CLASSES

We finally got our schedules and started class at the Charles University. To give you a comparison- the Charles University was founded in 1348 and Dartmouth was only founded in 1769. We are enrolled in the American term in the Geography Department at the Charles University, which has the biggest geography department in all of central Europe. We are studying in the Albertov faculty (faculty means campus) that holds all of the sciences. So geography is a subdivision of science here, and within the Geography Department there are 4 more subdivisions- Social/Cultural Geography, Physical Geography, GIS, and Demographics. Again another comparison- the Geography Department here has 90 professors and the Dartmouth Geography Department only has 9. So basically, we are becoming big time geographers here. We even have our own room here that is set aside solely for the American students! The students here were the ones who initiated the revolution against communism in 1989. In fact, this is commemorated with a famous plaque outside on our building in Czech that translates to “If not you- who?, If not now, when?”. Our new motto for the term…

The 14 of us are taking two classes concurrently in April titled GEOG: 47 The Czech Republic in the New Europe and GEOG 81:Field Research in the Czech Republic (all of these are Dartmouth classes). GEOG 47 consists of lectures taught by Charles University professors- in English, thankfully- and GEOG 81 is field trips around the Czech Republic, led by the professors. To give you a little preview- we are going to a spa town and wine cellars for some of our trips. Then in May, we take GEOG 82, which is an independent study where we will go around Prague and the greater Czech areas collecting data and researching geographical themes.

Aren’t you glad you know all about our schedule now? You may think that we will be laboring tirelessly over our geographical studies, but don’t worry; they have built plenty of time into our schedule as “free days”. Starting with a 6-day Easter vacation coming up. And they say the majority of the population is atheists… So we are going to take advantage of the break and travel to Budapest and Vienna. I’m still a little sad that we are going to miss Easter Monday in Checkia because men rush around the country beating women on the backside with willow sticks and women respond by dousing the men with cold water and by giving them painted eggs.

To get to class, we have to take the 133 bus to the 24 tram and it takes around 40 minutes- we are working on perfecting our timing now for what time we need to be at the bus in the morning. Class is from 10- 12 and then usually 2-4 (like taking a 10A and 2A), but sometimes goes later than 4 pm. Lunch is the biggest meal here so we have ample time to have a nice sit-down lunch. Yesterday, we went to a restaurant right down the street and had huge bowls of goulash (soup) for only 24 crowns (roughly $1), a glass of beer for 10 crowns (50 cents), and then I had some meat filled dumplings and sauerkraut for a very cheap price as well. None of us could finish our meals because the portions were so big…but so cheap! Everyone drinks beer here all the time so it is not uncommon for people to have a glass at lunch.

The Charles University staff and graduate students gave us a welcome yesterday with lots of food before our tour of the building and our first lecture. The graduate students even gave us gift bags that included a very useful Czech-English dictionary. Everyone introduced themselves, and while it is sometimes hard to understand them, we had some good laughs at their introductions. Everyone is very lighthearted here. This is the 17^th consecutive year of the Dartmouth American term here (many of the professors have been involved since the start), so they pride themselves on their relationship with Dartmouth- they love it because we are great friends beyond our studies. Many of the Charles University Professors have visited Dartmouth as well. We look forward to fostering this continuing tradition during our stay here in Prague.

If you ever come visit the Czech Republic, never say that it is a part of Eastern Europe, because they are quick to say that Chekia is the heart of Central Europe- if that even exists. Also, I feel like every time they get a chance to say it, they mention that the Czech Republic is a member of NATO (as of 1999) and a member of the E.U. (2004). They are so proud of being a part of the New Europe. It is also interesting that the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia are still such a part of the culture, even though they are no longer official regions. For example, the professor of our first lecture told us that he would say he was from Moravia if asked.

We had our first of four Czech language crash courses this morning. It was hilarious. I felt like I was in 6^th grade Spanish all over again. We learned the Czech alphabet and it is filled with “hooks”, accents, and strange pronunciations. The number four is nearly impossible to say and I can’t even write it for you because I can’t final the symbols on the computer. After singing some country songs, we learned a lot of common phrases to get around Prague and learned how to order dishes at a restaurant, which they want us to put to use at our big kick-off dinner tonight. Most importantly, our professor was keen to teach us how to say “Mám ráda pivo” (I like beer) and “Dám si sklenice piva prosím” (I would like a glass of beer, please). I’m sure we are going to get plenty of use out of these phrases…

We just had a lecture on Political Geography so it was very appropriate for the upcoming May Elections that we will be here for.

Sorry for the boring school blog but we will promise to spice it up more in future blogs with our upcoming adventures… Especially when we experience the Turkish baths in Budapest! Hope all is well in the States!

Sbohem! (Goodbye)

First weekend in Prague

Ahoy!

We have finally arrived in Prague, and are settled into our apartment after an exciting first weekend...

Getting here was quite the adventure, but miraculously we made it without a hitch. We boarded an overnight train in Venice, and were put in a 6-person compartment. Emily and I stared down everyone who walked by, so no one else came in. Suspiciously, when we woke up in the morning every other car was full…. I guess we scared them away. Too bad! After writing our book reviews that were due upon our arrival for the geography program, we loaded up on Tylenol PM stretched out among the full car and fell asleep. We woke up shortly before we arrived in Vienna, where we rushed across town in a taxi to switch stations to head to here! We spent the five hour train ride through the Czech countryside reading up on Prague history, information, and sites. We also saw a few naked men chilling (reading, fishing, who knows) in fields outside the train, which was entertaining after sitting in the same place for so long.

After eighteen hours on a train, we walked out of the train station and into the beautiful Prague weather! Sweaty and exhausted but happy, we met our professor in Wenceslas Square, the main business square in the city. It was tough to negotiate the tram and bus to our apartment with my big hiking pack and duffel bag, especially with zero knowledge of the Czech language- The bus driver actually got out of his compartment to yell at me to sit down, and when I didn’t understand him some kind old women translated. Still scary! Thankfully, when we got to our apartments there was an elevator… A week of lugging around a term’s worth of stuff was getting tough!

Our apartments are amazing. Emily and I live with two other girls, Julia and Kristen. We have a big kitchen and common room, with a large bathroom, huge windows, and a balcony! Upstairs we have two bedrooms and a bathroom. The other 8 girls live in the two rooms next door, and the two boys live one floor down. (That’s right… 12 girls and 2 boys!)

After dropping our stuff off, Emily and I headed to check out our neighborhood with the boys. We live in Zizkov, a working class suburb, comparable to the Queens of New York. Zizkov is where the locals come to hang out- there are more bars per capita here than anywhere else in Europe. Before hitting up the grocery store, we had to withdraw money from the ATM, which was quite an experience because we had no concept of how much money we would need. Since Czech Republic isn’t going on the Euro until 2015, we had to take out crowns. The crown to dollar right now is 19:1, which is not the most convenient math to do in your head! We ended up taking out $1000 bills, which is about $50 (but makes you feel much richer). The grocery store was incredibly cheap, but it still felt weird to be spending hundreds…

That night, Professor Magilligan, aka “Frank,” took us all out to a traditional Czech restaurant a block from our house. We all thoroughly enjoyed the local Pilsner beer, and tried classic Czech dishes like duck, wild boar, sausage, chicken, ribs… lots of meat. It was delicious- we will for sure return. Tired, we returned to the apartments, and spent some time getting to know each other before passing out early.

Yesterday, Emily, Julia, Rachel and I joined Isaiah on a morning jog throughout our neighborhood and down into the city of Prague. It was tough work, considering 1) I haven’t ran since before exams a few weeks ago and 2) he is training for the Prague marathon, so a little faster than I. But it was a great way to see the city, and we stayed in a group and explored a little.

In the afternoon we went on a group adventure to do errands in town. First we hit up Vodafone, and mass purchased the cheapest phone possible and minutes. Unfortunately, all our phones look exactly the same, so we have to keep close track of them. It is nice that we can now reach each other though and have the freedom to split up. Next, we hit up Tesco, which is like the European version of Walmart, only better. It was four floors right in downtown of EVERYTHING you could possibly need. We loaded up on all the stuff we needed, from school supplies to towels to laundry baskets- we were quite the sight getting on the metro carrying all our colored baskets! For fun pictures of both our baskets and our phones, check out Rachel and Ana's blog: http://www.springinprague.blogspot.com/. Supposedly we also will have a group blog, we will see though... so much Prague blogging!

Last night the boys were kind enough to cook us dinner back at the apartment. We are planning on starting a rotation for the cooking, so we can all save money and enjoy eating together at home. Later we headed out to check out the pubs on our street. The fourteen of us are a large group to go out with to these small downstairs pubs, and we took over once we were in there. We had a great time though, but it will take some of the girls awhile to adjust to the sheer quantity of beer that is consumed here! (Obviously Emily and I can handle it…) It was also daylight savings last night, so we lost an hour, which made this morning seem brutally early. Julia, LJ and I jogged over to check out a nearby gym, and ended up joining. I plan to run outside a lot to explore the area, but it’s nice to have the gym as well.

We had an amazing afternoon checking out the city. Taking the tram back to Wenceslas Square, we then walked over the Charles Bridge and over to the “Lesser” City. The views were absolutely gorgeous, especially in the late afternoon sun. We walked through an Easter market, which was my mini version of heaven as we sampled every delicacy. Obviously, my favorite stand was the Haribo gummies, and I loaded up a massive bag to take with us throughout the afternoon.

Aside from just seeing the city in its full glory for the first time, the coolest part of the afternoon was seeing the John Lennon Wall. Started as a spray painted portrait of Lennon in protest against his assassination in 1980’s, people soon began to spray paint peace slogans and designs, despite being strictly forbidden under Communism. No longer illegal, today the wall is a symbol of youthful peace and love. We plan to return before the end of the term to make our mark!

It has been a busy and incredible first weekend in Prague. We are so excited to get to know all our new friends and get to know this amazing city. We are already planning a lot of travel on the weekends and fun things to do right here in our neighborhood. I am also excited to start classes! We have our first one tomorrow morning, a Czech language class, which is desperately needed…

We are all thoroughly exhausted and ready for bed... We are being picked up early in the morning to be taken to Charles University, our school for the next term. To all of you in Hanover, good luck with your first day of Spring term tomorrow… And to my family and all other friends, hope everyone else is happy, healthy, and enjoying life as much as Emily and I are here!

Venice

Our second day in Florence brought us to the Galleria Academia, where we saw Michelangelo’s triumphant statue of David. No postcard or picture can ever live up to seeing it in real life. This guy has incredible flow, and is also ripped. Impressive. We also explored the musical instrument part of the museum, where Emily felt right at home with her timpani.

The afternoon took us to the Uffizi. The Uffizi now holds one of the finest art collections but this palace was originally designed in 1554 for the offices of Duke Cosimo’s administration. Since Laura had just studied many of these works in her art history class, she taught us all about the Leonardo, Machiavelli, Petrach, Botticelli, Caravagio, Michelangelo, and Raphael works.

That night, Heather and Laura went to explore Florence nightlife. It was mostly American students and ex-pats enjoying the random Tuesday night in March, but it was great for them to talk to the kids who had been studying abroad for a few months already.

On Wednesday we woke up for a leisurely morning before catching our train to Venice. We needed all the time we could get because we had some serious trouble finding the train station. Emily may or my not have gotten stuck on the wrong bus- but don’t worry, we found a way to meet back up.

We arrived in Venice with the late afternoon sun shinning over canals. We had the best dinner of our trip at a quaint seafood restaurant recommended from Laura’s (prehistoric- but still accurate) guidebook that pencils in its menu every day based on what food was freshly delivered. We had fish, clams over spaghetti, and Emily and I worked our way through shrimp (still in the shells) scampi over spaghetti. Topped off with gelato next door, our meal couldn’t get any better.

We took water taxis through the labyrinth of canals in Venice on Thursday, before walking through the Piazza San Marco (we tried to catch pigeons) and taking an elevator up the bell tower (campanile) to see a full view of the city. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the stair option for the avid cathedral climbers we have become. We also took a water taxi over to the island of Murano, which is famous for its glass. We witnessed resident artisans blowing glass but all of the products sold in the stores were definitely out of our budget- one day, one day.

Now Heather and I are safely in Prague and will catch up soon with everything going on once we get a spare moment. We absolutely loved Italy- nothing beats exploring new countries with your best friends. I look forward to going back to the boot again some day, but Heather and I are excited to be settled on our program and united with our geography classmates. We can already tell we have an awesome, cohesive group, and have started to explore our neighborhood and the city. We can’t wait to catch you up on everything soon! Lots of love.

Under the Tuscan Rain?

We said goodbye to Hotel Felice and our nutella chocolate breakfast croissants this morning and boarded the train for Firenze (Florence). We all took advantage of the extra time to sleep but also saw the beautiful Italian countryside on our 4 hour ride (took the slow train to save some euros... and for the scenery).

Then we finally arrived in Florence under the Tuscan Sun!!! This sun-soaked sanctuary was SO beautiful!!!--except that it was raining...Oh well, that didn't stop us from exploring the gorgeous city of the Renaissance. We found our nice quaint hotel of townhouse sweets, after realizing that #43 in black and #43 in red are different locations on the same street and hiking up 3 flights of stairs with all of our luggage for the term. But we do already feel more at home here than Roma- our hotel is a better central location and the city is easier to navigate since it is smaller.


Taking our kebabs to-go, we walked through the Mercado Central which had expansive booth displays of scarfs, leather bags, jewelry, etc on the side of the road. Laura almost bought a bag, and then she ALMOST bought a journal, but then decided she was an impulsive buyer and decided to wait. Don't worry Laura we have a whole day ahead of us tomorrow for you to take time to make a decision.


We then made our way into the center of the city to the Duomo and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. This cathedral was erected in 1296 and at the time was so magnificent that it would have been "impossible to make it either better or more beautiful with the industry and power of man". The outside of the Cathedral is absolutely spectacular and is amazing how it sits right in the middle of a square containing Ben and Jerry's and Sephora (don't worry, we were tempted to go to B and J's but decided to hold off for more authentic gelato tonight). We then climbed the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo and got a view of the entire city. While climbing up, we planned our new Dartmouth PE class that we will be holding next year titled "The Staircases of Italian Cathedrals". Rain and all, we still managed to be those annoying tourists and ask people who don't speak English to take pictures of us.


On our walk to Ponte Vecchio, Florence's oldest bridge that has goldsmith and diamond-carver stores across it, it was imperative for Heather and me to stop for a merry-go-ride for 1.50 euro. As you can tell, Laura had a lot of fun too...

Past the Piazza della Signoria and sculptures outside the Uffizi (which we have a reservation at tomorrow), we stopped at a Wine Bar to get some nice red wine and a collection of bread samplings before dinner. We managed to walk out with only one causality- Heather's wine glass. Then, we took our hotel owner's dinner recommendation and found a great restaurant outside the tourist area. You know you do yourselves well when you find a restaurant where the menu is only in Italian so you thankfully have a downloaded Italian/English translator application on your blackberry to figure out what you are ordering (thanks emily!).


We took our gelato to the next level tonight and had it on top of waffels. The lady only let us have two samples between the four of us though and somehow Laura managed to get both of them...but STILL Mhmmm gelato ice cream sandwich. We are excited for our second day in Florence tomorrow!

When in Rome...

Guest Post- Emily Schechter

Last night we donned our matching AS Roma soccer t-shirts and headed out to the night game! We knew it was going to be fun after hearing a group of boys singing the AS Roma team song coming out of the metro. A short bus ride and a panini later, we were at the titanic Stadio Olimpico, where fans were pouring from all directions to cheer on the team.

We headed into the "cheap and rowdy" local Curva Nord section. The section was completely packed- the entire city had come out for the game, complete with team jerseys, scarves, and huge flags that obscured any chance of our vision from the nosebleed seating. We had a wonderful time anyway, singing, screaming for goals, and taking obnoxious pictures. Rome won!! And now Heather won't stop singing "Roma, Roma, Roma." (When you read this, Heather, please stop.)

This morning we woke up early and headed out to the Coliseum and Ancient City. The enduring amphitheater was truly colossal. Just as Laura was explaining the culture of her favorite movie, Gladiator, we ran into two separate groups of people she knew from Dalton. Such a social butterfly, even in Italia.

We then stopped by the Roman Forum and Palantine Hill to see the crumbling Pagan ruins of the Ancient City. We saw Rome’s oldest street, a speaking platform erected by Julius Ceaser, and the forest home of the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

We had a very difficult time getting around today, not because of the metro or bus systems (which we have 100% mastered), but because there was a marathon all around Rome blocking most of the main streets! The route went right past the Colisseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and Capital Building. We were able to see the first male and female runners finish the race while we were exploring Palantine Hill! Laura managed to score us some free t-shirts from the marathon, and even joined in on an outdoor kickboxing class (unsure how this was related to the marathon) filled with buff Italians!

The marathon caused some major delays on our wild goose chase through Rome to find the beautiful gardens of Villa Borghese and the Galleria Borghese. Laura, our local lover of art history, weaseled her way into the sold-out, reservation-only Galleria, where she admired countless works by Bernini and Carvaggio. Emily, Heather, and I took this time to enjoy a nice nap on a sunny hill in the expansive gardens.

After stopping quickly at the Pantheon, we met up for a really nice (or in Heather speak, real nice) final dinner in the Piazza Navona- complete with candles, red wine, and almost too much food to finish (emphasis on almost). We’ve officially done Rome- next time, we’ll be writing from Florence!!

New Italian phrases we learned:

Do you play strong side or weak side?

squandra forte e lato debole?

All roads lead to ROME

Hello family, friends and new Italian boyfriends,

We have had two very busy days and really feel we are figuring the city out! After being woke up by Laura arriving and jumping on us, we finally were able to pull ourselves out of our comatose state and get the hotel’s free breakfast at the café across the street in the park at 11 (it was supposed to end at 9:30, but Mario, the adorable man at the front desk who speaks zero English, felt bad for us and still gave us the vouchers). Mmmm croissants.



After making the awesome discovery of the metro, we went to the Vatican, feeling pretty good about our ability to get around. Unfortunately, when we got there it turned out to be a holiday (or “holy day”, not really sure which one…love Italian) , but regardless, the Vatican was closed. St. Peter’s basilica was open though, so we spent time wandering around in awe.




It is HUGE. So incredible. Emily got the audio tour so taught the rest of us a little something afterward. Obviously we had to climb to the top after. Deciding to save the 2 euro you could pay to take an elevator halfway, we walked every step! Major workout, but so worth it at the top- we had a view of all of Rome. Very cool.




On our way home, we stopped by the Colliseum. Unfortunately, it was closed as well (our guide book had summer hours in it). We got heavily courted by an Australian man trying to get us to go on the “Spanish Steps pub crawl” that evening, but thanks to Bri’s advice decided not to be SUCH tourists. The free pub crawl t-shirts at each bar would have been awesome though.

Our efforts had exhausted us, so we stopped at a grocery store on the way back to pick up a delicious snack of bread, prosciutto and brie to take home. Despite not knowing how to weight it or pay for it, we also managed to get some fresh fruit. AND a 5-liter jug of cheap vino to top it off, obviously.


After our delicious snack and vino session on our balcony, we headed to Travestere for dinner. We had a hard time finding it (the metro doesn’t go everywhere around here) but once there had a great dinner on the street. More pizza. And gelato. We had been planning to go check out the nightclubs in Testaccio, but it was already very late by this point so we took the bus home and passed out.


This morning we went back to Vatican for attempt 2. When we got there, the line stretched down streets, around corners, and almost back to St. Peters. We were told it would be at least a 3 hour wait! We decided to sign up for an English tour instead, skipping to the front of the line, after they promised us we would be inside in 10-15 minutes. Tourist trap to the extreme. About an hour and a half later, us and impatient 50 others followed our tour guide inside. It was a disorganized disaster, but once inside, it was so cool. Our guide was a student from Wisconsin, and was hysterical, giving us just the sort of background we needed to appreciate all the intricacies and humor of the Vatican. We walked through halls and halls of marble, sculptures, paintings, and tapestries, before ending up in the Sistine chapel. It was really incredible to see how huge it was and Michelangelo’s incredible masterpiece. Shocking to think he completed it in less than four years, crippled, and nearly blinded by the experience working on it. Laura went back to look at some more intense art stuff that the tour had skipped, but Emily, Emily and I sat outside in the square admiring the view of St. Peters.



After a delicious salad (not pizza!!! But still some pasta) lunch, we headed to pick up our soccer tickets for the AS Roma game tonight!! We’re napping and showering now quickly, but getting ready for the game, matching maroon AS Roma t-shirts and all. We are sitting in the local fan section, so hoping things will get a little rowdy.

We are planning on taking advantage of our last day in Roma tomorrow with an early start, but we’ll see if that’s possible after the soccer game tonight….


Lots of love!