Hey everyone sorry for the drought, yet again.
The past few weeks have been a lot of fun. Went to Vienna with the program which was pretty awesome. Walked all around the city, went to Christmas markets, had delicious cheese infused sausage, went to the museum of natural history and much much more.
The next week my parents got here which was very exciting indeed. Since they had already been to Prague when we were here 3 years ago we skipped most of the super touristy stuff. We checked out another castle down on the Red Line of the metro which was sweet. I took them to all of the food stands that we like to frequent while drunk (I'm not sure if I'm going to make it without late night Gyros and Kielbasa next semester).
Then we traveled to Salzburg for the weekend. It was beautiful and the Bavarian Alps had snow at the peaks which was awesome to see. We went on the Sound of Music tour which is a really big thing for some people apparently. The tour guide told us about this one girl who was on the tour and just crying hysterically and when he came back to see what was wrong she told him that it was her live long dream to go on the tour because she had seen the Sound of Music twice a day, everyday since she was 5 and she was 19 at the time. Yikes...
We also did a salt mine and bavarian alps tour. The salt mine was really cool. We got to put on jumpsuits and ride in underground trains and go down slides and taste salt lol. One of the nights we visited an Augustinian monastery beer hall and got a little bit drunk which was fun. Sadly the Hotel Sacher has a dress code this time of year so we weren't allowed to have desert...bastards.
The train ride home was pretty uneventful. I started the trip riding by myself in a 6 person compartment and ended it with the compartment being completely full sitting across from a girl with a pet rat in cat cage. There was a nun, a few old guys, and a couple or two that were in between.
This week has been pretty average. I wrote two of my three papers and gave a presentation in one class so my workload is wrapping up pretty nicely. Went to a hockey game on monday night which was really exciting because we scored to send it into overtime with about one minute left. Sadly we lost in a sudden death shootout.
Can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. I am looking forward to getting back to the states but at the same time really don't want to leave yet.
I will be seeing all of you soon and I can't wait!
Sam
Friday, December 4, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Pierogi, Tequila, and Hockey
Hey everyone.
So another long time between posts where I need to update you on a lot that has gone on so bear with me.
Last weekend we went to Krakow, Poland with the whole AIFS group which was awesome. The bus ride was really long but I was able to sleep and relax which was nice (didn't do any of the homework that I brought on haha). We got into Krakow in the afternoon, and then went for a walk to the Old Town Square. Z showed us a traditional polish food place to go so we had dinner there. I split the meat and ruskie pierogi with Tom and they were delicious. After that we met up with some more people and went bar hopping. They have Zywiec on tap there which is one of my favorite beers. They also have this delicious apple juice and vodka drink that we need to figure out. We had some amazing gryos on the street and then called it an early night.
We got up early and went on a tour, had lunch at "the best gyros place in town" according to Z, and went on another tour. You can see all of my pictures on facebook. There's a lot of churches and sweet old buildings if you can imagine that. We went back to the hotel for a power nap and then I went with a completely different set of people back to the same restaurant. I got the same thing (only more Pierogi's this time) and then we got ice cream after. Everyone was pretty tired so they headed back but Amanda and I stayed and wandered around talking for a while which was really nice.
The next morning we had to get up early and went to Auschwitz. That was a really intense trip. I had been before so I knew what to expect but it still hit me really hard. It was also interesting because the weather was completely different. When I was there 3 years ago it was 105 degrees out. This time it was foggy and wet and really cold. Gave me a better all around understanding of what life was like year round. The worst part for me was the rows and rows of pictures on the walls in the exhibits. I did buy two books there which are really compelling but difficult.
this week has been pretty good. Classes on tuesday were pretty alright. We went to a center for children with learning disabilities for my educational psych class which was pretty sweet except that we had to take our midterm test but I think I did alright. Art and architecture class was soooo boring but the rest of wed was awesome.
Annie and a few of my friends have a class where they had an open mike midterm. Annie made a movie that I was in for like 5 seconds haha so I went with for moral support. Turns out there were like 3 other classes performing as well. The best thing I saw was a remix version of Kafka's "The Trial" rapped to the beat of the Fresh Prince Theme Song. These guys also remixed SNL's "I'm on a boat!" to be "I'm on a Tram". The final act was this girl who did a really cool and slightly creepy interpretive dance.
After that we went to the Tequila party put on by Erasmus which was a ton of fun. I got really drunk and danced the night away.
Yesterday I did a ton of laundry in my sink and then took my jeans and towels to the laundromat and started to work on my presentation for Social Cognition. I completely forgot that Alex had given me her ticket to the Sparta ice hockey game so I booked it back to the dorm to drop my stuff and met everyone there. It as really fun and kind of weird. Stadium beers only cost 30 koruna (about $2), they had cheerleaders (who were really bad), and girls in super skimpy outfits to sweep up ice in front of the goals during time outs. Sparta won which was awesome too.
Today I've just been hanging out, finished my presentation, and am going to go wander for a bit. I think we're going to the micro brewery and then to a dance club called Lucerna for 80's 90's dance party night.
Hope you have a great weekend!
So another long time between posts where I need to update you on a lot that has gone on so bear with me.
Last weekend we went to Krakow, Poland with the whole AIFS group which was awesome. The bus ride was really long but I was able to sleep and relax which was nice (didn't do any of the homework that I brought on haha). We got into Krakow in the afternoon, and then went for a walk to the Old Town Square. Z showed us a traditional polish food place to go so we had dinner there. I split the meat and ruskie pierogi with Tom and they were delicious. After that we met up with some more people and went bar hopping. They have Zywiec on tap there which is one of my favorite beers. They also have this delicious apple juice and vodka drink that we need to figure out. We had some amazing gryos on the street and then called it an early night.
We got up early and went on a tour, had lunch at "the best gyros place in town" according to Z, and went on another tour. You can see all of my pictures on facebook. There's a lot of churches and sweet old buildings if you can imagine that. We went back to the hotel for a power nap and then I went with a completely different set of people back to the same restaurant. I got the same thing (only more Pierogi's this time) and then we got ice cream after. Everyone was pretty tired so they headed back but Amanda and I stayed and wandered around talking for a while which was really nice.
The next morning we had to get up early and went to Auschwitz. That was a really intense trip. I had been before so I knew what to expect but it still hit me really hard. It was also interesting because the weather was completely different. When I was there 3 years ago it was 105 degrees out. This time it was foggy and wet and really cold. Gave me a better all around understanding of what life was like year round. The worst part for me was the rows and rows of pictures on the walls in the exhibits. I did buy two books there which are really compelling but difficult.
this week has been pretty good. Classes on tuesday were pretty alright. We went to a center for children with learning disabilities for my educational psych class which was pretty sweet except that we had to take our midterm test but I think I did alright. Art and architecture class was soooo boring but the rest of wed was awesome.
Annie and a few of my friends have a class where they had an open mike midterm. Annie made a movie that I was in for like 5 seconds haha so I went with for moral support. Turns out there were like 3 other classes performing as well. The best thing I saw was a remix version of Kafka's "The Trial" rapped to the beat of the Fresh Prince Theme Song. These guys also remixed SNL's "I'm on a boat!" to be "I'm on a Tram". The final act was this girl who did a really cool and slightly creepy interpretive dance.
After that we went to the Tequila party put on by Erasmus which was a ton of fun. I got really drunk and danced the night away.
Yesterday I did a ton of laundry in my sink and then took my jeans and towels to the laundromat and started to work on my presentation for Social Cognition. I completely forgot that Alex had given me her ticket to the Sparta ice hockey game so I booked it back to the dorm to drop my stuff and met everyone there. It as really fun and kind of weird. Stadium beers only cost 30 koruna (about $2), they had cheerleaders (who were really bad), and girls in super skimpy outfits to sweep up ice in front of the goals during time outs. Sparta won which was awesome too.
Today I've just been hanging out, finished my presentation, and am going to go wander for a bit. I think we're going to the micro brewery and then to a dance club called Lucerna for 80's 90's dance party night.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Halloween Weekend and Beyond
Hey everyone. Not sure if anyone is actually reading this but I'll just keep updating as if you are.
This weekend was awesome. My friend Melinda came to visit for the weekend. She got in Friday afternoon and we went on a walking tour of the city. It was really cold but super clear and gorgeous. She definitely agreed with me that I live in Disneyland. Sat we got up early and went to the castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Petron Hill (which is a really cool lookout tower on top of this hill), and the Franz Kafka museum. After that we came back and napped and then got ready for Halloween. We went to this really cool club where the European study abroad program (Erasmus) was throwing the "Bloody, Sexy Halloween Party". I wore my bed sheet as a toga and it was pretty awesome (though really cold afterwards). I kept getting stopped to take pictures with people and they all told me that it was an awesome costume.
Sunday we slept in quite late and then wandered a bit through old town and the lesser quearter. We went to an Organ, Violin, and Soprano concert which was really cool but really expensive. The soprano and violin were amazing but the pieces they chose for the organ to play solo definitely could have been better. After that we went to U Fleku for dinner (that's 3 times in the last two weeks).
This week has been pretty calm which is nice after such a busy weekend. Last night was really cool. We went to this pub where they have taps at the table and a computer screen where they keep track of how much you have had to drink. We discovered that there is also a mug washer that squirts water when you press it down but we were doing it without the mugs so the bartender came over and turned off our water haha. Kind of embarrassing. We made a bunch of friends too. We talked a bunch with the Czech students who were sitting next to us and then met people who live in our dorm while we were on the night tram. It was really cool.
Tomorrow we leave for Krakow but the trip was really poorly planned. We don't get there until 7 PM or so and then have to leave super early on Sun so we don't really get to do anything there. I really wish that we had taken a night bus like the other program but at least I've been there before. We're going to try and go to the salt mines on saturday because apparently there's an entire church carved out of salt underground. Hopefully that works out.
Until next time
This weekend was awesome. My friend Melinda came to visit for the weekend. She got in Friday afternoon and we went on a walking tour of the city. It was really cold but super clear and gorgeous. She definitely agreed with me that I live in Disneyland. Sat we got up early and went to the castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Petron Hill (which is a really cool lookout tower on top of this hill), and the Franz Kafka museum. After that we came back and napped and then got ready for Halloween. We went to this really cool club where the European study abroad program (Erasmus) was throwing the "Bloody, Sexy Halloween Party". I wore my bed sheet as a toga and it was pretty awesome (though really cold afterwards). I kept getting stopped to take pictures with people and they all told me that it was an awesome costume.
Sunday we slept in quite late and then wandered a bit through old town and the lesser quearter. We went to an Organ, Violin, and Soprano concert which was really cool but really expensive. The soprano and violin were amazing but the pieces they chose for the organ to play solo definitely could have been better. After that we went to U Fleku for dinner (that's 3 times in the last two weeks).
This week has been pretty calm which is nice after such a busy weekend. Last night was really cool. We went to this pub where they have taps at the table and a computer screen where they keep track of how much you have had to drink. We discovered that there is also a mug washer that squirts water when you press it down but we were doing it without the mugs so the bartender came over and turned off our water haha. Kind of embarrassing. We made a bunch of friends too. We talked a bunch with the Czech students who were sitting next to us and then met people who live in our dorm while we were on the night tram. It was really cool.
Tomorrow we leave for Krakow but the trip was really poorly planned. We don't get there until 7 PM or so and then have to leave super early on Sun so we don't really get to do anything there. I really wish that we had taken a night bus like the other program but at least I've been there before. We're going to try and go to the salt mines on saturday because apparently there's an entire church carved out of salt underground. Hopefully that works out.
Until next time
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
At the Laundromat Again
Well, here I am again folks. At the laundromat paying way too much to wash way too few clothes. I've learned though, I only brought what couldn't be washed by hand in my sink at the dorm i.e. my jeans, towels, and sweatshirt.
This past week and weekend were pretty uneventful. After getting back from Budapest I stoked up on groceries but they disappeared quite quickly what with the cooking frenzy I've been going through. I need to branch out though because I'm getting tired of the same meals over and over haha. Stupid hotplates. I wish I had more than you.
I finally made it to U Fleku (twice in one week actually) and had the famous black beer which was amazing. Last wednesday we also went to this awesome bar called the cross club where we are going back to tonight.
I spent most of the weekend just relaxing and hanging out. It was kind of lonely and I got a bit homesick but I'm doing much better now.
On sunday we went back to Kutna Hora where the bone church and St. Barbora's Cathedral are. It was a lot of fun but we spent way too much time and money at lunch. We had to powerwalk 30 min back across the whole town because the buses weren't running in order to get back to our train on time.
Last night I left class early to go on a night ghost tour of Prague. It was kind of lame but we made it fun by goofing around and being jerks haha. We want to go out, get drunk, and make a ghost hunters video sometime soon. I'll let you know if that ever happens. After that we went to this mexican food place that Samantha recommended and it was quite good. Not amazing but it quenched my burning desire for mexican a little bit. After that we chilled in the dorm and watched Moulin Rouge which was awesome. We're going to watch Young Frankenstein soon for halloween.
Melinda comes in two days!!! Hooray.
Naschle (shortened form of good bye)
This past week and weekend were pretty uneventful. After getting back from Budapest I stoked up on groceries but they disappeared quite quickly what with the cooking frenzy I've been going through. I need to branch out though because I'm getting tired of the same meals over and over haha. Stupid hotplates. I wish I had more than you.
I finally made it to U Fleku (twice in one week actually) and had the famous black beer which was amazing. Last wednesday we also went to this awesome bar called the cross club where we are going back to tonight.
I spent most of the weekend just relaxing and hanging out. It was kind of lonely and I got a bit homesick but I'm doing much better now.
On sunday we went back to Kutna Hora where the bone church and St. Barbora's Cathedral are. It was a lot of fun but we spent way too much time and money at lunch. We had to powerwalk 30 min back across the whole town because the buses weren't running in order to get back to our train on time.
Last night I left class early to go on a night ghost tour of Prague. It was kind of lame but we made it fun by goofing around and being jerks haha. We want to go out, get drunk, and make a ghost hunters video sometime soon. I'll let you know if that ever happens. After that we went to this mexican food place that Samantha recommended and it was quite good. Not amazing but it quenched my burning desire for mexican a little bit. After that we chilled in the dorm and watched Moulin Rouge which was awesome. We're going to watch Young Frankenstein soon for halloween.
Melinda comes in two days!!! Hooray.
Naschle (shortened form of good bye)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Buda Buda Buda Buda Buda Buda Pest
Hey everyone.
So this weekend I went to Budapest and it was a ton of fun. I was there for 4 days so you'll have to excuse me if I get some of the events jumbled...but then again you weren't there so how would you know haha.
We took the early bus on thursday and it was really cool because it was snowing for most of the trip. Too wet to actually stick but first snow in October is pretty exciting. It has since gotten warmer but not warm here. We got in, found our hostel, watched part of Twilight with the guy working at the hostel and made so much fun of it, wandered a bit and settled on a pizza place for a late lunch early dinner. We were the only ones in the place so when we paid the bartender gave us each a free shot of Grapa which is Italian vodka apparently. We walked around a bit and then went to a bar for drinks. On our way home we went to a Gyros place and had delicious gyros and baklava and then got free cups of turkish tea. Upon getting back to the hostel we made other guests mad by being too loud.
We slept in the next day and went to the market place for lunch. We finished watching Twilight while waiting for people staying in a different hostel and then went for a hike up this hill near the hostel to the citadel at the top. Then more people arrived from the group, we took a nap, went around the city and up to the castle and did a sweet photo shoot, came back and drank a bit in the hostel, and then went to a bath house. It was awesome! There were baths with all different temperatures of water, a steam room, and a hot room that went up to 158 F!
Saturday we got up early to try to go to parliament but it was sold out when we got there so we went for a walk, found a delicious place for brunch and I had an amazing club sandwich. We went to a museum and then wandered a bit more to a park where we played in the leaves. That evening we went to an underground labyrinth. It wasn't a real labyrinth but more a system of tunnels under the castle that was used as a bomb shelter during world war two. We were pretty beat from so much walking and the night before so we headed in early and watched Ice Age 3 with the lady working at the hostel.
Sunday we went to a cafe for breakfast, did some shopping, went to an island in the Danube and walked around for a bit and then headed back to catch our bus home.
Overall it was a really fun but pretty low key weekend. It was my third weekend in a row traveling (stockholm, netherlands, budapest) so I'm really looking forward to being in Prague for a bit. I bought a ton of groceries tonight and made myself a Philly cheese steak sandwich which was amazing and I'm really proud of how my cooking skills have improved since being here.
Hope you could follow my Budapestian adventures through all of the run on sentences and I'll be in touch again soon.
Sam
So this weekend I went to Budapest and it was a ton of fun. I was there for 4 days so you'll have to excuse me if I get some of the events jumbled...but then again you weren't there so how would you know haha.
We took the early bus on thursday and it was really cool because it was snowing for most of the trip. Too wet to actually stick but first snow in October is pretty exciting. It has since gotten warmer but not warm here. We got in, found our hostel, watched part of Twilight with the guy working at the hostel and made so much fun of it, wandered a bit and settled on a pizza place for a late lunch early dinner. We were the only ones in the place so when we paid the bartender gave us each a free shot of Grapa which is Italian vodka apparently. We walked around a bit and then went to a bar for drinks. On our way home we went to a Gyros place and had delicious gyros and baklava and then got free cups of turkish tea. Upon getting back to the hostel we made other guests mad by being too loud.
We slept in the next day and went to the market place for lunch. We finished watching Twilight while waiting for people staying in a different hostel and then went for a hike up this hill near the hostel to the citadel at the top. Then more people arrived from the group, we took a nap, went around the city and up to the castle and did a sweet photo shoot, came back and drank a bit in the hostel, and then went to a bath house. It was awesome! There were baths with all different temperatures of water, a steam room, and a hot room that went up to 158 F!
Saturday we got up early to try to go to parliament but it was sold out when we got there so we went for a walk, found a delicious place for brunch and I had an amazing club sandwich. We went to a museum and then wandered a bit more to a park where we played in the leaves. That evening we went to an underground labyrinth. It wasn't a real labyrinth but more a system of tunnels under the castle that was used as a bomb shelter during world war two. We were pretty beat from so much walking and the night before so we headed in early and watched Ice Age 3 with the lady working at the hostel.
Sunday we went to a cafe for breakfast, did some shopping, went to an island in the Danube and walked around for a bit and then headed back to catch our bus home.
Overall it was a really fun but pretty low key weekend. It was my third weekend in a row traveling (stockholm, netherlands, budapest) so I'm really looking forward to being in Prague for a bit. I bought a ton of groceries tonight and made myself a Philly cheese steak sandwich which was amazing and I'm really proud of how my cooking skills have improved since being here.
Hope you could follow my Budapestian adventures through all of the run on sentences and I'll be in touch again soon.
Sam
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Amsterdam Adventures
Hey there everyone. So I got back from my weekend in the Netherlands yesterday. It was pretty awesome but first about last week.
Nothing too exciting happened. I had my classes which were pretty alright. My educational psych class was a lot of fun because we played ice breaker and get to know you games the whole time. Thursday night Alex and I went around the dorm visiting different people, just wandering, and met Maggie who really wanted to go watch the Phillies game. So we went to an Australian bar near Old Town and got them to put the game on. I was surprised at how good that made me feel. I don't think I realized how much I would miss American sports while I was here.
Friday I got up at 330 to catch a tram and then a bus to the airport for my 6 AM flight. My first flight was late and arrived 5 min after my second flight started boarding so I had to book it through the Frankfurt Airport. I got there though and it all worked out.
Melinda met me and we took the train back to Utrecht where she took me on a biking tour of the city. Then we hopped on a train and went to the Hague which is about 40 min away. We wandered around, saw the Peace Palace, and went to the North Sea beach. It was cold and windy and overcast and just like home haha. We took our shoes off and walked in the sand and put them in the water. Then we walked the shoreline for a while and ate at this mexican food place that was a lot like Chevy's so that was great.
Saturday we did Amsterdam. We did the Van Gogh Museum, the Heineken Brewery which would have been cooler if I wasn't on antibiotics, the Anne Frank house which was really cool, a pancake house, and wandered through the red light district which was very weird to say the least. I kept thinking about what their stories were and what kind of mindset you would have to be in to be trying to sell yourself and seduce every man that walks by. Leave it to me to go into psych mode in the red light district.
Sunday we just hung out because Melinda has midterms this week. We did go for a bike ride into the woods to a pancake house there and I got an amazing one with bacon, ham, cheese, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and green beens all baked into it. Imagine a pancake so thin it's like a crepe and then they treat it like an omelet and you've got it. We got caught in an epic thunder and lightening storm while biking back which was awesome but we were soaked so we stayed in the rest of the night.
Yesterday was basically spent travelling and I've got class in a few so until next time!
Nothing too exciting happened. I had my classes which were pretty alright. My educational psych class was a lot of fun because we played ice breaker and get to know you games the whole time. Thursday night Alex and I went around the dorm visiting different people, just wandering, and met Maggie who really wanted to go watch the Phillies game. So we went to an Australian bar near Old Town and got them to put the game on. I was surprised at how good that made me feel. I don't think I realized how much I would miss American sports while I was here.
Friday I got up at 330 to catch a tram and then a bus to the airport for my 6 AM flight. My first flight was late and arrived 5 min after my second flight started boarding so I had to book it through the Frankfurt Airport. I got there though and it all worked out.
Melinda met me and we took the train back to Utrecht where she took me on a biking tour of the city. Then we hopped on a train and went to the Hague which is about 40 min away. We wandered around, saw the Peace Palace, and went to the North Sea beach. It was cold and windy and overcast and just like home haha. We took our shoes off and walked in the sand and put them in the water. Then we walked the shoreline for a while and ate at this mexican food place that was a lot like Chevy's so that was great.
Saturday we did Amsterdam. We did the Van Gogh Museum, the Heineken Brewery which would have been cooler if I wasn't on antibiotics, the Anne Frank house which was really cool, a pancake house, and wandered through the red light district which was very weird to say the least. I kept thinking about what their stories were and what kind of mindset you would have to be in to be trying to sell yourself and seduce every man that walks by. Leave it to me to go into psych mode in the red light district.
Sunday we just hung out because Melinda has midterms this week. We did go for a bike ride into the woods to a pancake house there and I got an amazing one with bacon, ham, cheese, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and green beens all baked into it. Imagine a pancake so thin it's like a crepe and then they treat it like an omelet and you've got it. We got caught in an epic thunder and lightening storm while biking back which was awesome but we were soaked so we stayed in the rest of the night.
Yesterday was basically spent travelling and I've got class in a few so until next time!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Stockholm
Hey there everyone.
So quite a bit has happened since my last post. We had our first week of real classes which was definitely a wake up call. You mean I'm not just here to go on awesome trips and explore this great city? I have to read and go to class and do homework and learn? I didn't sign up for that...oh wait.
Thankfully I think that I'm going to like my classes. My Language, Culture, and Social Cognition class is focusing a lot on theory of mind development (when a person realizes that other people have separate brains and therefore different thoughts and beliefs) which is a really interesting topic. My educational psych class seems alright but I've only had one class so far so it's tough to say. Finally I have a Czech Art and Architecture course where we do some learning but mainly go on field trips. I'm pretty jazzed about that. I was in a Czech language course but that gave me 8 hours of class on tuesdays and I wasn't about to do that. So now I just have three classes, each three hours long, two on tuesday and one on wed. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
This weekend we flew the ever exciting Ryanair to Stockholm. The flight was only $60 but flew us into an airport that was an hour and 10 minutes away from the actual city so we had to bus in. Sweden is beautiful and reminded me a lot of Minnesota oddly, guess that's why the Swedes are so comfortable there. We got to our hostel and then went and wandered around, found a delicious place for dinner and wound up in the Charlie Chaplin Karaoke and Dance Club. We danced a bit and sang Don't Stop Believin which was pretty epic.
We got up early the next day and set out about the city. We went to the Aquarium, and the Nobel Museum, wandered the docks, and wandered in general. It was very odd but we all felt really at home there. The city was very clean and manageable, the people were all beautiful and very friendly, and there was just a very comfortable atmosphere about the place.
It was really cold and rainy though in the afternoon so we chilled in the hostel and then went to dinner at this locals pub nearby and had the best meal ever. A gigantic Swedish meatball and mashed potatoes. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
We went to bed early because we had to catch the 5 AM bus to the airport. Our trip back was pretty uneventful and we just chilled the rest of the day.
Oh and last night we went to Swan Lake. It was awesome and I really enjoyed it. If I could be half as strong and flexible as some of those dancers I would be so stoked.
Well, I'm off to class so I will try to write again soon. Amsterdam this weekend!!!
So quite a bit has happened since my last post. We had our first week of real classes which was definitely a wake up call. You mean I'm not just here to go on awesome trips and explore this great city? I have to read and go to class and do homework and learn? I didn't sign up for that...oh wait.
Thankfully I think that I'm going to like my classes. My Language, Culture, and Social Cognition class is focusing a lot on theory of mind development (when a person realizes that other people have separate brains and therefore different thoughts and beliefs) which is a really interesting topic. My educational psych class seems alright but I've only had one class so far so it's tough to say. Finally I have a Czech Art and Architecture course where we do some learning but mainly go on field trips. I'm pretty jazzed about that. I was in a Czech language course but that gave me 8 hours of class on tuesdays and I wasn't about to do that. So now I just have three classes, each three hours long, two on tuesday and one on wed. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
This weekend we flew the ever exciting Ryanair to Stockholm. The flight was only $60 but flew us into an airport that was an hour and 10 minutes away from the actual city so we had to bus in. Sweden is beautiful and reminded me a lot of Minnesota oddly, guess that's why the Swedes are so comfortable there. We got to our hostel and then went and wandered around, found a delicious place for dinner and wound up in the Charlie Chaplin Karaoke and Dance Club. We danced a bit and sang Don't Stop Believin which was pretty epic.
We got up early the next day and set out about the city. We went to the Aquarium, and the Nobel Museum, wandered the docks, and wandered in general. It was very odd but we all felt really at home there. The city was very clean and manageable, the people were all beautiful and very friendly, and there was just a very comfortable atmosphere about the place.
It was really cold and rainy though in the afternoon so we chilled in the hostel and then went to dinner at this locals pub nearby and had the best meal ever. A gigantic Swedish meatball and mashed potatoes. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
We went to bed early because we had to catch the 5 AM bus to the airport. Our trip back was pretty uneventful and we just chilled the rest of the day.
Oh and last night we went to Swan Lake. It was awesome and I really enjoyed it. If I could be half as strong and flexible as some of those dancers I would be so stoked.
Well, I'm off to class so I will try to write again soon. Amsterdam this weekend!!!
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