Cheating the System Never Felt so Good!

Well, after I wrote last night we went out to an awesome club the University of Hatfield provides in its union. There was a huge dance floor, and it was pretty much epic! I knew most of the songs they played, but I didn't know they had so much music I have never heard of! We got back around 3 and I passed out until noon. I didn't mean to wake up so late.
After that we headed into the city and went to Buckingham Palace. I havebeen feeling very gyped about money and people at the subway station do not seem to care, so I did not buy a day pass today. I just used my once rom yesterday and told them it didn't work and they let me threw for free every time. Was it wrong, maybe, but I feel better about how much I spent transportation wise while here nonethelss.
After Buckingham Palace, which sadly did not have the red coated gaurds with big hats, we went to our hostel we stayed at the night before and dropped our stuff off. We payed for a 4 person room, but since it's Sunday no one is here, and we get the room to ourselves, meaning we bought a cheap 2 person room!
We then headed down to Chinatown where I found the buy of a lifetime! I bought a cheap backpacking backpack and it only cost me 18£, which means $27. I was very happy with this, since most in Prague are around $30. After we wondered the town and then went back to the hostel where I got to take an awesome shower. It's not backpacking if you miss a day or two of showering! ;)
Tomorrow I need to get up at 7am to head to the airport. I liked my laidback day wondering around London though. I also learned a lot while traveling too. Hostels are actually really nice, people will give you directions, go to the shady restuarants, they are better and cheaper, and conserve every dollar you can, even if that means chetaing the system a little :P

Another Day in London

Today was a bigger day. This morning we woke up at the hostel and headed out around 9am. We went to a War museum that Nick wanted to see and then to Shakespeare's Globe Theater. After we met up with Dan and John at Tate Modern.
Tate Modern is a museum... a very scary museum. After the war museum this morning for 2 hours I was very museum-ed out! This was a Modern museum and they had some rooms with projectiles on it. It was very scary and there was a lot of nudity and people tied up. I felt like I was watching Saw or something, except it was real so then I basically walked as fast as I could out of the room. I did see some Andy Warhol, Picasso, and the huge Water Lilies painting by Monet. I have always wanted to see it, so it was a nice surprise.
After we walked across the Harry Potter bridge (aka the Millineum Bridge. You know the one that got destroyed at the beginning of the 6th by Death Eaters). Nick is getting sick of my Harry Potter nerdiness. I keep saying things like they sound like Harry Potter, that bar looks like the Leaky Couldren, he said, "Bloody Hell" like Ron, etc.
Afterwards we wandered around because Saturday is the day apparently all the lines are shut down for repair and sort of found Spital Market. Unfortunately it is closed on Saturdays. After that we went to Abbey Road and saw the famous cross walk. On the studio people from all over the world have writtena and graffited on the wall outside to show they have been there.
We then headed to a very college like party of town called Camden. We had a few drinks, listened to some musics, and are now heading back to Hatfield for some shut eye. Tomorrows another big day filled with many firsts! Can't wait!

What a Busy Day!!

I had a long, busy day. I have no idea where to even begin, so I guess I'll try to just start from the beginning. First we left John and Dan and headed back to London. Once in London we went to London Bridge, which isn't that big of a deal. It's the one across from it that is. It's called Tower Bridge and it's the one with 2 huge Victoiran towers and a drawbridge. So we headed over there and took a closer look and then hung out at The Tower of London. We were going to go in, but people said it wasn't that interesting inside and I couldn't give up $25 for something that apparently wasn't that cool.
So we went to Westminister Abbey, the huge church by Parliament. It was so magnificent inside. Many famous people are buried there such as Queen Mary of Scotts, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth 1st, and King Herny 7th, to name a few. Then we went and saw huge memorials to Isaac Newton, Shakespeare, and Charles Darwin, as well as the resting places of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. I think we were supposed to take no photos, but I might've taken a few illegal ones. I couldn't help myself. They were too beautiful!
After we headed to St. Pauls Cathedral. It was so beautiful. The domed ceiling alone was to die for. We went to the Whispering Balcony inside of the dome and it is a perfect circle, so I got on one side and whispered to Nick and he whispered back and I heard every word! It was amazing! We then went to the top deck outside and saw all around London. It was windier than Kansas up there though! It was pretty tought to walk at some points... but luckily it didn't rain all day! We had a beautiful, sunny, slightly windy day in London in February. Go figure!
Afterwards we checked into our hostel... which is not that bad at all. We checked in for another night because we like it so much. Plus the food here is super cheap and good at this hostel! Not to mention I have spaghetti, with real spaghetti sauce!!! No ketchup! I was beyond happy. We also went and bought Doritos, so Greg you do not need to bring me any after all meany-face :P
Speaking of Greg, his family is coming up today and sadly I cannot be there to party it up with him on his birthday. We can just have a make-up party in 2 weeks in Prague, and the best thing is I can drink legally in the bars here without my fake i.d. Actually you do not ever need an I.D. in Prague. Even in London today there were these drunk, hooligan, 14 year old boys walking around town at 10pm and went right by these cops, but they didn't even get stopped, even though the legal drinking age is 18!! Crazy town.
Afterwards we checked into our hostel and ate dinner we went to the National Gallery, which is free by the way. All museums in London are free! Score! There I took some more "illegal" photos and saw some Monet's, Van Gogh's, and Picasso's, to name a few. Tomorrow we are going to see the changing of the gaurds at Buckingham Palace and hang out in London with John and Dan. They are going to show us some hip places tourists do not really ever see which is exciting!
Right now I am in my hostel and I just met someone who is directing a legitamite movie. He spent $400,000 on it and says it will be in American theaters in November, so I may have to support him and check it out! Time for bed though, I have a busy day tomorrow! Where does the time go in London? It disappears as fast as my money here!

Back to the Land of Hogwarts

Today my friend Nick and I set out from Prague to London. I had to get up at 6am, shower, and we were on the bus to airport but 7:30, because Nick was worried we would get lost and we didn't. So, we sat in the airport for around an hour and saw officers who had MP5's, which did not make me feel safer. It did the exact opposite actually.

Once we were checked in, we had to take our bus to a plane, and board from the tarmac. Our plane was pink and purple and the flight was only 2 hours, but technically just an hour since we gained an hour coming back here.

We flew into a sketchy airport called Luton and had to take a bus and hour and something to get into actually London, but it was nice because I got to see the country-side outside of London, which is very beautiful. Even in February it is lush and green, plus the rolling hills added something magical too!

Once in London, we went and found Piccadilly Circus and then made out way to Big Ben. We got out of the subway and saw the river and didn't know where Big Ben or Parliament were. Then I realized Parliament was right next to us and turned out. Right behind us was Big Ben! It was so huge and beautiful. We had to take a minute and realize, "Wow, we are actually in London." We then went to the Eye across the river and rode the HUGE ferris wheel. We could see so far from it and got some really good bird eye views of London. We then ventured into Parliament because it started raining, and it was free, so that didn't hurt either. We went into the place and it was so beautiful. We listened to the House of Lords and the the House of Commons. The House of Lords beats the House of Commons by beauty and appeal. I wish I could've taken pictures, but it was sadly not allowed. The detail on some of the sculptures was just amazing.

After we decided we were hungry and went to find our friends Dan and John in Hatfield. We trained it out to them and went to a Chinese Buffet, which apparently is what everyone eats here, so I did not feel bad eating there. I also had ice cream since the first time I was here.

We were going to go out tonight, but honestly it is way to expensive here. A bottle of beer is around 6 dollars. Our dinner alone was 13 pounds, so around 20 dollars for a Chinese buffet. We also went to McDonald's and a cheeseburger alone was about 2 dollars! What the heck London?! Tomorrow we are going to some excellent places, I just hope it doesn't rain though! I will post pictures when I get back to my computer in Prague, so until then you will have to just imagine all the awesome places I have been! I hope you can contain yourselves while waiting for pictures!!!

Pre-Trip Jitters

So tomorrow I leave for London! We are meeting at 7:30am in the lobby of more dorm and heading out. I am only taking a backpack. Lord help me... I don't know how this will work out. I need a bigger backpack, like Amazing Race style backpack! I will be there Thursday-Monday. I guess I will be celebrating Greg's birthday on Saturday in London, which is 2nd best to having it with him, so I guess I'll take it.
Today I went to my two classes, and found out my final in Czech Language class isn't nothing, it's counting in Czech to 20, which I can proudly already do! YIPPIE!
I am trying to figure out my schedule for this summer. I need to take 1-2 classes, one at K-State and one needs to be Engineering Physics II. The bummer about Engineering Physics II is that they don't have a teacher for it yet, so if anyone would like to teach that at JCCC this summer that would be awesome!
I'm getting kind of nervous about this trip to London because we literally have nothing planned. I'm kind of excited to be going into it blind, but still nervous nonetheless. I know it will be fun though... because I'll be in London. Then the next week I will be in Dublin! After that Greg's going to be here and we are going to Barcelona! I know it's 2 weeks away, but I have a feeling it will go super fast with all of these trips we are going on!
It's been kinda slow up until now, but I think I'm finally getting into the groove of things, and once I start traveling almost every weekend, this time is going to go by so fast! I think I will be happy when I finally go home though. I mean being gone for 3-4 months is fun, but it'll be nice to get back and see everyone and spend time with them again! Well I have to go pack and then go to a country presentation for Mexico, and then party it up! Hopefully I will be able to write tomorrow and tell you of my awesome London adventures!

Guess who's going to Dublin?!

Me of course! :)
I leave next Wednesday with my friend Quinn and get back on Sunday. I will miss two classes, but they are Czech Language and Czech Culture and they specifically said if you need to miss for trips it is allowed, so I am!
I also find I am getting bored a lot here. I have one class on Monday, one class on Tuesday, and two classes on Wednesday. I have no homework in any of them. Two of them do not have finals. I am literally sitting in these classes for nothing, and sometimes I wonder why do I even go. This Czech Language class is impossible. Even though I am living here I know I will never learn it. Even the teacher has been quoted as saying, "This is how to actually say it, but say it this way because no one says it that way since it is too hard." WHAT?! This has only been one class and she has said it 3 times, and it was only on the numbers from 1-10. Why would you make your numbers here impossible to say? It's because the whole language is impossible to say. They have words with five consonants in a row. No vowels at all! I will never, I repeat never, learn this language for the life of me. So then what is the point of even paying attention in class? I am seeing little point as of now.
I also have been getting majorly creeped out by teachers here. There is no personal bubble in this country, but I always expected some from the teachers at least. Both my math teachers get way too close to me, but it's not just to me it's to everyone else too, so it makes me feel less scared, but still awkward nonetheless. My stats teacher, in the first lesson, goes as far as resting his hand on the students shoulder and bending over them to see what they are doing. I have never been touched by a teacher I have never known... I don't think I like it too much. People in general do not respect other people's bubbles here. Sunday I was eating dinner with friends and it was 4 guys and me. This other man I have never meet walks up and shakes all there hands, he gets to me and I shake my hand as he leans in for a cheek kiss. So then I'm stuck in this awkward hand-shaking, cheek-kissing situation and then he laughs and shakes my hand. I do not like the idea of letting someone kiss my cheek that I know, let alone someone I do not know.
Speaking of stats class, that started yesterday. The teacher already gave us the final and is going to go over it with us before we take it. Lovely. There is also only 4 of us. The class is not on campus, and I have to take a subway to get there, which I do not mind, it's just different. The weird thing is, is that we have to walk up this town like place and ring a buzz so that the teacher will come open the gate. We meet in a conference room and he does problems on an itty-bitty white board. Things are just really random over here.
Random fact for ladies everywhere who want to travel here. Do not get your period here, or if you do, bring your our tampons. Tampax exists over here, but it took me 3 stores to find it, all the other stores just sell ones without the applicator, just the cotton. I know it's an icky topic, but I figure it's something a lot of people need to know, so sorry guys out there, but please bear with me. The ones I did find that are semi-okay only have 8 in a box and are around $10, just for those 8. Are you sure Czech Republic isn't a 3rd world country? :P Just kidding.

Rave-tastic

Yesterday was a slightly boring day. I watched Couples Retreat with a friend and basically did nothing throughout the whole day, which I can't complain about. I like relaxing sometimes and people keep telling me, "You are in Prague, you can't just sit around. You need to see the city." Well I am in Prague, but it is also my home for the next couple of months, and I am sure I will see it all eventually. I can either go out and see it when it's warm or go out now in the cold. I prefer warm, personally.
Last night was pretty awesome though. I went to a rave, and I know my cousin Aaron will appreciate that. It was so fun and I am very glad I went! We were there until 4am partying it up, and left once the subways started going again in the morning. I also had some late night pizza afterward. Pizza here is very yummy, which I appreciate because I love my pizza!
Today I really want to take a shower but the light in our bathroom is out and it is very creepy in there right now, plus no one is here, so I'll probably wait to take one once someone gets back! Maybe borrow the roommates lamp. I am also planning a trip to Dublin, and hopefully returning to the homeland :P
Tickets will only be about $75, so I feel like if I do not go, I am wasting money and will just spend it on stupid things. I'm starting to get all my trips planned which is fun. It just stinks because Prague has such a little airport and it's hard to get decent flights to anywhere that isn't a main hub for an airline, but I'm working on it nonetheless!

A Day of Wanderment

Yes, that is supposed to say wanderment. I know it's not a word, but I am making it up. It means wandering around the city of Prague with no real agenda. That's what I basically did today. I went to the mall and then I went to Old Town Square where they had lots of cute little shops and common food from Czech for very cheap, as well as cute little souvenirs. So if you want cheap food/beer/gifts in Prague, head to Old Town Square. Beautiful buildings and atmosphere!
Yesterday I made a list of difference between Kansas and here, and I would like to add something to that list:

Children ride the subways and walk around town all by themselves starting around the age of five. That's the youngest I noticed anyway. I do not know they they have a very low abduction rate or something, but I do not think I would be comfortable letting my children roam the streets of Prague alone.

I feel like I am starting to fit in here. People do not look at me so much as a tourist anymore. In the past 2 days people have come up to me speaking Czech and I say, "I don't speak Czech" and they say "Oh, pardon" and walk away. I guess that's a good sign because maybe people won't target me to be pick-pocketed.
The Olympics are getting on my last nerve. All the good stuff here is on at such awful times, and apparently The Office, Parks and Recreation, Community, and 30 Rock are all taking a break until the beginning of March, so the Olympics will play over there slots. Kind of aggravating.
Tonight I think we are going to a big club in Prague which is exciting! Maybe more people will buy me drinks!! I also received a package in the mail today from my mom for Valentines Day! It was a good pick me up, even though I had a wonderful day since the weather is getting a ton nicer and I can actually venture out around town!

I Think I'm Not in Kansas Anymore...

Despite all the different languages spoken here, people just do things differently here.
1. People literally take their dogs everywhere. I have so far seen dogs on the subway, in classes, in churches, and in restaurants.
2. People here have no shame. I saw some lady breastfeeding in a restaurant. The baby stopped feeding and the lady's nipple was just exposed and she left it that way until the baby wanted more. Literally sat there for 5 minutes with her nipple exposed and no one in the restaurant cared except for me and my English friend.
3. People never sleep. Ever. They drink and party until around 4 or 5 am and then go to work around 8am. It's impossible
4. In conjunction with 3, people never get hungover. They drink so much and yet are not sick in the morning.
5. People drive on the same side of the road as we do, but they are CRAZY!!! I have never seen crazier drives, and that's saying something.
6. They tried to copy the hot dog and it's called the EuroDog. They take a small baggette, cut the top off, and put a hot dog in it. Then they just squirt ketchup or mustard into the bagette. It's very odd.
7. They do not play basketball, football, or baseball here. They actually do not play sports competitively in schools.
I'm sure there is a ton more, but these are the main ones I have noticed so far.
Today I enrolled in my Stats class, sadly I only have a 4 day weekend now. I do not know how I will manage. The class doesn't start until 4:30 though, so I can still party it up the night before.
Speaking of partying, I went to a party last night and people bought me a drink! YAY! It was yummy and tasted like cinnamon. We also played some drinking games before and we Americans showed out British friend how to play Circle of Death!
I also just bought my plane ticket to London, and it only cost me 120 dollars. Not too shabby. I leave next Thursday and get back in time for my class next Monday. Should be fun! I'm staying with my friend John Goddard. I am planning some other things with friends too while over here in Europe. I think we are going to try and get down to Greece and Rome. Those are really the main places I want to go while here. Germany and Poland are high on the list as well. Hopefully once my roommate gets back I knock those off and stay at places for free too! Oh and Ireland! The list just keeps growing... good thing I have been saving up for a while!

Lazy Days

So far I have seen and done a lot in Czech Republic, but now I'm hitting those lazy days when I do not want to go out and spend more money, I need to save some for awesome trips I am going on. It is also too cold to do anything. I step outside and then just want to go right back inside. I cannot wait for spring so that I can just wander around the city. I hope it is warm for when Greg gets here. Speaking of Greg, I just bought plane tickets and a hostel reservation for us. The plane tickets were fairly cheap. About $160, which if you think about it is actually cheap. It's like we are flying from Kansas to Florida, which I know in America would be so much more expensive. I also got us a cheap hostel room. 22 dollars per person per night. I can't really complain because we aren't even sharing it with a ton of people, it's a private room for just us too and it's right off of the main road in Barcelona. Can't complain about that at all. I am also looking into bungee jumping while in Barcelona. It's only about $90 per person. Either way I am doing it while I am here, it will either be in Prague (they open from April-October) or Spain (they are open year round). I'm super excited about that!
I also found out I do not have to spend any money on books for my classes! My Czech language teacher said that I do not need a book, and my Czech culture class does not need one either. As for my Differential Equations class, we just check out the book at the library for the semester! I do not know about my statistics class yet, since I meet with the head of the department about that class tomorrow, but here's hoping for free/no books as well!
I went to my Czech language class for the first time today, and my teacher said there are no tests and no homework and no final. As long as she can recognize my face by the end of the year (meaning I go to class) then I will pass. Gotta love Czech teachers. For my statistics class we get to take the final (the exact same one apparently) 3 times and take the highest score from them for our grade. I think I'm starting to like this school again... :)
Tonight I am going to a big dance party for our program and they are giving us 3 free drinks. A party on a Wednesday hosted by the study abroad club... good thing I have no classes Thursday! Now I must go look for plane tickets to London, because my friend and I are going to see my buddy from K-State there named John! We have a free place to sleep and everything! We are going next weekend (over Greg's 21st birthday). If I can't celebrate his birthday with him in America I might as well celebrate it in London!
Oh and I have internet over here in my room! This place just got so much more enjoyable!

First Day of School

So I have class in about 8 hours. It's very odd thinking about going back to school. I have basically had another summer break, just in winter. I am taking Czech Language, Czech Culture, Mathematics 2 (Differential Equations), and HOPEFULLY Statistics. I enrolled in it so long ago and now I emailed my professor and she says she is not teaching it! If I do not get in this class, that's the second one they screwed me one. I have never had a worse time trying to get into classes or a school. What school gives you a class, and the day before says it's not happening. I'm kind of getting sick of this school. I do not even think I'm spoiled at K-State. I just think they make it so difficult to get anything done here. Running all around the huge city just to enroll in one class, which turns out I might not even be able to take it. It's very frustrating. So after my class tomorrow, that's on the list of things to work on I guess. I realized today though that I will only have 26 days of school total. I guess I am ok with that!
I just hope I get into this stats class, if not that another class I have to add to the schedule once I get home. If I would've known this would've been such a wasted semester I might've just stayed at K-State. This is getting a little ridiculous. The only real class I would be taking this whole semester to help me is Differential Equations.
I hope it all works out. Literally I did nothing today but read and buy tickets for when Greg is here. We are going to Barcelona for 2 days :)
I'm excited to be warm and in the prettiest city in Europe, plus I'll be with my boyfriend, so I guess that helps me enjoy the city a little more too! I guess that's one bright side to being over. Seeing many beautiful places.

Happy Valentines Day!!

I think I spent my Valentines Day in superb fashion. NOT! I spent my day with a bunch of dead people instead of my boyfriend. So much love in an ossuary.
We started off by heading for Melnick by bus. When we got there we walked up to a church, but they were having service, so we couldn't go in and looked at the view instead.
We then went into the ever romantic ossuary where 10000 people are buried. It was rather scary. It's located right under a church too. Apparently all of these people died from the plague and other were found in a large pit outside the town.
A cross made out of skulls. Lovely.
We then went into the actual church which was very pretty, but sadly did not know what electricity or heating was! Which turned out to be very cold, since it's about 10 degrees out today. The church was amazing though. It is right next to a huge castle, so I guess it had to be pretty.
We arrived at the castle and it was really a Chateau more than anything else.
Notice the Kelseyosarous (and the lovely foot prints). She roams the castle and protects it from invaders.
We then went and had a lovely dinner. These are my friends from Wisconsin (one of which is mmy roommate). Quinn on the far left, then Angela, then Kevin, and then me! The food was excellent. We had schnitzel, which I greatly recommend. The cool thing about this restaurant is that it is in the castle! So I basically had food a king would eat. Ya I'm pretty legit.
After we toured the castle (and I took illegal pictures! tehe) The castle is pretty amazing. The furniture is beautiful. If it was to be replicated today it would probably be around 1 billion dollars. I wish I was kidding but it was absolutely beautiful in that place. I also found out it can rented out for weddings, so guess where my fairy tail wedding will be one day! And it's really cheap too because it is in korunas. So once I am making 100,000 bucks a year, that's the place the sickest wedding party is going down!
After we went to a wine tasting, with the best wine I have ever tasted. I am not exaggerating. I most of the time cannot stand wine, but this was amazingly awesome! I even bought a bottle, if that tells you anything because I am such a cheapo! We then went back to our dorm where I cooked myself dinner and will start reading my book soon. I think I'll head to bed early since I was up so late last night. Classes start tomorrow, but I do not have any!! I do need to enroll in Stats though and un-enroll in two electrical engineering classes. If all goes as planned, I should only wait in like for 5 hours! I wish I was kidding. Hopefully I'll wake up early enough to not have to wait in line at all!!! One can dream anyway....

Chilling Out, Maxing, Relaxing All CoolThat's

That's exactly what I did today! After all these days of just going, going, going, I decided to just stay in bed and relax. I woke up at 7:10am, got my phone, and then went to bed until noon. Then I watched Project Runway, Survivor, The Office, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, and Community on my roommates computer while she was gone. The thing is you can't use Hulu over here or watch them on their website, so I found out about this nifty little site called Casttv. It had every show for free and in English! What a find. It made me feel better and I just felt a lot more like I was at home. I am going to call it an early night I think, since I have to be somewhere at 8am tomorrow for my trip to another castle. We are also going to the biggest ossuary in the Czech Republic. Basically all these people died from the plague and then they made a church out of there bones. Very romantic for Valentines Day. Then we are tasting some wine!

In other news, Greg is visiting me March 13th thanks to Connie. As a team we found a price doable for him to get here, so I have that too look forward too as well.

Seeing My First Castle

And the one at Dinsey World does not count, as I have discovered today.
We set off at 7:30am. so early. We then drove to a car manufacturing company called Skota. The machines they had building those cars was amazing! Apparently factory workers there make more than university professors do, which isn't saying much because apparently professors make not to much money. It's really odd because in America they make about $100,000 a year. I think that's a sign college is too expensive there. Here kids do not have to pay for classes, which is probably why the professors get paid so little.
We then went to a "romantic" castle, which basically means it's almost all torn down. It was still very pretty though. You could tell where certain things used to be, and I'm sure it used to be beautiful. We then had to walk back to the bus, and when we got there it was stuck in the snow, so all the boys had to push it out. It was fairly entertaining.
After this we drove the a place called Czech Paradise, which is a huge hill with a gorgeous scenery and a huge pain to climb. Especially in snow. I'm going to have to thank my mom right now for buying me these Cabela boots. If I hadn't had them on I would probably be dead. Literally you were climbing up sheer ice for half the part. I was really good though. Better than most boys. Many people over here are gentlemen and when I was climbing down one of them was told the others to help me and I told them that I was fine. I think that's different from what they are used to hearing, because they proceeded to help anyway. The pictures I got were just gorgeous though, so I am okay with the idea that I risked my life for them.
When then ventured on to the castle called Cast, which means bone in English. It is still in perfect condition, but it is apparently closed during the winter. They opened it just for us though, and it was FREEZING in there. We say the chapel, and then the security rooms when the castle was under attack. The walls there were 9 feet thick! Then we went to the torture room and dungeons. Which were really scary. The worst we head about was the Wheel. It has a certain place were it bulges out and it breaks every bone in the persons body and then finally breaks there neck. Once dead they weave the persons broken dead body in between the spokes, and hang it on a hill for all to see. Sounds dreadful. After we ran back to the bus because everyone was so cold from the days activities and went off to the Medieval Brewery.
We ate pork and drank ale. I tried something called a Wild Honey drink, which tasted so good. The bread there was also fantastic. There was belly dancing, fire jugglers, a with trial, and a crazy old hag. At one point she was coming near us and one boy told her in Czech that my boyfriend had broken up with me (but he hasn't so let's not start any rumors) and she came over and kissed my head and gave me a hug. I had no idea what was going on so I was trying to crawl away because she smelled really bad, and I do not make a habit of letting strangers kiss me and everyone was basically laughing at my shock. Once I learned what happened though I found it quiet hilarious too.
It was a pretty awesome day all around, except now I have to get up at 7:15, and go get my phone on the bus, because apparently it fell out of my pocket when I fell asleep. After that I'm going right back to bed!

Brewery and Plzner Pics

Brewery Trip!!!

I went to the Brewery in Pilsner today and it was so much fun!
We left at 8am and took a train 2 hours to go to a little town in Prague called Plzner. I sat with some nice people from Slovenia and France, and once we got to the actually brewery I found out I was the only American there when they asked all where we came from, which was odd since there were about 40 in our group. We then saw where they packaged the beer and sent it out to. The best part of the whole experience had to be when we were in the cellars. They no longer keep beer there, but still had some down there for the visitors when they visit. This beer is unlike any I have ever tasted. It wasn't as bitter as beer is now, and was unfiltered. It was very good, and I think a little more alcoholic or something, because after one free glass I was kind of feeling it.
We then went to lunch and I sat with my new Slovenian and French friends. I had another beer, and was on the edge of drunkenness before 4pm... I think that's a new low for me. For lunch I had dumplings for the first time, apparently a dish the Czech people prepare quiet a bit. Before we left, my new friends and I decided to take something for the road, and "borrowed" the awesome Pilsner cups they gave us for the beer. Hey we are poor and college kids, what do you expect? :P
We then went to one of the highest towers in Czech, a church steeple in the middle of town. From there you could see miles around, and even the 3rd largest synagogue in the world. Since Czech was controlled by Germans in WWII, how that building made it out alive is beyond me.
After we went to this awesome place called the P.U.B. which stands for Plzner Unique Bar. At every table is your own tap. You fill as much as you want and at the end they keep track of how much you had and charge you for it. Except the group I'm with said they would pay for 3 of our beers. I do not like beer too much, but since I am a college student, it's basically a sin not to drink what you get for free, so of course I drank it! The really interesting thing about this bar besides the taps is that it puts tallies of how many drinks you have had on a board and lists people in first to tenth. We competed with other bars throughout Prague, but never caught the first place person, since they were on drink 50 at 5 in the evening!
We then headed home and now I am getting pumped for my castle, car building, and witch trial trip for tomorrow. I think I will post some pictures and then head to bead! So enjoy!

Five Miles

That's how far I seriously walked today. In snow boots. I will have so many blisters.
The reason I had to walk so far is because at Czech Tech the different departments do not like each other, so you cannot go to one place to register, you have to go to each department you have a class in to register. So first I waited in like for about 40 minutes to enroll in 2 classes, one of which I need to drop. Then I went to the other place to register, but they close at 11, even though it is enrollment week, so now I cannot go back until Monday. Then I had to go to the middle of town where the office of the Transportation Science place is, yes, it's not even on campus, just for it to have just shut down for lunch, so then I took back my broken converter and got a new one, then ventured back to the middle of town and got registered there. I missed the Prague Discovery Game because this all took so long, but that's ok because everyone said it wasn't very fun. Which makes me glad I ditched it and walked around Old Town instead, which is BEAUTIFUL!!! The buildings are just like they were in the 1400's and they have such magnificent churches. That's what I hate about America, our history is so short. The buildings here are made back in a time that cannot be replicated now.
I also found out most Czech's cannot read or write, let only speak English. Which makes me wonder why they listen to American music. It dawned on me today while I was in a store that I was probably the only person in said store that knew what the song actually said. It's very odd. You think they would make their own music if they do not even know what the words are.
After this I crashed back at the dorm because I was just so tired. I have to get up before 8 tomorrow to be on the bus for the Pelsner Brewery. Hopefully I will be able to get up. I hear there is a lot of walking in store for tomorrow too... oh joy! :)
Oh and my Dad brought up a good point, I never said my roommates names. The one from Wisconsin is Hannah and the one from Poland is Ida, but she had to go home because she has mono. Luck for her she just has to write a paper about Prague for her school, so she will be able to come back in a month and still be able to finish it. I was sad to see her leave because even though we only hung out for one night, she was still really cool. She was going to be my drinking buddy, but now I guess I will have to wait a month to hang out with her again. Sad day!!! But tomorrow will be a fun one! Can't wait!

Change of Plans

So today I went to my meeting and found out that there is no Engineering Physics 2 being offered, at all. Which mean I will need to come back to the States a little earlier than planned. Probably around May 30th or so. I will also be needing to find a new class to take. The whole class thing is getting kind of stressful.
That being said, I love it here! All stores do not close until around midnight and restaurants are open until about 2am. Every single one. There are casinos on many corners around town and the subways are so convenient to get around the city.
I am getting anxious to start classes, but there are still some things I need to do, like find a converter that actually works, so that I stop stealing my neighbors, and sign up for internet in my room, so that I do not have to sit in the lobby we I want internet.
I also found out today that I get a stipend every month for give K-State so much money to go to school here (because apparently it isn't as expensive as it should be). Today I went and picked up 5000 koruna (aka 250 dollars) and will be getting that every month until June. That makes me feel a little better about changing planes tickets, because it's going to cost me 300 dollars, but suddenly I have an extra $1250, so it gives me a little cushion for that and buying food here!
Today was also sign up day for trips to places we want to go. Many only had a few spots, but me being the person I am, I got to the front of every line and signed up for each one. I spent about 90 dollars on it total to get 3 awesome trips which are:
1. Going to a brewery and trying all of the local beer there, then going to a car factory and watching them all be put together.
2. Going to about 3 castle's ruins and seeing beautiful countryside of Prague. Then maybe bungee jumping. the guy mentioned it, but I'll have to see what happens. After this we are going to an old time pub where there is belly dancing and turkey legs and fresh brewed beer and witch trials!!! So exciting
3. Going to the main castle in Prague where the Czech ancestors originally settled. This inculdes a wine tasting tour. Then we will see the scary dungeons and the catacomb made out of human bones and skulls (apparently the largest ever).
All in all I think 90 bucks is a good deal for food, drink, and train tickets. I am getting fairly excited. I just have to get through tomorrow and figuring out my schedule. Oh, and I also went to a hookah bar tonight. I know my parents will love that! :P

Playing the Waiting Game

So today I had a lot of time to answer emails and talk to people, because I stood in line at a DMV like place for 2 hours! I had to wait to get my new student ID card and my bus pass so I can ride the bus, tram, and subway whenever! We finally got our number called though. They had a very odd number system they used that made no sense, though. They would call 118, 119, 121, 66, 85, etc. Of course our number was 120 and they skipped right over us. After our number did get called it was like in and out in 10-15 minutes. So aggravating!
Before this we went to a huge meeting hall where I found out we are playing a Czech game scavenger hunt on Wednesday and then Thursday-Sunday going on trips all around Czech. I plan on going to a beer tasting place, then a medieval castle tour, and then on Sunday to a wine tasting place, where they have a huge burial chamber made out of skulls and bones! I guess it's the biggest place in the world with walls made out of bone. Should be interesting...
After we went to a Club and had dinner then partied it up. They gave us free booze and everything. It was pretty nice. I also found out beer is cheaper than water is here... so I know what fluids I'll be spending more money on! I need to get more bank for my buck (or koruna in Czech) it's only logical!
I finally met my new roommate too! She is from Poland and knows a friend who owns a castle in Poland!!! I know where I'm staying when I go to Warsaw! :) I met her at the club, because she recognized me from all my pictures in our room! It's very odd hearing all the different terms people use for different things. Mainly people from Britain.
So this is probably long enough. I think I'll put up so photos now!

In the Land of Hogwarts

Today I finally started my study abroad trip. I first flew out to Dallas, which went super smooth, but had no free wi-fi connection!!! I was slightly upset. Then I took the big leap over the pond and flew on to London. While on said 9 hour flight I watched 4 movies (Taking Woodstock, The Invention of Lying, The Informant!, and X-Men: Wolverine Origins), finished listening to the 7th Harry Potter book, and watched and episode of The Big Bang Theory. I also had my first legal alcoholic beverage. It was yummy with the pork dinner they gave me. Once in London I had a 4 hour layover. Can you believe the biggest airport in London didn't have wi-fi either?! Upsetting.

Once in Prague I found my buddy, and oddly enough 3 other people who are studying abroad from K-State on my flight. We headed to the dorms and there I settled into my new and awesome room. It is nothing like a dorm room, which makes me so happy. I share a room with 2 other girls, one of which I still haven't seen, but her stuff is there. In our "pod" we have a kitchen and a bathroom, along with 3 other rooms connected to it. My room is all decorated with pictures and really homey now, which is good since I am so far away from home.

While in Prague today I got a new cell phone, went grocery shopping, rode the subways, and just went shopping in general. After not sleeping at all on my flights though I'm pretty tired out. That being said I'll post pictures tomorrow, because I am just too tired today!