The 12-14th...or those incredibly busy days leading up to Amsterdam

Ok, so as lame as this may sound, I think the only motivation I had for updating today was because I needed something to do while Glee was loading. And for those of you who may not be familiar with Glee, in all of its glory, it is, by far, the best new show on television! You absolutely have to check it out if you are not already familiar with it, and I suggest starting at the beginning, otherwise you won't understand character development.

Anyway, getting on to the more important and newsworthy items, I will commence with the updating starting last Monday. So, I woke up earlier than usual again last Monday so that Carly and I could go over our presentation on psychopaths one more time before class. Class went over without a hitch...same old, same old you know, and I think we did pretty well on our presentation as well. Immediately after class, I headed over to the soccer stadium to catch a Sparta (yes, I know, the most epic team name ever) soccer game. The good news was that our seats were really close to the action, the bad news is that it was raining and our seats were not located under an overhang. After a sad attempt at playing soccer in highschool, during which I learned that I have negative eye-foot coordination skills, I developed a new-found appreciation for the sport. So, I enjoyed watching the game, even though it was in the rain. I also have to say that I enjoyed watching the soccer players in the rain...and I feel that no further explanation is needed on that point :) I had to leave the soccer game early (but don't worry, we won) in order to go to another performance for my theater class. Since I had to walk a considerable distance in the rain, and sat through half of a soccer game in the rain, I arrived thoroughly soaked. The performance in and of itself was ok, but compared to the horrible show I saw the night before, it was amazing. But, I was kinda miserable through the whole show cause I was wet, and then I got cold...no fun.

Tuesday, I didn't go to class because I had too much to do before Amsterdam, and not enough time in which to do it. So, I stayed home and did a bunch a work for that week and the next week, cause at this point I still thought my parents were coming after I got back from Amsterdam. I wrote several reflections, did laundry, went and printed out all of my travel information from AIFS, and then I went to home group. Several of the regulars weren't there, but I did get to meet some guys from North Carolina! There were three of them, and two of them were twins (so cool!), and they were all recently graduated from NC State and they were part of a program where they travel all around Europe, and every week they will link up to a classroom of third and fourth graders back in the States and tell them all the things they are learning about the new countries that they are in. I don't know if they were getting paid for it or anything, but it sounded like a really cool way to see Europe after college. They were couchsurfing at Joe's house, but they also seemed like they were pretty solid Christians. It was really cool to get a little taste of home :) After home group was over, I headed back to the dorm and spent the rest of the night in.

Wednesday, I didn't have class, and that was probably a good thing because I still had so much to do. I did sleep in a little, so I got up around 11 a.m. and got ready for the day. I went into the AIFS office and printed out an application to work in the Education Abroad office next year at Virginia Tech. I filled it out, attached my essay, and then faxed it to the office just in time to leave for my next event. I was going on what we call "cafe outings." Marketa, the program director for AIFS in Prague, takes students who are interested to a local cafe for coffee and cake about every three weeks. It is a cultural event, so AIFS pays for it, and while we are there we can talk to Marketa about anything we like or dislike about our stay, we can ask her questions, or we can just talk about the weather. It is just her way to get to spend a little time with us since she doesn't go on any of our regular outings. This cafe outing was a little different though. With this outing we got a free tour of the Lobkowicz Palace museum, which is the largest, oldest, and most intact private collection in the Czech Republic. The Lobkowicz family still exists today, and they have graciously donated a lot of their family's extensive collection on music, art, hunting, furniture, and everyday things to this special exhibit. Current members of the family actually guide you through the exhibit via the audiotour...and that was pretty cool! It was by far one of my favorite things that I have done in Prague. The Lobkowicz were huge supporters of Mozart and Beethoven, and Beethoven's 5th is one of a number of pieces that was dedicated to the Lobkowicz's. They have the original score, written in Beethoven's own hand in the exhibit! I am definitely taking my parents there. So after we had coffee and cake at the cafe there, we got to go through the exhibit. Then right from there Robbie, Carly, and I went to grab some dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Trilobite, and being a former geology major, I thought that was so great. We had to eat pretty quick because we had to go to the opera at 7 p.m. We went to see Don Giovanni. Now, I know that this is a really famous opera, but I have to say that out of the operas that I have seen so far, this one was probably my least favorite. I just didn't really connect with the characters and their plights. I think that their could have been more emotion than there was. But, it was a good performance nonetheless.

We didn't get out of the opera until 10 p.m. and we all had to go back and pack for Amsterdam, because of course, none of us had done that yet. So, I got back to my room, packed for Amsterdam, which took me about an hour or so, because I was also cleaning up before I left. I hate coming back to a dirty room after a trip, so I always have to clean everything right before I go somewhere. I got to bed around 12:30 a.m., which wasn't too bad, I thought. The next morning we left, but I will save Amsterdam stories until the next post. I am getting really close to being caught up. I think three more posts will do it :) But technically one of those posts won't be chronological. So, really it's more like two "time" posts and a "thought" post. And I have two days before my parents get here, so I think I can get it all done.

Stay tuned, and pray that I feel better by the time my parents get here, because I have been sick as a dog the past couple of days. Later!