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!