Hey there,
So I didn't realize that I hadn't written in so long. Not that much exciting happened today. We still had our Czech Intensive course which went pretty well. That finished this week with a big test on thursday and I did really well so I'm pretty happy about that.
After the test on thursday we went to Radio Free Europe Free Liberty headquarters which was pretty cool to see. It was a program developed during the cold war era to bring fair and unbiased news to people in countries who don't have free media. Right now they're broadcasting in 20 countries in 28 languages. They have headquarters in each of the countries and employ locals so that they're really reporting what the people want to hear about and present both sides. Their purpose is to eventually go out of business when the individual nations' media is mature enough to survive on its own.
Sadly, this week wasn't all aced tests and cool tours. Wed I went for a big hike in this gorgeous national park but fell and hurt my hand and scratched myself up quite a bit. Then after studying for my test all night I found out that my Grandfather had passed away. To top it all off I got sick and possibly food poisoning. So these last few days have been less than wonderful.
I've been taking it easy which I think is probably for the best after three weeks of just going going going. It still sucks though. I'm feeling better minus stomach cramping today.
I'm going to go back to this anglican church that I found tomorrow and might be going to see the pope on monday. Classes start on Tuesday which is pretty exciting.
I'll check back in sometime soon,
Sam
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Prague Zoo!!
Hey everyone,
So yesterday we went to the Prague Zoo. It was pretty darn sweet.
The Czech's are apparently super stoked about birds for some reason lol. Like half the zoo was bird exhibits. There was a crow exhibit and one that had two bald eagles in it. Also there was a guinea pig exhibit and a water bug exhibit which was just a scummy pond with a sign about different types of water bugs lol. We only really saw like half of the zoo which is crazy and we were there for 4 hours.
The craziest exhibit was the bat exhibit. You go through the door and it's all dark and the bats were just flying around everywhere, there was no glass and one flew into my head. When you got to the actual exhibit there were bundles of fruit hanging from the ceiling and the bats were chomping all over it. Very odd.
We got the most delicious kielbasa there though, it was just a paper plate with three pieces of rye bread, the kielbasa, and a puddle of spicy mustard. So delicious.
After that Alex (my roommate) and I went to dinner with his parents. It was at this really fancy and expensive restaurant that we were way under dressed for.
Today I went and found a church that does services in English. It's an Anglican Episcopal Congregation but today was the anniversary of the agreement between them and the catholic congregation that owns the church allowing them to use the space so they did it half in Czech and half in English. It felt good to be there but also made me miss Common Ground and Sunday evening services.
Also, randomly these women came by handing out tickets to go and see the pope next monday. It's at a place about 30 min outside of Prague but the tickets are free so we might just have to go see about it.
Anyway, I have another wonderful week of intensive czech coming up so I need to go study.
Sam
So yesterday we went to the Prague Zoo. It was pretty darn sweet.
The Czech's are apparently super stoked about birds for some reason lol. Like half the zoo was bird exhibits. There was a crow exhibit and one that had two bald eagles in it. Also there was a guinea pig exhibit and a water bug exhibit which was just a scummy pond with a sign about different types of water bugs lol. We only really saw like half of the zoo which is crazy and we were there for 4 hours.
The craziest exhibit was the bat exhibit. You go through the door and it's all dark and the bats were just flying around everywhere, there was no glass and one flew into my head. When you got to the actual exhibit there were bundles of fruit hanging from the ceiling and the bats were chomping all over it. Very odd.
We got the most delicious kielbasa there though, it was just a paper plate with three pieces of rye bread, the kielbasa, and a puddle of spicy mustard. So delicious.
After that Alex (my roommate) and I went to dinner with his parents. It was at this really fancy and expensive restaurant that we were way under dressed for.
Today I went and found a church that does services in English. It's an Anglican Episcopal Congregation but today was the anniversary of the agreement between them and the catholic congregation that owns the church allowing them to use the space so they did it half in Czech and half in English. It felt good to be there but also made me miss Common Ground and Sunday evening services.
Also, randomly these women came by handing out tickets to go and see the pope next monday. It's at a place about 30 min outside of Prague but the tickets are free so we might just have to go see about it.
Anyway, I have another wonderful week of intensive czech coming up so I need to go study.
Sam
Saturday, September 19, 2009
First Weekend in Prague
Hey everyone,
So the last week has been pretty eventful. I've had the Czech intensive language course every day from 9 to 2 pretty much and it's been pretty...intense haha. But I'm picking it up pretty well and our teacher is pretty cool. We had a test yesterday but she let us use the book so I got 100% and she was all excited about it lol.
We don't actually do czech the whole time. She goes off on tangents and talks about politics, or animals (today we learned a sweet song about not petting the lions at the zoo of you'll get your fingers bitten off). And we also go on field trips just about every day. We went to a photo gallery about the velvet revolution in Old Town square, we went to a museum of modern art that was pretty awesome. We didn't have nearly enough time there though so we really want to go back sometime soon. Yesterday we went to see the church where the Czech under cover agents hid out and eventually died after killing Nazi SS commander Heinrich. It was pretty intense but really cool to see.
Last night we went to see the Czech Philharmonic orchestra. They played Beethoven's 6th Symphony and Dvorák's New World Symphony. It was incredible. I did feel bad though for the low brass because they barely played at all. After that we went wandering and a few people went back to get changed but I wanted to stay all fancy dressed so stayed with the group that was still wandering. We didn't find anywhere for them to eat so Amanda, Chris, and I went wandering through old town square and found this really cool underground restaurant and split a bottle of wine.
We then came back to the pub that's in our dorm (yes we have a pub in our dorm, be jealous) and had a few more glasses and a pizza. It was a lot of fun. Today we're off to the zoo and the wine festival in old town square.
Oh and oct 2nd - 4th I'll be in Stockholm! We did a spur of the moment trip and bought round trip tickets for $60!
Miss you all and na schledanou!
Sam
So the last week has been pretty eventful. I've had the Czech intensive language course every day from 9 to 2 pretty much and it's been pretty...intense haha. But I'm picking it up pretty well and our teacher is pretty cool. We had a test yesterday but she let us use the book so I got 100% and she was all excited about it lol.
We don't actually do czech the whole time. She goes off on tangents and talks about politics, or animals (today we learned a sweet song about not petting the lions at the zoo of you'll get your fingers bitten off). And we also go on field trips just about every day. We went to a photo gallery about the velvet revolution in Old Town square, we went to a museum of modern art that was pretty awesome. We didn't have nearly enough time there though so we really want to go back sometime soon. Yesterday we went to see the church where the Czech under cover agents hid out and eventually died after killing Nazi SS commander Heinrich. It was pretty intense but really cool to see.
Last night we went to see the Czech Philharmonic orchestra. They played Beethoven's 6th Symphony and Dvorák's New World Symphony. It was incredible. I did feel bad though for the low brass because they barely played at all. After that we went wandering and a few people went back to get changed but I wanted to stay all fancy dressed so stayed with the group that was still wandering. We didn't find anywhere for them to eat so Amanda, Chris, and I went wandering through old town square and found this really cool underground restaurant and split a bottle of wine.
We then came back to the pub that's in our dorm (yes we have a pub in our dorm, be jealous) and had a few more glasses and a pizza. It was a lot of fun. Today we're off to the zoo and the wine festival in old town square.
Oh and oct 2nd - 4th I'll be in Stockholm! We did a spur of the moment trip and bought round trip tickets for $60!
Miss you all and na schledanou!
Sam
Monday, September 14, 2009
Way Too Much Info
Dobrou Vecher (good afternoon) everyone,
So much has happened in the last week I barely know how I'm going to tell about all of it.
Last wednesday we has an epic day trip where we went to Kurtna Hora which is a city near Prague. First we went to Sternberk Castle and toured around there, I had to pay a dollar to take pictures but got a sweet photo pass sticker which is now on the back of my phone to tell it apart from all of the other phones that are the same. Then we toured around Kurtna Hora and had a tour of the silver mines which was sweet but a tight squeeze in some places. Finally we got to go to the bone church the highlight of the trip and what we had all been waiting for. It was so awesome. Pictures will be up on facebook as soon as I can manage.
Thursday was our day off. We went and got our student ID's and then I wandered around by myself for a while (I needed some alone time) and explored a mall that was near Wenceslas Square but didn't do much other than that.
This weekend we went to Brno which is the second largest city in the Czech Republic. It was really fun. We stopped at a bunch of Churches I don't remember the names of but they had epic pipe organs and we all decided that we need to try and find some organ concerts while we're here. We had a tour of a winery and had really good young wine which is a specialty of Moravia. Apparently it's still working so if you close up the bottle it explodes...very delicious.
We also did a tour of these epic caves part was a walking tour and part was a boat tour which was awesome.
Today was the first day of czech intensive language course. It was...as the name suggests pretty intense lol. My head was kind of spinning after it but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.
Right now I'm at the laundromat where I spent like $15 for two loads of laundry plus dryer so I def need to find a better way of doing that.
I'm really looking forward to taking it easy this week and getting into a bit of a rhythm. I'll let you know how that goes haha
So much has happened in the last week I barely know how I'm going to tell about all of it.
Last wednesday we has an epic day trip where we went to Kurtna Hora which is a city near Prague. First we went to Sternberk Castle and toured around there, I had to pay a dollar to take pictures but got a sweet photo pass sticker which is now on the back of my phone to tell it apart from all of the other phones that are the same. Then we toured around Kurtna Hora and had a tour of the silver mines which was sweet but a tight squeeze in some places. Finally we got to go to the bone church the highlight of the trip and what we had all been waiting for. It was so awesome. Pictures will be up on facebook as soon as I can manage.
Thursday was our day off. We went and got our student ID's and then I wandered around by myself for a while (I needed some alone time) and explored a mall that was near Wenceslas Square but didn't do much other than that.
This weekend we went to Brno which is the second largest city in the Czech Republic. It was really fun. We stopped at a bunch of Churches I don't remember the names of but they had epic pipe organs and we all decided that we need to try and find some organ concerts while we're here. We had a tour of a winery and had really good young wine which is a specialty of Moravia. Apparently it's still working so if you close up the bottle it explodes...very delicious.
We also did a tour of these epic caves part was a walking tour and part was a boat tour which was awesome.
Today was the first day of czech intensive language course. It was...as the name suggests pretty intense lol. My head was kind of spinning after it but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.
Right now I'm at the laundromat where I spent like $15 for two loads of laundry plus dryer so I def need to find a better way of doing that.
I'm really looking forward to taking it easy this week and getting into a bit of a rhythm. I'll let you know how that goes haha
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Orientation Week
Ahoy!
I might sound like a sailor but when you add a Czech accent to that you have a traditional form of greeting. The last few days have been quite fun. I’m starting to feel more like a student who is living here instead of a tourist.
I went to Vodafone today and got a super sweet tiny phone that is exactly the same as everyone else’s because it’s the cheapest prepaid one. You put money on it and then calls are something like 7 crowns a minute and texts are about a crown each. (one US dollar is the same as about 17 crowns).
Today we had orientation for ECES at the main building for Charles University. CU is different from most campuses because it’s spread throughout the city without one centralized location. Everything seems pretty straight forward though and I’m looking forward to actually being in classes and getting back on a routine.
Then in the afternoon we had a boat cruise on the Vltava River which was pretty awesome. We got to see beautiful buildings that we don’t know the names of and mingle with people from a different program from the one we’re on.
Last night we went to a classical guitar concert that was put on in a church near Old Town Square. It was really cool but the seats were quite uncomfortable…stupid catholics. It was a husband and wife duet and they were pretty bomb.
Yesterday we went to a former concentration camp in Teresin. It was really cool but quitey sobering. Tomorrow I’m going to the bone church which should be epic.
Dobrou Noc
Sam
I might sound like a sailor but when you add a Czech accent to that you have a traditional form of greeting. The last few days have been quite fun. I’m starting to feel more like a student who is living here instead of a tourist.
I went to Vodafone today and got a super sweet tiny phone that is exactly the same as everyone else’s because it’s the cheapest prepaid one. You put money on it and then calls are something like 7 crowns a minute and texts are about a crown each. (one US dollar is the same as about 17 crowns).
Today we had orientation for ECES at the main building for Charles University. CU is different from most campuses because it’s spread throughout the city without one centralized location. Everything seems pretty straight forward though and I’m looking forward to actually being in classes and getting back on a routine.
Then in the afternoon we had a boat cruise on the Vltava River which was pretty awesome. We got to see beautiful buildings that we don’t know the names of and mingle with people from a different program from the one we’re on.
Last night we went to a classical guitar concert that was put on in a church near Old Town Square. It was really cool but the seats were quite uncomfortable…stupid catholics. It was a husband and wife duet and they were pretty bomb.
Yesterday we went to a former concentration camp in Teresin. It was really cool but quitey sobering. Tomorrow I’m going to the bone church which should be epic.
Dobrou Noc
Sam
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Munich and First Day in Praha
Hey everyone! So this is my second blog that I’m writing and will hopefully upload everything tonight. I am in Prague and moved into my new dorm but the internet doesn’t work in our room and doesn’t like my computer apparently…sad day.
Anyway, we got a corner room and it’s pretty awesome and much bigger than the other rooms. Also our beds are foot to foot instead of right next to each other so there’s no awkward eye contact upon waking up…you know what I’m talking about Cass haha.
Munich was a ton of fun. We had a driving and then walking tour and then headed back to the hotel. Alex, Tom, and I found a great Kabob place and had dinner and Black Cat energy drinks haha. Then we went to the Haufbrau Haus which is a traditional German beer hall and each had a liter of beer. After that we wandered around for a bit and wound up in another pub and finally had a wonderful drunk walk back to our hotel.
Yesterday we bussed from Munich to Prague stopping in Plsen on the way to have lunch. We got to the hotel and unpacked and relaxed a bit. Then we went out to St. Wenceslas Square and had foot and a liter and a half of beer with dinner. We walked from there to the old town square and to the Charles Bridge. The metro closes around 12 so we asked a tram driver how to get back and he told us to get on and then a few stops later told us to get off and gave us a slip with what trams we were supposed to take…none of them came so we walked for a bit more and then I finally broke down and we got a taxi.
Today we went on a tour of Prague and saw some of the University buildings and administrative offices that we need and I got an alarm clock at the AIFS office!! We have a meeting nowish to go over some more stuff and I think we’re just going to be relaxing tonight.
Miss you all and hope to have regular internet access up soon so I can be in regular correspondence
Sam
Anyway, we got a corner room and it’s pretty awesome and much bigger than the other rooms. Also our beds are foot to foot instead of right next to each other so there’s no awkward eye contact upon waking up…you know what I’m talking about Cass haha.
Munich was a ton of fun. We had a driving and then walking tour and then headed back to the hotel. Alex, Tom, and I found a great Kabob place and had dinner and Black Cat energy drinks haha. Then we went to the Haufbrau Haus which is a traditional German beer hall and each had a liter of beer. After that we wandered around for a bit and wound up in another pub and finally had a wonderful drunk walk back to our hotel.
Yesterday we bussed from Munich to Prague stopping in Plsen on the way to have lunch. We got to the hotel and unpacked and relaxed a bit. Then we went out to St. Wenceslas Square and had foot and a liter and a half of beer with dinner. We walked from there to the old town square and to the Charles Bridge. The metro closes around 12 so we asked a tram driver how to get back and he told us to get on and then a few stops later told us to get off and gave us a slip with what trams we were supposed to take…none of them came so we walked for a bit more and then I finally broke down and we got a taxi.
Today we went on a tour of Prague and saw some of the University buildings and administrative offices that we need and I got an alarm clock at the AIFS office!! We have a meeting nowish to go over some more stuff and I think we’re just going to be relaxing tonight.
Miss you all and hope to have regular internet access up soon so I can be in regular correspondence
Sam
London Belated
ey everyone! So I’m writing this in my hotel room because the internet cafés around here close quite early and we’re pretty beat from wandering around London all day.
The flight was about 10 hours long but we each had a touch screen in the head rest of the seat in front of us that had a whole bunch of movies we could choose from. I slept a bit and watched Wolverine. We took a bus to the hotel but our rooms weren’t ready yet so we hit the pub (this being a little after noon). He had another beer in the hotel lobby before our rooms were finally ready.
That night we went to Piccadilly Circus to have dinner and it was raining so we got the true London experience.
Thursday we had a driving tour of London stopping for photo shoots at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey - Parliament, and Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Then we had lunch at a pub called The Wellington. After that we went to the National Museum in Trafalgar Square.
On one corner in Trafalgar Square the artwork rotates on a 100 day period. Right now it’s people who can sign up to stand on the column for one hour. The guy who was there today was dressed all in green nylon and had a tent set up. He brought out a blow up doll and went into the tent with it, then came out and started to fight with it. Finally he threw it into the crowd and took off all of his clothes and sat naked for a while before rolling off onto the safety netting and finally running around Trafalgar Square with a quite revealing bath robe on. He also had friends in the crowd that we got a picture with.
We went back to Saint Paul’s and went in and climbed up to the top where the view was spectacular.
Then we took the tube back to the apartment during rush hour. We were packed like sardines and someone had forgotten to wear deodorant….no bueno.
We leave for Munich tomorrow morning (by which I mean Friday since this will probably be posted late)at 5 AM….mega barf
Missing you all and hope you are well
Samwise
The flight was about 10 hours long but we each had a touch screen in the head rest of the seat in front of us that had a whole bunch of movies we could choose from. I slept a bit and watched Wolverine. We took a bus to the hotel but our rooms weren’t ready yet so we hit the pub (this being a little after noon). He had another beer in the hotel lobby before our rooms were finally ready.
That night we went to Piccadilly Circus to have dinner and it was raining so we got the true London experience.
Thursday we had a driving tour of London stopping for photo shoots at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey - Parliament, and Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Then we had lunch at a pub called The Wellington. After that we went to the National Museum in Trafalgar Square.
On one corner in Trafalgar Square the artwork rotates on a 100 day period. Right now it’s people who can sign up to stand on the column for one hour. The guy who was there today was dressed all in green nylon and had a tent set up. He brought out a blow up doll and went into the tent with it, then came out and started to fight with it. Finally he threw it into the crowd and took off all of his clothes and sat naked for a while before rolling off onto the safety netting and finally running around Trafalgar Square with a quite revealing bath robe on. He also had friends in the crowd that we got a picture with.
We went back to Saint Paul’s and went in and climbed up to the top where the view was spectacular.
Then we took the tube back to the apartment during rush hour. We were packed like sardines and someone had forgotten to wear deodorant….no bueno.
We leave for Munich tomorrow morning (by which I mean Friday since this will probably be posted late)at 5 AM….mega barf
Missing you all and hope you are well
Samwise
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Leaving On a Jet Plane
Hey everyone,
Just wanted you to know that I'm finally leaving!! My flight leaves at 4:55 this afternoon and I get into London at 11AM tomorrow. My next few days include London, Munich, and a bus to Prague and then orientation trips as well so I'll try to write as soon as I get a chance (which knowing my love of technology will probably be pretty soon but no promises)
Keep me in your prayers and I'll let you know what's going on!
Europe here I come,
Sam
Just wanted you to know that I'm finally leaving!! My flight leaves at 4:55 this afternoon and I get into London at 11AM tomorrow. My next few days include London, Munich, and a bus to Prague and then orientation trips as well so I'll try to write as soon as I get a chance (which knowing my love of technology will probably be pretty soon but no promises)
Keep me in your prayers and I'll let you know what's going on!
Europe here I come,
Sam
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