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
"I can’t find the words to describe how much I am enjoying Prague."
ReplyDeleteYou need to buy a dictionary.