I left Prague
Though Prague will always have my heart, I have spent two adventure filled weekends travelling! My first trip away was to a little town called Vienna-- I'm not sure if you've heard of it. It's just this little village in Austria, pretty underground. Anyways, we had a great time eating schnitzel off of a sword and touring the grounds of Hapsburg Palace. Maybe it was the hundreds of rooms, or the painted ceilings, or the sprawling gardens out back, but I have decided that palace life would suit me.
This trip, as it was the first one planned by just us (no NYU help), also helped us to learn some travel lessons...the hard way. For example, I learned that if you are going into a restaurant to ask for directions, make sure your friends know you are going to ask for directions. Otherwise, you will emerge from the restaurant alone in a foreign city. Then you might call your friends and none of them will pick up. Then you will spend a little time sitting on a park bench thinking to yourself, "Well...sorry, Mom and Dad..."
The next trip was to Brno. Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, but it is not big enough to have a metro. This was an NYU planned trip, and the RA leader, Filip, informed us that a fun way to be Prague bully is to say "Kde je tady metro?" or "Where is the metro here?" This is considered to be a sick burn. If you ever go to Brno, only use this if you're trying to fight.
We visited many beautiful sights in Brno including caves, churches, and catacomb-like cemeteries underground. This was my first venture into wine country so of course we tried the wine. I still am not a wine fan myself,but I loved this drink called borcak. It is a not-quite fermented wine that tastes like a sweeter apple juice. It's a seasonal drink and it's not found many places outside of the good old Czech Republic so come visit me fast if you want to have a taste!
As for me and this whole "beer country" "wine country" thing, I'm still looking for champagne country. Yes, I realize there is a city in France called Champagne where actual Champagne is served, but I'm looking for a whole country. This is my Narnia and I know that someday I will open a closet and find it waiting for me there. Also, where would America fall in this whole "(insert alcohol here) country" scheme of things? Just the University scene alone could hold many titles: i.e. "Natty Light Country" "High-C + liquor Country" or "Whatever Someone Legal Will Buy Me Country."
Other Little Notes
- Pocket Picked: If you're one of the few people who doesn't follow my facebook statuses religiously, you don't know that my phone was stolen. This was definitely the low point of my time abroad and I reacted by buying myself a trdelnik. This is a massive, sugar-coated pastry which probably shouldn't be eaten on the metro. But I do what I have to do for comfort food.
- I am great for party jokes: No, I don't mean I tell great party jokes, I mean that stories of my life are great material for other people to use. I told my Czech professor how I ordered onion soup and dumplings at a Czech restaurant one night and he started dying out laughing. Apparently, you would never order dumplings without a meat or a sauce. After laughing for another good 5 minutes, he asked me if he could tell that story to his friends. Next class, he told me how he ended up sharing the story with an audience at one of his band's concerts and how everyone laughed and laughed and laughed...I guess I'm glad I could help?
- Je suis française?: I have now on 5 different occasions been mistaken for a French person. The most recent one was today on the metro. This confirms one of two theories: Southern Americans are actually the most worldly of Americans or I was French in a past life and mes compatriotes sense this. There's no way to know for sure, so let's just go ahead and say both are true.
- NYU people love me: This is 100% true and not at all an exaggeration. I'm sure my NYU friends will see this and think to themselves "Wow, that is true! Caroline is the best!" In all seriousness, it has been fun comparing the back-home University lives of Wake Forest versus NYU. They are used to public transportation and living in apartments. I'm used to walking 6 minutes tops to get anywhere and living in a space roughly the size of a large walk-in closet. Also, for my friends at home- don't worry- it only took the NYU people two weeks to start saying "Oh, wait, are you in a comedy troupe or something?" every time I tell a joke.
What's Next?
Going abroad is like taking 10 years of amazing life experiences and cramming them into one semester. Up next on my agenda is Munich for Oktoberfest, Paris for Tillman Hamilton's birthday (!!), Switzerland for some hiking, and more!
Finally, if you read nothing else but want to feel honest when you tell me "I read your blog! Looooved it! Sounds like you're having the best time" just read this:
I am having the time of my life. I live in what I consider to be the best city in the world with some of the best people. I eat great food, I see spectacular sights, and I am (promise, Mom and Dad) learning both academic and real-life lessons. If you're stateside or somewhere else in Europe, know that I miss you dearly and an email is always welcome and wanted!
Alright, time to study for my Czech test now! Or as they would say in Czech....okay, fine, I can't translate that much yet. But I can say "One hot chocolate please," so I think I'm doing alright.
