Hey everyone! We finally have a home and are just getting settled.  We still have no hot water or internet which is kind of a problem but everything in Europe is slower than what we are used to so I'm trying to be patient with it.  This week we started our Intensive Czech Language course.  It is a crazy language!  We learned how to order food and we learned a bunch of basic foods so that we can get around in the grocery store or restaurant.  The tricky part of Czech is that there are SO many consonants back to back.  We have to try and pronounce words like "ctyri" (meaning the number 4) and "zmrzlina" (ice cream).  It is really great being able to learn something and then go right out in the street and use it!  A lot of Czech people in Prague speak English so it's not too hard getting around, but many do not, so it can be tricky getting around sometimes.  Next week we start our full course load.  I'm actually really excited to have a regular routine and to get into these classes.  They all seems so interesting!
I'm taking:
Intensive Czech
Czechs Jews and Germans in Bohemian Lands
Life and Culture in a Totalitarian Regime
Prague as a Living History (walking tour class)
and a course on the history of communism in the Czech Republic

The Powder Tower

We went on a few tours last week.  One of them was a short walking tour around the city.  We learned a bit about Czech architecture and the city's history.  It's amazing seeing the contrast in architecture!  One building will be modern cubism style and the next will be gothic style.

Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske Namesti)
Wenceslas Square is where Prague's major demonstrations have always been held.  The Velvet Revolution took place here in 1989 when the Czech people fought to overthrow the communist regime.

Wenceslas Square during the revolution

Change of Plans

So its been awhile since I last blogged, but thats because things have gotten pretty wild the past few days...
Long story short:
We moved into a nice apartment on the outskirts of Prague in a great neighborhood but our landlady turned into a psycho.  She came in one day and just started screaming at us because we had A. moved a blanket from the couch... B. had a guest stay the night... and C. we apparently weren't supposed to move the ironing board out of the closet.  We talked to our advisors and the realtors, who also talked to her.  She said she didn't want us living there which I guess is good that she admitted it because our semester could have been miserable if we'd have stayed.  The realtor company even said they thought she was crazy, so it wasn't just us!
So, after a few more days of trying to scramble and find housing after getting kicked out and being homeless for a day, we found a new place! The price is great and the location is also amazing!  It may get pretty touristy because it's near the Charles Bridge but the view we have is beautiful.  We can see the Prague Castle from our bedroom window!  We are all crossing our fingers that we have a nice landlord this time.
I'll post pictures of the apartment and view as soon as we get internet.
So now everything is hopefully settled and we have a pretty crazy story to tell... I've now dealt with a crazy Czech woman and been evicted from a Czech flat!
Love and miss you all!

Culture Shock!

While we haven’t had much of a chance to explore the city yet, I have interacted with many Czech people while tramming around and searching for flats.  Not only are we in Europe, we are in Eastern Europe.  Eastern Europe seems to be a whole other ball of wax than Western Europe.  Because this region has had so much dark history, it has really seemed to change the culture and even the look of the city.  While it is a beautiful city with amazing architecture, winding cobblestone streets, and random castle-like buildings everywhere, it kind of has a weird dark feel to it.  It’s hard to explain.  It seems as if a couple of world wars, the presence of the Nazi’s, and the Communist years have really haunted the city.  I’m really excited to learn all about Prague’s history in my courses.  There is so much!

Another thing that has come to my attention is that Czech people rarely smile.  They are extremely conservative and probably think I’m crazy when I smile to them on the street.  It doesn’t seem like it, but it’s pretty much natural for us as American’s to smile at someone on the street if you make eye contact… here, it is not normal at all.

This morning I wandered around our neighborhood, which is amazing, and grabbed a coffee.  My coffee was about the size of an oversized dixie cup.  Not only was it tiny, but it was about $2.50.  My coffee was way smaller and way more expensive than any beer I’ve gotten.  Beer is also cheaper than getting water at restaurants most of the time, which is crazy!  Last night I had a fried pocket with ham, chicken, and cheese in it.  It was delicious, but basically a heart attack on a plate.  I’ll have to monitor my eating habits for sure!

The restaurant service, like in many European countries, is slow.  They take their sweet time taking your order and bringing your food.  We'll have to learn how to be more patient and relax, which will be a nice change!

One Week In

Sorry I haven’t written much since I landed, but it has been a really really busy week.  My flights went smoothly out of the U.S. and I arrived to 40 degree weather in Prague!  The weather this week has been beautiful, which is great for all of this orientation that we have going on.  As soon as we got to the hotel, we were bustled out into the tram to get to our school, Charles University.  The tram systems are great!  I’ll be using them a lot. 

The school we will be taking courses in is right near Old Town and Wenceslas Square.  I also just learned that down the street from where we will be taking classes is a building that was the Prague headquarters of the Nazi party, and right next to our building was once the headquarters for the Czech Communist Party.  Kind of creepy…

The front of school - Charles University

So this past week, we have been in orientation every day and have been searching for flats (apartments) around the city.  This has involved a lot of walking and a lot of stress.  It’s pretty tricky finding a flat in a good location, in your price range, and with people you barely know, in such a short time.  After a whole week of stressing over that, we finally found a place!  I’m living in a cute little flat in Nove Mesto (New Town), in Prague 2, on a street called Na Hradku.  It’s a great neighborhood and we are all so relieved that we got so lucky!  We are close to the tram stop that will take us to and from class and downtown, above a restaurant and post office, and a few blocks from the Vltava River.  Oh, and there’s a botanical garden across the street which I’m sure will be beautiful in the Spring!  I’m living with three other girls from Tulane and we are working to gain the respect of other residents in the building.  Apparently there was a group of American boys living in the flat last semester who were loud and obnoxious and had a bunch of parties.  We are lucky that the landlord gave us a chance seeing as they are not very fond of having Americans live in their flats due to our “loud voices” and loud music… we are hoping that they will soon smile back in the stairwell after they realize that not all Americans are crazy and loud.

View from my bedroom window

We start our intensive Czech language course on Monday and I’m actually pretty excited.  It’ll be nice to have a routine to my days and weeks, and to learn some Czech to help me get around. 

With the first week under my belt, I’m feeling relieved and ready to finally go explore the city!