School, Toilet Paper, Gummy Frogs, Ballet, and More

Ahoy!

It has been just about three months since I have entered a classroom for some serious learning. That all changed this week when I began my regular classes. This semester I am taking Jewish History in Central and Eastern Europe, Czech Short Stories, Contemporary Central European Politics, and Pursuit of Democracy and Freedom in the Communist Czechoslovakia. The first week of classes was great and just flew by. Walt and Ben are in my Jewish History class which is an added bonus. Our teacher also thinks that Walt and I have some sort of knowledge based competition going on. I have no idea where she got that idea but she did award me one point when I knew the Hebrew word for the process of assigning numerical values to letters (gematria). Walt did know the names of the five books of Moses. (Don't worry I did too, he was just faster). But that doesn't really matter because there is not a competition happening!

My Pursuit of Democracy and Freedom class is really small which is nice. It is 50% American and 50% European which is also interesting. My professor is only 10 years older than me.

My Czech short stories teacher is an American lady who went to Dartmouth, Princeton, and Oxford. The class seems awesome and is also a mini Czech culture course which provides a lot of interesting insight into the country that I am living in.

Central European Politics promises to be sweet. My professor is a 65 year old Czech man who at one point in his life was the Czechoslovakian ambassador to Italy. His lecture was 3 hours long and I wasn't ready for it to end. We went around the room introducing ourselves and it took some work on my part to explain that I wasn't Greek just because my name was Alexander (named after Alexander the Great) and that I wasn't German because my name is Horn. It was very entertaining. Another added bonus to that class is Sara, Sarah, Ben, Adrian, and my friend Bryan are all in my class.

School here is very different. The professors here all demand interaction from the students which I enjoy. Getting school supplies also was not nearly as easy as back home. I don't know if Czech people just don't use notebooks a lot (which I doubt) or if I am just looking in the wrong place (probably the truth). Anyway I finally notebooks that were suitable at Tesco. Also I have no textbooks here. Now you are probably saying, but Alex how will you do all of the reading that you have been assigned? The answer is readers. I had to buy these readers which are bound packets of articles, book excerpts and other materials. They cost between 10 and 20 bucks and are ultra portable. Much better than the expensive and heavy textbooks at home. This semester I have a ton of reading to do! Remember when I told you that my teachers require interaction, the only way to do that is by reading the readings they have assigned.

This week also engaged in some cultural activities. Last night (Wednesday) I ventured to the National Theater (pictures below) to catch a ballet. AIFS buys tickets to different events every week and this weeks event was Romeo and Juliet. The ballet was weird in that they modernized Romeo and Juliet. The ballet took place in the what I am assuming was the 1920's or 30's. After the ballet all of my friends set out to celebrate Jenny's 21st birthday which was a cultural event in itself.




Some more random thoughts...
1. I am pretty sure the person who introduces the Czech people to multi-ply toilet paper will be canonized.
2. The weather here is finally not freezing! The ice has melted on the sidewalks which is great for me because I am not longer slipping all over the place.
3. It was warmer in Prague today than Plano!
4. I started running here which has been nice. Gotta make sure that the pivo doesn't go right to the belly.
5. Becca bet me that I couldn't go a week without beer. Tomorrow is the day that I will win the bet and Becca will owe me one liter of beer. In this country that is much harder than it sounds. Beer is everywhere. Food stands, both bars in the dorm, every restaurant, every corner store, just about everywhere.
6. Tonight is another "family dinner" which is a nice way to wrap up the school week.
7. I have a Mexican flag now. That is all I have to say about that.
8. There are these cookies in the Czech Republic called Disko. These need to make their way back to the States.
9. Oreos need to make their way to the Czech Republic.
10. Grace- I had Gummy Frogs yesterday. I know you are jealous.
11. I can't stress enough how awesome my friends here are.
12. I am really learning my way around the city which is nice and makes everything much less intimidating.
13. Tomorrow I am waking up at 4:45 to go to Budapest. I am super excited to go to Budapest.

Until next time

Alex

Pelíšky

Howdy

The end of Czech class literally flew by. Thursday after our final we watched a great Czech movie. It was called Pelíšky and I recommend that you head over to the youtubes and check it out. The movie was one of the movies where nothing really happens, but two hours later for some reason I liked what I had seen. Celia would describe the movie with one word... WOOF. (That is the equivalent of two thumbs way down). I have attached a clip of my favorite scene to this entry. On Friday my class headed to the Prague Museum, which was a museum all about Prague. The museum had a really cool 3d model of the city that we played with for a while. After the museum we headed to a pub to grab a quick goodbye beer with our teacher.

My Czech teacher and I

My Czech Class

This weekend Becca's friend and fan of this here blog Nikki came to town. Nikki is currently studying in Barcelona. Well we had to make sure that Nikki had a good time in Prague so Friday night we went to this fun establishment called Lucerna which was a ton of fun. It was 80's-90's night and yes I may have gone out wearing my sunglasses, but that is because I forgot to take them off before we left my room and was to lazy to switch back into my normal glasses.

Everyone ready for a night out after two grueling weeks of Czech!

Saturday we woke up early to explore the city. Becca, Nikki and I grabbed a quick breakfast and then went to Old Town Square, the Charles Bridge, the John Lennon Wall and the Prague Castle.

The Charles Bridge

The John Lennon Wall

Saturday night Sarah, Sara, Jenny, Celia, Becca, Nikki and I went to a small pub down the street from the dorm and played a fun game called Nelson.

This morning I woke up and did some laundry. This is the first time I have really done laundry since arriving in Europe nearly four weeks ago. So it is easy to say that I had a lot of laundry to do. Three loads worth to be exact. Now at home three loads of laundry isn't that hard to do. In the Czech Republic it was quite the time consuming chore. I was at the laundromat for nearly five hours and basically pissed away my day cleaning my underwear. But hey, I now have 4 weeks worth of clean underwear. On a sad note my European underwear purchased back when I arrived in Prague have shrunk to a size that would not have fit me in elementary school. Thanks for the memories F&F brand underwear. You will be missed. Tonight a few of us ventured around the city in search of some Mexican food. What we got was a decent attempt but not quite as good as back home, but not bad for "Czech Mex". After dinner I headed down to the Student Klub (not a typo) to watch the Czech Republic take on the Russians in Olympic Hockey. Everyone in the bar was sad except for the one Russian exchange student who was having the time of his life.

I start my classes tomorrow and I am extremely excited. I am also extremely excited that I only have one class tomorrow. A good way to transition back into school, especially considering that I haven't had much class time since before thanksgiving.

Until next time

Alex



And for those who are not fluent in Czech you can click here and enjoy with English subtitles and then click here to see the rest of the scene.

People

I set out to do a long entry describing all of my new friends. I quickly lost interest and was beginning to bore myself. Instead I will put some pictures up so you can see my people for yourselves.


From Left to Right: Kate, Stef, Ryan, Cobra,Diego, Kacy, Sloyer, Some guy, Paulos, Jordan, Adrian, Walt, Ian, and Allie) The gang enjoying one of our "family dinners" which is a family style dinner where two or three people prepare a meal for everyone in my kitchen. It is a ton of fun and is growing every week.

My roommate Walter Thaddius Lengel(be jealous Avi, be very jealous). Walt is the man and will eventually have an entire entry dedicated to him.


Ben from Connecticut and I on the metro. Ben is my PIC in Czech class. Ben has hard time grasping the fact that I am a Jew from Texas. He also was convinced that I had never experienced cold until I arrived in Prague.


Sara Sloyer checking out the situation.

Sarah Paulos and I at the Greggor Mendel museum of genetics in Brno.

Celia and I on her 19th... I mean 21st birthday.

Becca and I up to some sort of shenanigan on the bus.

Kacy, Ellen and Allie. Kacy is the source of the Prague cough that the whole world has had or will have. Ellen is from Minnesota and says words funny. Allie is from South Carolina and is happiest when sledding or attempting to sled. She will truly miss the ice and snow when it melts.

Jenny... And I seriously have no idea how I have NO pictures with Jenny yet.

Stef, Cobra, Walt and I in the Moravian wine restaurant.

One more picture of a bunch of people.

Chicken in a Jacket

Dear faithful readers (mom, dad, Grace, Zach and the one and only Scott Safron). I am back and have not abandoned my blog! I will attempt to catch you up on all of the happenings of last week.

Czech Class:
Czech class continues on as it has since it began. I get to class at 2:00 PM everyday and by 2:02 or so I am confused. We had a practice test last week and I managed to do well on it in spite of the fever I was battling. I am just that committed to excellence. After the test our teacher thought it would be fun to teach us some more Czech for the last half hour or so. She may have taught us the secret to life, but I have no idea what happened I was so out of it at that point. Also in Czech class we go on Czech culture tours. We went to a photo exhibit, a Czech culture museum, and the famous Prague Castle. I have now completed 40 hours of Czech in the past week and a half and am very close to fluent. I am ready for the Czech class to be over and for my political science and history courses to begin.

Weekend:
After class on Friday Becca, Celia, Sarah, Sara and I had dinner. After dinner I went home and crashed with my bottle of Czech banana flavored cough syrup. I missed the first Friday night out in Prague and was pretty bummed about it. However I am very glad I did not push myself and I got some much needed rest. Saturday I spent the day at the dorm hanging out with some people hoping to be well enough to do something on Saturday night. By Saturday night I was feeling great and went with a group of people to a five story club/bar. It was pretty fun.

Jewish Quarter:
Sunday morning I woke up nice and early and ventured off to the Jewish quarter with Becca, Adrian, Kate and Stef. All of the buildings that were once the home of Prague’s vibrant Jewish life have been converted to museums. In one afternoon we went to four synagogues, a cemetery, and a funeral home museum. The museums were very nice and interesting. One synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue was breathtaking. The museums taught a lot about everyday Jewish life, which I already know a lot about. But just being in the old Jewish buildings and looking at the amazing old photographs was all well worth the price of admission.

The Spanish Synagogue

Valentines Day:
To explain valentines day I need to rewind all the way back to my night in Munich. While attempting to find our hotel my friend Sarah was lamenting the fact that she may be alone on valentines day in Prague. Not wanting to let Sarah down I quickly offered my services. Well at this point Sarah’s roommate Sara became intensely jealous. So Walt swooped in became Sara’s valentine. Now, some things to make clear. 1. Sarah won the valentines lottery. 2. I won the valentines lottery. So in the weeks leading up to valentines day there was some intense battling over which “couple” were the better valentines. It is obvious that it was Sarah and I. While in Brno I created a poem that would leave any woman swooning. The poem was heartfelt and unique. Much more so than the crappy poem/ song that Walt created a week after mine. Valentines dinner was a lot of fun. Sarah and Sara made Walt and I chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. While Walt and I brought the wine, the roses, the dessert and of course the charm. The evening was capped off when Sarah gave me a Czech valentines card that I will treasure forever.



Celia’s birthday:
Last night was Celia’s 21st birthday. This is the point where mom and dad might want to stop reading. The festivities started in Czech class when during our first break Celia and I went to grab a beer. While czeching out (get it…?) at the corner store Celia had a change of heart and grabbed a can of coffee (gross). During our second break my friend Ben wanted to grab another beer to celebrate Celia’s birthday. Again Celia refused, but I didn’t. Before I continue I must say that yesterday was by far my most successful day in Czech class. A little beer on the brain makes Czech 1000x easier. Well after class Celia and I met up with Sarah and we headed back to the dorm for birthday dinner. Another aside. Last week Ben, Steve, Walt and myself ate in the dorm’s sit down restaurant where I discovered a dish known as Chicken in a Jacket. Chicken in a Jacket is a breast of chicken coated in full cornflakes and fried to a crisp. I convinced everyone that this would be an awesome choice for Celia’s birthday dinner and once again I pulled through. Some more drinks were enjoyed at dinner and after dinner we headed downstairs for the bar and had some more birthday drinks. After this we ventured off to find a venue suitable for a 21st birthday celebration. On the way to finding a venue I ended up slipping on some black ice. Both of my feet ended up above my head and I ended up on the ground. Walt says that I vastly understated the tremendousness of my wipeout. If he chooses to write about it I will link it. Thankfully I have a high threshold for embarrassment because this happened in front of 25 of my friends. The only person who didn’t see it was my valentine, which has allowed me to maintain an image of studdlyness (no jokes please mom). We went to the Dubliner which played Sweet Caroline and Karma Chameleon (awesome). We then went to Chapau Rouge where I ran into my cousin’s cousin Lindsay. (This is the point where I would write about the rest of the night but am electing not to). We definitely celebrated Celia’s 21st properly. I officially pronounced Celia’s birthday festivities over after we dined at McDonalds before Czech class today.

Chicken in a Jacket

Until next time.

Alex

Adjusting

I can’t find the words to describe how much I am enjoying Prague. The city is beautiful, the food is good and the people I am meeting are beyond incredible. I began my Czech intensive course this week and to say that I am extremely confused would be a vast understatement. The Czech language is not known for its ease, coupled with the fact that my teacher speaks faster then Usain Bolt runs, I am struggling. But I have some good friends in the class so we are struggling together, which makes it a lot more fun. Well as fun as four hours and forty five minutes a day of Czech can be. By the end of the two weeks I will hopefully be able to ask where the bathroom is in perfect Czech.

On Sunday night a group of us ventured into the city to find a suitable venue to watch the Super Bowl™. We found an Irish Pub that was full of Americans. When the national anthem was sung the place erupted. The Super Bowl also afforded me the opportunity to get some buffalo wings. The game ended at around 4:00 am. Because it was four in the morning the metro was not open so we had to take the tram home. The tram is much slower the metro and about a thousand times more confusing. My group got on the tram and was feeling great until we realized we were definitely going the wrong direction. So we had to get off and wait for another tram going in the right direction. Just another fun adventure. We arrived back at the dorm at 5:30 am. Whoop.

Things work a little differently in Prague than they do at home. One, beer is cheaper than water, which makes ordering at a restaurant an interesting experience. Two, the head-nod while passing in the hall has not made its way to central Europe. At home when you pass someone in a hall or on the street, a small head-nod is usually customary. That very same head-nod in Prague gets you a very stranger look. Three, dogs. People here love their dogs and the dogs are very very well trained. My dog Quincy can’t be trusted to walk around outside without a leash, because his doggy ADD kicks in and he goes crazy. Here people walk around with their dogs at their side, no leash no collar. People bring their dogs everywhere and sometimes just leave them outside to wait for their owner. Four, the food. When you order food here don’t waste your time trying to modify the menu item or make substitutions, its not happening. Other than that the food is pretty good. Five, grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is very different than at home. If I had acted as the Czech grocers do when I worked at Target I would have promptly been fired. Here the grocery store is a sort of free-for-all. Grab what you can when you can. If you want to carry your groceries home in a bag, you need to bring your own. Also when shopping, be prepared to bag your own groceries. Six, when shopping and using a credit card, be prepared to show ID. This is only funny/ strange to me because since I have been here, I have not shown ID at any bars, clubs, pubs, the metro or anywhere for that matter. But when I bought some chicken the other day, I need to show my student ID (pictured below for your viewing pleasure). Seven, language barrier. I have experienced a little bit of a language barrier. At one hot dog stand I am pretty sure the lady gave me the total opposite of what ordered. Also this morning the maid from the dorm came by to empty the trash and vacuum the room. The only problem is she came just as I was exiting the shower and preparing to don a fresh pair of drawers. She knocked and I said just a second please, but she began to enter anyway and I got my underwear on without a second to spare.



I don’t think I can say enough about the people I am here with. From minute one everyone just clicked. My roommate Walt and I have already established a bond that is simply amazing. Even though I have known my friends here in Prague for only 15 days, I feel as if I have known them for years. We are already busy planning our European adventures and I am so excited to travel the world with them for the next four months. We already have a Budapest trip in the works in about two weeks.



To close I will add a few more random thoughts and observations. I cannot wait to start my normal classes in a week and a half. I cannot wait to do some more traveling around Europe, but I am even more excited to continue to explore Prague. Keeping up with sports has been a challenge but it has been fun. Mainly because A&M keeps winning in basketball and Texas keeps losing (much to Walt’s chagrin). I am off to finish my laundry and go learn some Czech.

Until Next Time

Alex

Moravia

Last Friday me and my fellow AIFSers boarded the bus for Moravia. Moravia is a district in the Czech Republic that is south east of Prague. We stayed in Brno, the biggest city in Moravia and the second biggest city in the Czech Republic. I honestly had no idea what I would be doing for the next 3 days. If I had to describe Moravia in one word it would be churches. On the way to Moravia we stopped at a church in a small town called Tisnov. The church is famous for the arch that sits outside of it. The arch featured a bunch of intricate carvings. We then continued on to Brno where we checked into our hotel and had a few hours to kill before our dinner excursion. To kill the time we did what any self respecting twenty somethings would do, and found a local pub. The city of Brno isn’t as “western” as Prague is and finding a pub that wasn’t a sketchy casino was not as easy as it sounds. But alas me, Stef, Walt, Kacy, Adrian, and Kate found a suitable pub. After our small taste of Brno we boarded the busses again and headed to The Templar Order Restaurant in Čejkovice. The restaurant was an hour outside of Brno. The reason this restaurant was special is it is composed of tunnels, many of which are filled with wine. We arrived at the restaurant and I promptly ordered the “chicken nuggets”. Now anyone who knew me from age 2 until about age 18 can tell you that I love chicken nuggets and used to eat them exclusively. Do not judge me for ordering chicken nuggets, the other two options were a pork chop or broccoli. These chicken “nuggets” were anything but, they were grilled chicken breasts served with a red wine sauce and potatoes. Not your average chicken nugget. So after being pleasantly surprised by dinner we took a tour of the wine cellars. Our tour guide was this really nice old Czech lady who spoke zero English, which meant that Jana (one of the AIFS staff members served as the interpreter). After the tour of the tunnels the real party started. The wait staff came by to take our wine orders. We thought we had ordered glasses of wine, however they delivered full bottles of wine to the table, one per person. The bus ride back from the winery was very very very fun.
(Me and our tour guide)

The next morning we went to Austerlitz, the site of a Napoleonic battle which pitted France vs. Austria-Hungry and Germany. The museum was way too technologically advanced for its own good. I really had no idea what was really happened until Z (the coolest old man/ tour guide/ European history buff ever) explained everything. After Austerlitz we ventured to the Mendel Museum where Greggor Mendel discovered human genetics. I am sure that the museum would have been cool had it not been closed due to a lack of power. Don’t worry, we made it back the next day where I bought an awesome t-shirt celebrating genetics. Saturday night everyone just hung out at the hotel in Brno.

(Adrian and I at Austerlitz)

Sunday we woke up and went to the Mendel museum and after that we went to Moravian Karst a complex of underground caves with stalagmites and stalactites. We first did a walking tour of the caves where and then we boarded a boat and went on a ride through the river that runs through the caves. The walk back from the caves to the bus was about a mile on an extremely icy road. I took a nice tumble on the road, but I will allow my friend Stef to describe the incident for you.

Alex’s fall was by far the most entertaining. I have no idea how this happened but he did a sort of sideways flip before landing, sending his inhaler skittering out of his pocket and away on its own. He looked up, his Waldo hat askew and his face is a state of absolute befuddlement about how he’d reached the ground, and it was possibly one of the most hilarious, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” moments I’ve ever witnessed.

(Diego and I outside of the cave)
(Panoramic from outside the caves)

After the Caves we went to another church and then back to Praha.

Until next time

Alex

Update

I just posted a new blog entry from my trip to Lidice and am currently working on two more entries. I will hopefully have them up by tomorrow afternoon or later this evening.

For now here is a picture of me and a wooden knight!



If that doesn't leave you wanting more I don't know that will...

Lidice

Last Wednesday (2/3) I went on my second ECES orientation trip. The trip was all about studying Czech resistance to the Nazis during World War II. I could write for weeks about everything, so I will try to give you a semi-abbreviated version. To explain the trip I need to give a little historical background first. In 1941 a Nazi leader named Reinhard Heydrich was appointed Protector of Bohemia and Moravia (the Czechoslovakia). After Hitler, Heydrich was the most feared man in the Nazi Party. At this same time a group of Czechoslovak loyalist were living in exile in England and claiming loyalty to the former Czechoslovak president. The group in England decided that they needed to assassinate Heydrich to attempt to free Czechoslovakia from the Nazis and to show that the group was not going to allow the Nazis to take Europe without a fight. After over a year of training and planning the assassination happened in May of 1942. After Heydrich’s death Hitler was furious and was determined to retaliate against the Czech people. There were thousands of arrests and an intense manhunt for the perpetrators of the assassination. The assassins hid out in a church in Prague and were eventually found. However they did not go without a fight. There was a shootout that lasted for a few hours before the Nazis overwhelmed the men. The men all committed suicide on the spot. In his final attempt to Punish the Czech people Hitler ordered the town of Lidice destroyed, and on June 10th 1942 the down was totally destroyed. All men were killed on the spot, children determined to be worthy of “Germination” were to be adopted by SS families, all others were killed, and the women were sent to concentration camps.

The trip started at the church in Prague where the assassins hid. The church was called The Orthodox Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius and was huge. At one point the church was a Catholic church however it somehow became a Greek Orthodox Church later. The first thing that the group did was go down to the basement of the church where there was a small museum and theater room. In the theater we watched a movie that was all about what I wrote about in the above paragraph. We then went into the crypt where the assassins hid. We then went into the chapel where most of the fighting with Nazis took place. The church/ museum was fascinating and I have already promised some friends who weren’t on the field trip with me that I would go back with them. I wouldn’t say the church was a point of personal pride like it is the to the Czech people but it was a source of relief. Far too often when studying World War II and the Holocaust I have read about apathy and an overwhelming willingness to support Hitler. This church was a shrine to those who had the courage to say enough.
(Memorial outside of the church)

After the church we boarded the buses to go to the sight where the town of Lidice once stood. It was very strange. The town stood on a hill and was surrounded by trees. That day it was sunny and the “town” was absolutely covered in snow. There were several memorials at the site. There was a memorial to all of the children, a cemetery, and a cross surrounded by trees. There was also a museum behind the town. I had a lot of trouble processing what had happened there. I spent about an hour walking around the site where Lidice once stood and couldn’t even imagine what had happened. I obviously come from a much bigger city than Lidice, but I couldn’t imagine what happened there happening in my hometown or even my neighborhood (which is about the same size as Lidice was).

(Lidice)

Wednesday was a day filled with a whirlwind of emotions. I was able to take solace in the fact that there were people who gave their lives to fight Hitler and Nazis. I know that these heroes will always be remembered. It was also a day filled with tremendous sadness. Seeing Lidice was heartbreaking and the pictures of the children that lined the wall of the museum will always stay with me.

(The children's memorial)

Terezin

Today was my first trip to a concentration camp in almost three years. I went to the Terezin concentration camp, which is German is called Terezinstadt. Because I had been to Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Majdanek I kind of new what to expect, however this way first trip to a camp that was not exclusively for exterminations.

The bus ride to Terezin took about an hour. The countryside was blanketed in snow and the area was surrounded by mountains. I have done a lot of studying about the Holocaust, however I did not know much about Terezin before today. All I knew that it was spruced up for Nazi propaganda and to show to Red Cross inspectors. Terezin is basically a small town that the Nazis decided to turn it into a Jewish ghetto and a transport center to other camps like Auschwitz. There is a concentration camp/ prison in the town but most of the Jews were not sent there. We visited the prison area first and saw the prison cells and barracks that some were forced to live in. We also watched a video showing life in Terezin that ended with "El Maleh Rahmim" the prayer for the souls of the departed. In my opinion it is the most powerful prayer in Judaism and usually leaves me with goosebumps, and this rendition was no different. On the outside of the camp there was a cemetery for the individuals who perished inside of the camp.

(Monument right outside of the concentration camp)

After visiting the prison camp we went to a museum that detailed the life in the ghetto of Terezin. At one point the ghetto was so crowded that the average space per person was 2 square meters. After this museum we walked to a small little room that was used a secret prayer room during the Holocaust. Because the Nazis had confiscated most of the prayer books, the Jews wrote the prayers on the wall. In all of my learning about the Holocaust, the thing that surprised me the most is how people kept their faith at a time when everything seemed hopeless. But in this room, that was part of bakery, I could still feel the spirit alive, and I was able to picture Jews praying with all of their hearts. On the wall it was written in Hebrew "Da Lifnei Mi Atah Omed" (Know before whom you stand), and this reminded me that no matter what situation you are in, you have to always remember to try and be the best person you can be and remember that there is always something more beneath the surface.

We ate a quick lunch at a local restaurant and then went to another museum about life in the Ghetto. This museum focused on the art and culture of the ghetto. Throughout all of the turmoil and struggle the victims were still able to turn to the arts and try to express their turmoil. The whole time I was in this museum I was thinking of the poem The Butterfly which I was sure was written in Terezin but couldn't find any reference to in the museum. When I got back to my dorm I looked it up and it turns out it was. The boy who wrote it was my age and he later died at Auschwitz.

After the culture museum we went to the crematorium and the cemetery. Because disease ran wild and death was everywhere, a crematorium had to be built. We drove over to the area of town where this was and by then the sun was beginning to go down, meaning it was starting to get colder. We walked down a long road to the cemetery which had a huge stone menorah in the center. There was a building next door that look incredibly unremarkable. I realized it was actually the crematorium. We walked inside and it was fittingly freezing. It was colder inside than it was outside. The walls were cold stone and the ovens were huge. I bought a memorial candle for 5kc and lit it at the foot of the oven. It was a surreal moment and reminded me a lot of the March of the Living.

(The road to the cemetery and crematorium)

Today ended up being nothing like I imagined it would. When I was in Poland it was spring and the weather was beautiful. The day I was visiting Auschwitz I was in a t-shirt. Today that was not the case. The weather was well below freezing and there was snow everywhere. While walking the prison I could barely feel my toes and fingers. This is not a complaint. It helped give me just a little more insight into how awful everything was. I was dressed in a new pair of sneakers, a hat, gloves, long pants, and a nice jacket, the people in Terezin and all of the other concentration camps had no shoes, no gloves, no hats and clothing that was far from warm and comfortable. It just made me even more appreciative of everything I have. It also made me proud that was able to explain a lot about Judaism and the Holocaust to my friends. It made the experience more meaningful. I know I could have picked a more fun field trip to take part in today, but I am extremely happy that I elected to go to Terezin.

I will have happier stories for you next time.

Alex

Prague

Howdy

My bus arrived in Prague late on Saturday night. Despite taking an unnecessary amount of time, the bus ride was pretty enjoyable. Our bus driver had two English DVDs that we watched while stuck in traffic. The first was a film called Goya that was pretty weird and the second was Johnny English, starring Mr. Bean, it is an absolute outrage that Johnny English never won an Oscar.

Yesterday (Sunday) was my first real day in Prague and my first real chance to the city. Sunday morning the AIFS staff came to the dorm to take us on walking tours of Prague. They took us to the subway which we took across the city to Prague 1, the location of the school and many other places that I will frequent as the semester goes on. I had to some lunch with some friends and then we went to the school for an AIFS orientation. The main building of Charles University which is conveniently called “Main Building” was a really nice building. There was a grand stair case running through the middle of the building which led us to the fourth floor, the classroom that we had orientation in. The classroom was a very classic classroom. There were long wooden benches with long wooded tables in front of them and the white board was flanked with book cases on both sides. Mixed with all of the traditional classroom furniture was a computer and a smart board. The coolest part of the class was the view it offered of the Charles River and the Prague Castle. After orientation I went with Sarah and Sara to get a cell phone and hit up Tesco. By the time I had changed my money all of the cell phone stores were closed. We then ventured to Tesco. Tesco is like Target and Dillards rolled into one. Since I didn’t have my suitcase yet I went and bought some underwear and a t-shirt. Today I learned that European underwear and American underwear sizes are pretty different. After Tesco we ventured back to the dorm to put away all of the stuff we purchased. On the way home the sun had set and the city was lit up. It looked amazing.

(The view of the city from my classroom)

Before dinner last night I tried to call British Airways to find my suitcase. I called six different numbers and ended up talking to a grand total of zero people. After striking out with British Airways a big group of us went to a local sandwich shop for dinner. It was pretty good except for the tartar sauce they spackled all over the potatoes wedges I ordered. After dinner we returned to the dorm to get on the internet, which everyone was getting desperate to do. Since we can’t get internet in our rooms until later is week, all of us went to the lobby. At one point there was at least twenty or thirty of us in the lobby. It was quite the sight. After our internet binge me, Walt, Becca, Sarah, Sara and Kacy went to this billiards bar down the street to grab a few beers. The bar was really interesting. You walked in and there were a few tables and a video game next to the bar. In the basement there was a foosball table and a pool table. We grabbed a normal table and Walt and I bought a round for everyone. I think the total for the six beers was less than nine dollars. Gotta love Prague. While we all sat around talking one of my favorite movies, the Last Castle, was on TV, but it was dubbed in Czech. It was awesome seeing a movie that I loved in a different language. The bar was also very pet friendly. One man walked in, sat down on a bar stool and placed his cat on the stool next to him. There was also a puppy running around the bar. After our first round we ventured downstairs to try some foosball. Walt and I played and did some intense roommate bonding. In the end we lost in the sudden death tie-breaker of rock paper scissors.

This morning (Monday) the group headed back to Prague 1 for ECES orientation. Before we left I tried to call British Airways in Prague but it was too early and I could not get anyone on the phone, but I did find the right number to call. Orientation took place in a really old church which is about to close for renovations. The orientation was pretty boring. After orientation a group of us who didn’t get cell phones yesterday went to buy some today. After getting our cell phones we went to the AIFS office to sign up for some field trips and what not. While in the AIFS we were checking out the computer lab when a black duffel bag caught my eye. I then realized that it was indeed my bag. I was very happy to see it. I didn’t even mind that I had to carry the fifty pound bag all the way across Prague back to my dorm.

(My side of the dorm room)

Until next time

Alex