[Week 1 of 17]
Wow. So my first week here in the Czech Republic is already coming to a close, and I must say it's gone by at an alarming rate, although that may be due to the fact that I slept from Thursday night to this morning due to an ambitious final attack by the new years cold germs left hiding in my body... (cough, sniffle, cough) But that's irrelevant, shall we start from the beginning?
I arrived last Sunday into the mist and the rain of what, thanks to global warming, is now considered an average winters day. Exhausted after a red eye and a two hour layover in Zurich, I promptly ignored the gloom and dragged my concrete legs up to my temporary home on the second floor of the Holiday Inn. Upon entering I met Lauren, my roommate for the night. We didn't say much, she watching Gilmore Girls (why?) and I on the verge of a coma, and so after our brief introductions I climbed into bed fully clothed and passed out, sleeping through our brief (and from what I've been told redundant) welcome meeting, barely waking up in time for our first dinner abroad.
Post nap, we met in the hotel lobby in packs of twenty or so, all starving and eager for our first Czech adventure. Our groups were led by two of our "Czech Buddies," local students from Charles University who had volunteered to live with us in our various apartments or dorms in order to help us assimilate and adjust. So off we went into the bitter cold of the evening, down through Prague 4, from our hotel in Vysehard, down the ice slicked cobblestone streets to a local pub. Once there we all crowded in, a horde of annoying americans, and promptly ordered "pivo" (beer) for all. Small talk followed, and soon I discovered I was outnumbered, for all my comrades hailed from UCLA or Central Jersey. Beyond that, I discovered that the ratio of girls to guys, is a pleasantly unbalanced 3:1, no one knows where Middlebury is, and that a lot of parents offer their children money in return for abstaining for underage drinking. Personally, I will add this to the list of things I will not do as a parent, below airport leashes and above letting them have tv in their room... but that's just me; I've seen it backfire too many times, and as for the leashes... I don't think I even have to argue for that one. But I digress, dinner was excellent, we all decided on Svickova, (beef in creme sauce) which was amazing, and opted out of dessert in favor of rest.
Day two started with a bang, or rather, a very loud series of knocks coming from the hallway. I shot out of bed to see who it could be, for I had another hour of sleep to get in before my Dorm meeting, when to my surprise I was met with "Mary-Caitlin, the homestay meeting has started!" I wiped my eyes, "wait, what? I'm not in a homestay, in fact, my name isn't on any of the housing lists, but I was told..." Ivana quickly explained the unfortunate clerical error and urged me to get change and head downstairs for my host family would be arriving to pick me up within the hour.
I pack, I stumble, and downstairs I meet Miroslav.
....to be continued.
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