague is? It is pretty
rocking.
Even from the [horrifying] minibus at night, I could see the city. I saw
the State Theatre and Old Town Square today. Everything is so old and
nothing has been torn down since 900. I haven't toured any yet, but I
will soon. We don't have classes on Fridays [yesssssssss], so I can tour
then.
I am having a great time and meeting fun people. It is going to
be an amazing semster!
I'll write tomorrow and tell you about our performance
tonight...hahaha!
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