Some more pictures!!!

Ok, so I think I am all updated on photos now. Well, it's as updated as it's going to get anyway. There is a lot to choose from , so I might make another post just so there aren't like 40 pictures in this post :) These photos are from the weekend that we spent in Moravia, which I have already talked a lot about. So, if you want a refresher, just look back at the post from that. It saves me from having to write it all out again. Again, if you have any requests, let me know! I added a couple of the ones that I think are kinda funny too!

1) These are cushions from the Gregor Mendel museum...they didn't really have a purpose, they were just supposed to show something about genes....I know, I don't know why they belong in a museum either

2) St. Barbara Church in the town of Adamov, which contains the altar in picture 3. I like how all of the churches in this country are very nondescript on the outside, and on the inside they contain all sorts of treasures. Life lesson right there.

3) Wooden Gothic atlarpiece, called the Zwetti Altar. It is very famous, however I was in line for the bathroom for most of the information session, which was kinda a bummer.

4) First, note the deer on top of the stone pillar thing. Second, note the position of the deer. Third, wonder how in the world the deer got that way. Fourth, join me in laughter...because it is flat out ridiculous!

5) Some friends and I about to board some boats for the continuation of our cave tour. It was pretty sweet!

6) Looking up at an opening in the caves. We are several hundred feet below the opening. It was snowing into the opening, and there is a lake below us at the bottom. It was sooo gorgeous.

7) A cool cave feature.

8) A stalagtite called the "needle." Bet you can't guess why.

9) Me...in the cave.

10) I added this picture by mistake. It is a picture of a marble, that is supposed to look like a pea, in the Gregor Mendel museum.

11) Carly and I in front of the largest barrel of wine in the world that is still used today. It was probably 12 feet tall.

12) Row of barrels full of wine.

13) Storehouse of wine. Some of it was going to be auctioned...but they didn't have anything older than 1970 stored there.

14) Ok, there is a legend in the Czech Republic, that if you leave a coin at a place that you visit, you will return someday. That is why there are so many coins on the wall of this wine cellar. I am pointing at the one that I added.

15) The restaurant associated with the wine cellar was called the Templar Order...this guy was decoration...it really felt like I was in the 13th century.

16) This "sculpture" has a funny story behind it. If you notice, the middle spire is bent at the top. They say that the guy who was working on the sculpture didn't get paid on time, and so he messed up the sculpture on purpose in order to get back at his employers.

17) Downtown Brno.

18) Memorial of Peace on Prace Hill.

19) "Gate to Heaven." Local cloister in Tisnov.

20) Different angle of the cloister in Tisnov.

Second try

So, this post was supposed to go with the random one-liner below, but I accidentally hit enter before I wrote anything. I tend to do that a lot. Anyway, it is Tuesday night, and I am doing some laundry, so I have got some free time on my hands in between loads. Actually, since I am doing laundry, let me mention a couple of things about the laundry here. First, there are only three washing machines in the whole dorm...and this dorm is huge! Second, you can only do your laundry when you have the laundry key, so basically it is hit or miss at the front desk when you ask if the laundry key is available. The first time I tried to do laundry, it took me three full days of checking every half an hour in order to get the key. And that is no exaggeration. Third, they have no dryers. Everything has to be line-dried. Which mean that for 36 hours, you literally cannot see the surface of any piece of furniture in my very small room, and the room consequently smells like wet, clean clothes. It is also a little weird to have my underwear and bras and stuff just lying around the room for a day and a half. I took some pictures of the laundry room tonight so that I can post them later and show you just how tragic their laundry situation is.

Anyway, classes officially started yesterday. The way my schedule looks this semester is a bit unusual, at least I think so. I am taking five classes technically. However, the Czech language course (which counts for three credits) is already completed, so really I am only taking four. However, I am still not sure that I will be able to attend all four. I am first on the waiting list for one class, and second on the other. I have emailed both of the professors for these classes and asked them to add me to their roster, as I really need these classes for their transfer credits. One teacher has all but added me to the class, and the other is optimistic, yet won't give me a definite spot in her class just yet. So, I have one class that is still pretty up in the air. Supposing though that I get all the classes I want, my schedule will be pretty great I think. I have only one class a day, Monday - Thursday. So, each of my classes only meets once a week, and they are all on a different day. Also, my earliest class is at 10 am, and the next earliest is 12:15 p.m. So, I am pretty happy about the amount of sleep I am getting. The only bummer is that the classes (since they only meet once a week) have to compensate by being the length of two regular classes. So the classes are at least three hours long. We get small breaks throughout the class time, but it is still a long time to keep your mind involved in the activity at hand. Good news is that I really like the two classes I have already been too. They are both psychology classes, and the topics we have already talked about seem really interesting. So, as look as I can stay engaged, I think that I will really enjoy these classes.

I went to Home group again tonight, and I made a new friend. His name is Matt, and he is from Australia (his accent is so AWESOME). He has been in the Czech Republic now for five years, doing different types of mission work I believe (although I am not a hundred percent sure). However, he is getting married soon, so he is trying to make his life here a bit more permanent. He lives like a block away from my dorm too. I don't know if that will come in handy or not, but it is good to know. I am really liking home group, because the people there really challenge me to live out my faith more. Like I have already said, a lot of people with this church are in missions and are only in Prague for a year maybe two. They spend their time doing outreach, and they encourage me to do the same. It was a really good decision to go that first week. I hope that the relationships there continue to flourish, and that I can grow deeper in my walk with the help of these Christians abroad :)

First week of classes!

Now for the Weekend

Ok, here is Friday, Saturday, and today:

Friday: Ok, so we had our Czech final on Thursday, but we still had to go to class the next day. So after only 4 hours of sleep, I dragged myself out of bed and went to class. However, our teacher had made plans for us to take a tour of the Jewish Quarter, which happens to be right near our school. We saw several old Jewish synagogues, including the oldest synagogue in the world that is still in use today. It was built around the middle of the 13th century, and the main hall is the only existing medieval-type hall of its kind. It is a traditional synagogue, and it still abides by the rules of medieval times. We also walked through the Old Jewish Cemetery. It was established in the first half of the 15th century. Today, the cemetery contains almost 12,000 tombstones, although the number of persons buried there is much greater. I will post pictures of the cemetery in another entry, but I will say that for some reason this cemetery was particularly sobering. Whether it was because original tombstones from the 16th and 17th centuries are still there, or because the tombstones are so crowded together that you can't walk anywhere except for where they have prepared a path. Also, a lot of the people buried in the cemetery were buried there specifically because they were Jews. During the World Wars, the Jews were essentially quarantined in a lot of Czechoslovakia, and could only have been buried in a "Jewish" cemetery. It was really sad to think about this as you walk past the graves where, because of lack of space, people are literally buried on top of each other. After our class tours were over, I went to the post office and picked up a package from my mom. She sent me some cords that I needed, as well as a Valentine's Day card and some candy. THANKS MOM! It was a good feeling. After that, it was time for a nap and a shower, because that night I was going to a club called Lucerna. No joke, but they only play American music from the 80's and 90's. It was awesome!! And the Czech people love it! When "The Macarena" came on and all the Czech people started doing the motions, I was like, "This is officially my favorite country EVER!" I wish American clubs were this cool...they just play stupid rap songs...ugh! But, it was another late night as a result. I ended up leaving early, around 1:30 a.m., because I was just flat out tired. I discovered that one "fun" night a week is pretty much all I can handle, and after that I need like a whole day of sleep to recuperate. But the music at the club was so awesome...I will probably go back there for sure.

Saturday: Since I didn't go to bed till like 3 a.m. on Friday, I slept till 2 p.m. on Saturday. I really need to like shift my hours back so that I go to bed by midnight and get up by noon. I think in the long run it would be beneficial. But anyway, I did some souvenir shopping for the family and some folks back home. Ended up spending way to much money...seriously, a lot more than I intended, but I think in the end it won't matter cause I'm only in Prague for four months, and who knows if I will ever come back here. Might as well make the gifts and the souvenirs count. The weather was nice, so I got to take some pictures around Prague. Overall, it was a very successful outing. Then I came back to the room and got ready to go with some friends to the movies. We went to see Wolfman...and it was terrible. I can just hear my Dad saying, "Well I could have told you it would be." I knew going into it though that it would be pretty bad, but let me tell you something...the theater that we went to...AMAZING! It is officially the most awesome theater that I have ever been too, including the IMAX. We paid about $7 for our tickets, and it was totally worth it. The screen was, no joke, at least three times bigger than anything back home. There was a ridiculous amount of leg room on every row, and the floors weren't sticky at all! The chairs were cushy, and were positioned at a slight angle so that you wouldn't have to tilt your head very much to watch the movie. The Czech Republic totally beats America in entertainment standards. The movie was in English too! I'm taking anyone that comes to visit to this theater...it should be on all of the "must see" pamphlets for Prague. Pretty laid back day all in all. I got to explore a good bit of Prague on my own, and then go see an American movie in a phenomenal theater. I actually had a really great time.

Sunday: Today, I pretty much did nothing besides go to church. I woke up late, ate some breakfast, watched some cartoons online (yes...cartoons), and then went to church. It was good. We had some good worship, followed by a rather unorthodox service. Not really sure how I feel about it actually. The pastor gave an introduction to the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, and then opened the floor for discussion. Nothing I heard was blatantly unbiblical or anything, but I just didn't feel like I was taught anything about the chapter. I heard what other people thought the chapter was about, but I didn't hear what the chapter was actually about, if you know what I mean. In fact, everything I have participated in at this church has been very discussion oriented. Like I said earlier, there is nothing wrong with that, but it is just different from what I expect church to be like. I guess I will have to find another way to learn this semester. Their worship is great though, and that has always been my favorite part. I got back to my room several hours ago, and have just been chillin' ever since. Classes start tomorrow for the semester, and I am actually pretty excited about them. However, I haven't actually been accepted into the class that I am going to tomorrow. I am second on the waiting list for the class, but it is one of the classes that will actually apply to my Psychology minor, so I am really hoping that I can get into it. I am going to the class tomorrow, and I will talk to the teacher about it. Hopefully she will add me to the roster. You can definitely keep that in your prayers! Other than that, this upcoming week looks pretty chill. I am going to the Romeo & Juliet ballet on Wednesday, and at some point I will have to do laundry and go grocery shopping. So, wish me luck!

ok...here is Wednesday-Thursday

So, I think I left off on Wednesday...

Wednesday: Wednesday was mostly spent studying for my Czech language final. I went after class to study with one of my suite mates for a while, and then I came back and took a break...which means I got on facebook for like two hours :) I am on facebook so much here, but it really stinks, because the only people on facebook at the same time as me are the other people in my program here. Everyone back home is 6 hours behind, so if I get on before I go to class, everyone back home is sleeping. If I get on when I get back from class, everyone back home is in class, and if I get on right before I go to bed, I usually regret it because I end up talking with people till like 2 a.m. my time. *Sigh* life is so hard :) But anyway, after I got off facebook, I did some more studying and then went to bed. My brain only absorbs so much information, and then it's like, "Ok, Jessica, this has been fun, but we are shutting down operations here now, so anything else you try to remember will be 'returned to sender.'" However, despite the rebellions of my higher functions, I managed to remember quite a lot the next morning.

Thursday: So, if you haven't already guessed, I had my Czech language final in class on Thursday...and I aced it! But, I think it was mostly because my teacher really liked that I laughed at all her jokes, so she helped me a lot on the test. It pays to be nice to teachers. However, the majority of the kids started pre-gaming immediately after the test was over. So from about 2 p.m. on, most everyone was pretty intoxicated. I, surprise surprise, opted instead for sleep :) I took a nap because later that night I was signed up to go to the opening night performance of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. They played four pieces...two of which were Chopin, and I was unfamiliar with the other two composers. I am not a huge classical music lover, but I have enough sense to realize when something is pretty amazing, and this performance definitely qualified. The last piece we listened to was by a composer named, Andrzej Panufnik (1914-1991), and it was definitely my favorite piece. It was the most fluid, I thought. The first piece sounded like it was straight out of the TV show Lost. Any second I expected Jack to run onto the stage and be like, "How did we get here?? Did the island move again??" It was not what I expected. The two Chopin pieces were good, but they were sooo long. It was pretty ridiculous that we thought the show was over after the first Chopin piece was done, but it literally sounded like they had played three separate songs! Overall though, it was a good experience. I will try anything once...except for questionable looking meat. That I will not try at all...no matter how good it's "supposed" to be. After the performance I headed back to the dorm fulling intending to be in bed within like 30 minutes of arriving at my room. That, however, was not what ended up happening. Instead, I got talked into going out to a dance club. The club was supposed to be pretty legit, and we didn't really have anything planned on Friday in class except for a walking tour, so I gave in and went. We left the dorm around 11:30 p.m. and arrived at the club around midnight. The thing that surprises most about the clubs in Europe is the insane amount of American music that they play. I expected it to be all techno and house music, but no....they play Miley Cirus and Rihanna and.....Oldies! That's right! I can't tell you how many times I have heard "What is Love" or "I Love Rock n' Roll" or "YMCA" in the few short weeks I have been here. And all the Czech people sing the songs in English! It's actually one of the best surprises of the trip, because I am a HUGE Oldies fan. My favorite genre of music is definitely 50's & 60's rock n' roll or doo-wop style stuff, but don't judge me...everyone secretly loves "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." But, the absolute coolest thing about this club, which I didn't find out until today, was that this was the exact club where Rihanna filmed the music video to her song, "Please Don't Stop the Music." I watched the video and was like...wow, I totally recognize all of this! And, we even danced to that song while we were there....so awesome! It made the fact that I stayed out till like 4 a.m. a little more defensible.

Sometimes I feel a little weird describing in detail exactly what I do every day of the week here, cause most of the time I don't feel like it's that exciting. However, I know that one day I will look back on all this detail and be thankful that I actually wrote about what it was like to eat fried cheese, a speciality of the Czech Republic. Anyway, tomorrow I am going to do my best to finish the rest of this week, cause there is still more to tell! But it's now 12:30 a.m. here and I am tired, so goodnight!

Hello again! I realized today that I haven't updated my blog since Sunday! I apologize for that, and I will warn you now, that this post might be a little long as a result. Ha, most of you are probably thinking "that's nothing new." I am sorry that my posts tend to be pretty long, I think I just get caught up in the details too much. Anyway, I will do a quick synopsis of the week...and some days will have more information than others, but that's just the way life goes.

Monday: Jeez, this might be a little harder than I thought...I can't even remember Monday. Ok, so I had language class from 9 till 2 just like usual. Wow, I honestly can't remember what I did. I probably just did a little window shopping and such with Kim. We usually grab lunch and check out a shop or two after our classes are over. Then I probably came back to the room and stayed in for the night. If I remember, I will make sure to let you guys know! :)

Tuesday: Tuesday was a lot more fun. Class as usual in the morning, but the home group for PCF (Prague Christian Fellowship) met at 6:30 pm that evening. So, let me tell you a little bit about that. You know how I said that it took me like an hour to find the church last Sunday, well I gave myself the same amount of time on Tuesday...I don't know why, since I already knew where it was...and ended up arriving in the area about 35 minutes before I needed to be there. So, I hung out in a local bake shop and reviewed my Czech until 6:30. I followed Marketa (who is one of the "leaders" I would say of the group...I will explain that a little more later) inside to the flat where we would be, and there was no way I would have been able to find it without her help. So, I got there, and met a couple of people that I had seen on Sunday, and most of them remembered seeing me too. :) However, people continued to trickle in for about another 30 minutes. The first 30 minutes are like a socializing/eating time. In the end, there were 13 people there, 9 Czech, 3 American, and 1 Brazilian. Also, it split into 6 guys and 7 girls. One of the regular attendees is also homeless. Pretty good mix, I think. There is definitely a chance for exposure and growth with so many different backgrounds. It is an English speaking Bible Study, but obviously the Czech members speak English as their second language...so a lot of the social conversations around me would be in Czech. Although they all spoke English to me. It actually makes me reallllly grateful that Chris (the other American student) is going through this whole process with me. We made like an instant connection at church on Sunday just out of a pure desire to find another American Christian to hang out with. We are also the only students who are a part of the home group...all of the other members are mid to late 20's I would say. I have been so thankful for Chris, because I think a lot of my anxieties and fears about trying to fit into this new group of church people have been eased just by the calming presence of a friend. Friendship, I think, is HUGELY undervalued. Just from a simple, old-fashioned point of view. Life's journey is just easier when a friend travels it with you. Ahh, see, rabbit trails are my weakness! So, getting back to the study. Conversation with the other members was a bit awkward, but that happens with language differences and meeting new people in general. But, I will say that these people went above and beyond to make Chris and I feel accepted and part of the group. I know I mentioned we were going to be studying 1 Corinthians on Sundays, so on Tuesday night the plan was to read and discuss the first chapter in preparation for the sermon. It was much more of a discussion than an actual study. After we read the first chapter, it was just free-for-all discussion about the major themes and purposes of the chapter...with a little help from some online summaries. However, there was definitely a feeling that some people's opinions weighed a bit more on the group than others. That is why I said that Marketa was a "leader." There aren't really set leaders, just kinda discussion leaders. However, the theology thrown around during the discussion was dead on, so no worries! I had a really good time, and actually the place where we were is owned by an American from Indiana! Cool, huh! His name is Joe, and he teaches something or another over here. We didn't get quite that far in conversation. Mostly, people just wanted to know why I was in Prague, where I was staying, what I was studying, how long I was staying...it was almost like answering all those stupid college questions at the end of your senior year of highschool. You know...where are you going, why do you want to go there, what are you studying? Sometimes I think people should just carry "bio" pages that they hand out when they meet people, so that conversation can immediately move on to more interesting topics. Because I really hate answering all the same questions over and over again. All in all, it was a great night! I am really excited about the people and having this group of solid Christians to hang out with.

However, you can definitely pray for me concerning my non-Christian friends here, who happen to be who I hang out with most of the time. I really need to be stronger in the stand that I am taking for Christ. It isn't enough to just not drink as much as they do, or not dance the way they do, I need to be making a bigger stand in my attitude towards the whole thing. I want to be a light, but that urge is conflicting with human nature's desire to be accepted and liked. I haven't done anything stupid, nor do I plan too, but I don't think that I have made myself different. When I hang out with these friends, I am just watered down versions of them...and I want to be a different drink altogether. I have an opportunity tonight to do just that...so keep me in your prayers. And thank you for your prayers. They mean more than you could know!

Well, even though I only made it to Tuesday, I think I should give you readers a break. So, stay tuned for the rest of the week soon!

more pictures

Ok, so here are some more pictures from Prague and some of the surrounding towns that I have been to visit. The selection is a bit random, but I am just trying to give an overall picture of what I have been seeing while I have been here. And I have only gotten this far in the labeling process :) So, same drill as last time.

1) Close-up of the massive amounts of bones just stacked everywhere throughout the charnel house

2) Close-up of a the shield which I am standing next to in #4. The raven pecking the skull is the most famous piece of "decoration" in the church

3) View of the chandelier, which is said to contain one of every bone in the human body

4) Me inside of the Sedlec Charnel house (aka...the Bone Church), note the massive amount of bones stacked behind the shield.

5) Another view of St. Barbara's Cathedral

6) Inside of St. Barbara's Cathedral

7) Unusual painting of "laborers." Such themes are hardly ever found in churches (inside of St. Barbara's Cathedral)

8) St. Barbara's Cathedral

9) View of St. Barbara's Cathedral in the distance (building to the very right is a Jesuit college...or a former Jesuit college...one or the other :) )

10) Building from the historical city center of Kunta Hora (whose significance escapes me...I think it had to do with a specific architecture type though)

11) Cesky Sternberk castle (located about 2 hours from Prague)

12) Nelahozeves castle (located in a town about 45 minutes outside of Prague)

13) Prague castle at dusk looking out one of the windows at Charles University

14) Prague castle again

church today!!

So, today I ventured out into the city to find a church since it was the first Sunday I have actually been in Prague. A church called Prague Christian Fellowship was recommended to me by a friend in my bible study at Virginia Tech. Well, actually she asked someone she knew who asked someone else....so really I found it through friend of a friend of a friend. Confused...lol? So, I got the address of the church over Christmas break, as well as the contact info for the couple who recommended it. So I emailed them yesterday, just as a kinda of "Hey, I will probably be at church tomorrow, it's my first time so what time does it start?" thing. I got an email back with a more specific address and the time it started. Which, as it turns out, isn't until 4:30 pm, this is my kinda church! Anyway, it is a fair distance from my dorm and I knew I would have to walk a couple blocks after I got off the metro, so I gave myself an hour to get there...turns out I needed the whole hour cause I got myself pretty turned around after I got off the metro. So, I found the address and long story short...it was in a really out-of-the way spot that even luck couldn't have helped me find...it was totally a God thing. Anyway, I made my way inside and met the pastor's wife briefly, and she seemed really nice. I didn't talk to anyone else until after the service, but that was probably a good thing seeing as how as soon as I walked into the church I was overcome with emotion. I could hardly talk to the pastor's wife...she probably thought I seemed a little strange when I choked up as she was asking if this was my first time visiting the church. I don't really know that I could describe exactly what it was that made me so emotional (I mean aside from the fact that I am an extremely emotional person anyway :) ) except to say that it felt like I was at home. I didn't know anyone, and yet it felt like all of my anxiety, all of my worries and fears and my loneliness was gone. And I was just overcome with this huge peace. A peace that only comes when you are at home with God. I didn't even realize how badly I had needed to worship and fellowship until I was there. The church is even smaller than the Kirk (if you can believe it) with probably less than 20 full time members. It is an international, English speaking church, so a lot of the attendees are students or teachers who are only there for a semester or a year before going back home or moving on. It was really cool how they did service though, and it reminded me a lot of the church I attend at Virginia Tech, The Dwelling Place. There was a lot of emphasis on worship, which is my favorite part, and they sung songs in English and then a couple in Czech with English subtitles. It was really cool! The worship actually lasted so long today that the pastor only gave an introduction about what he will speaking on for the next couple of weeks...which is 1 Corinthians. There were a couple of announcements, and then introductions :) Since it is so small, it was pretty obvious to them who was new so they made us stand up and introduce ourselves. There was another American student named Chris, and a Swedish student named Elizabeth who were also there for the first time. After the service, several people came and introduced themselves to me, including a women who got her graduate degree at Virginia Tech! Can we say small world??? I also got a chance to talk to the woman who kinda leads the student/young adult home group which meets on Tuesday nights. I am going to go to that this Tuesday, and I am really excited about getting fellowship with other believers. Chris, the other student and I were both really excited about the fact that we have another American student at the church to hang out with. So, I am excited about this chance at a solid Christian friendship. Overall, today was by far the highlight of my entire experience in Prague so far. I am so excited about going back to the church that I don't know if I can wait until Sunday! You can pray that the home group meeting on Tuesday goes well, and that I can feel at home among these people.

Also, I will posting more pictures soon!

Ok, I borrowed some technology from my roommate, and I have finally uploaded all of my photos to my laptop. However, now comes the long and tedious process of labeling and categorizing them. Therefore, over the next couple of days I will upload some of the ones that I have already sifted through. I will upload only the very obvious photos, like me in front of Buckingham Palace or Prague Castle. If you have any requests of things you would like to see, I will be happy to acquiesce. Similarly, I will post small captions with the photos so if you have any questions about them feel free to ask! The first round are specifically from the three whirlwind days I spent in London, so here goes...

1) Big Ben

2) Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square

3) Tower Bridge

4) Me in front of Tower Bridge

5) Trafalgar Square

6) The London Eye, which I really wanted to go on but I didn't have the time or the money.

7) Me in front of Buckingham Palace

8) Stephanie and I in front of the sign, and about to go in to see the show!

9) Wicked was showing in London

10) Me in front of the London Bridge

11) Me in front of the replica of the stage in the Globe Theater

12) The replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater

13) Me in front of St. Paul's Cathedral (note how cold I look)

14) St. Paul's Cathedral from the back

greetings from siberia

I am not really in Siberia right now, but I might as well be. Prague might not be able to compete with the slightly obnoxious 56 inches that some place in the U.S. have right now, but we are definitely in the running. It has snowed everyday here for the past week. It hasn't been heavy snow, in fact, most of the time it is so light that you can't even feel it hit your skin. Nevertheless, there is always new snow on the ground when I leave for class in the morning, and it snows throughout the day. As a result, I have managed to get sick from not really taking good enough care of myself during this weather, and from not getting enough rest. I have opted not to go anywhere tonight, even though it is Friday, so that I can get a full 12 hours of sleep. I really need it. But, I will fill everyone in on a slightly less than exciting week, which contained within it a few moments of greatness.

Although I left off on Tuesday with my trip to the Black Light Theater, I don't recall ever mentioning my language class, which started on Monday. For this whole past week (and all of next week) I have been attending a class specifically geared towards condensing the Czech language into a format that will give us enough knowledge of the language to get around in Prague, without getting weighed down by a lot of grammar and composition (not that we don't study grammar and composition, we just don't go into a lot of detail). What I didn't know though was that this class is actually a whole semester of language squeezed into two weeks time. That is why our class lasts from 9 am to 1:45 pm everyday. Let me tell you something...no matter what you are studying, or how interested you are in it, at some point in a 5 hour class you simply cannot absorb any more information! A five hour class is way too long, but I guess it is necessary. I also didn't know that after I pass my final next week I will actually get 3 credits for the class. Not a bad deal I think. Anyway, so far that class has been not so bad. My teacher is really great, and if I have to sit through a five hour class on Czech language, I wouldn't suffer through it for any other teacher. She is really sweet, and has a way of making this language really accessible for the students. I am glad that she has been able to be a part of my Czech culture experience. We had our midterms today in class, which I spent most of last night studying for, and I did really well! So, that makes me a little more confident when I am trying to communicate with the public at large :)

After my class gets out everyday, I have usually had some errand or another to run around town. I have met two really nice girls that I will mention by name because there is a good chance you might hear a lot about them this semester. One is Kim, a Vietnamese girl from Cornell University and Carly, a psychology student from Radford (so we could actually still be friends when we both get back form Prague since she goes to school like 20 minutes away from Virginia Tech!). I really like both of these girls, and I hope that our friendships continue to grow. Anyway, after class (and all three of us have the morning section, as opposed to the afternoon section) we usually get lunch at a small deli or pizzaria or bakery or whatever we find that looks good. Then sometimes I have to go to the AIFS office to sign up for a trip or to collect my passport, or to get them to help me put more minutes on my phone (because I found out all the help numbers that my carrier gave me to call are in Czech....which doesn't actually help me at all). Then I would go shopping. Whether that meant picking up a new wallet or finding a pair of boots that will help me survive the very unexpected repercussions of "global warming" or pick up toilet paper for our suite bathroom, there was always something to do. As a result I wouldn't get back to the room until around 6 pm most days. I would try to fit in dinner between checking all my emails, doing my laundry (one of those moments of greatness I mention earlier :) ), and doing my homework for my language class. Before I knew it, it would be 11 pm, and I would wonder how my day possibly went by so fast, and how I could still feel like I didn't have time to get everything done! It was frustrating to always have so much to do that you couldn't take a nap or go to bed a little earlier than normal...and believe me, I tried very hard to do both of those things. Not to mention that my roommate and suitemates went out almost every night of the week around 11:30 pm. So, I would usually wait up until they left and then go to bed when the suite was quiet, around 12:30 pm. Then wake up and do it all over again. It was a long week.

Now, for a few of those great moments I promised! Aside from laundry, which could have possibly been the ultimate greatness, I was able to go see a Czech opera this week! On Wednesday night (along with the schedule mentioned above) AIFS provided those students who signed up with tickets to see Rusalka, which is the story of the little mermaid. However, I found out that Disney took several very big, creative liberties when they produced their animated version of this story for children. The real story of the little mermaid is actually a tragedy (and yes, this realization happened through an "Ah ha" moment in the middle of the opera when I started to wonder why all of the characters were dying). I see now why Disney decided not to stick with the original story line. Children everywhere would have needed therapy and a hug after this version. There were Czech, as well as English, subtitles to follow along as it was hard to understand what the singers were saying, so I was able to follow the story very well. It was a 3 hour performance with two intermissions. The set was fantastic, and the singers were outstanding! It was my first time ever at an opera, and I really enjoyed it! I can't wait to go see another one this semester. Next up on the list however is the Romeo & Juliet ballet....which should be awesome!! The next great moment actually happened earlier today. Carly, Kim, and I went to the Palladium...which is a giant five-story mall here in Prague. As bad as this might sound, when I walked into the mall...it was like I had come home to America. I felt right at home....until I tried to talk to shop clerks. Then I wanted to leave again. Czech language is hard, but then it gets harder when you don't even know how to say "shoe" or "size" or "more" and you have to play the point and guess game with a busy shop clerk in a culture that isn't know for its open and friendly nature. It is very intimidating and super frustrating. However, it was totally worth it because today the best thing happened at the mall....I got a new pair of shoes. I think only women can truly understand how a new pair of shoes can right some of the wrongs in life, and even more so when you are trying to adapt to a new culture. It's like that song which says, "Hey, I put some new shoes on and suddenly everythings right. I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling, it's so inviting. Oh, short on money but long on time, slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine, and I'm running late and I don't need an excuse, cause I'm wearing my brand new shoes." :)

I know this was a bit long, and not really super interesting, but tomorrow I think I am going to a parade and then to the Prague castle....so stay tuned!

black light theater

So, tonight I went to a Black Light Theater performance. It was called Aspects of Alice, and it was a loose interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. The Black Light Theater is a Czech speciality, and I am not sure that you can find it anywhere else in the world. It is a really cool performance type, and really original. Although the story line was totally tripped out! Talk about creative license. It was not at all like I remember Alice in Wonderland as a kid. The performance is done in a way that makes everything seem...I can't even explain. I am posting a link here where you can go check it out, and look at a video of what it would be like. It is the best way I can think of to tell/show you what it was like.

http://www.tafantastika.cz/en/

I would like to point out that even though it seems a bit staged in the video, it really was cool! Every time something floated it literally looked like it was floating in mid-air. And every time Alice flew, I would look for her wires, or the person hooking her up to the wires, and I never saw anything!!! It was really crazy. Also, if you make it to the video on the website, there is some nudity on the back-half of the video, so beware. Also, the show we saw did not contain that nudity in it.

further updates

Ok, so I know I promised some further updates on the Moravia trip, so I better get to it before I start to forget the details. This post might be a little long, so bear with me. On Friday, we left at around 10 a.m. from the dorm and began our three hour drive to Brno (the "capital" of Moravia) where we would be staying for the weekend we were there. Because I slept most of the way there on the bus I don't remember a whole lot of the scenery...but at one point, I remember hearing that Brno was an ugly town with nice people when compared to Prague, which was a nice town with ugly people. I can't really say that I agree with that because I haven't spent enough time in either place to adequately judge them. But, that is what they say. On the way to Brno, we stopped at a small town of Tisnov, to visit a local cloister. The church of the cloister was built in a transition Romanesque-Gothic style in the late 13th century, and it belongs to one of the oldest structures of this kind in the Czech Republic. The most valuable part of the complex is the magnificent church gate, which is called Porta Coeli - or Gate to Heaven. It was really interesting to find out that there are nuns who still live in the cloister to this day. After we finished the tour we got back on the bus and headed towards Brno again. We arrived around four which left a bit of free time before dinner. Dinner was a special treat. We ate at the Templar Order Restaurant in Cejkovice. This restaurant and wine cellar were built in a series of tunnels made by the Templars, so the ambiance was really cool. We also got a tour of the wineries, and saw the second largest barrel of wine in the world (I think) which is also the largest barrel that is still used to hold wine. I think that it held over 20,000 liters or something...needless to say, it was huge.

Saturday was a full day as well. In the morning, we drove out to Slavkov (Austerlitz), which was the site for a battle from the Napoleonic period. The battle was known as "The Battle of the Three Emperors" since it involved French Emperor Napoleon, Austrian Emperor Francis, and Russian Tsar Alexander. The battle took place in 1805, and it was a great example of Napoleon's strategic thinking and military prowess. There is also a memorial there that was erected in the 20th century, which is dedicated to all the soldiers who fought and died in the battle. It is called the Memorial of Peace on Prace Hill. It is supposed to serve as a reminder that all conflict should be resolved through diplomacy rather than war, since so many lives were sacrificed on that field. After the battlefield, we drove in the center of Brno for lunch followed by a walking tour of the the main town square and the highlights of the city. I had lunch in the Sherlock Holmes Pub :) The tour was really good, and even though it was optional, I was glad that I went. I will probably never go back to Brno, and I feel like I got a good sense of the city from that tour. I had dinner that night in the hotel lobby with some friends, and it was soooo much fun. It was probably the hardest I have laughed the whole time I have been here, and that was a good feeling to have.

Sunday was probably the fullest day of the three. We started early again, around 9:30 a.m. The first thing we saw was the Gregor Mendel Museum and Garden (although we couldn't really see the garden considering it was under a foot of snow). Gregor Mendel is credited with discovering the foundations of genetics through his experiments with peas. Mr. Feeney would be so proud! Hahaha :) We only spent about 30 minutes there before we were off again to visit Moravian Karst. Moravian Karst is a complex system of underground caves with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. We did a walking tour through about half of the caves, and some of it was absolutely breathtaking. Especially when we came out at the bottom of a really large cave opening. We could look up several hundred feet and see trees surrounding the opening, and snow was falling in. There was a lake at the bottom too that looked like glass...I mean it was just gorgeous. My pictures won't do it justice. Our last stop of the day was a town called Adamov. It is famous for an altar in one of the churches that is from the 16th century. It is a huge wooden altar with several scenes, angels, disciples, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and all sorts of other things carved into it. It probably stands over 20 feet tall. Everyone was so tired at this stop that I don't really know that we appreciated it as much as we could have if we had been able to focus. And that was the end of our trip to Moravia.

return from moravia

So, I will update everyone a little more in detail probably tomorrow, but I thought I would say that I haven't posted any pictures of my escapades yet because I forgot the cord that I need to upload the photos to my computer. However, this weekend, a girl I met here said that I could borrow hers if I needed, and she also has the Canon brand of camera. Hopefully this will work, and I can get some pictures to you guys soon,

Moving on, this weekend I went to Moravia with AIFS. Moravia is a part of the Czech Republic, but the border between Bohemia (where Prague is located) and Moravia (of which Brno is the capital) is somewhat like the Mason-Dixon line in the United States. They are part of the same country, but the two "states" are completely different from one another. Bohemia, Moravia, and another "state" make up what is now the Czech Republic. It is kinda hard to explain since the U.S. doesn't really have anything like this. I guess you could even compare it to the East coast/West coast differences. Maybe. I am sure I will learn more about how it works throughout my semester here. Tomorrow I will give a more detailed outline of what we saw over the weekend, and some of it was pretty awesome! But right now I am tired... and I want to go to bed because tomorrow I have to get up early for language class. I am so excited about learning this language, I almost don't mind that it is at 9:00 a.m.....almost :)

Oh, and even over here, I am aware that the SuperBowl is probably underway right now, or will be soon, so.........GO COLTS!!!!!

free time

So, today was a pretty chill day. All we had scheduled today was getting our ID cards from Charles University. And that only took like 30 minutes. So, I did some grocery shopping. I had to buy some laundry detergent, some toilet paper, some kleenex, and some snacks for our trip to Moravia this weekend. They said we leave at like 10:30 a.m. and we don't stop till we get there, which is around 4 p.m. Hopefully today I will be able to figure out how to do laundry in the dorm...as I am getting down to the bare minimum of clothes options. However, in Europe most people don't dry their clothes, they just line dry them. So the laundry room in our dorm doesn't have any dryers...just washing machines. It actually doesn't bother me at all that we can't dry our clothes...half of my clothes have to be line dried anyway, but there is a complete lack of space in my room to dry all of these clothes. So, I will have to figure that out. Also, I am hooking up my Internet tonight...since the office is only open from 8:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Stupid office hours, right? But, I have waited to long as it is. Paying for the Internet is going to be a pain in the butt as well. You have to fill out a money order with the bank in order to pay it. So, I will have to try and communicate with a bank teller about a money order sometime next week.

As for prayer requests, I think that my biggest prayer request right now is that God would send me a friend. There are a lot of nice people here, don't get me wrong, but it is becoming clearer and clearer how much I don't have in common with them. I would just like one friend whom I can rely on, and with whom I can enjoy my time here without having to party every night. Someone who is like-minded. That is where I am struggling most right now.

Day Trip #2

So, today we had to go on our second mandatory day trip with ECES. I think the reason they are mandatory is because they are supposed to introduce us to the culture and history of not only Prague, but of the Czech Republic. I think that is why all of the trips we had to choose from were located outside the country. Anyway, today I went on another castle tour in a town that is as hard to spell as it is to pronounce. The cool thing about this castle though, is that the current owner actually still lives in it. He is like 86 years old, and he and his wife occupy around 4-5 rooms on the first floor. Obviously, the tour doesn't go to that part of the castle. The one thing that just drives me to giggles (yes I did just say that) about these castles is their trophy rooms. These are the rooms where they mount the heads, horns, skins, of hoofs of anything they killed while living at the castle. And if my dad and brother could see these rooms, I think that the little 8 pointers we have on our property just wouldn't seem that awesome any more. These rooms are literally covered in hundreds of antlers...some are bigger than I am!!! Essentially the only thing to conclude is that deer used to be a LOT bigger.

Today, we also drove to Kunta Hora, the home of the "Bone Church." The actual name of the church escapes me at the moment. It is a small, unremarkable building on the outside, but on the inside it appears to be straight out of a horror movie. The reason it was nicknamed the Bone Church is because of the 40,000 remains that can be found as decorations within its walls. The small graveyard outside the church was overcrowded as it was, due to casualties from the Plague and ongoing Hussite battles. Then, some "genius" decided to bring back some dirt from Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion and sprinkle it around the cemetery. Then everyone HAD to be buried in that graveyard because of its holy nature. Therefore, bodies were being exhumed and stacked in the church in order to make way for the new bodies. Eventually a woodcarver was commissioned to use the huge amount of bones as decoration in the church. So instead of curtains or paintings, the whole church was decorated with human remains. I recommend that everyone just googles it. The videos are crazy! But I thought it was so cool.

Tonight it is either sleep or dance club...as of now, I am still undecided.

Tired all the time

I'm doing a little better today...although I still feel a bit out of it. We went on a day trip today to tour two castles in small towns outside of Prague. First thing to note is that castles are not heated. These tours were by far the two coldest tours I have ever taken...including the tour I went on in an underground cave! But, they were still really interesting; I learned some cool facts. The second castle also had a wine tour available, which we went on. :) The castle was somehow associated with wine making back in the day and they continue it today. The only thing about today that could have been a little better were the tours. On one tour, the guide spoke a halting English, and the second guide didn't speak English at all. Our program leader had to translate, and her English was only so-so. I think I could have taken a lot more information away from the tours had they spoken better English. However, I am thankful that we got guides that did actually speak English well enough to convey the basics.

I figured out how to plug in my room phone, so that is up and running. I also have a cell phone now from which I can text the US for the same rates that it costs to text internationally. Pretty good deal, I think. Next on the list...which probably won't happen till Thursday...is to get the Internet in my room hooked up. Then I will be well on my way to a successful semester.

Extra Stuff

So, I've got a little time on my hands today. First day since I started this trip that I have had time to take a nap. It was great! We had another meeting this morning, but this one was with ECES, the program specific to Charles University. So, we really just heard all the same information that AIFS has been providing us, but from a different source. With the free time that I had yesterday, and the time I had today, I have been able to do a little necessary shopping. I had to get a towel. The one they provided us with, and actually intended for us to use as a bath towel, was only a little larger than a regular dishtowel! Literally. I made due for the first day, but after that I knew I would have to get something a bit bigger. Also, I was able to pick up a few groceries to keep in my room. A water bottle, some yogurt, some apples, and some pasta. Just a few things to tide me over if I don't feel like going out of my room to eat. However, I don't think that eating my room is going to be very easy this semester. Our meals are designed to be eaten at restaurants and the dorm cafeteria. So, will we see how it goes.

I am actually very anxious for classes to begin. I feel like I am in this indefinite waiting period. Just filling my time with shopping and eating and trips. Not that that is at all a bad thing, but I feel a bit purposeless right now. Also, I have made some friends, but we have really only been together for about a week. It is just hard for me to feel like I can rely on someone after only knowing them one week. So, half of the time I feel like I am in my room waiting to go to dinner or something, but then I panic thinking that they might have forgotten me, and that isn't a good feeling to have to live with. The program people recommend doing a lot of things on your own here, just to really get a feel for the culture. However, when you do spend a lot of time by yourself and then decided that you are ready to hang out with someone, everyone has already made their groups and you feel like an outsider. It is a hard position to be in. I am having to rely on Jesus big time to fill certain needs in that area.

Tomorrow I have a day trip to the Prague Castle, and I am pretty excited for that. It is the biggest tourist site in Prague. But it starts really early. The least few days we haven't had to get up super early...around 10 or so. But, the next couple days are early again. I am excited about Thursday, because they have absolutely nothing planned for us...so I will be sleeping in!