Moving on, I have now been in Prague for 3 days, but it feels like a month (note: is this how dogs feel all the time?). In my short stay I have learned quite a few lessons, seen quite a few sights, and heard quite a few stories that I promise are real.
I present to you (in no particular order)
Caroline and Prague: A Love Story in 14 Parts
1) Everything is dirt cheap. If you come to Prague, I will not hesitate to buy you your first beer. Maybe because a pint costs $2. Or maybe just because I like you, you choose.
2) There are pups everywhere. I forget the statistic, but the Czech Republic is one of the top countries for dog owners. My favorite dog sighting so far has been an 8 week old pug. I was going to play it cool and admire the dog from afar,but it told me with its eyes that it loved me and wanted me to pet it so what else could I do??
3) Czech people know who Forrest Gump is. Or at least, three of them do. The owners of aforementioned 8 week old pug were excited to hear I was from Alabama. They asked me, "So you know foreestgoomp?" After repeating for several times, I finally understood what they were saying. I'm not sure if they realize Forrest Gump is a fictional character, but I didn't want to ruin it for them (if only my 4th grade classmates had felt the same way about me and Santa Claus).
4) One guy in Prague is super important. Alright fine, there's more than one. But if you're the one and only guy who knows how to repair the 600 year old clock tower in old town, well, you're pretty much an ultimate VIP. It's the only 600 year old clock tower around and those are hard to replace these days. Wal Mart is always out.
5) Want a Thai Massage? I have seen at least five thai massage venues since arrival. What's odd is that they keep their doors wide open so you can actually see the patrons get their massage a la Thailand.
6) The clergy used to #rage. Jan Hus, a famous Czech Protestan Martyr, began his criticism of the Catholic church because the nuns and monks in the C.R. were partying way too much. In college terms, the nuns and monks were essentially the sororities and frats of their time. I bet they had a sick robe bro's and habit ho's mixer.
7) I am more naive than I thought. And I already thought I was pretty naive. Today, I decided to order what I thought would be hot apple cider, as it was a little chilly outside. Instead, I received a cold, sweet, alcoholic drink at 12 pm. Now my NYU classmates probably think that I (Ron Weasley voice) need to get my priorities straight.
8) NYU loves orientation. If you go to NYU in the states, you get one heck of an orientation show. Lucky for me, we were able to watch clips of the on stage production which NYU puts on each year. I enjoyed the skit which assigned a dance move to types of sexuality ("If you're transgender do the blender!") and the song which explained the negative effects of marijuana ("My life is puff-puff passing me by-y-y"}.
9) The Beatles really matter. I mean really. There's more reasons than this (hello Lennon Wall), but something I found interesting today was this: our tour guide, who lived through the communist regime, explained that many young people taught themselves the banned English language so that they could understand what "those beautiful boys" were singing about.
10) There's a 5th avenue. That's right, in the middle of a bunch of street names that sound to Americans like Russian mafia members, you can find 5th avenue. It sports stores such as Cartier, Fendi, and Jimmy Choo. #1 does not apply to this street.
11) Czechs won't think I'm funny. We have been informed that the Czechs generally have a "dark, ironic sense of humor." That being said my "What a pirate's favorite letter joke" may not work on them. The only thing that has made locals laugh has been my incompetence with public transportation. But hey, they laughed!
12) I should not be scared of the metro. The metro is my friend, not food....wait, no, it was never food. It was scary to me though. Thankfully, after rushing to catch the last metro of the night with my friend Kelen, making it in time, then thinking we got on the wrong train, and being on the right one, I realized this public transportation thing might not be so bad.
13) CZECHS ARE QUIET. This is huge, especially in our dorm's neighborhood. People talk in low voices, if they talk at all. Want to find the NYU kids in Prague? Just follow that one conversation you're hearing. For Czechs, being quiet is a serious issue- so serious that they made a law about it. From 10 pm-8 am they have legally enforced quiet hours. It's an RA's dream.
14) My Tour Guide today had some cool stories. Probably in her early 70's, our tour guide is an also an NYU professor who lived through the communist regime. When she was my age she was protesting communism by lying in front of Soviet tanks. Each year while she was teaching in the 80's, she was forced to show her students a movie about the bolshevik revolution. When the lights went off, they would light up. So yes, I am saying she and her students got high every time they had to watch the propaganda film. The only protesting I've ever done was to obtain 75 signatures appealing to my mom on unfair punishment (grounded for one night) so yeah I think I can relate.
I've learned lots more, but that's enough for tonight!
p.s. if this was strictly a blog for my time abroad here's some names I came up with:
Czech Me Out, I'm Abroad!
Playing Czechers And Writing A Blog
The Banana (Czech) Republic
Czech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
Tongue In Czech
Pretty good right??
Czech Me Out, I'm Abroad!
Playing Czechers And Writing A Blog
The Banana (Czech) Republic
Czech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
Tongue In Czech
Pretty good right??
