Czechs can really dance!

As you may already be guessing, the subject of this post is to applaud the Czech government for making ballroom dancing a mandatory subject of study in high school. Last night we went out for my friend Tomas' birthday party to Limonadavy Joe's. A band that he is friends with was playing Latin music and we had the best time. I don't think I knew I could dance before that because I never had a leader who knew what he was doing. And Saturday night we did a totally different kind of dancing at Lucerna, an 80's dance club. But it was still soooooo fun!

Oh, also today I had the Czech version of ramen noodles for lunch. Pretty tasty I must say... although it doesn't hold a candle to the real thing. I have been trying to save money by eating at home, but its not easy. We have seven people sharing a mini fridge, two burners, and a sink about the size of a bathroom sink. There is no oven and no microwave. But somehow it works out. There has been no squabbling about space, and I am really enjoying all of my flatmates.





And then I have some more pictures that Slava took from the hiking at Cesky Raj for your enjoyment. This first one is of the whole group who went on the hike at the very beginning while we were all still together.

Here I am doing some wimpy rock climbing. I need to get my arms stronger if I want to be able to climb well again.

This is an action shot jumping from one rock to another. It was actually pretty scary.

And the final pic... at the ruins at the end of the hike. Is it the beginning or the end?

Now I am off to check out another studio. We can go to as many as we want before we decide which one to take. So far there are no heavy favorites, but we shall see.

Orientation Week: Last day

On friday we went on a day trip to the Skoda car factory, Cesky Raj, and Devicka Medieval Tavern. I had a GREAT day. The hiking was definitely my favorite part...

Ok well this is kinda random but it is the lobby of the dorm. Pretty sweet.

Part of the Skoda museum. They let us see the assembly line too but we weren't allowed to take pictures. :( It was really cool to see though.

Me with the first Skoda car ever made. As you can see, I am alive and well.

A close up of a retro grill.

And an interesting reflection.

The following pictures are from Cesky Raj, or Czech paradise.

I thought this was an interesting composition.

Some of the beautiful rocks. I have way more pictures than these if you want to see more when I get back.

Some artistic rock stairs.

Lichen growing on one of the rocks. I think it looks like a grassy field almost.

A view of the town below.

Me and some of the ISC boys.

More Nature.

A panoramic view from the top with some of my rock climbing buddies. I could go on a hike every day and never get tired of it.

Medieval Tavern Device. Notice all the skulls in the background.

A typical table.

A medieval torture device. Some of the guys who did this still don't have full feeling back in their fingers. Each person takes turn giving it a twist until someone gives up.

Its funny how everday the city gets a little smaller. Ports once known only via metro are connected by walking. Places known only by walking are connected by tram and so on. Already I am starting to feel like I live here. I think part of it is knowing where you are going, part is your flippancy towards the things around you. I find myself keeping my face relaxed, not smiling at strangers. The other day I saw people coming from the airport and they looked so ridiculous to me with their big smiles for no reason. Its only weird looking in the street. In a club, people smile the night away. Speaking of, last night I went to the best 80's club I have ever seen called Lucerna. The Czechs just go crazy for 80's music, and everybody just dances ridiculously bad. It was so fun!

Also, I did laundry today and it was like learning how to do it all over again. We had to haul it all about 8 blocks to the local Laundry King which sounds much nicer than it actually is. Then, their machines were very strange and I had to have the lady show me how to work them. But I have clean clothes now, so it was worth it.

School starts tomorrow and I don't know any of my classes yet. Oh well. I'm off to watch a movie and go to bed. I'll try to update in a couple of days.

Orientation Week, Day 4

Oh Thursday... you are so glorious. Today has been the first day I have not been stressed out trying to get something done or figure out how something works. Actually, I have been trying to get this dang scholarship thing done, but it doesn't bother me much. I haven't really done anything today besides finish my book, fill out some paperwork, and work on the scholarship. Yesterday, however, was a very different story.

Yesterday I got to go to the policie station to get my visa validated. I was going to go with the group at 6 AM but, well for anyone who knows me, you probably know how well that went. So I went with another group at 9 AM instead... big mistake. We got there around 10 and they weren't handing out any tickets to get in line for supposedly another hour because too many people were waiting. So we went and walked around, which was cool because I hadn't been to that area of Prague yet.

Actually this is where we ate dinner one Tuesday night. It was a pretty cool place right around the corner from the dorm.

It was a very foggy day. You can barely see the broadcasting tower poking out of the ground.

This is a church designed by someone famous... don't ask me who.


broadcasting tower...


Here are some old people getting free massages. At first we thought it was a morgue with the bodies on display or some weird testing place...

These are the people I was out with.

Hey Baby!?!

A cool cemetery we walked by...

I just liked this building...

Some provacative graffiti..

Actually, there was graffiti everywhere. I think we were in the ghetto...

What would you do for a klondike bar?

So finally we end up back in the waiting room around 11. They were not giving out numbers. I started reading my book. 12 o'clock came. They started giving out numbers, but sooo many people wanted them! So far in the czech republic I have yet to wait in an ORGANIZED line. Everything is a first come, first serve type of deal only with a giant cluster of people... may the pushiest win. So of course I end up with number 640... with somewhere around 50 people in front of me. The rest of my group fared no better... we do not like pushing. It was the same when we signed up for excursions the other day... I'll talk about that in a sec.

This is the waiting room... very exciting as you can see.

We waited and waited. I promise we were not this happy.

Finally we got through at about 2:30. We waited all that time to get a stamp and a signature, and two copies of our passport made. Ridiculous.

So everyone was pretty hungry after that. We decided not to eat lunch in the ghetto and took the metro elsewhere. We stopped to eat at a place right by this church.

We ate at a non-touristy Czech restaurant. It was cafeteria style, so you picked stuff up and paid at the end. (Nothing is all you can eat or free here. You can't even get a cup of water free. And they don't have ice!!! :( The food was good, although mine was an odd combination because nobody here is a vegetarian. Potatoes with tomato sauce on top and spinach... thank goodness Stanley was there.. he is Czech so he helped me figure out something to eat! He also helped us all day at the police station... what a nice guy!

Speaking of nice guys, have I told you about my Czech buddy Martin? Well he is also really nice and has helped me with everything. He came over last night and we went to the pub in the basement for a while. Actually it was really funny because a bunch of people ended up down there and we were teaching each other tongue twisters in other languages... czechs cannot say aluminum lynoleoum 5 times fast!

Here are some other pictures from the rest of the day:

Yes, this is a real street sign... :)

Sunset.

Tomorrow I am going on an excursion with ISC to Škoda Mlada Boleslav & Drabské Světničky & Medieval Tavern Dětěnice
Sightseeing. Basically to the Škoda Fabric and Car Museum, walking in nature, and an evening in Medieval Tavern Dětěnice with unique medieval programme. Then on Saturday I am going to Karlovy Vary for sightseeing in the famous spa resort and Castle Loket. I would have gone on more trips but as I was mentioning the sign ups were really crazy and there was limited space. If you want to see more about these trips go to: http://www.isc.cvut.cz/en/index.php?sub=34&sub_sub=1372 Anyways, I will update you on those trips when I get back, probably on Sunday. Bye!

Orientation Week, Day 2

Well everbody, what can I say? The last couple of days have been very busy, I dare say a bit crazed. BUT, I have been loving every minute of it. I am definietly still in the honeymoon phase of culture shock. I am having a hard time getting used to the hardness of the place. There are few pillows, cushions, grassy areas, carpets, etc, and lots of tile, concrete, and wood.

Other things that have struck me as strange include the lack of dental floss... anywhere. I forgot to bring some with me, and all I can find here is toothpicks... and that was after an extensive search! There is also something about the air here that gives me a runny nose every time I step outside. I know it sounds gross, but its really annoying! So I have learned to take tissues with me everywhere.

Yesterday I broke down and bought a cell phone. I put my little SIM card in it and it didn't work, so I was kinda stressed out because it cost around 50 bucks and the store didn't give me a receipt. But I went back today and the girl was really nice, the phone just needed to be unlocked. She apologized and fixed it. So far not speaking Czech hasn't put me at too much of a disadvantage because almost everyone who I have come across speaks some english. Oh.. and phone number here have nine digits plus a country code. Its strange, to be sure. My number is +420 775 329 758. But don't call it because it will use all my credit in pretty much a minute for international calls.

This is a little alley we went down while I was looking for a used cell phone at a second hand store.

Oh and one more thing. I don't think people here drink milk. And I am dying for a glass of skim. Alas... : ) Actually, people really just drink beer all the time. Pilsner mostly, and Stella, and some long one that I can't pronounce! Other than that, its mostly pop or water with gas (sparkling water).

So aside from getting my phone yesterday, I also got a watch and attempted to get my rail pass... but failed miserably and got it this morning instead. While we were looking for the place to get my pass, we got off at the Mustek stop and saw the big Prague Museum (I don't know the name off-hand) so I took some pictures, but we didn't go in.




The pickings are slim as far as vegetarian food goes, but I am getting along alright. Last night was our first ISC party at the PM bar downtown. They had this hilarious Queen revival band there. I got to meet up with Ondrej and Pavel (my friends who studied abroad at KSU last year) and also my Czech buddy Martin. Its crazy how many people I have met in the last 5 days! I know people from Finland, Russia, Spain, Mexico, France, etc.... and I keep meeting more and more people from Prague. I am having a great time and suprisingly am actually remembering people's names! In particular, I keep running into this guy named Slava all over the place. He is a Czech, and an officer in ISC. Its really weird, but we had lunch together today after yet another suprise meeting, so its cool.

Um... lets see.... oh. This morning we had our preliminary registration for the "fakulty architektura" which was almost a complete waste of three hours of my life. I really won't know what classes I am going to take until next week, but I think I will be taking a urban renewal studio, sculpture, figure drawing, czech language and czech culture.

Tonight we supposedly are getting the internet turned on in our rooms, but I bet it will be more like Thursday. Also, we are signing up for weekend trips with ISC at a 4:00 meeting. It should be a good time.

I really need to get better at making up titles...

Ok first things first. If you want to see what I worked on last summer, watch Ronald Lewis on the Ellen Show, Mardi Gras edition on Tuesday, February 20.

Saturday night came quickly and I ended up going out with my Czech buddy Martin and some other Czechs I met in the ISC (International Student Center), as well as some other international students from Spain, France, and Finland. Martin has been REALLY helpful- he picked me up from the airport, helped me get signed in, and pretty much showed us how to do anything and everything we have needed to do.

On Saturday morning I woke up around 10:30 and went to mass in English with my flatmate Katie at the Infant of Prague cathedral. (Thats not exactly what its called, but I can't remember so we'll go with it.) The church was gorgeous but the pews were soooo uncomfortable and the kneelers were worse. Curiously enough, the backs of the pews had heaters on them.

This is a view of the alter area from where I was sitting during mass.
This is a view of the statue of the infant of Prague. I think Gran came to this church at one point because she gave me a book about it.

After mass we went to lunch were I had some alright pesto pasta. It was vegetarian, so that is enough to make me happy! It was actually pretty close to where I had lunch yesterday in a more touristy area. The food is more expensive but they have menus in english so it is convenient.

Once we had finished eating, we went in search of a coat because I was cold. It was a warm day, but the wind and shade made it chilly. I didn't want to wear my coat though because it smelled like smoke from last night, so I thought I might get another one. (One for smoky places, one for not so smoky places.) Unfortunately I didn't find one, but I did get a power adapter (which apparently is something totally different than a converter, but still necessary.) After that we went to Tesco which is the Czech equivalent of a Target but spread over 4 floors. I got some much needed things there like a little mirror, hangers, hair dryer, dishes, etc. And man am I loving the prices here.

My poor roommate (Marina). She is doing an English workbook as we speak. It has got to be hard not knowing English when that is how everyone is communicating who doesn't know Czech. It is kind of a double whammy for her.

So anyways, finally we got home with our stuff and I saw my friend Jeff in the lobby. He told me everyone was getting ready to go out in a few minutes so I decided to go with them. We ended up going to a pizza place around the corner that was pretty good, but was so much food that I had to get a box. So now we are back at the dorms and Malcolm is talking to his friends trying to figure out where we are going out tonight with his other roommate. Orientation week starts tomorrow and I can't wait to see what it will be like. Thats it for now, more later!

Oh P.S. My little 'cashew' bag is working out great. I also love the pop out map that Sarah gave me (my work friend). And, if you want to write me or send something the address is:

Sally Maddock
Masarykova Kolej
Thákurova 1
Prague 6
164 01
Czech Republic

Ok bye!

P.P.S. I got on aim and none of you were online... wah. Lauren- (I know it was better... hahaha)