Jedna, Dva, Tři...

(L to R) Carley, Katherine, and Christina near the Prague Castle.

...Čtyři, Pět, Šest, Sedm, Osm, Devět, Deset.

If it wasn't obvious, that's how you count to 10 in the mystery that is the Czech language. We're surprisingly starting to grasp some of that mystery after just two days of language instruction. I was even able to ask for two sausages ("dva klobása") at the market today! It's a slow process, but it's exciting to start to grasp a bit of it. We have about 10 more days of "intensive Czech training," two hours every day, and then we switch to having the class three times a week. My group has a great teacher; today she taught me how to say "chicken (or turkey) sausage"...although I don't think we succeeded in buying any (yes, we did cook the same "Czech stir-fry" tonite).

The hustle and bustle of daily life in Prague is starting to feel more and more normal everyday. I'm getting used to making multiple stops to the Tesco Grocery store everyday (although Christina and I found a great vegetable market in Mála Strana, the area on the other side of the river), and have even found some favorite items. Pretty soon I'm sure I will be recognized for my repetitive purchases of Activia Yogurt (they have this great wheatgerm flavor here), apples, cereal bars, vegetables, chocolate, sausage and cheese. We're still on a hunt for frozen rice. Trader Joe's, we miss you.

This morning we took an excursion to Vyšehrad. We visited the famous cemetery, the castle, and explored the grounds. The rows of grapes reminded me a bit of Santa Ynez wine country (on a smaller scale of course)! Tomorrow one of the professors is taking us to the National Museum. I really have never had such great tour guides. These men are passionate, know what they're talking about, and know how to relate to students.

Some of the bigger monuments at the Vyšehrad Cemetery.

Running has really helped me to orient myself in the city (my mom's sense of direction probably has something to do with it as well--maybe it was genetic?). I love feeling like I can explore and "lose myself" as long as I can find the river. Our running group doubled to four yesterday (as did the stares), and we did a GREAT trek on Petřín Hill. It's a seemingly never-ending network of trails and paths with a mini-Eiffel Tower at the top. I can't wait to explore more. Today, the rain kept us inside, but thankfully Carley (who I was a Cherub with  in 2007) brought some workout DVDs. We're a little terrified that the people below Christina's (giant) room are going to seek revenge tonite for our incessant jumping during the video.

I'm off to bed to rest up for another day of Czech and touring tomorrow. Let me know what you are up to at home, I miss you all!

KP

Home Sweet Home until December 19.

UPDATE: As of now our first trip is going to be Oktoberfest, October 24-26. Our program is lucky enough to have the 27th and 28th off (no school), so I believe Christina, Carley, a group of Northwestern boys and I will be traveling to Berlin for two days. I've heard great things about the city and am super excited!

Vitejte!

After a whirlwind of a few days I am settling in to life in Prague. It has been nothing short of AMAZING thus far. There are 34 students in our program, and we are all living in the Jerome House in the Nové Město (New Town) district.


The language barrier has proved to be quite a challenge (most notably when we thought a "homeless man" was taunting us in a park, when in all actuality he was the groundskeeper trying to tell us he was locking the park), but luckily we begin our "intensive" Czech training tomorrow.


The last few days have been a (great) daze of jetlag, more trips to Tesco (an odd combination of Bloomingdales, Vons, and Target) than I can count, pubs in caves, some traditional Czech food (think garlic soup, schnitzel, sauerkraut, etc.), and then some not so traditional food (McDonald's froyo cones--just as cheap here as in the US!). Tonite Pabst and I cooked our first meal, a sausage and veggie stirfry. We've found great ways to live on a budget--the whole meal cost us maybe $4.50.


We are also the only two people in this city who run. We went on our first run yesterday: across the Charles Bridge, and on Petrin Hill--GORGEOUS. Today we explored Wenceslas Square and Mala Strana, the area on the other side of the river. We got some funny looks and a few people took some pictures, but it's been such a great way to explore the city and gain our bearings. The only issue was when we came across giant peacocks in a park--slightly terrifying.


The staff at the school are really interesting people, and I'm excited to start class tomorrow. My group has Czech in the morning and then a field trip to the Castle as a part of the Czech Culture Class in the afternoon. We have two weeks of these core classes and then I switch to my regular schedule: Economics, Art History, Reading Prague, and Czech Language.


In an attempt to overcome this jetlag situation I am going to head to bed soon (it's 11:00 PM here, a 9 hour time difference from PST). I promise more updates on adventures soon, plus real pictures (not of the sheisty Google Images variety). For now, here are a few mobile uploads from our run this afternoon!

No joke.

KP


P.S. E-mail me at katherine.perry@u.northwestern.edu or Skype at katherineannaperry. I would love to talk to all of you!

Fortune Cookies

My dad and I spent my last nite in America chowing on Chinese food in Irvine. My fortune to finish off the meal? "An enjoyable vacation is awaiting you."


Here I go then! I'm off to Prague for a 4-month study abroad adventure at the Collegium Hieronymi Pragensis. I leave tomorrow from LAX at 6:30 in the morning and will arrive in Prague (after a stop at JFK) at 7:45 AM on August 27.


I plan to update this blog with my travels and adventures as often as possible, so stay tuned!


For now, dobru noc (goodnite)!


KP