Warsaw

There is so much to say, and I don't think I'll be able to accurately convey how great the past couple of weeks have been.

Swan Lake was such a gorgeous ballet and the opera house was just as beautiful. We ended up buying tickets for the opera, La Boheme, the next week. The glassblowing trip was also fun- we were able to make our own vases and watch the artists at work for a while.

Glassblowing

Classes flew by last week because I was so excited for our trip to Poland. Six of us left Thursday on a night bus from Prague and 12 hours later arrived in Warsaw. It was only 9 AM and we couldn't check into our hostel until 3 so we spent the first day wandering. We got doughnuts at a cafe on Nowy Swiat street, which, as multiple people told us while we were there, is the "most representative street of Warsaw." From there, we walked until we reached Old Town and then explored that area. Snow was coming down lightly all day and made Warsaw look even more beautiful. We couldn't go the whole first day in Poland without pierogi so we stopped in a restaurant to have some for lunch. By 5 or so we were exhausted- none of us had gotten much sleep on the bus ride there- so we headed to our hostel. I had made plans earlier to meet Peter's (my boyfriend's) cousins who live in Warsaw that night. Dominika, Zuza, and Filip, who are all around my age, picked us up from the hostel at 9 and took us to a cute bar/cafe on Nowy Swiat. We had a really great time with them, and they invited us to a party at their friend's house the next night. So after a few beers and a lot of good conversation, we headed back to Hostel Krokodyl for a short night's sleep.

Old Town

Our first stop the next day was Palace on the Water which is a wonderful park/palace complex with the friendliest wildlife you will ever meet. At one point, a squirrel was sitting so close to us and staring at us so we started to inch closer to take pictures. Then, the prettiest bird perched on a branch right next to us at eye level. We were distracted for a brief second by the bird when the squirrel took a flying leap on to my friend's thigh. We were not prepared for that, nor for the multiplicity of peacocks strolling around so closely to people. It was really quite strange. The palace itself was a romanesque building situated on a lake with bridges and outbuildings all around. I'd love to go back in the summer. After the park, we had lunch at another small cafe (more pierogi), and then went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The museum was extremely well put together, and just as depressing as you can imagine. There was a short 3D film that showed an aerial view of Warsaw after it was demolished in World War II. Over half of the population was wiped out, and the entire city center was destroyed. The amount of work put into rebuilding Warsaw is absolutely incredible.

Palace on the Water

Later that night, Peter's cousins picked us up again from the hostel and drove us to their friends house. The party was in the basement, which was actually a Lamaze studio that his parents owned. It was pretty strange to see pictures of babies everywhere and dance on a cushion floor surrounded by beanbag chairs and bouncy balls and shelves lined with baby dolls, but hilariously fitting in comparison to all the other odd things that happened during this trip (i.e. Snow White-esque wildlife experience). All of our new friends at the party welcomed us with Polish vodka shots and the rest of the night was filled with dancing and lively conversation. And not American club style dancing, but Samba ballroom style. Everyone knew how to dance and everyone was amazing at it. It was one of the best nights I have had in the past month abroad.

We were so sad to leave Warsaw the next day. Everyone we had met in the city had been so kind to us- the waiters, strangers on the street, everyone at the party. It was a huge contrast to the way people seem in Prague. We visited the Wilanow Palace on Sunday, which is known as the Polish Versailles. Then we headed to catch the Polskibus back to Prague.

One last story to complete the trip:
The bus had no bathroom, so it would stop every 3 or 4 hours for a break. The first stop on the way home however, 4 hours in, had no bathroom. So everyone is filing off the bus, scattering to corners of this truck stop parking lot at midnight, and everyone knows what everyone else is doing. (Why would a bus with no bathroom stop at a rest stop with no bathroom??!) I find a dark place behind a semi with 2 of my friends, and a Polish woman comes around the truck, looks at us, we look back awkwardly, and she says, "Ok, I will join." And that was that, she squatted down right next to me and we all finished and never saw each other again.

Until next time, Poland.

Svaty Jan Pod Skalou and Moravia

Well, I've finished my intensive Czech course and some crazy part of me decided today to sign up for the semester long one. I've also started my Experiments in Czech Film class and Modern European History. This week I'll start Developing Intercultural Competence and Alternative Culture. The first day of film class we watched a surrealist movie called "Conspirators of Pleasure." It was very unsettling and discontenting but there is a lot of genius behind it. I'm excited to read more about the New Wave in Czech cinema. Today we watched a Czech Western so that was interesting.

People here seem stoic. They rarely smile. You can tell who is a foreigner on the metro by who is laughing or talking with friends. Both my Czech language teacher and my History teacher mentioned that Czechs typically have a rather pessimistic view on life. When things are going well, they are waiting for the other foot to drop. This may be because of their history with empires and occupations. I think it's fascinating but it is very strange to be in the middle of.

On Saturday, January 28th, USAC planned a trip for us to the small Czech village of Svaty Jan Pod Skalou which means St. John Under the Rock. It was about a 40 minute train ride to a deserted looking town. From the train station we hiked four miles to a corner of the village with a church honoring a saint who lived in a cave during the 9th century. There is a small door from inside the church which leads to the cave where you can go in and see where he supposedly made his home. Next to the church is a small mountain with a cross on the top and because it seems that in Europe it's customary to climb to the the tops of things, we climbed it in 10 degree weather. The view was worth the hike and the cold. We sat at the top for a while then headed back down and four miles back to the train station.

Church of St. John the Baptist with Mountain we climbed in background

Svaty Jan Pod Skalou

Last week consisted mostly of Czech language class and more orienting myself around the city and of course more fried cheese sandwiches. The 15 of us who were still stuck in the hotel finally moved into our apartments last Sunday as well, so it's been nice to have a place to unpack and call home. There are 6 of us living in a roomy 3 bedroom apartment. It's homy and I'm getting used to it.

This weekend, 20 of us went on another USAC planned trip to Moravia for wine tasting. The Western 2/3 of the Czech Republic make up Bohemia, where beer is the drink of choice, and the Eastern 1/3 is a region called Moravia, which is where Czech wine is made. We stopped in a couple small towns on the way. In Mikulov, we hiked up another hill called the Way of the Cross trail. It had statues representing the stations of the cross spread out along the way and a beautiful church at the top. At another stop, we spent about an hour on a frozen lake in some gardens. I've never seen such a large body of water completely frozen so I had fun but I was the coldest I've ever been in my life. After that we finally reached our destination and spent the rest of the night tasting wines. A family owned winery had unlimited food and wine for us until 2 am and then we walked to our hostel nearby.

Overlooking Mikulov

Church at the top of the Way of the Cross trail

Frozen lake we walked across

Sunday we attempted to find a local bar broadcasting the Super Bowl (which didn't start until 12:30 AM here) but after 20 or 30 minutes of searching for a certain one, we were too cold to continue looking and resorted to a Hooters that happened to be around the corner. I was fairly disappointed to be eating at a Hooters in Prague, but I had good wings and good company so I made the best of it. Plus Madonna rocked it and we got fried cheese afterwards so it's all fine. Today was the start of our real class schedule and I couldn't be happier.

Tomorrow I am seeing Swan Lake at the opera house. And this weekend we are taking a trip to a glassblowing factory where we'll get to make our own vase. And the weekend after that is Warsaw!

Some Pictures

Birthing Center // Snowy Day

Market in Old Town

Train Station in Czech Countryside

Prague Castle

Accomplishments

When I got here, I could only place myself by what I could see around me. When we’d first walk places, I didn’t know which direction we were heading or what we would see next. But now, the map of Prague in my mind is expanding. Now I can stand on my street corner and know that if I walk ten minutes North I will reach Old Town Square, and if I head South, I’ll find my school. And if I get on the number 24 tram heading West, I’ll arrive at Wenceslas Square in about 7 minutes. I imagine it like in Coraline, when she walks around the entire world as it unfolds in front of her only to end up back at her house. This corner of the planet is beginning to unfold around me, becoming smaller and more managable.

            Every thing you do in a new place is a task. Learning the public transportation system, finding a place to buy towels, buying a phone and prepaid plan, ordering off of a menu, searching for a post office. I feel so accomplished anytime I figure out something new. And usually, trying to figure things out leads to discoveries. Lauren and I were trying to find a store near Old Town the other night and emerged out of a metro stop to a stunning view of Prague Castle along the river. It is the most beautiful piece of this city I’ve seen yet and it feels good to have found it accidentally. And after three days of my Czech language class, I can now successfully ask people for directions and respond to pleasantries instead of staring at them blankly. While walking down the street today I could pick out bits and pieces of conversations and advertisements. Nothing I could make any sense of but it’s a start. At least I can tell people “Sorry, I don’t understand,” and ask them if they speak English now.

            More exciting news: my weekends are filing up quickly with trips! My friends and I are dedicating this weekend to exploring and sightseeing in Prague. Taking a tour of Prague Castle and visiting some museums are on the top of my list. The weekend after that is a group wine tasting trip to Moravia planned by the school. The next Friday we will be visiting a glass blowing factory where we get to make our own art. And I’ve booked a trip to Warsaw for the weekend after that. In the works are trips to Belgium, Dresden, Krakow, Greece, and Istanbul. I am meeting my parents in Amsterdam and visiting Bruges and Brussels with them in March. And I’m hoping to also make a quick trip to Rome to see my friends studying there. I’m still having a hard time imagining being away from people back home for four months, but seeing my calendar fill up is keeping my spirits high.

            This has been a fairly positive post so I want to go ahead and ruin that by complaining about the coffee situation. We were hoping to pass a coffee shop on the way to school on our first day that we would be able to frequent in the mornings. When we didn’t see one, we asked our Resident Director if he knew of any. He informed us that coffee is not a big thing here, and people do not typically gather or hang out in cafes. Espresso is popular, but drinking a 24 oz. coffee is not. This is devastating. Beer is, as you may have guessed, the most popular drink here, and usually the cheapest. This may be good for my caffeine addiction but I’m not sure it will be for anything else. I am not complaining about the availability and price of beer, but I will definitely appreciate giant coffees and polar pops and cheap water more when I get home.

            

I am about to meet friends and check out a Jazz bar off of Wenceslas square, so that's all for now. Nashledanou! 

Rough Night

I know I wrote a short blog post earlier today but seeing as I can't sleep and I'm feeling quite overwhelmed from the rest of my day, I thought I'd vent by writing another. It's been a rough night. After we arrived, I showered and took a quick nap, only to awake to find a whole slew of tiny black bugs crawling around under my pillow and blankets. I asked the front desk if they could switch my room; they said they wouldn't be able to until tomorrow morning but they'd change the sheets for me. Then I met the rest of the group for dinner. We walked through Old Town square and lots of small side streets lined with shops and cafes. The spires of Prague Castle were lit up yellow against the dark sky. We ate at a nondescript cafe/bar in the corner of a walkway off of the square. They had a buffet style dinner set up for us payed for by USAC. After dinner, the staff led us on another short walk to Wenceslas Square, a center for shopping and nightlife. The activities director of our program offered to show whoever was interested to a 90's disco bar. Most people opted out, everyone was so tired from the trip. I took note of where it was though so I could check it out another time. We all split up and wondered around on their own, finding pubs or food. Lauren and I ventured back to the apartments to find a local pub around home. We succeeded (in both finding our way home on the tram and finding a bar), and local it was. Everyone stopped mid conversation and stared at us when we walked in. We tried to order a couple of beers but the bartender didn't speak any English. A man standing at the bar heard us and had to help because he was the only person who spoke English. I couldn't help feeling like they were mocking us the whole time. The crowd was a little intimidating but we felt accomplished. Upon my return to the hotel, I found more bedbugs after the sheet change. So I packed a bag of stuff and headed to Lauren's apartment down the street to sleep on her futon for the night, or maybe the next few, depending on when they can get me a new room. I'm sitting in her room now and I've already tried to fall asleep once. It's about 3 am here and I should be much more tired than I am. But my mind is racing and I can't turn it off. Thinking back four months ago until now and then thinking about spending that same amount of time in this strange place is really making my stomach and throat hurt. I hope this gets easier. I'm sure once I move into my apartment and hopefully get out of any bug infested beds I'll be more comfortable.

Czeching In!

Ahoj (this means "Hello" in Prague so naturally whenever someone says it I feel the urge to reply in a pirate voice and add "matey" to the end). Also, don't worry, I promise I only have a few more Czech/check puns to use then I will stop.

Thursday night I had a nice dinner at Morton's Steakhouse with Mom, Matt, and Peter. Friday, we headed to Tavern on Rush for a good brunch before Mom and Matt dropped me off at O'Hare. As nervous as I am right now, I feel so lucky and so happy.

My flights went smoothly after a two hour delay on the runway in Chicago. Flying in the snow storm made me a little uneasy at first but it was peaceful and beautifully eerie to be above those heavy, dark clouds. The fog was so thick landing in Frankfurt that I couldn't see anything until just moments before we hit the ground. Once in Frankfurt, our small group from Chicago met up with a lot of the other students in our program and caught a connecting flight to Prague. We met our Resident Director there and took a bus to our apartments. As punishment for being one of the last kids to sign up, I was placed in an apartment further away from the others and the school and for the first couple of nights will be in a hotel nearby. I'd be a lot less bitter about this had I packed less; I'm really regretting the amount of luggage I brought.

It is snowing in Prague, and driving over the Vlatava River on our way into Old Town made me so excited to explore my new city.

Fare Thee Well and Forget Me Not

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the biggest adventure of my life to date. Until now, studying abroad for four months has been an exciting and distant thought. But it has fast approached and the past few days of saying goodbye's, or rather, see you later's, have been harder than expected. The friends I've made in Chicago over the past year and a half are some of the greatest people I've ever met. And my friends and family at home have been the best support system I could ask for. This trip has already made me more grateful for the people in my life and I haven't even left the country yet. As much as I know I will miss everyone, I can't wait to meet the people I'll be living and traveling and studying with in Prague. I am excited to open myself up to every adventure and experience waiting there.

My flight doesn't leave Chicago until Friday morning, but tomorrow I'll head up with my mom and stepdad to meet my boyfriend for a nice dinner and then stay in a hotel near O'Hare. I'll fly to Frankfurt and from there transfer to Prague, the Mistress of Bohemia. And from there, adventure awaits.

I will conclude this post with two beautiful poems by Czech writer, Rainer Maria Rilke. The first, important because I know my heart will grow used to its farthest spaces in the perfect terror of the unknown and because I know that is the only way to grow. 

Ignorant Before the Heavens of My Life

Ignorant before the heavens of my life, I stand and gaze in wonder. Oh the vastness of the stars. Their rising and descent. How still. As if I didn't exist. Do I have any share in this? Have I somehow dispensed with their pure effect? Does my blood's ebb and flow change with their changes? Let me put aside every desire, every relationship except this one, so that my heart grows used to its farthest spaces. Better that it live fully aware, in the terror of its stars, than as if protected, soothed by what is near.  The second, an inspiration to overcome anything in the way of wonder. As Once the Winged Energy of Delight As once the winged energy of delight carried you over childhood's dark abysses, now beyond your own life build the great arch of unimagined bridges. Wonders happen if we can succeed in passing through the harshest danger; but only in a bright and purely granted achievement can we realize the wonder. To work with Things in the indescribable relationship is not too hard for us; the pattern grows more intricate and subtle, and being swept along is not enough. Take your practiced powers and stretch them out until they span the chasm between two contradictions... For the god wants to know himself in you. dobrou noc!