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.
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