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