But...the amount of stuff that I have done and places I have been to (just in the Czech Republic right now) is astounding. I broke down and started keeping a journal of sorts to keep days and events straight. and...to remember the shit that I cannot write about here :)
I went to a hockey game last week. One of the Prague teams, Sparta Praha, was I guess in a semi-final game against Zlin (Zlin is a town somewhere in the country...i want to say its east of Prague). It was the first hockey game I'd ever gone to and I went to the game with 5 guys. It was one of the more interesting professional sports events I have seen. The tickets cost 100 Kc (which is 5 USD) and our seats were back and to the left of one of the away team's goal. This meant that I only saw one goal being scored...and missed 2 other ones because I got text messages during them....I was pissed. The stadium was f'in cold; it started out ok...and then got progressively colder. my toes were numb by the end of the game. AND...this game had the most successful rendition of "The Wave" I had ever seen; it went around the whole stadium 3 times! The Prague team won 6-1...and there was a fight!! and the goalie got knocked out...but finally got his ass up like 5 minutes later and the game resumed. After the game, we went to a Subway that was right off one of the Metro stops...because we all were starving. We all agreed that going there was a little slice of America; the only difference though was that the menu was in Czech...and the bastards didn't have any cookies. That's what we get for going at like 8 at night though. But ever since going to the Subway...I have wanted a damn chocolate chip cookie!! its not like they are stellar there...chocolate chip cookies are a food that I think might be strictly American....which blows.
hmm....what else happened last week of note...?
Oh...I went bowling the day before the hockey game! There were like 30 international students sharing 5 lanes, which averaged out to about 7 people per lane. It was a good time, and it turns out that I suck at bowling all over the world. The bowling alley was at like the last stop on the bus....and I'm convinced that we weren't in Prague anymore at that point.
OHEMGEE!!! I booked my trip to Rome this week!! Im going to go to Rome the weekend after Easter!! I will be traveling with 7 other people, which sounds like a lot...but I'm sure it will be fine and we will all have a good time. What are we going to see?? I don't know yet- at least the Vatican...and one of my friends wants to shake hands with the pope. anyone got any ideas? besides the usual architectural wonders/masterpieces/places im lucky I still remember the names of and random facts about??
This week I also visited a house that I did a project for one of my classes over the summer. My contemporary architecture class went to the Muller Villa designed by Adolf Loos. Its a house that was built in 1928-1930, and Loos thought that it was one of his greatest Architectural works. Its slightly surreal to see a house/building that i had spent weeks studying. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures...which kinda sucked.
hmm....so my thoughts on the first month here...Prague is definitely not the United States. People here stare A LOT more. And I'm the one that always gets watched by security whenever I go into stores with people. It's getting slightly annoying. Either I look more American than everyone else does...or I look like the type to steal shit. I'm not really sure which one it is- my guess would be both. Its still surreal here to be walking down a street and on one side see a building from the 21st century...and on the other side see a building from the Baroque era. The cobblestone streets are definitely an experience...I don't know how people with heels can walk on them...I almost fall and I'm wearing gym shoes! Somehow I think i have gone to restaurants and had more Italian and Mexican food than I have Czech Food. I don't think that I could have Czech food every day...my arteries would fall out. Yes...I know that arteries are connected to veins and the heart...but mine would somehow find a way to be separated from my body because of the amount of bacon and grease I have consumed. Speaking of bacon...I had quesidillas with bacon and jalapenos in them!! They tasted like camping and deliciousness. I have had a lot of meals with bacon in them; bacon is to the czech republic like onion are to k-state's dining centers- you never know where its going to pop up in a meal! And the amount of PDA here is astounding...especially on the Metro....it makes me want to gag, and take a long walk off a short pier (well...not literally...its not something you want to see...when you aint getting any) yea...i have a problem with saying exactly what I mean...
do I miss home? well...not really. I've gone months before without seeing my family, so that's not too big a deal. I do miss American television...watching stuff online becomes a hassle after a while. I also surreptitiously miss listening to other people's conversations on public tranportation (because I don't have a clue what they're saying). And don't tell me that you don't do the same thing; its not like I'm trying to listen...its just captivating background noise. BUT...your ears perk up as soon as you hear someone speaking english...even if it's on the other side of the train. I also kinda miss Chipotle...and Bluestem...and oreos...and grilled cheese...and chili...and sonic...and ice in general. For some reason...it is not common to use ice here; I've only seen it at McDonalds, and a cafe i went to in a cultural center. I guess everyone's parents banned them from using ice because they don't know how to fill up the trays...
oh wait...maybe that was just me.
No comments:
Post a Comment