Number 8

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." - Dale Carnegie

While attending Arizona State in pursuit of my undergraduate degree, I decided to join Facebook. (Waaait a minute! I have a point with this story!!) Instead of jotting down a quick blurb about myself in the "About Me" section, I figured it would be more telling to list my lifetime goals. At the time, I had ten of them. I think most of them still ring pretty true... Of course, every once in a while, I consider updating my list to reflect my newest aspirations; but, I usually stumble through the process and ultimately give up - vowing I'll return to the task eventually...

So, here is the original list I developed as an undergraduate...

Lifetime Goals:

1. Make my parents proud.

2. Laugh. Everyday.

3. Tell my family & friends I love them. Everyday.

4. Meet Lloyd Christmas & Harry Dunn.

5. Bust some sick moves on the dance floor.

6. Get into grad school.

7. Publish a book. Or edit one.

8. Get to know my neighbors.

9. Travel to every continent.

10. Say: "I tried everything at least once!" and *actually* mean it.

Anyhoo, as I was "stumbling through the process," I decided number eight might be my favorite. All the others are quite special in their own way, of course. However, number eight seems to say something intriguing. The idea of "getting to know" my neighbors can be perceived in multiple ways - naturally. But, I think it says something about your character when you're eager to meet new people. Ideally, I would love to learn my neighbor's names and a little something about them, and even see them in an environment other than my apartment building (in a completely non-stalker way, of course!)

So then, to my point. Tonight, I met Angela. I held the door open for her as we walked through the lobby. After retrieving my mail, she held the elevator door for me. We discussed the weather and then she said: "Well, my dear - where are you from??" I told her I was from Phoenix and it was "days like these that make me miss the desert heat just a bit..." She laughed and said: "Honey, I'm originally from Florida. This is nothin!" Oh, Angela! Let's have coffee sometime!

Hells Kitchen Market

Although the weather has been pretty crummy the past few weeks (hot/humid/sticky/muggy/totally unbearable), I've decided to horde my pennies and start walking to campus more often. It's a short walk (Two avenues + 14 blocks) and takes about 20 minutes. Plus, I walk through Hell's Kitchen, which is a total delight early in the morning. Most restaurants are preparing for the day's guests and many of the bakerys and grocers are setting up their products.

More recently, I've come to sincerely appreciate the Hell's Kitchen Market, located on 9th Ave between 56th and 57th street. Basically, it's a series of six to eight tents offering up slices of heavenly bliss - fresh fruit, produce, and baked goods. Just walking by and inhaling the aroma of home-grown, heart-felt confections lifts me above the humidity.

"here! you throw this away!!"

as i walked around herald square this morning, i realized hand-bills might very well be one of the most annoying things about new york city. because i'm always walking around, i'm vulnerable to anybody wanting to pass along his or her marketing information. a lot of people i've talked to about it say i should just ignore them. but, it's simply not my style to ignore the ladies and gents who are only doing their jobs. however, i feel guilty taking hand-bills that i know i'll just throw away at the next corner. so, i'll continue to spread a little appreciation for the hard-working folks... "oh, no thanks!" is all they'll hear from me.

tom's

i don't have cable. it's too expensive, and i'm pinching pennies wherever i can. so, i watch a lot of tbs. 

i was always a fan of seinfeld, but since becoming an avid tbs-network follower, i've fallen in love with the comical quartet all over again. 

today, blake and i met a friend for lunch at tom's restaurant on the upper west side. the inside of the "real tom's" is nothing like the inside of the "fake tom's" from the show. but, it was still pretty cool. the entire restaurant was painted with seinfeld memorabilia - including the portrait of kramer on the wall. ironically enough, that very episode was on tbs last night. (nerd alert!)

sunday brunch - 7/19/09

i love sunday brunch. i love the idea of sleeping in on a sunday, waking up, eating something totally wonderful, and then lounging around all day. 

this past sunday, we had a wicked sunday brunch. several months ago, i was introduced to maracas. (thank you amyjane!) this restaurant is totally phenom. $5 all you can drink in 90 minutes. "but lauren, what can you drink unlimitedly for $5?" i'm so thrilled you asked! you can have as many mimosas, margaritas, or blood marys you can handle in a 90 min time period. 

while relaxing over eggs and mimosas with some friends, something wonderful happened. something wonderful's name - kiefer. 

i had only a brief look at his face and then only his back as he walked away. but several of my pals had a better glimpse. nonetheless, he was spotted. we saw you, kiefer!!

after the amazing brunch, we moseyed through soho. there was a fab street fair bustling up and down broadway. all the food smelled totally phenom. had i not been so full from brunch, guaranteed i would have partaken.

whatever the case - i love sunday brunch. :)

Czech Mate - 7/12/09

i made it to my new gate. now, i'm waiting for my flight back to jfk. last night was pretty rough. i was up every few minutes because the chairs were far too uncomfortable for a decent nap. i cradled my bag all night; it was the perfect pillow. however, i did chat it up with one of the security guards, and i was able to vid-chat with some girlfriends still in prague. i was up and at 'em around 5:30a. i made my way over to the other international terminal. i had to wait about half an hour before the customs agents started to accept passengers. the whole thing was sort of frustrating. after sleeping in the terminal, truly, all i wanted was a hot coffee and a warm bed. (not happening, i know.) 

as wonderful as this trip has been, i'm loving the idea of getting back to my routine next week. i'm sure i'll be biting my tongue while i'm at work - wishing i was back in vinohrady. 

i'll pass out on the plane, and dream of the city square... 

Czech Mate - 7/11/09

we're all on our way out. we said our good-byes last night... and a few this morning. they were all bitter-sweet. of course, i fell madly in love with a dozen people and i'm pretty smitten with thirty or so others that i was able to hob-knob with this week. the girls and i went walking through the city square for a few hours today. several people from the group are doing more traveling before heading back home, wherever home might be.  

i have a thing about charles de gaulle airport. i had a terrible experience here three summers ago, so when i found out i had a ten (10!!) hour layover here, i was fretting. of course, my layover was scheduled over night, so i was totally not planning to go into the city and galavant around. plus, i figured i could just sleep in the airport since it would be a waste of money to rent a hotel for eight or so hours. i just landed in paris and the customer service agent suggested i take a snooze in the terminal. looking around, there are several others who have passed out - surely waiting for their connecting flights. i'll let you know how this goes... 

Czech Mate - 7/10/09

today was our last full day in prague. :( 

we had class this morning. it was rough. after such a long day yesterday, we struggled through the morning a bit, but we made it. 

we had a great keynote speaker - jiri pehe. he's been a professor in the czech republic for years and he has quite a following. he discussed the impact of society and linguistics in the european union. his lecture was quite interesting. 

we had some time after our speaker to relax, socialize, shop, etc. we took advantage of some of the down time to simply hang out - enjoy each other's company for the few hours we had remaining in our stay. i've realized how much i truly love trips like these. every person i've met has been totally psyched about their studies and totally willing to try anything. it's been a refreshing experience. i'm confident i'll continue to keep in contact with many of the people from this trip. 

we had dinner at a new place tonight - couldn't tell you the name of it if my life depended on it. however, it was a HUGE dinner. we had been sniping a little bit about the quantity of our meals. we all seems to leave the dinner table still hungry. we've all been quite busy running around; more than likely, the portions are perfect, we're simply burning through above average levels of energy. anyhoo - we ate, we drank, we were merry. 

tomorrow is goodbye. and i'm totally hating it. 

Czech Mate - 7/9/09

i can hardly believe the week is almost over. after the first day, we had done sooo- much, we were all shocked we had only been here only 24 hours. now? it's almost over. and i don't believe it. 

we had class this morning - false confessions. the whole story behind false confessions is quite intriguing. many people might thing - why the heck would you confess to something you didn't do? but, there is truly a unique reasoning behind it. many times, police departments are so set on getting their man, they simply twist the suspect's arm into it. before you know it, he or she is sitting in the chair giving intimate details about how the whole crime went down. some of the details, however, are completely false! do these situations hold up in court? absolutely! ok, ok... don't freak out. they don't always hold up in court - but sometimes, they do. if the prosecution is strong enough, and the defense is weak enough, and there is no expert witness to educate the jury on the peculiarities of false confessions... an innocent man (or woman) could go to prison for a crime he didn't commit. 

whew, i could go on forever - but you see the dilemma. the innocence project does a lot of work with victims of false confessions. if you're interested in the psychology behind it, consider this. 

i'm not sure if i mentioned - we get sweet coffee breaks between lectures. i'm not a big fan of european coffee, but we also have juice and cookies and crackers and such. there are close to 40 of us and when that time comes around - we all head for the snack table. 

after dinner at "houpacka," our dining hall for the trip, we took a metro ride down to the river. we took a sweet ride on a big boat down the vltava river - the major river that runs through the czech republic. it was absolutely amazing. 

we all joked on our way down there how we hoped it was a booze cruise. we were kidding. (not really.) turns out - it was totalllyyyy a booze cruise. 

anyhoo, after the (booze) cruise returned to the dock, we took a walk along the edge of the river and made our way into one of our favorite dance clubs. i love that everybody on this trip is totally down for dancing. i feel right at home with all of them. :) 

my apologies...

getting back in the swing... has been... challenging. but, i have nothin' but time tonight. cuethesunshine is back in the game! 

i still have plenty to share about prague... plus, i have several things up my sleeve - a few dillies to share about my time in nyc since my return last week. 

standby for some goodness. 

xo

Czech Mate - 7/8/09

today was our “free day.” since we went out last night, being able to sleep in was amazing. we decided to join part of the group for a tour of the clock tower. The history was quite rich so it was a great experience. I’m always down for an opportunity to expand my cultural knowledge a little bit. After trekking through the museum tour, we were able to climb the stairs to the top of the tower. The view was phenomenal! We were so impressed.

(so many stairs!)

(the view!)

(i am loving life!)

(so many stairs and i'm STILL loving life!) 

Julia, Sarah (both attending La Trobe University in Australia), and I decided to stumble into a little coffee shop and pick up some café and cake. We sat in the small diner and did a little people watching before we headed back to the venue.

We had just a little bit of time before heading to Houpacka for dinner. The dinner was great. The dessert – not so much. I have no idea what it was. If it was a traditional Czech dessert – awesome! But, I didn’t like it. It reminded me of a sour doughnut with tart yogurt smeared on top? I have no idea – it was absolutely gorgeous but not at all fantastic to the taste buds.

Yes, we went out again tonight. We (Julia, Sarah, Jessica, Nicky, Michael, and Mackenzie) figured we should be getting as much as we possibly can out of this city. The 5 Level Club is one of the biggest dance clubs in Eastern Europe. Amazinggg!

Several us decided to call it an early night – classes start again in the morning. 

(More photos and blogs to come!)

Czech Mate - 7/7/09

Today was pretty awesome. After class, we had a site visit to DOM, a half-way house in Prague. Although we got lost trying to find it (45 people wandering around a small village outside of Prague was kind of sketchy), we finally found the venue and had a substantial discussion with the director of the program. It was really interesting to see the operation of these facilities in foreign countries. From what I understand, they operate pretty similarly to half-way houses in the states. While working with Tumbleweed, a center for youth in Tempe, I realized how important it is to offer these types of services to local people who have been displaced. It’s interesting, because the director of DOM discussed how they originally didn’t offer services to those suffering from mentally disorders. However, they quickly realized how many people suffer from mental disorders. They would likely have few clients if they restricted their enrollment. They offer counseling services, assist in acquiring documents, and housing. Furthermore, they help clients find and hold jobs, even if the jobs happen to be with DOM doing tasks like cooking or cleaning. The director said she believes they have around a 70% success rate, which is quite good considering the intense nature of drugs, mental disorder and the ties of living on the street. Overall, the site visit was a great opportunity to learn something outside my bubble.

Naturally, we went out dancing again. Naturally, it was a very good time! J

Czech Mate - 7/6/09

Today, Dr. Memon left. She taught one class this morning, then passed the gavel over to Andrew Roberts, a senior lecturer in the UK. His opener was pretty silly. He seems like a really down to earth guy. He used to be a police officer in London, then had to retire after an eye injury. Now, he teaches crime and law courses. We discussed the relevance of privacy. He presented us with multiple situations where privacy may be considered an issue – whether or not privacy was violated. Some of the scenarios were silly – taking photos at a nude beach and posting them on a website, or… stumbling into a friends room and finding interesting personal items, among others. Essentially, it was quite interesting and sparked some serious debate among my peers. Everybody had a different opinion. After discussing the situations, I recalled an interesting situation at ASU (Naturally, something else to give ASU a bad name) where a few students stared taking photos of young women walking down Palm Walk on main campus and posting them on a website called: palmwalk.com. The website has been removed but the young men were ultimately suspended from school. (Check out the article, here!)

CVCP has a wicked schedule planned for us this week. We were released from class early today so that we could make it to the Mozart show. We trammed it over to the theatre and saw an instrumental presentation on Mozart. The theatre was absolutely gorgeous – a truly authentic musical theatre. We sat in the balcony of the theatre and had a wonderful view. 

We were all completely exhausted, but the experience was amazing. They asked that we get dressed up for the occasion, so we all arrived in our best digs and felt like little ladies and gents. The show lasted about an hour. After finishing up, we decided to walk around the city center for a few hours. We (about 7-9 of us who have started hanging out together) decided to park it at a restaurant in the square. We paid waaaay too much for a few drinks, but it was worth it nonetheless. The City Center is the huge square with shops and restaurants, bar, and totally amazing architecture. Each little street expands into smaller areas with more shops and bars and bistros. Huge clock towers buoy the square – simply adding to the charm of the city.

I’m loving how close I’ve already become to these people. There are over 90 in the entire program – 45 in my group, CLP (Crime, Law, and Psychology) and we’ve all developed into a little family. We’re all totally sarcastic and totally goofy. I simply love that we’ve gathered here from all over the world because of a passion we all share. Although we’re all totally driven, we’re all willing to have a good time as well. It’s a very refreshing experience, and it reminds me how much I love my field, a simple reminder that I’ve taken the right path. 

Czech Mate - 7/5/09

Our classes started today. Dr. Amina Memon is a professor in the UK. We discussed research in the field and it was totally awesome. I loved being in a room with 45 different people – from all over the world, 45 difference accents. We took a minute before the discussion started to talk about where each of us is from – everywhere! Italy, Greece, Scotland, Ireland, England, US, Australia. Everybody ranged in educational level – those in undergrad, recent graduates, master’s level and doctoral level students. It was absolutely amazing. After the discussion got started, I realized how different we all are from each other. We all had a little something to offer the group – including the role of different cultures in crime, law, and psycholog… “In London, we…” “In Australia, it’s like this…” etc…

After class ended, a group of us decided we have to go out. It was our professor’s birthday so she thought we should go clubbing to celebrate. We decided to go to Lavka at the Charles Bridge. There was quite a large group of us that went out, but that made it so much better. Ahh, I love Prague. 

Czech Mate - 7/4/09

I slept in. I know, I know. I’m in Prague… And I slept in. However, in my defense, I’m completely and totally jet lagged. I’m still on East Coast time. ;)

I got up and got going – walked around the city center, took in some of the culture. I was so proud of myself. After navigating to my summer school venue (to get an idea of where I needed to be), I bailed on my map and decided to let myself get lost. I made it to the city center just on memory. I walked through H&M and bought a hat – 70 crowns (about $3 dollars). The weather has been nothing to complain about. It’s VERY mildly humid, but there’s a light breeze and the sun has been shining – quite a difference from the rain I had been dealing with back in New York.

As I walked through the city center, I passed a Starbucks – bustling with dozens of people, tourists surely. I decided to fight my temptation to pick up my personal favorite and skip over to something more local. I have no idea what I ordered, but it was awesome. I ended up pointing to something that looked likable on the menu. My server could tell I didn’t know much Czech, although I had my translation book in hand, attempting to use it. She just smiled.

I’ve found my experience thus far very exciting! I made it Prague all by myself. After a short layover in Paris and a minor breakdown (so tired!!), I survived and I’m finally here enjoying the city.

After galavanting around the city for a few hours, I made my way back to my hostel so I could pick up my luggage and head over to the venue. I figured, why pay a taxi when I can just walk there? The weather is gorgeous – no reason not to take advantage of it. Right.

The weather was gorgeous. Lugging a huge bag uphill is not so appealing. I made it – sweating bullets – but I made it.

After checking in and meeting some pals from the program, we left for the tour. I was starting to look familiar and I was realizing how much I had remembered. Sweeeet.

After the walking tour, we headed over to our “dining hall,” Houpacka. Basically, each group is assigned a restaurant for the week [there are three groups, all under the umbrella of the summer institute - CDPE, CLP, ESI]. The meal wasn’t a traditional Czech dish, which is actually kind of a bummer. I was hoping to experience some more culture through our meals. We’re each allotted one beer, though – kind of cool. It seems as though our program is an advocate of alcohol, which is not a problem. J

After dinner, we decided to head over to a few local bars and get to know the area. We ended up parking ourselves at a restaurant near our venue. We ordered cocktails and dessert – the perfect night cap.

A few things to note:

-       Police officers will randomly jump on the tram and metro to make sure you validated your ticket. Do you think they catch everybody? Pfffff! No.

-       The Old Town Center might very well be one of the coolest things ever.

-    I looooove everybody in my program. We’ve hit it off so well!

Czech Mate - 7/3/09

"welcome to prague. guaranteed one week won't be enough." - brian, our program assistant

It’s been a long 24 hours. Right after work, I headed home to pick up my luggage to head to the airport. The subway ride is less than an hour and it only costs me $2.25, so I shouldn’t be complaining too much. My flight from JFK to Paris wasn’t too bad. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been struggling with the idea of flying recently – with all the plane accidents that have been occurring. Plus, I booked my ticket with Air France. But, it went well. We had some pretty bad turbulence during the first part of the flight. But, I had a few glasses of wine and then passed out. (Air France serves free alcohol! Woot woot!)

I had a long layover in Paris before my flight to Prague. I bought some food and a few cocktails and decided to make the best of my time in Paris. I slept the entire way from Paris to Prague.

I got into the Ruzyne Airport and it was dead. Seriously. It’s an international airport, but there was nobody there, on a Friday afternoon, no less. I walked right through customs. Nobody said anything to me about checking my luggage, or asking if I wanted to claim anything. Nada! I was kind of hoping to get a stamp on my passport, but… no luck.

I decided to take a taxi from the airport. I have a HUGE bag with me on this trip, so I didn’t want to be concerned with figuring out the metro. Plus, the taxi ride was around $20 – not too shabby. So I arrived at my hostel safe and sound. The man working at the front desk was quite pleasant. I was so exhausted and wanted to nap for a few hours. But, I knew my body would be in horrible condition the next day if I went to bed for 5 or 6 hours, so I pushed through and walked around town for several hours. I grabbed a bite to eat and then came back before it started to get dark and took care of some housekeeping items.

I was soooo relieved when it wasn’t raining when I got in. It’s been over three years since I was last in Prague – but, it’s just as I remember it. It’s absolutely gorgeous. My hostel (Hostel Advantage) is located in Vinohrady, a very beautiful quarter located within walking distance of historic Prague.

(my hostel)

This morning, I got up early and had breakfast with some other people staying at my hostel – very pleasant people. Two of them were from Croatia and one was from the Sussex. Luckily, we were all English speakers, so that made conversation much easier. However, it was quite refreshing to sit on the patio of my hostel and listen to several other languages bubbling around me. Whenever I first arrive in a foreign city (alone), I always struggle a little bit. I think – “Wow, you might be kind of crazy to travel abroad… By yourself…” But, it takes just a few minutes to be reminded of why trips like this are so special. All of my trips have been very insightful, and I can tell this will certainly follow suit.

I start my program tomorrow! Dozens of students from all over the world will be meeting at Machova 7 (the site for the Summer School on Crime, Law, and Psychology). This should be exciting!! J

A few things to note:

- It was definitely a good idea to pick up Czech (Koruns) currency before getting to Prague.

- I will never again underestimate my navigation skills. I dominated sans map!

- The metro in Prague is pretty wicked. However, they seem to operate on the “honor system.” You don’t have to swipe a ticket before getting on. More to come on this, I’m sure.

- Beer is cheaper than water. And water is dirt cheap.

- The tap water tastes bad.

- I blew my hairdryer.

- And my straightener.

The truth is...

I have been blogging. Religiously, as a matter of fact. However, it is quite difficult to relate anything worthwhile on this Czech keyboard. My "y's" are "z's" and my "z's" are "y's," among other things. Until I return, I've been bloggin' on my Mac. I will upload all the goods as soon as I return.

With that, I'm having a divine time. I have met some truly amazingggg people and I'm loving Prague even more than I did the first time I visited.

The Summer School on Crime Law and Psychology is essentially just one of three programs hosted by the Czech Summer Institute. There are almost 100 people here from all over the world studying not only crime, law, and psychology, but middle eastern law, and criminology as well. It has been so pleasant to sit in a room with 45 different people and hear 45 different accents. Truly, absolutely enlightening in the sincerest form of the word.

Have a great week! :)