Just got back from a hockey (hocji) game- Prague Slavia vs Bili Tygri Liberec. Prague lost, but it was still fun!
Czech class is still reallllly hard but at least I have the weekend off to chill and enjoy Prague. Later we’re planning on going to The Beer Factory, which is a very special pub. Each table has its own tap and then there are screens over the table to show how much each table has imbibed so you can compete with everyone there. Obviously this pub was the idea of an American who moved to Prague.
Czech word of the day: důn (pronounced duuuune). Meaning: house.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
jake se mash! (what is up?)
Just got back from the opera at the National Theatre and it was amazing! We saw La Traviata and it was sooo good. And the theatre is old and beautiful and I can’t wait to go back for Swan Lake next week.
Czech class, on the other hand, is really ridiculously hard. My Czech professor is a very enthusiastic grandma with excellent English, but it doesn’t make learning the hardest Slavic language any easier. There are a few phonemes we don’t have in English, the easiest being a regular rolled R which I couldn’t do in Spanish anyway. And then there is Ř, which I can best describe as r+g+sh with a growl all at the same time. Needless to say I cannot make that sound, which means I cannot say the number 4, direct someone to go up, or put things in my wardrobe…damn. The grammar and structure and everything is so hard too… gah!
Today I also paid for all of my group trips (after a small altercation with a bank employee) so I am officially signed up to go to Berlin, Vienna, Istanbul, Linz, and Salzburg. I might even get to do the Sound of Music tour in Austria!! Plus I’m going to Budapest with my roommate and her parents, and possibly other trips if I can afford them. Yay for the Euro!
Tonight we’re going to a café to celebrate my friend’s acceptance into the neuroscience major- this definitely warrants pivo.
I leave you with the Czech word of the day.
Americanky (pronounced A-mer-i-chun-ky). I think it’s a fitting description of our country’s citizens. From now on I’m pretending to be Kanadianky.
Czech class, on the other hand, is really ridiculously hard. My Czech professor is a very enthusiastic grandma with excellent English, but it doesn’t make learning the hardest Slavic language any easier. There are a few phonemes we don’t have in English, the easiest being a regular rolled R which I couldn’t do in Spanish anyway. And then there is Ř, which I can best describe as r+g+sh with a growl all at the same time. Needless to say I cannot make that sound, which means I cannot say the number 4, direct someone to go up, or put things in my wardrobe…damn. The grammar and structure and everything is so hard too… gah!
Today I also paid for all of my group trips (after a small altercation with a bank employee) so I am officially signed up to go to Berlin, Vienna, Istanbul, Linz, and Salzburg. I might even get to do the Sound of Music tour in Austria!! Plus I’m going to Budapest with my roommate and her parents, and possibly other trips if I can afford them. Yay for the Euro!
Tonight we’re going to a café to celebrate my friend’s acceptance into the neuroscience major- this definitely warrants pivo.
I leave you with the Czech word of the day.
Americanky (pronounced A-mer-i-chun-ky). I think it’s a fitting description of our country’s citizens. From now on I’m pretending to be Kanadianky.
Monday, February 9, 2009
there was sun today!
The internet in my apartment is somewhat inconsistent; I’m stealing a stranger’s wireless right now and wondering what the punishment would be for that in a country like that. So if I don’t reply to your e-mails, just assume I have no internet access or have been placed in Czech jail.
But in good news, all of the national galleries were open for free this weekend and I made it to 3. I saw the gallery of old European masters, a gallery of work related to dancing and festivities, and a Picasso exhibit in a huge modern art museum. The modern art museum was my favorite obviously because of all of the weird, funky, shiny, mixed media stuff that I love so much. But I was good and didn’t get in trouble for touching anything. After that gallery I had the BEST meal I have had in Prauge so far at Bohemia Bagel. (Annika, Scott, etc- did you ever eat there? There is also one in old town and one right over the Charles Bridge). Falafal burger= mmmmm.
Tomorrow is my first day of class-ish. We’re all watching a documentary about Jan’s life called “Fighter” made by some Brown students who did this program a few years ago. Then hopefully I’ll have my first language class if Jan doesn’t lecture too long after the film. I’m really excited to be able to say more than “Please may I have the bill” and my favorite, “I don’t’ understand Czech”.
And to further prove that this is a very small, Jewish world, I met Jaime’s sorority sister at breakfast today in my building and she came with us to the galleries. Hi JAIME!
But in good news, all of the national galleries were open for free this weekend and I made it to 3. I saw the gallery of old European masters, a gallery of work related to dancing and festivities, and a Picasso exhibit in a huge modern art museum. The modern art museum was my favorite obviously because of all of the weird, funky, shiny, mixed media stuff that I love so much. But I was good and didn’t get in trouble for touching anything. After that gallery I had the BEST meal I have had in Prauge so far at Bohemia Bagel. (Annika, Scott, etc- did you ever eat there? There is also one in old town and one right over the Charles Bridge). Falafal burger= mmmmm.
Tomorrow is my first day of class-ish. We’re all watching a documentary about Jan’s life called “Fighter” made by some Brown students who did this program a few years ago. Then hopefully I’ll have my first language class if Jan doesn’t lecture too long after the film. I’m really excited to be able to say more than “Please may I have the bill” and my favorite, “I don’t’ understand Czech”.
And to further prove that this is a very small, Jewish world, I met Jaime’s sorority sister at breakfast today in my building and she came with us to the galleries. Hi JAIME!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Prague goes to bed early.
I still haven’t started class and I’m still just wondering around this beautiful city, discovering cool new shit everywhere. Yesterday we finally were able to pick up our metro passes so we have unlimited use of the metro for the next three months, even though the public transport in Prague runs on the honor system- there are no turnstyles or ticket takers but every once in a while a police officer might ask to see your pass and fine you if you don’t have one. I don’t think any US city public transportation could run on the honor system. The trams are actually really efficient and super cute and I fully intend on riding to every stop just to see what’s there.
This morning we went to see a special performance by the Czech Philharmonic as recommended by Zuzana. We figured it would just be a daytime open dress rehearsal for their new program that opens this weekend. It turned out to be a special educational performance for what seemed to be every middle school student in central Europe. We were the only college students, and definitely the only ones who didn’t understand the Czech jokes and explanations of each section of the orchestra. It was still cool nonetheless and the conductor was a dreamy young Czech.
In the afternoon I had a 4 hour ordeal of doing laundry that involved taking the tram too far, going to a Laundromat that reeked of pot, paying too much, and coming home with damp, smelly clothes. I am very disappointed by Czech laundry.
Tonight we pubbed and now I’m exhausted, even though “late” pubs close at 1 am. This is my kind of city!
This morning we went to see a special performance by the Czech Philharmonic as recommended by Zuzana. We figured it would just be a daytime open dress rehearsal for their new program that opens this weekend. It turned out to be a special educational performance for what seemed to be every middle school student in central Europe. We were the only college students, and definitely the only ones who didn’t understand the Czech jokes and explanations of each section of the orchestra. It was still cool nonetheless and the conductor was a dreamy young Czech.
In the afternoon I had a 4 hour ordeal of doing laundry that involved taking the tram too far, going to a Laundromat that reeked of pot, paying too much, and coming home with damp, smelly clothes. I am very disappointed by Czech laundry.
Tonight we pubbed and now I’m exhausted, even though “late” pubs close at 1 am. This is my kind of city!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
day trippin'
The past two days ECES organized day trips for us to go out of the city and see what’s in the Czech country side. It turns out there are a few cows, naked billboards, and that’s about it.
Yesterday I went to Cesky Krumlov which is a town 2 and ½ hours south of Prague and close the German boarder. The town is really quaint and charming and we set off to explore it with our Very Attractive Charles Grad Student Tour Leader. He had never visited the town before, but he was very enthusiastic!! We started at the Schwartenberg Castle, but the inside is closed for renovation so we just wandered the grounds. We also went to the studio/home/museum of Josef Siedel who was a famous photographer. We also went to an architecture museum, but most of the museum was closed so it was more of a lecture about architecture. After cappichino (obvi) we headed back to Prague and watched a documentary about a popular 70s Czech rock band. There were no subtitles so I have no idea what was going on, but a few times I heard them say “good day”.
Today I went to Terezin, which was a Jewish Ghetto used by the Nazis to house Jews from Czechoslovakia, Moravia, Bohemia, Austria, and Denmark before they were transported to the concentration camps. We went to the Small Fortress which was built during the Hapsburg Empire and originally used for prisoners of war. We also saw the children’s home and school and there was some information on Raja Iganderova (of QuantUM’s “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” fame). All of the original buildings remain and have pretty much not been touched except for a few. One barracks has been converted into a museum so we looked at exhibits on how the Jews in the ghetto still composed operas and wrote novels and performed plays- most of which have been lost since. The whole day was pretty hard and despite having been to Yad Vashem and the holocaust museum in DC, I was not prepared for how powerful and emotional an experience it is to physically stand there where it really happened. We had a guide who kind of spoke English, but we’ll probably go back at some point with Jan Weiner, our “house father”, who was actually imprisoned in Terzin when he was 13 and was assigned to build the train tracks to Auschwitz. (He’s a good google).
And tonight we’re going downtown to explore the nightlife at the Eurotrash clubs!
Yesterday I went to Cesky Krumlov which is a town 2 and ½ hours south of Prague and close the German boarder. The town is really quaint and charming and we set off to explore it with our Very Attractive Charles Grad Student Tour Leader. He had never visited the town before, but he was very enthusiastic!! We started at the Schwartenberg Castle, but the inside is closed for renovation so we just wandered the grounds. We also went to the studio/home/museum of Josef Siedel who was a famous photographer. We also went to an architecture museum, but most of the museum was closed so it was more of a lecture about architecture. After cappichino (obvi) we headed back to Prague and watched a documentary about a popular 70s Czech rock band. There were no subtitles so I have no idea what was going on, but a few times I heard them say “good day”.
Today I went to Terezin, which was a Jewish Ghetto used by the Nazis to house Jews from Czechoslovakia, Moravia, Bohemia, Austria, and Denmark before they were transported to the concentration camps. We went to the Small Fortress which was built during the Hapsburg Empire and originally used for prisoners of war. We also saw the children’s home and school and there was some information on Raja Iganderova (of QuantUM’s “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” fame). All of the original buildings remain and have pretty much not been touched except for a few. One barracks has been converted into a museum so we looked at exhibits on how the Jews in the ghetto still composed operas and wrote novels and performed plays- most of which have been lost since. The whole day was pretty hard and despite having been to Yad Vashem and the holocaust museum in DC, I was not prepared for how powerful and emotional an experience it is to physically stand there where it really happened. We had a guide who kind of spoke English, but we’ll probably go back at some point with Jan Weiner, our “house father”, who was actually imprisoned in Terzin when he was 13 and was assigned to build the train tracks to Auschwitz. (He’s a good google).
And tonight we’re going downtown to explore the nightlife at the Eurotrash clubs!
Monday, February 2, 2009
"Advice #3: Try not to be so American"
Just a quick post before I head off for a day trip…
Yesterday was a veryyyy long, very adventurous day. We had “orientation” early in the morning at the university which consisted not of actually orientating us to anything, but rather, we got some advice from the professors and administrators of this program about experiencing Czech culture in general. One of them confirmed our suspicions that everyone here over age 50 hates not only Americans, but they also hate happiness. He justified it with some kind of “communism” excuse. We also learned that Czechs have a disturbing sense of humor, and that most Czech men will order their priorities this way: beer, women, God.” So really, nothing that different from America. Just fewer vowels.
After orientation I set off with a few other girls and used our map to walk all over the Old Town Square section of the city. Btw, this is not a city with grids like New York or Miami. There are streets that turn back on themselves and streets that only appear on Tuesdays and some streets where Americans are especially not welcome. We found them all! We walked for approx. 18 km and eventually found the department store and even managed to get the right tram back going in the right direction. Not that I can pronounce my stop, but I think I cam recognize it by now.
For my birthday, we went to a bar described on a guide site as being populated by “dreamy young Czechs”. I’m not sure where said Czechs were, but the drinks were good and it was an excellent birthday.
Today everyone is headed on different day trips. I’m going to Cesky Krumlov, which is a small country town with massive historical significance that I will learn about in great detail I’m sure.
Love and goulash,
Jo
Yesterday was a veryyyy long, very adventurous day. We had “orientation” early in the morning at the university which consisted not of actually orientating us to anything, but rather, we got some advice from the professors and administrators of this program about experiencing Czech culture in general. One of them confirmed our suspicions that everyone here over age 50 hates not only Americans, but they also hate happiness. He justified it with some kind of “communism” excuse. We also learned that Czechs have a disturbing sense of humor, and that most Czech men will order their priorities this way: beer, women, God.” So really, nothing that different from America. Just fewer vowels.
After orientation I set off with a few other girls and used our map to walk all over the Old Town Square section of the city. Btw, this is not a city with grids like New York or Miami. There are streets that turn back on themselves and streets that only appear on Tuesdays and some streets where Americans are especially not welcome. We found them all! We walked for approx. 18 km and eventually found the department store and even managed to get the right tram back going in the right direction. Not that I can pronounce my stop, but I think I cam recognize it by now.
For my birthday, we went to a bar described on a guide site as being populated by “dreamy young Czechs”. I’m not sure where said Czechs were, but the drinks were good and it was an excellent birthday.
Today everyone is headed on different day trips. I’m going to Cesky Krumlov, which is a small country town with massive historical significance that I will learn about in great detail I’m sure.
Love and goulash,
Jo
Sunday, February 1, 2009
...with rum!
i guess my last blog post wasn't so coherent. sorry!
after some ambien-induced hallucinations (no mythical creatures but apparently i told my roommate that my shampoo was doing a dance on my cubby), and a solid night of sleeping off the time difference, i had a "real" day in the city. Suzana took us to Hradcany (like hrad ches-keny with the Slavic rolled R that I cant do), the Prague castle where the president and other government officials have offices. The castle and the buildings around it are amazing and show all types of design- Roman columns and arches, Gothic spires, Baroque embellishments and modern windows. We stopped at a cafe in one of the many national galleries and Suzana introduced us to too Czech traditions- hot mulled wine and "grock", which is hot tea.... with rum! this was at 10:30 am and it turned out the grock was much heavier on the rum side than the tea side. I guess this is how they deal with the cold all winter.
After the first drink of the day we walked through the castle and "old city" neighborhood. There are tons of galleries and some museums made up of the private collections of aristocratic Czech families. Suzana promised to get us tickets to the galleries for some of our "cultural fridays".
Suzana had to leave us, so we made our first tram adventure alone. Armed with explicit directions, we took the street car to Andel (meaning angel) to a shopping center to get cell phones and some groceries. I think my number is 420.776.738.323, but it's probably very expensive to call it without an international calling card. I can call a US land line though for only 10 CZK a minute, or 5 cents if the dollar is having a good day. After shopping we ate at another local pub and found out for sure that beer is cheaper than water here. We made it back even with a tram switch and now we're chilling until we eat dinner. We're going to try a Vietnamese restaurant close to the dorm that claims to be "nearly vegetarian".
so far i've only been doing things with the miami group (there are 7 girls and 4 guys) but tomorrow i'll have orientation with all 160 english speaking students at this faculty of the university. i did meet some canadians in the lobby today, one of whom reminded me of Tess from our israel trip. i'll keep an eye out for her...
i hope to continue being a "real" person tomorrow by taking the tram to Tesco (described as walmart like but with more raw meat) after orientation in the morning. oh and it's my birthday too.
peace and miss you all,
jo
after some ambien-induced hallucinations (no mythical creatures but apparently i told my roommate that my shampoo was doing a dance on my cubby), and a solid night of sleeping off the time difference, i had a "real" day in the city. Suzana took us to Hradcany (like hrad ches-keny with the Slavic rolled R that I cant do), the Prague castle where the president and other government officials have offices. The castle and the buildings around it are amazing and show all types of design- Roman columns and arches, Gothic spires, Baroque embellishments and modern windows. We stopped at a cafe in one of the many national galleries and Suzana introduced us to too Czech traditions- hot mulled wine and "grock", which is hot tea.... with rum! this was at 10:30 am and it turned out the grock was much heavier on the rum side than the tea side. I guess this is how they deal with the cold all winter.
After the first drink of the day we walked through the castle and "old city" neighborhood. There are tons of galleries and some museums made up of the private collections of aristocratic Czech families. Suzana promised to get us tickets to the galleries for some of our "cultural fridays".
Suzana had to leave us, so we made our first tram adventure alone. Armed with explicit directions, we took the street car to Andel (meaning angel) to a shopping center to get cell phones and some groceries. I think my number is 420.776.738.323, but it's probably very expensive to call it without an international calling card. I can call a US land line though for only 10 CZK a minute, or 5 cents if the dollar is having a good day. After shopping we ate at another local pub and found out for sure that beer is cheaper than water here. We made it back even with a tram switch and now we're chilling until we eat dinner. We're going to try a Vietnamese restaurant close to the dorm that claims to be "nearly vegetarian".
so far i've only been doing things with the miami group (there are 7 girls and 4 guys) but tomorrow i'll have orientation with all 160 english speaking students at this faculty of the university. i did meet some canadians in the lobby today, one of whom reminded me of Tess from our israel trip. i'll keep an eye out for her...
i hope to continue being a "real" person tomorrow by taking the tram to Tesco (described as walmart like but with more raw meat) after orientation in the morning. oh and it's my birthday too.
peace and miss you all,
jo
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