February 17

Things are continuing to get even busier than they were, which I still think is a good thing. One of the things I have realized while living over here is how much time I wasted when I was at home. There is this whole world out here to experience and I am so incredibly glad I have discovered that. I had my first full week of film classes last week and I really like all of them so far. I especially like (and am made anxious by) my Feature Screenwriting class because it is just three of us in a class with our professor who used to write scripts himself and therefore we receive very close attention to our work. It is going to be a lot of work, but already have a pretty decent start for the screenplay I will be writing this whole semester [I may or may not let you guys in on the story ;)].

On Saturday we went to Masopust, which is a Bohemian Festival similar to Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday. It was a festival that journeyed between several villages right outside of Prague and that was one of the most fun experiences I have had yet (I don't know if you can tell by the pictures). We spent the whole day eating amazing food, drinking really good beer, listening to traditional music (unfortunately, I did not get to polka like I thought I would), and just having an awesome time with everyone there and made a lot of memories I hope that I never forget.

Yesterday we realized that we have exactly three months left which kind of put a damper on all the fun we had the day before. However, it is still a lot of time and we are currently planning a trip to Berlin this weekend that I am really excited for. I think I am just ready for a temporary change of scenery and I cannot wait to experience as many different places and cultures as I can over here.

2/9

Things have been really busy here, but I mean that in the best way possible. This week has been really eventful, especially with the ending of my two week Intensive Czech course. I had my final for that on Friday and that was the first oral exam I had ever had to take, so anyone who knows me knows that I was pretty nervous and, to make it even worse, I was the last one to go so my nerves were going crazy. Just like usual though, it was all for nothing because the final went really well. So, now I can primarily focus on my film courses (starting tomorrow) and my writing that will go along with those courses.

Another reason this week was so eventful is because of the purchase of a coffee maker for our apartment. First off, cafes here serve the "Italian-style" coffees such as lattes and cappuccinos, etc. Once again, if you know me at all, you know I have a very minor (huge) addiction/obsession with black coffee, which is not served anywhere here. After several failed attempts, a friend and I finally found a decently priced coffee pot and have been in heaven every since then. Everything is just so much better with coffee (you cannot argue against this). However, it gets even better than that. The other kid that bought the coffee maker with me lives in a different apartment (same building) so every morning we (and another one of my roommates) brew some coffee and talk about films, life, make jokes, etc. This has become such a fun experience that we have started referring to it as "The Breakfast Club". It has been a hilarious and really entertaining experience so far and it seems as though we have found a routine for the rest of the semester.

We've been going on a lot of walks lately which is always a good time and a nice way of seeing all the parts of the city. Today, though, we journeyed the furthest from our apartment that I have been thus far (except for being picked up at the airport). We went hiking at a wildlife preserve and it was truly amazing there and to be able to get out into nature again (these are the most recent facebook photos I am tagged in). Just like this fun experience today, every day brings new opportunities and new experiences and I am just trying to fully take in all of it. It's hard to imagine things being able to get better, but they continually do as I experience more and more different things every week.

1/31

Today marks the end of the first full week of my Intensive Czech course and I have learned so much about the language in that time. I can hold a decent conversation for the most part and am now able to order all of my own food and drinks. We also had advising for FAMU this week and that made me very excited for my film classes to start and for me to get back to writing (as well as bettering myself as a writer). Also, we went on a day trip to Khutna Hora, which is a city about an hour and a half away from Prague. We toured the cathedral there and also a bone church that contains approximately 60,000 different human bones. All of the pictures from the trip have already been uploaded to Facebook. However, we got home pretty late last night after a really fun evening that included three of us seeing a film, getting beers afterwards, and ultimately a very deep, intense discussion that was not only about that specific film, but also film as a whole, theory, beliefs, meaning, etc. I love being surrounded by all of this creativity and knowledge and being able to have discussions like this. Back to the point though, I only got five hours of sleep and was not feeling so hot in the morning, making this very long day of traveling seem even longer. It was still fun regardless of being tired though. Each day feels like another week here and I am already wondering how much I will learn/ be changed (and in what ways) by the end of the semester. 

1/25-1/26

Yesterday we went on a tour of the Prague Castle and some of the cathedrals. If you would like to see pictures they will all be on my facebook from this point on because it is just much easier to upload them that way. Our tour guide was a little old lady named Mary who was full of information and energy. I was so surprised when she was chasing trams and forcing us younger people to try and keep up. I had a fairly long discussion with her before we left for the tour and she offered her help in tracking our family tree and even trying to find our relatives over here after I told her that my Grandma had been showing me a lot of information about that. The tour last almost 4 hours and everyone was completely freezing, but it was still a lot of fun. Everyone is still getting more and more comfortable(amazingly) and we always have fun no matter what we're doing. After the tour, we had a welcome dinner put on by CIEE (our study abroad program) and it amazes me how much information and intelligence everyone here is full of. It has only been 5 days but I have had the longest, most in depth conversations on film that I have ever had in my life. We all have different views and tastes of course, but we all understand and accept that. It's amazing because this is what I have always wanted: to be surrounded by individuals that have the same understanding and love of film that I do as well as a yearning to keep advancing in both the understanding and the love of the area. I bring this up here because four of us sat together at dinner and talked about film for almost 2 hours almost non stop and it just really gives me a great feeling being able to do that. I keep saying that almost everyone here knows more and more about what they are doing than I do, but we are all at different places and we aren't here to compete with one another but to further our individual understandings and capabilities. I am more grateful every day for being a part of this group.

After dinner, almost all of us went out by ourselves (without any Czech flat buddies or anyone fluent in the language) to a couple of bars and clubs navigating the transit system and ordering all by ourselves. The first place was very cool but more of a bar than a club. We were having some great conversations and laughs and even working on our accents (Brooklyn, Australian, etc.). After that we went to a place called The James Dean Club which was way more crowded, more expensive, but still a ton of fun. We did a lot of dancing and singing which is surprising to me because I really hate doing those things in front of people, especially ones I don't know very well, but I honestly feel like I have been here and known everyone for a month. This was one of the best times I have had in a really long time. I was even practicing my Czech there (which I think is a lot less nerve-wracking when you're drunk) and talking to people about Nebraska and sports (someone was wearing a Steelers hat) and overall I was actually able to communicate with them. We didn't leave the club until close to 3 am so needless to say I was in bed past noon, but it was totally worth it.

Today has been a very good time to relax and get some stuff done while also reflecting on the last 5 days and everything we have done. It hasn't taken long for me to get really comfortable here and I am really excited to start our Intensive Czech class this week and get ready for our film classes which start on February 10.

1/23-1/24

Sorry this post got delayed a second time but as you may know google services have been down for the last day or so. 

Alright so I meant to post something last night about how we toured the city and familiarized ourselves with public transportation, but the night didn't go exactly as I thought it would...

So, after we got home from dinner (I had my first authentic Czech dish-goulash is amazing) and hanging out at the bar I decided it would be a good idea to try out the power strip that I brought from home because most of my devices needed to be charged. Well, I ended up blowing the power in our whole apartment (so for future reference, don't do this) so we had no light, hot water, heat, or way to charge our phones. Luckily it got fixed early today, but not earlier enough for me to avoid a freezing shower. 

Alright, so back to not being stupid and killing the electricity...we went to Wenceslaus Square and many other places which just proved to me even more how beautiful Prague is. Charles bridge and Prague Castle are on the agenda for tomorrow so I'm really excited for that. Today, we toured FAMU (my film school) and I got really excited for the semester and what we will be doing. Our group is starting to grow pretty close even after two days because it feels like it has been almost two weeks already. Overall, everything is going very well and I'm having a lot of fun. I'm excited for my first weekend in the city...

Here are some pictures from the journey thus far:

Arrival-1/22/14

I got into Prague today at about noon and have been unpacking (but mostly fighting off sleep) since then. We just went out to dinner, checked out the supermarket, and walked around some neighborhoods to start getting an idea of the area. I am continually going through different stages of nervousness and excitement, but I think after a couple days I will be much better adapted to this new environment. On the bright side my roommate (Jon) and I seem to get along pretty well so that is making the immediate transition a little easier. I'm starting to learn some of the basic phrases and also getting better with the totally different monetary system. Hopefully, I will get some pictures tomorrow to post and give an idea of where I'm at...too tired right now.