One of my last posts from Prague

So, this will probably be my last post from Prague. I leave in less than 48 hours, and I already have one suitcase completely packed, and the other one will follow suit tomorrow. I am going to be sad to leave some of the people here, but I glad to be going home. I have really enjoyed my time here, but I have learned things about myself in a way that only four months in another country, with little Christian fellowship, can accomplish. I will say though that I love the three girls that I live with. Kristina, my roommate, has been an absolute joy. She is just a TAD compulsive, but it has worked out fairly well, and I became the messier one of the two. And considering I am not that messy, living conditions were never an issue. She also has one of the biggest hearts I have ever seen in another person. She is really considerate and always does her very best not to be too loud when she gets back late, and I love her for it. She is really sweet and thoughtful as well. Now that it sounds like we are dating, I just want to add that I am going to miss her personality. She is funny and loud and crazy and a little inappropriate, but she makes every day an adventure. Right now, she is wearing a thong on her head while she packs. What will I do without her. Sally is my favorite suitemate. She can tell stories even better than I can, and her supply of entertaining stories is endless. She is very practical and so often offers pretty good advice. She also never makes me feel bad for not wanting to go out, and I appreciate that very much. She always makes me smile, and I think people are just drawn to her personality. She is very real, yet also fairly inappropriate :) Are you sensing the theme of our suite yet? She is also a very caring person, and often offers to make me dinner or pick things up from the store for me if I need anything. I will miss seeing her everyday, as well as her ever-present food-baby "Susan." I will also miss the constant yelling back and forth between Sally and Kristina over anything and everything. Because face-to-face interaction is overrated. In fact, right now, they are singing back and forth to each other (because they are in love) in crazy voices, and switching songs every 30 seconds. It is going to be hard to leave that behind. Elina is Sally's roommate, and my other suitemate. Elina is fluent in Russian, because that's where her family is from, and is pretty much the coolest thing ever to hear her skyping with her family. Elina is a senior as well, so this was her last semester in school. She is the "fireplug" of the group. Elina and I have also done a fair amount of bonding over the t.v. shows we watch. Her computer doesn't work, so she often uses mine for her work as well as catching up on t.v. So, occasionally, I will watch them with her, and we have a good time. Interestingly enough, she is probably the one out of the three of them who is the most interested in the cultural aspects of studying abroad. She will go on the walking tours fairly often, and she does a lot of exploring on her own.

Overall, I have had quite an amazing adventure with these girls, and I will miss them. I do have to say though, humbly, I might add, that I have learned a lot more about myself this semester than I had thought I would. I have always been pretty mature for my age. My mom always tells me that I was ready to be on my own from the time I was 15, and to a large extent she was right. I have always been independent and free-thinking. I won't be forced to do anything, and the best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can't. I am then forced to show you I can :) Since my family moved around a lot when I was growing up, I have often been forced to adapt and change to new situations and environments. I think that this is one of those instances where God is showing me how His plan is working out for my good. I hated moving growing up, and I greatly resented my parents each time that we did. My personality resists change immensely, so all that moving was like trying to force and A.D.D. child to sit still in a chair and stare at a wall, but in reverse. It went against everything in my nature, but I had to adapt. It was the only way to survive. Those habits helped me to make the most of my trip in Prague. A lot of the students had a harder time adjusting than I did, just because this type of adjustment was something that they hadn't had to go through in their life, or they had only had to do it once before. So, I am not saying that moving around all the time was awesome, but there might have been some redeeming qualities in it after all.

Second, this might have been the first time in my life when I was really challenged in my beliefs. Not just about Christianity, but about drinking, partying, smoking, work ethic, appropriateness in behavior towards the opposite sex, swearing, intentions, life goals, purpose, and many others. The reason I said 'humbly' at the beginning was because I pretty much thought that I had all of those things figured out. I knew where I stood on them, and that was that. Growing up in a Christian home and school has its advantages and disadvantages, but I never thought that one of the advantages would be my friend choices. In college, I wanted to be friends with Christians, because I knew that we would have the same morals and everything, but I think it went deeper than that. I made friends with people who all held to the same belief system that I did, and I thought that was just a perk of them being Christian, but I think that subconsciously, I was also choosing them for other reasons as well. I made friends with people because I knew that they wouldn't rock the my belief system boat. No one really wants a friend who constantly makes them feel uncomfortable or who pressures them to do things contrary to what they would otherwise do...like party instead of write a paper. Therefore, it never really occurred to me that my friends were half of the reason I never found myself in certain situations. We sometimes talked about drinking, but only when we were 21, we would talk about not doing our papers and spending the whole night watching Hugh Jackman movies, but we never did. We talk a big game, but when it comes right down to it, I think I chose friends who were as structured as me, and I didn't do it on purpose. I have never been so thankful or so proud of my friends in my whole life! I'm even getting a little emotional thinking about it :) I just can't believe that I could have ever taken the amazing people that God has put into my life for granted...and I will be sure to tell each and every one of them that in person when I return. I mean, I loved my friends before I came here, simply because they were my friends and I chose them for who they are. But now, I appreciate the little things, like movie night, or card games till three in the morning, or lying on the floor in the hallways during exam week talking about nothing and everything. I thought all friends did that, but I find that that is not really true. And since I love getting to know people really well (really it's kinda a hobby) spending time with people like that is one of my favorite ways to hang out with my friends. I just love my friends :D

Third, and probably the one that I have spent the most time thinking about is how I have come to stand a little firmer in myself. I think I have mentioned before that I am fairly hard to convince if I have decided that I don't want to do something, and I always thought that was just a superior ability to resist peer pressure (humble, I know), but now I think it has to do with the fact that I have never really had to the choice to do things that I don't normally do. Again, I think that was a friend choice thing. For the first time, really, I had to decide what I was going to do. It is legal to drink here, so I had to decide if I was going to drink, to what extent, how often, etc. Smoking is "legal" in Amsterdam, so again, do I smoke? Party time is every night except Monday night...how often do I go out, and when I go out, how do I dress, and who am I dressing for? I had thought that these things would be easier to deal with it, but when it is everywhere around you, it becomes harder to remember why you decided not to do it in the first place. I had to set boundaries, I had to know my limits, I had to decide which limits I wanted to set, and that was a first for me. And it was especially hard, because I was surrounded by people with no limits. But, at the end of the day, I know now where my limits are, and that I firmly intend to keep them where they are.

Overall, my trip here has been a learning experience in more ways than one, and God has been there for me through the good times ad the bad, and there have been a few bad times. I can't imagine how my life would have turned out if I hadn't gone on this trip, but I can say that it was an unforgettable experience with memories that will last a lifetime.

Amsterdam photos!!

So, I am trying to make up for all that lost time after I had my camera stolen...so here is a quick glance at Amsterdam. Again, I am sorry that I can't be more specific about these photos, but it is finals week over here, and this is the easiest type of post to make. Therefore...enjoy!

PHOTOS!!!!

So, I am in the process of begging people to let me upload their photos from about mid-March on, and here are some of the ones that I have gotten so far. I don't have time right now to label them, but this batch is from my trip to Vienna, which as I have already mentioned...I LOVED. I will say this much though, just to avoid some confusion 1) It is only a replica of the Last Supper by Da Vinci, 2) the box thing is a WW2 monument to the Jews of Vienna, 3) Excaliber is the place with the dragons, 4) Mozart actually lived in that house, and 5) all the palaces were even more beautiful than the pictures.

"Hey guys, what should I title this blog?" How about, "The three people sitting in this room are alcoholics and need to go to AA, except one..."

That title pretty much sums it up. It sums up what every conversation comes back around too. It's like the "your mom" of Prague. If you are losing the witty conversation battle, then you just have to say..."Well, who passed out last night after throwing up because they drank too much?" Victory is yours. Don't be too quick to judge though...there is a lot more to the kids here than meets the eye. So, I promised to post about some of the life experiences I have been having and some of the stuff I am learning about myself, and I don't want to let you guys down. THe last couple weeks have been pretty non-eventful, minus the week my folks were here...and I will post about that as soon as I have some more time. Also, I will try to do another post like this one after I have been home for a week or two, because I here that reverse culture shock is a bigger issue than I thought it would be.

So, first thing I will talk about is what everyone keeps asking me...what is the biggest difference between Prague and the United States? I will try to share a few of the things that have impacted me the most since I have been here. First, and probably the biggest difference, is the people. The Czech people are very reserved. Almost to the point of being outright rude. They don't smile whenever they are out in public, but they maintain as much eye contact as Americans...so it comes across as blatantly staring. They also don't want you to look, speak, or think about their kids or their dogs. It is not ok to smile at or engage with other people's kids, nor is it ok to try and pet their dogs. However, it is important to note that the Czech Republic was under Communist control until about 40 years ago. The average adult still vividly remembers what it was like growing up in a communist school, and being afraid of their own government. One of my teachers postulated that the reason Czechs are a very reserved people is because they are still coming out of their shells...so to speak. They used to live double lives; outside of the comfort of their homes, they had to learn to keep their mouths shut and conform...or at least not publicly dissent. Than at home, they would be able to speak or act as they wanted. Therefore, Czechs have a very rich home life, but out in public they are much more quiet and reserved. Still, it doesn't make it the nicest place I have visited. In fact, I am always HUGELY amazed by how friendly everyone in countries other then the Czech Republic are. I always find myself falling in live with the cities I have visited elsewhere in Europe, mainly because I think that the people are wonderful! I think a lot of that is just being outside of the Czech Republic...had I visited these countries at some other point, I might not have found them as friendly. It is definitely going to take a while for me to adjust back to the overall friendliness of people in the States...I have just grown use to quiet streets where people pass anonymously on their way.

The second thing that was pretty different is how Europeans dress. I know everyone has heard the rumors that people in Europe dress nicer on average than Americans, and I am here to tell you that the rumors are true. Wearing jeans and a t-shirt in public is equivalent to wearing sweats and slippers to meet your friends for the day in the States. I know, most of you are like "what's wrong with that, I do it all the time?" well, I was in the same boat as you. But, remember how I said that Europeans stare a lot, without smiling, well before I realized that's pretty par for the course, I was pretty sure they were judging me in my jeans and t-shirt. So, you do what you have to do to survive...you adapt, and I did. But let me tell you, I am excited about being able to wear flip flops again...oh yeah, didn't I mention that they don't approve of flip flops either, they are too casual. You have to wear "real" sandals. Every time that Europeans go out somewhere, even if it is just to the corner store, they look presentable...always. Men here are also much more fashion forward than men in America...to put it simply...they look good. I am definitely going to miss seeing slacks and vests and jeans that fit. Maybe that's it...their clothes actually fit them. They are not afraid to wear their actual size, even if they are a bit on the small side...they don't over compensate for it. I am going to be angry for weeks after I get back just looking at all of the oversized, baggy clothes that guys where...not ok. I will miss the well-dressed men. However, their hair is an entirely different matter. I am not impressed by the hair here in general. Guys hair is too long, girls hair is too short, and don't even get me started on the colors. I have seen grandmothers with periwinkle afros and I have seen little boys with orange mullets...If you can imagine it, I have seen it. There is even a girl in my theater class who has long, regular hair on one side of her head, and the other side is completely shaved...this includes the eyebrow for that side...gone. I am ready to get back to the good old days of business style hair cuts for men, and regular colors on women.

The third thing that is pretty interesting is the process of "going out to eat." The Czech Republic is very different from America in that it doesn't have "in-between" meal options. There are either pastry shops and the supermarket, or a legitimate sit down meal. No in-between. So you can have a croissant and coffee (or tea, for those of us who don't like coffee) for lunch, of you can have a full meal, complete with two side dishes and an appetizer. So, in order to go "out to eat" you have to be really hungry, otherwise it is kind of a waste of money. But, when you do go out, the experience is also pretty different from that in the States. Generally, when you walk into a restaurant, you will seat yourself. Sometimes you don't even see the staff till they show up with your menus, which they leave at your table without any comment. Then, you order at your leisure. The server is attentive, but there is no pressure to order or eat in a hurry so that other people can take your table. Dinner usually takes about two hours because everything is so relaxed, and we sit for some time after the meal just talking. Mostly, I like that we actually sit around and talk after meals...talking is my favorite. They don't bring the check until you ask for it, and they always express gratitude when you leave a tip. I always fell like I made their day when I leave a tip, because tipping isn't as "required" as it is in the States. You actually tip based on service, and so the service is always good. I didn't even notice how slow-paced meals were here until my parents came to visit. We would sit down to eat, and before everyone was even finished with their meals, my dad would ask for the check. I was actually surprised the first time he did that. I assumed we would sit and talk for a while, and I even told him that we didn't have to leave right away...that it is expected for us to talk for a bit. In fact, the whole week they were here I felt like I ate faster than I usually do. They finally slowed down a bit by the end of the week, but not before I really had the chance to compare the pace of our culture with theirs. Czech culture really does move a a slower pace than American culture. I think part of that is because they rely a lot on public transportation to go places. You can't just hop in a car and make up lost time on the highway...you just have to be late...so being late isn't really as big of a deal as it is in the States. In general, it is less stressful than the States, I think. Maybe not at work, but in restaurants and stores, leisure reigns supreme.

These are just a few common things that I miss about the States: free refills, English as a first language, non-smoking sections in restaurants, driving, outlets that fit my plugs, not having to pay to use the bathroom (yes, it's an issue), paved roads...cobblestones are quaint and all, but paved roads are much easier on the feet, and hugs. I know that hugs seems like a weird one, but in four months, you can't really get to know someone well enough to be on a hug basis...it's sad. This post wasn't as thorough as I would have liked it be, but I feel like I hit the big differences...at least the ones that were the hardest to adjust too. I will make another post soon, because my suite mates and my roommate will probably throttle me if they don't make it into a least one blog...I promised. So, hopefully I will update soon.

Stay tuned!