Vienna

Vienna was gorgeous! I got sunburnt on my shoulders and forehead, but otherwise it was a delight :) I went with my friends Jacky, Corina, Andrew, and we became friends with the two guys we were sharing our 6-person room with. I went to the Leopold Meseum and saw the exhibit of Egon Schiele's collection which was amazing. Corina has been to Vienna before, so she was showing us around all her favorite spots. It was great to have someone who knew where we were going and how the Metro worked etc. because Jacky and I booked our bus/hostel late and didn't even look up things to do in Vienna before we had to leave. We've been busy and lazy haha. We've gotten so used to traveling on the weekends and visiting different cities, we know that the hostel will always give you a map and tell you the places you need to see if you're in the city, and you can always figure things out as you go along.

We got to Vienna at 5:30am, so we went to a park and walked around as the sun was glisening through the trees and the morning mist was evaporating. It was beautiful. There were Lilac bushes everywhere. We needed a bathroom.. so Jacky went behind a bush. Then we took naps on benches for about an hour. Finally, around 9am we went to our hostel to check-in and start our day. Note to self: traveling through the night is convenient, except for the fact that you don't sleep for one night. Take into consideration.

View from my Window

Winter vs. Spring. I can't believe it. ha. I look out over my desk and balcony and see a lush green forest. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating.  It's not a forest. It's still the same dog park, but now people are enjoying laying out on the green lawn too.  When I open my window the smell of the lilac bushes flow into my room with the wind. mmm. You could say that my season depression has now been replaced with spring fever :)

1 Month

I've been in CZ for 3 months now and leave in exactly one month. I didn't notice it until the last few days, but I'm getting tired... kind of like a study abroad burn out. I still have plans to travel to Vienna in two weeks and have a few papers to write, readings, and two final exams. Right now I'm able to get away with not doing much work, but within the next week I'm going to have to buckle down and start working hard.
I've tried getting more sleep, but I still am tired by the afternoon. Maybe it's my body telling me it's ready to go home soon and can tell that the time is coming up fast. Mentally, I'm wondering if I've already left. Part of myself says, "Try as hard as you can to stay here! Embrace the last moments you have!" but then another part of me is too tired to try. This is beginning to sound depressing... haha oops. I'm doing fine though. And I do love that spring is here, and I'm enjoying the parks now that I've waited 3 months to go to (considering snow/rain is not good park weather).
We'll see how I feel in a couple more days. I haven't given up yet :)

Written in class..

"I'm sitting in my Law and Humans Rights class talking about free speech and affirmative action.  The classroom windows are open and I can hear the horse drawn carriages carrying tourists outside, laughing Italian tour groups, and people chatting in the outside restaurants in Male Namesti.  Also, down the hall I can hear the loud NYU students gathering before David Cerny comes to speak in 5 minutes about the controversy over his artwork: Entropa, the art piece representing the EU for this term under Czech presidency.  Although our class is interesting, I'm hungry and can't stop thinking about the sausage, potato pancakes, and sauerkraut, and Tdelnik that is in Old Town square. Spring is here, people are wearing sandals, sunglasses, and T-shirts. Spring fever has set in and I'm divided over where I want to be right now--downstairs with D. Cerny, here, or outside eating a lot of good Czech food and getting a tan."

Easter Festival

The celebration in Prague right before Easter is full of energy, delicious food, and wonderful music and dancing.  I have to resist the good sausage and pastries, but enjoy walking through the booths and listening to the street performers between classes.

Obama in Prague

On Sunday, Obama came to Prague to talk with the President and Prime Minister and give a speech at the Prague Castle.  I was lucky to get a special pass through a friend and stood in the first row in front of the podium. Not only was Obama's speech brilliant, but he walked around the podium with his wife, Michelle, and there Obama walked past me shaking hands inches from me! I got to shake Michelle's hand as well as Mirek Topolanek, the Prime Minister of CZ (who actually just got a vote of no confidence).  I had to wake up at 5am and got to the stage at 6:30am.  Ece (my roommate) and I stood there until 10am waiting for his speech.  During that time we listened to some good folk Czech music.  What an amazing morning!

CoffeeHeaven

Coffeeheaven.  Yes, this is the name of the cafe.  It is a great place right outside the metro stop that I get off at to go to school.  It's small downstairs, but then has tons of seating upstairs.  Plenty of people come and go, but it's a great place to meet with friends or do work between classes.

Right now I am here with my friend Taryn working on a project (obviously I'm working hard because I'm writing this blog entry...) I come here before class to take a velke latte (big latte) with me to class.  It's cheaper than Starbucks, and the only place I know of that does take-away coffee.  I usually sit in other non-chain cafes when I want to enjoy a cup of coffee, pastry, and read. I also learned today that Coffeeheaven has wireless :)

Coffeeheaven is quite a western influence, but it gets a lot of Czech customers too unlike the Starbucks down the street (The only one in Prague).