I've got 99 problems...but making new friends ain't one of them!

    Settling in Prague in terms of formalities and technicalities did not go as smoothly as I had hope for. During my 2 first weeks here there were a number of things I had to do, which were tedious and sometimes it got a bit frustrating. Do not get me wrong: I really like the city, the people that I have met so far and I am glad that I came on Erasmus here. I am just going to mention a number of issues I had so far.

1- My place

   I am extremely lucky that I have a studio in probably the prettiest, safest, best located and best connected area of Prague, besides the fact that it is a touristic hotspot, I love my neighborhood  However, I had troubles getting used to my studio because it felt very empty and the disposition is a bit awkward. Explanation: To go from the bathroom to my room, I have to go through my kitchen and an entrance hall which I share with other people; therefore, if I walk half naked between my bathroom and room I might bump into a random person entering/exiting the building.

    I was a bit surprised when I moved in because I realize that a few things are missing in the flat. There is no washing machine at my place and no launderettes nearby so it is going to be a real challenge to wash my clothes: hoping for a charitable soul to help me or I’ll have to do it all by hand! The phone line and the internet were not working for the first 10 days, so I really felt disconnected and alone when I was in my studio at the time. Living on a street where there are at least 25 security cameras and guards day and night, I should probably feel safe. However, knowing that there is a serial stabber loose in Prague who has murdered 3 people not far from my place, that someone already broke into my neighbour’s place and that I’m defenceless girl living alone, I have started to become slightly paranoid.

 

My street with the numerous security cameras

The view from outside my entrance door- a view of Prague Castle

2-Money

   When I went with my father to open a Czech bank account, it was all very easy, the staff spoke good English they were warm, nice and helpful. The next Monday when I went to pick up my bank card, things were a little different. When I asked if my card had arrived, the lady was wondering if I got robbed or if there was a problem with my account. When she understood the purpose of my visit, she went to another room, came back confused, checked my details and disappeared for 15 minutes… Then she came back with an envelop looking even more confused. The problem was that instead of spelling my name “Helena O’Rourke-Potocki” the name on the card was “M. H. Rourke O’ P.”…they very nicely explained to me that my name is too long and complicated for the computer system, that the card was therefore invalid and had no pin for it, that they had to cancel it and make me a new one and I had to wait another week. I walked out of the bank, feeling down and quite annoyed, wondering what’s the problem with my name and why does it cause problems. A week later when I came back, they managed to resolve the problem, helped me set up my pin code and internet banking, really making sure that everything is in order, and they were extremely apologetic. I walked out with my fist up in the air feeling victorious.   

   The Czech money is traitorous, it is very hard to get a feel for the money and you think that everything is so cheap so you just end up spending more. Life is quite cheap here, but it is very easy to go over budget.

The Czech crownes- a weird currency that consists of big notes or small coins

3- Telephone  

   The plan was to register with a phone company instead of getting a prepaid sim and having to top-up all the time. We went to a small shop near the Florence metro stop in a Mafioso looking street. The staff there did not speak a word of English, literally, so with a mix of polish, google translate and sign language, taking over an hour we managed to sign a contract and I got a sim card. As the sim needed a few days to connect to the network during that time I was using my Belgian number which was really not practical to contact other Erasmus students. It was fun for a week to be living alone with no internet and having a phone number that did not work. After a week, as the card still did not work I went back to the shop and showed them the sim. The people at the shop inserted the sim into their phones, had a look at my phone, searched the internet, again we had to communicate using google translate, we had a good laugh because the situation was just too ridiculous. They came to the conclusion that the chip had a default, so they filed a complaint against their provider, told me that they will try to contact me when they get a new sim card for me. When I walked out of the store, I just went to buy a prepaid sim card.

A few days ago, when I was on my way to the metro I realized that my bag was leaking, I opened it to discover that my bottle of water had spilled and my phone and camera were in a pool of water. I ran back home, put my camera and phone in cuscus hoping that it will absorb the humidity out … it was too late water had entered in the devices and destroyed them. For the phone, I lost all my phone numbers which was really annoying and I had no choice but to just buy a cheap phone. For the camera, I am furious because I lost a whole bunch of pictures that I took of this beautiful city and I have to wait a few weeks before I can buy a new one... :'(     

4- Paper Work

      Since I have arrived in Prague, I registered with the foreign police, filled in forms for the Erasmus office, queued 2 hours to get my student card, got my student travel pass, register for the online portal, discovered that some classes that I initially was going to take are no longer available, I had to choose new classes, discovered that I need a permission to take political science classes, send emails to ask if I can follow certain classes, went back to the Erasmus office to get some documents stamped, filled in forms to send back to Trinity, etc… All were necessary to do, all absolutely boring to do.

     When moving to a new country and settling in a new place there are always a number of things to do, plus getting used to the new environment can be quite disorientating. Having problems with my bank, with my telephone and breaking my camera and mobile were a bit much to have all in the same fortnight and made me wonder if these things only happen to me. I feel that I have gotten use to living here but I don’t feel quite settled yet. I know that most if not all the paper work is behind me, so now I have more time to enjoy the place and my stay. The reason probably why I didn't go insane in these 2 weeks trying to deal with all these different things, is because I have met other Erasmus students here from all over Europe and the world, I have socialized and truly started to enjoy my stay here. Moving to Prague I had a few “problems” but meeting my fellow Erasmus student is not one of them! 

My first erasmus party- a memorable one

That's all folks for now! 

Helena 

It's a Small Step For Mankind but a Giant Leap For Jan

Thomas Friedskind, Thomas Friedskind, Thomas Friedskind (there you go Thomas, you are mentioned in the blog).

The last few weeks were quite…intensive; hence I did not update the blog on regular basis. Except for the obvious intensity of consuming a very wide range of spirituous beverages the last days were marked by the intensity with which I, together with two other individuals coming from the country, which loves wine, baguettes and waving white flags were looking for a flat.

It took around two weeks and 200CZK (8 EUR) of credit to call different agencies and landlords to enquire about a flat. To make it easier, some of them would refuse to communicate in any other language than Czech or Slovak (Polish was already too much of a linguistic diversion for them). Nevertheless, we were a group of extremely motivated individuals and in the end we managed to find an apartment (aka. Szyszko Mansion) in Prague 2, fifteen minutes walking distance from the main street of the city. The view from my window is truly amazing. Except for three, 19^th Century, state of the art houses I can also spot a chimney. The fact that there is white smoke coming out of it every now and then leaves me with two conclusions. The first thought that came into my mind was that the neighbours are pretending to be Vatican City and are testing the procedure in case a new Pope needs to be elected. The second thought I have to leave out as I promised myself I will be politically correct on this blog and would not dare to make any inappropriate chimney-Germany references. Never.

Staying in Hostivar for three weeks was a good life lesson. It is one of those experiences that teach you to appreciate the simple things in life. Those vary from enjoying water pressure in your shower higher than one drop a second to having access to an oven. If my written description does not fully reflect the civilizational leap forward I made by renting a flat, maybe Google street view will.

Hostivar:

https://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&q=weilova+2,+praha&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x470b9263ba0134c1:0x4a4901b3915808b2,Weilova+1144/2,+102+00+Praha,+Czech+Republic&ei=s-hXUsihN8WJtAb_r4BQ&ved=0CC0Q8gEwAA

Szyszko Mansion:

https://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&layer=c&z=17&iwloc=A&sll=50.071009,14.433968&cbp=13,248.7,0,0,0&cbll=50.071037,14.434081&q=safarikova+11,+praha&ei=XONXUvuyIZDasgb4joDADQ&ved=0CC4QxB0wAA

Exactly.

Jan

My 16 Hour Journey to Prague

On Thursday 19^th September I finished packing my two gipsy-looking bags for Prague. I was quite nervous, wondering if I had all I needed, if I didn’t forget anything, if I wasn’t bringing too much, if I wasn’t bringing too little, etc… After checking and rechecking a thousand times my suitcases, at 1 am I finally decided to go to bed, exhausted. The travel plan was that I flew to Krakow for a wedding, from there took the train to met my father in Prague. In theory it’s straightforward, but in practice … it was a long and exhausting journey.

Woke up early on Friday morning, got prepared, said goodbye to my parents and brothers; before 9 I was out of the house, waiting for the bus down my road.

Step 1: Taking the W bus from Rhode-St-Genèse to Gare du Midi.

Living in the suburbs of Brussels is a pain because it takes forever to get anywhere. On a week day, at rush-hour it takes over an hour to get to the city center. So that’s what happened: I was stuck in traffic for an hour going down Chaussée de Waterloo. When I arrived at the train station, I had to go to the European ticket sell-point to actually get my train ticket from Krakow to Prague.  

Step 1 and a half: Buying My Train Tickets.

Took a waiting number, took a seat, realized that I was 20^th in the queue and only 3 desks were open… The patience game was just about to start… 

After waiting patiently for 15 mins I realized that the queue was progressing much slower than what I’d expected. I calculated the average time each person took to buy their tickets: about 7 mins, and based on that estimated the time I had to wait for my turn. I started to get agitated because I still had get to the airport and so if I waited too long I would miss my flight. 175, 176, 177, 178… I couldn’t stop counting the number of people before me and looking at the clock ticking. 

After 25 mins it became harder and harder to stay cool: I was considering the possibility to just go to any desk when they call the next number, or ask someone if they would be kind enough to swap waiting number with me. After 35 mins it became un-bea-ra-ble: I knew I was running late for my flight but, I couldn’t leave before I got my train ticket. I imagined the fight with my parents if I missed the flight. I started to get panicky, getting up, walking across the room, looking at the time, coming back to my seat, sitting down, repeat. People in the waiting room were just starring at me as if I was a nutcase, but maybe I am. 

After 42 mins, the number just before mine showed up on the screen, I jumped up like a football supporter would when his team scores, it was a small victory. When the next desk freed I looked at the man selling the tickets as if he was the Holy Grail, I was going to get my train ticket for Prague: something that seemed intangible in that waiting room.  Before my number was even called, I was standing in front of the desk looking eagerly at the sells man.

With a surprised look on his face the sell’s man asked: 

-“What can I do for you?” 

I felt that I was begging on my knees when I said:

-“I need a ticket for Sunday from Krakow to Prague, any time will do” 

-“All right” and he started to type on his computer that looked that it was from the early 90’s while I was thinking in my head “Come on, faster, faster, faster”… him typing slowly…Me becoming really impatient… He looked up:

-“Sorry Miss, it seems like there is no trains going from Krakow to Prague”…. I froze, imagining that not only I waited 45 mins for nothing, but on top of that: I was going to miss my flight and wasn’t going to get to Prague. 

-“That’s not possible, have you checked the one with the connection at Katowice?” 

-“Kato-what?” with a blank expression 

-“Kato-wice!” I cried 

-“Where is that?” 

-“In Poland, not far from the Czech boarder” -“Never heard of it” 

-“Can you please find me a train from Krakow to Katowice and one from Katowice to Prague” I said on the verge of tears. He types on his computer, I am just there: desperately starring at the man… waiting… the time is ticking by…I’m breathing very nervously…calculating how much time I had left before my plane… Finally he looks up smiling: 

-“I found one leaving Krakow on Sunday at 7.53 arriving at Katowice at 10.35 and then from Katowice there is a train at 11.11 to Prague and arriving at 16.45” 

-“Perfect! How much is it?” I said with a huge smile, he looks at me with a hesitant expression: 

-“Sorry Miss, I am not entirely sure that I can sell you this ticket”…Literally I felt that I was stuck in limbo just about to hit my head on the desk. I got firm: made it clear that I was going to get that ticket and the faster the better. I am not sure that he understood that I was in a rush because he kept asking questions on and on “Wouldn’t you prefer a night train? What class? Wouldn’t you prefer another time? Window or corridor? Cash or card? ...” I just replied fast and briefly just to accelerate the process. While the tickets were printing he asked me where I was from, … a big mistake. 

Normally I love having the quick chat with people and the man was very nice, but here it was not the right moment. So, I had to explain in 30s my complicated background and my plan of going on Erasmus and he was obviously very curious and just kept asking more and more questions. It was the prefect example of the awkward moment when you’re trying to end a conversation with someone and they just keep on talking. As soon as he handed me the tickets, I said goodbye, he wished me good luck and I dashed out of the train station.       

Step 2: Getting from Gare du Midi to Charleroi Airport … by any means.  

Don’t be mistaken: the Brussels-South-Airport-Charleroi, is not in Brussels, it is a 40-50 min bus ride from Brussels. So running out of the train station I knew that I needed a bus leaving in the next 10 mins for me to get to the airport on time. As I was rushing to the bus stop, dragging my suitcase along, a man came up to me and slyly asked “Charleroi Airport, right?” Initially, I didn’t understand the meaning of his question. The man was from a taxi company, convincing me that for the same price as the bus one of his colleagues would leave in the next few minutes driving me and a few other people to the airport. I thought that it was probably a dodgy idea and a rip-off, but after seeing that in the mini-van there was a strong Eastern-European guy that would be able to pull off a fight; I decided to go with it. I sat in the cab next to the driver, and as soon as the mini-van was full, we drove off. On the way, I was praying that it was not going to be a bad idea as I always take the shuttle bus to the airport. I was looking nervously at the road making sure that we were going in the right direction. On the highway, the taxi was driving slightly over the speed limit and just before the airport the taxi-man switched off the meter. I was pleasantly surprised: we got from Gare du Midi to Charleroi in about 30 mins, we each had to pay only 13 euros and I had plenty of time before my flight!

Step 3: Flying from Charleroi to Krakow.

Brussels-South-Airport-Charleroi should be renamed “Ryanair’s Airport in Belgium”. For those who never been: it is a tiny airport, in the middle of nowhere, where there are no trolleys for your suitcases, and curiously Ryanair seems to be the only airline serving this airport. Check in, security check, buy some Belgian Chocolates for my hosts in Krakow.

And it was a typical Ryanair flight: people queuing at the gate half an hour before they call for the boarding, staff checking scrupulously with a ruler that your hand luggage is no more than 55x40x20 cm, people having a hard time picking a seat in the plane, while you’re trying to sleep during the flight every 10 mins there is an announcement that they are selling food, drinks, coffee, smokeless cigarettes, scratch cards, bus tickets, perfumes … you feel the plane smashing on the tarmac and then a trumpet announces that you’re arrived on time. Until next time Ryanair! I had arrived in Krakow.

Step 4: Getting from Krakow Airport to Krakow City Center.

When I had arrived and picked-up my suitcase I still had 3 hours until the wedding reception, I wasn’t in a rush but I couldn’t dillydally too much. I asked for some information and decided to take a bus that apparently went near the city center. For the next 50 mins or so I had no clue whatsoever if I was going in the right direction, sitting on the bus, glancing out the window, listening to music, completely spaced out while the bus didn’t seem to follow an entirely illogical route. The bus arrives at this final destination, I knew I was walking from where I was staying but I didn’t have the courage to start asking for directions...

Step 5: Taking a taxi  

…So I just took a taxi for what was a 10 min walk.      

Step 5 and a half: the wedding    

Just after I arrived, I went for a drink with my cousins and friends at the Dym bar and I had my beloved White Russian, and it felt so nice to be back in Krakow and catching up with people. Then we went back home, quick shower, got ready and we were off to the wedding reception. Weddings are my favorite parties because everyone knows that everyone is somehow related, they have a nice family feeling to them, everyone dances and has fun. When I told people that I was on my way to Prague, they were excited for me, some were telling me that I have no excuses not to come up to Krakow for week-ends, some were telling me that they will come to visit me. Someone even bet with me that he’ll bicycle from Krakow to Prague: I am waiting for it. It was a great night, I stayed until late and by the time we came back home I was exhausted after such a long day: travelling for 8 hours plus the wedding.

 The next day, there was brunch (actually more like “dunch” because it was between lunch and dinner) in the countryside just outside of Krakow with lots of polish food, tea and soup. Several people were sneakily hiding behind their sunglass. When we came back to Krakow, we went to a friend’s place for a casual drink: the plan was to drop by and come back home before 12 to go to bed because I had my train early the next morning. It didn’t quite work out that way.... 

....and I ended up having only 3 hours of sleep. I was meant to be up before 7 am…I didn’t hear my alarm…I only heard Wiri’s alarm ringing for the second time at 7:10….quickly got dressed, quick breakfast and then Wiri and I were off towards the train station walking like 2 zombies. When we got to the station we realized that the train was leaving in less than 5 mins, by the time we found the train the train officer was whistling to signal that it was time to close the doors. Luckily, the officer saw me giving me enough time for a quick goodbye and to hop on the train, literally if I had arrived 20sec latter, I would have missed the train.    

Step 6: Taking the Train from Krakow to Katowice.      

I realized my luck when the doors closed just after I managed to pull my suitcase unto the train, before I even started to look for a seat: the train was already moving. The train was empty and I was shivering while glancing out the window. For the whole train journey I was fighting the temptation to fall asleep because I knew that if I fell asleep there was a chance that I would miss the stop at Katowice. The fact that I was so cold in that train was probably why I managed to stay more or less awake during the journey.  

Arrived at Katowice, I had a little touristic tour of the modern train station, had a sandwich and then I was waiting for the train to Prague.

Step 7: Taking the train from Katowice to Prague

While waiting on a bench, freezing, I noticed a few people with back-packs speaking English with foreign accents and that most people waiting for the train spoke English. That sort of made me realize how international Prague was going to be. I went euphoric when I saw this:

This was the ultimate step, I was reaching the end of my journey, the last mode of transport that I would take, in 5 hours I would arrive at my final destination: Praha! I was surprised how modern the train was: there were plugs next to every seat, there was a board saying what was the next stop and the speed of the train, the service in the train felt like being on a plane. My journey was quite interesting: there was an old British couple seating in front of me – planning their cultural trip around Prague and analyzing the books they were respectively reading. Behind me: an Asian hipster, getting drunk on Martini, listening with loud speaker to some kind of Asian techno. There is no doubt that the old couple and the hipster did not really get along. When we crossed the Polish-Czech boarder we arrived to this stop:  

And the train stopped there for about 30 mins, no clue why. It seems like that the schedule of the train was to be redone because at some stops the train stopped for half an hour and at other only for less than 5 minutes. It was a nice journey as I discovered quite a bit of the Czech landscape from Bohemia to Prague. It varies a lot: there are flat fields with cute villages where people grow their own vegetables behind their wooden houses, then forested valleys where the train meanders along a tinny stream through these gorges, then beautiful lakes and peaceful rivers were men fish on a Sunday afternoon and then gentle rolling hills. It goes rustic rural to bucolic rural to enchanting medieval villages to run-down small towns that have a strong hint of a communist past. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised to how beautiful the Czech countryside is. During the last hour of the journey I started get butterflies in my stomach, I was getting really impatient and looking forward to arriving. And then I noticed that we were at the outskirts of a city, buildings appeared, and I had this view from the train: 

It took me: 1 plane, 2 trains, 2 buses and 2 taxis and 16 hours to arrive to Praha.  

Helena 

The first week in Pragadise

The first week in Prague brought about countless amount of events worth posting on the blog. 99% of them were either positive or very positive and were mainly linked with the people I met here. Nevertheless, after the first two days in a hotel I was forced to move to Charles University dormitories in Hostivar. Theoretically, I was still only 10km away from the city centre, Anno Domini 2013. In practice I felt that I just found a solid prove against Albert Einstein’s theory that time travel is impossible. It’s possible. Just come to Prague and take the tram 26, direction Hostivar.

The architect of this finesse, rectangular, unidentified object must have been a big fan of the style described by George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Communism can be touched, felt, smelled and experienced here on every step. The building also was very well thought through as it has eight floors with the lift only serving the first seven. Obviously, I got a room on the top floor.  The interior designer, on the other hand, clearly admired Alfred Hitchcock as entering the main lobby of the dorm is like an earthquake and the tension only rises from then on. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by a receptionist in her mid 60s who did not speak any English (why would she? It’s not like this is a dorm ONLY for exchange students). On the way to my room I passed under a once-upon-a-time white, leaking roof and finally got into the elevator, which looked like it remembered the events of Prague Spring of 1968. My penthouse is probably not more than 10m² large with the windows so efficient, that you can hear the trams leaving from a stop 500m away. The perfect spot for a public transport freak. Fortunately, I am not the only one who does not quite appreciate living in a place that could at most serve as a museum of communism and together with two other friends we are planning to move out ASAP. The flat-hunt begun earlier this week.

Except for Hostivar, Prague is simply amazing. In my very modest opinion it’s one of the most beautiful and underrated European cities. Beats Paris by a mile!  Even more impressive when you realize that when the monumental residencies in the centre were built, Prague was not a capital of a continental superpower but a third city of Austria-Hungary.

All in all, the first week made me realize that it is true what they say about Erasmus. You cannot dislike it. Well, unless you are over-sensitive about the state of your dorms but fuck it, I won’t let Hostivar affect my judgement!

Jan

Packing, .... For Dummies!

I will admit that I absolutely HATE PACKING : I always leave it to the last minute, I am always afraid that I will forget something, so I always end up bringing too much stuff. When going to University abroad, for a whole year: packing is a real challenge and can be an emotional process. Before jamming all you can in your suitcase and crying because half the stuff you want to take doesn't fit, think strategically. Here are my few tips for packing: 

1-Make a list of a) what you NEED to take b) what you WANT to take and c) what you SHOULD take but won't.

2-Ask yourself these essential questions: 

• What's the weather going to be like over there? 
• How long are you going for?
•  By which means of transport are you a) going and b) think you'll come back with? 
• How often do you'll be coming back home? 
• What will be provided at the place you'll be living at? 
• What are the clothes that suits you best? 
• Where's my passport? 
• What can you easily buy over there? 
• Are you a compulsive buyer, and thus going to buy yourself a new wardrobe over there? 
• Think of the personal items that you'll like to have with you, when and if you're going to be home sick. 

Based on the answers to these questions you'll get a rough idea of how much and what to bring. 

 3- Make categories like "Clothes", "Shoes", "Important documents", "Electronics", "Kitchen", "Cool/Weird items" (YES I'M BRINGING MY BIG ORANGE BUCKET TO PRAGUE!) etc... so it is easier to check to that you've got everything. 

4-Go through all your stuff and sort it between what you want to bring and what you want to leave at home (you'll generally leave all the clothes that you never wear). 

5-Put your stuff on display in your room (as shown on the picture above) grouped into your categories so at a glance you can see what's missing and what you should remove. 

6- Fold everything so each item takes as little space as possible = you can bring more stuff

7-Find a suitcase/box large enough - put your your staff in as if it was a 3-D version of Tetris- push it all in- weigh it - DONE! 

Helena  

On The Way to Bohemian Rhaspody

Studying abroad is an experience that lets you explore other cultures very deeply. This includes travelling back to University after a Summer spent at home: never have I felt more like a member of a Gypsy caravan than when going to the city that serves as home to my stronghold of education. You can imagine I was quite an attraction to all the locals who I had to shamefully pass by on my way to Prague. Here is how it went.

  The trip commenced last Saturday when I took off from Luxembourg to find myself in Mannheim not more than 2 hours later. The plan was to visit my friend from Dublin who is taking her year abroad in the Land uber alles and then take a direct train to Prague from Germany. Upon my arrival, I was warned that my friend’s Russian neighbour considers himself Putin’s voter number one. Some of you are aware of the passion with which I dislike the Russian leader. Clearly, I couldn’t miss out on such an occasion to present my doubted vocal skills while singing a few songs referring to our loved and peaceful friends from the East. And Mannheim itself? If not the number of kebab shops it wouldn’t differ much from any other Polish city of similar size. This is either an insult to Mannheim or a compliment to Polish cities of circa 300.000 inhabitants.

  Two hours before catching the City Night Line train to Prague I begun to plan out my trip tactically. “The train leaves at 11:59pm…. So two beers should be enough to ensure that I fall asleep without a larger difficulty”- I thought and proceeded with my plan. I went in to my couchette cabin to see that there are four beds (needless to say they were too short to accommodate my almost two metres long body). A person who we should refer to as Helmut Gunter for the needs of this post already occupied one of them. Gunter was a middle-aged, middle-class average German man with a distinctive moustache and a red t-shirt hiding his large beer muscle. He also made a squeak of dissatisfaction similar to this made by a Trabant on a sharp turn whenever I tried to fit my bag under my bed. You can imagine what happened when 50 minutes later two Korean girls went into the cabin thinking it was their own, then changed their mind only to come back again a couple of minutes later. Gunter got off in Dresden.

  This way I found myself in the capital of the Czech Republic. My first observation? I’ve heard a couple of jokes about the Czechs being a rather weak nation (i.e. what do you call a 100.000 peasants waving white flags? The Czech Army). Well, such is the case for the Czech currency: it’s also weak. My wallet hasn’t seen as many bills ever since my 18^th birthday. This is also good as for the first time in my life I will be able to spend a 100 on a night out without experiencing a moral hangover on the morning after. Yes!

Jan

8 days to go ... What's on my mind?

    
    8 days to go before moving to Prague… I know the fact, but I am not really realizing it for the moment. It is only when I will be over there, unpacking, or in the first lecture that it is going to hit me. At present going on Erasmus seems to be only one of my many vague plans in the back of my head that is never going to see the light of the day. It is: it just hasn’t happen yet, I just haven’t made it real yet. This exchange that I been planning for months is about to become real in just a matter of days.

    What I do realize now is that this going to be a big step for me: I have already lived 2 years outside the family nest, abroad, in a student hall and then with friends; but this is going to be the first time ever that I am going to be living alone. This adds quite a bit of stress to this move. There are obviously some advantages to living alone: no need to state them, I’ll let you come up with them. However, I am a bit nervous about it: imagining all those worst-case scenarios, all that can possibly go wrong being a girl living alone in a studio in a foreign country. I will admit that I am scared of fire alarms: the sound of them gets me panicky, so I can just imagine myself freaking out in the middle of the night, crawling into a corner, rocking back and forth just because an alarm when off somewhere in the neighbourhood and having nobody to tell me that I’m just overreacting. I have a few friends that were living alone and they seem to have managed just fine, so I should be ok. I am a bit nervous now, but I know it’s going to fine once I’ve moved in and then I won’t worry any more.  

     Growing up, whenever I was about to start a new school year, move to a new place or when I started university, I always made resolutions. I guess that everyone does that when they undergo an important change in their life, right? I always made wonderful plans about how hardworking I was going to be, how disciplined I was going to be, how healthy, how friendly, how sportive, how …. Those resolutions never really last, do they? While anticipating my new life in the Czech Republic I was making all these ambitious and great plans for myself, and then I realized that there is no point making all these promises to myself if I will not keep any of them. So I came to the following conclusion. There are a lot of things that I want to do during my year abroad and I really want to make the most of it. However, there will be so little time: I am only going to be there for a few months and I will be busy with college so I will not be able to do everything. Therefore, I came up with this golden rule and my unique resolution for the year: “everyday on my Erasmus I’ll make the most of the day”. So no matter how lazy I feel or hangover, I’ll push myself to do something so I will come back with the feeling that I took advantage of my year abroad as much as I possibly could and enjoyed this year.

    Will I learn any Czech? That’s something I’ve been wondering about. I am not planning on taking lessons, but I would still like to pick up the basics for practical reasons and because I think it is always cool to learn to a new language. I have lived in Belgium a grand total of 13 years and I find it disgraceful that I only speak one of the 3 national languages. In all that time I haven’t picked up any Flemish or German, I can understand a little bit but can’t speak them. In a way as I am an expat there, living in Brussels where most people speak French and I was in schools were Flemish was non-compulsory, I’m sort-of excused. Once I was talking to Belgian, a native Flemish-speaker, who told me that what he finds frustrating about French-speaking Belgians is not so much that on average they don’t speak Flemish well but more the fact that on average they do not really seem to make the effort to speak Flemish. That made me realize that no matter how poorly you speak a language, people will always appreciate if you make the effort to try to speak their language. Coming back to Czech: knowing another slave language, Polish, I think I should be able to pick up a bit of Czech without too much problems. I just think that learning a bit of Czech can add a whole new dimension to my experience in Prague, as I would be able to get to know Czech people as well as foreigners. Plus it might be appreciated by locals that I’m not constantly imposing English. I’m curious to see how much Czech I will actually pick up after a year. We’ll see in June. 

These were my thoughts that I wanted to share,

Bye for now!

Helena