A true adventure

First: happy birthday mom!

I say this blog is for my daily adventures, and let's face it, not every day is an adventure (I can only get lost so many times). But today, Sheldon and Dan stormed back into town from Poland on their way to Israel. Cue adventure music.

I met them in Old Town at about 430, just as it got dark enough for the street lights to come on (it was absolutely incredible weather today - not a cloud in the sky, and all the snow made everything bright and beautiful). We started walking toward a pub, any pub, but were stopped by the Western Union currency exchange...where Dan and Sheldon proceeded to spend 15 minutes trying to figure out whether or not they would be getting ripped off by changing their Polish money to American dollars (to do this in CR, you have to go via Korunas). After grabbing the calculator from the man behind the counter (who was really trying with his English), and yelling for a bit, we were finally on our way again, no money having been exchanged.

Ah, but how could we pass the Swarovski crystal store without going in? Admittedly, Lorraine (Dan's mom) has a fantastic collection of Swarovski crystals. But the timing. Dan and I left Sheldon (who had taken yet another calculator from another clerk in his quest to figure out whether it would be less expensive to buy the piece here) and retired to a nice little bar. Two beers later, no Sheldon.

Realize what the plan had been: they had been under the impression that Czech Airlines allows more luggage than they actually did. To solve their problem (remember how much luggage they brought?), they wanted to leave one of Dan's bags here, with me. Which meant Dan and I were going to take a cab down to Branik (my neighborhood, south of the city) with the bag, and then come back to meet Shelly for dinner.

Well, after lots of attempted conversations with Lorraine (in the USA), one lost pair of gloves (Dan took them off in the crystal store he thinks. Or the exchange place. Point is, they're gone), a recharged cell phone battery (we happened to be sitting next to the store where they had unlocked their cell phones. Of course they were tight with the guy who worked there, who was nice enough to let them charge their phones), and me finishing my homework for tomorrow (score!), the plan had been altered. We would get the bag to my place, grab dinner around here, and they'd go off to the airport.

But first they had to reconfigure their bags. We spent a good half hour in the luggage storage room of the Intercontinental Hotel as Dan, calm and orderly, took out what he needed, and Sheldon, frantically, took vodka shots.

Cab ride home was uneventful (comparably...remember we're talking about two hugely tall men in a small cab filled with hundreds of pounds of luggage, a driver, and another small human being). I awaited, with bated breath, the final meeting of Sheldon and the Jančářik family. Tomas and Sheldon in the same room just seemed way to good to be true.

Oh but it was so true and it was so glorious. I introduced them (and immediately felt horrible for not giving the family proper warning), and after a few frantic moments (Zuzana in her pajamas, the bag they were storing here covered with snow, no one knowing what was going on), we finally settled down, Dan in the library checking their flight status, Sheldon and Tomas polishing off a whiskey bottle (Tomas: "It's not very good", Sheldon (upon tasting it): "This is real shit!").

There are so many things I could say, but I think my personal favorite part of the evening was Sheldon's realization that Tomas spoke German. From then on, Sheldon spoke nearly exclusively in Yiddish, admittedly a related language...but not that related. Zuzana (now changed from her PJs) Tomas, and Jonas (occasionally translating) listened intently as Sheldon told (mostly in Yiddish) jokes and travel stories, described his restaurants, gave Zuzana a recipe for pickles, and generally was his outlandish, strangely charming self. (Dinner, by this time, was pretty out of the question. Oh yeah and the cab was waiting outside this whole time. But don't worry, Shelly had invited the driver to dinner with us. They were tite.)

Anyhow, time did pass and they did leave with a huge laugh from the family here. Phew! As I told Tomas and Zuzana, any other host family would NOT have had the same reaction to the HurriKane (ah! more puns!), so I was very happy.

An insane afternoon/evening. I've been hanging out the rest of the night, trying to memorize the Czech numbers and days of the week. To end it all, another fantastic quote from Tomas, upon my talking about a bar that had closed at midnight even though it was full of people drinking (spoken in Czech, translated by Vaclav):

"Evan, if all of them drank like you, the bar wouldn't do very much business."

Food, Fun, Friends, and a workout

I have to say, writing this blog has been quite the interesting experience so far. My host family reads it all the time, and clears up any confusions I have about any of the Czech things I write about! It's an interactive experience.

I haven't yet described my typical day so far, which is actually kinda interesting. I start every day with a shower, as always...but Czech showers are not the stand-up-and-rinse style. The shower actually isn't a shower at all - it's a bathtub, with no shower curtain and a shower handle faucet. One has to sit in the tub and run the faucet over the body, turning it off to put on shampoo, etc. Makes me very very happy it's not cold outside right now, or this would be a freezing experience.

Then, there's some breakfast (more about that later), and about a 45min trip (walk, bus ride, metro, walk) to the CIEE study center in Vyšehrad (I got my computer to type in Czech!). The house is on top of one hill...but at the middle of another, bigger hill...so to get to the bus stop I have to climb about 150m up a hill that, I swear, has a 60 degree grade. And teeth. Then it's a short bus ride to the metro stop (public trans is fantastic here, and immaculately clean), followed by another 15 min walk. So I'm getting my exercise. (Pics of this are on the flickr)

Which is a good thing, considering the food. Now, I'd never knock any food of course, and, surprisingly enough, I've had absolutely no gastronomical problems since I've been here (which, if you know me, you know is incredible). But Czech food is a completely different experience from anything else I've ever eaten. For three days now, I've eaten just about nothing but bread, meat, and potatoes, with one or all of the above food items having been fried. Tastes incredible. But WOW that whole trying to stay away from bread thing has gone out the window! So, considering the food and the excessive beer (more on that later), I'll probably come home with calves of steel and a stomach of down feathers.

So after our short tour with our Czech buddies yesterday (I went into Old Town square. Incredible pics on the flickr of that too), our housing director, recognizing that the people in homestays will have a more difficult time meeting people, brought us all to a pub to hang out for a bit. After some drama (Jonas was supposed to pick me up from school and guide me back home, and also give me a house key. and I was supposed to meet Dan earlier), it was a great time. There are some awesome people on this trip who I'm excited to spend more time with. I tried not to order very much, because I kinda figured I'd still be getting dinner at home. But...they knew I'd be here, so maybe they had eaten without me...my hunger got the best of me. I ate the endings of several people's huge meals (a pork chop, some fantastic fried bread, and a bite or two of duck). And, of course, a beer.

Then I went home, managed to get in contact with Dan, and was heading out the door...just in time for dinner to be ready!

Now, let me explain the most important of Czech customs. No means yes. Saying no implies with it the assumption by the other party that you're just being modest, you're embarrassed to say yes. So when offering food, "no" is followed by piling food on your plate. I said no. And ate a lot more (fried meat and rice).

Then I went to meet Dan and Sheldon at their hotel in the center of town. And had another dinner (well this time I didn't really eat. I just had a beer.)

Which brings me to my next point (this is turning into quite the lecture!). When you come to Prague, people tell you that you must expect to drink beer. They are lying. Don't expect to drink beer. Start drinking it, constantly, now, so you can develop a tolerance that might (...might) enable you to still function as a human being here. Rejecting beer isn't really taken seriously here (see above custom). So, when you're on your third, fourth beer of the day (was it that many?) and you didn't mean to drink one (at least not on an empty stomach)...let's just say this lightweight needs to learn to go to class with a buzz.

This post is getting long. I'll end it here and start a new one for today. Dobry den!

just a quick hello

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I was honestly running around the entire day. Besides, you probably needed a break from me! I've only got a moment before I have to head off to another day of orientation, so this will be brief for now. I'll be back later.

Yesterday was my first day of official "class," though it was just an orientation day (not very much learning involved). We spent the morning in groups, talking to CIEE instructors about various issues we'll come across here, then we toured a bit of the city with our "Czech Buddies" (I prefer to call them Czech Mates. Oh the pun possibilities!). I spent almost the whole day with the whole group of kids living in homestays, and it was really nice to finally meet some other people on this trip (there are over 120 people total).

I find a divide (at least for now) is kind of inherent between the homestay people and the dorms or apartment. On our tour, one guy (from Buffalo Grove, Scott, he knows you) kept talking about "ridiculous" the night was going to be and kept asking out Czech buddy where a good place was to go out. Number one, I hate guys like that. Number two, it was interesting to hear the difference in mind set. While the dorm folks can go room to room and ask for people to go to bars and have a group to go with...my first thought is, "how the hell would I get home??"

This isn't a bad thing. I think of it as similar to the difference between the tour group I went with in Israel and the tour group Dan went with. Our group was very focused on touring, seeing sights, connecting with Judaism, etc. Dan's group went partying every night. Not to cheapen the latter experience...but I'll take the former. And that's what's happening here. It seems like cultural poaching, almost, to just come here and use the pubs as an excuse to get drunk every night. Czechs love gathering and drinking...but definitely not in the American "frat boy" sense. Don't get me wrong, I'll do my fair share of drinking here. But I'll do it once I can do it within the cultural boundaries.

Whew, that turned into a rant!

There are many more fun things to tell you about, but I'll have to write about it later. Here's a teaser trailer:
1. Czechs value modesty very highly. Which is why they never stop feeding you. I ate three dinners yesterday.
2. I got a cell phone!
3. Showering is quite the cultural experience. As is walking up hills. Every day. I am in pain.
4. This place is ridiculously beautiful and easy to fall in love with.
5. I'm just about the only Jew on my trip (that I've met so far).
6. Sheldon and Dan are supposed to go to Poland today, but have not booked transportation or accommodation to do so. So we had some drinks last night to celebrate!

I'm of to Na Florenci to meet the group. I'm on about 4 hours of sleep (damn time change...). Talk to you soon!

PS. Mom tells me people are reading this and getting a kick out of it. Thanks! Remember: you can respond to posts here (if you register with blogger, which you've already done if you have Gmail), or on Facebook (posts are RSSd to my profile as notes). And if you really like something, you can use the link after every post to email that post to someone (it's the icon below that looks like an envelope)

One night in London

A kilometer is longer than a mile. Keep that in mind when traveling in Europe.

Getting off the plane, Sheldon and Dan seemed like they were going to take another 20 minutes, so I left ahead of them and planned to meet them at baggage claim. Great plan, except when one continues on to another country (as they did), one doesn't pick up checked bags in between flights. And thus, my time with Dan and Sheldon ended...far too abruptly. It was like I never got to say goodbye to that feeling of homey-ness before I went into the deep, dark uncertainty of navigating this whole thing alone. Kinda threw me off the rest of the day.

I had no problem finding the hotel, but getting to the Tube from the airport, I finally understood what Moses went through (minus the manna...I was starving).

The rest of the day has been quite surreal. My lack of sleep, intense hunger, and lots of physical activity combined to make my mind completely unable to focus on any one thought for more than an instant. I found myself debating whether to eat or shower, and while debating my body decided to carry my into the shower. Cool. Thanks for the decision making, body!

I ate. I went to sleep. And then I woke up. What the hell time is it? My stomach ached, I was incredibly groggy, and for some reason I was convinced I had woken up late (late for what?). Where am I? Why is it light outside? Ehhhhhh scary.

More sleep, and I felt better, good enough to head out and explore London, which I did with a passion. I decided I wasn't quite ready to do the "authentic" Brit stuff, so I stuck to the touristy attractions: Trafalgar Square, Parliament building, Leicester Square, etc (lots of cool pics on the Flickr). It was all very beautiful, but I was kinda half asleep. I am in LOVE with the Tube (I love public transportation, and this is the best of it), and I love London. Such an easy town to just walk around - not intimidating at all. The old buildings seem to bend over you and give you a hug while you walk.

I ate dinner at the Sherlock Holmes Restaurant, and had the fish & chips I promised Casey I would get. Unfortunately, the restaurant was as schlocky as it sounds and was filled with Americans attracted to the kitsch-y name (...like me...). The entree wasn't really...real...so, sorry Casey, but I still haven't really had fish n chips! I met some girls from BU (and other schools) studying here who seemed kinda confused by me:

Them: How do you know where you are?
Me: ...I don't...the Tube gets you everywhere though
Them: So you're just walking around?
Me: Yeah, I had nothing else to do.

Seems logical enough!

I got on the Tube at Leicester Sq. to go home, but found myself getting off one stop later at Piccadilly Circus. After all, you never know when you're going to see these things again. And yes Mike, I went to the London Trocadero. I can see why you and Matta loved it. I realized I had been there the last time I was in London - I definitely remember one particular photo of me playing a racing video game with the steering wheel on the other side.

Back at the hotel now, time to pack up and get ready to leave (wake up call at 4:45am). Thankfully, I feel fairly adjusted to the new time zone (the walk helped a LOT). Tomorrow is sure to be a day to remember :-D.

Look Boss! The Plane!

Disclaimer: I didn't have internet access in London, so the next few posts were written on the Mac before they were posted. In case you were wondering how I seemed to be able to post from the plane...
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The day has arrived! Complete insanity. I had no idea what to think - I didn't really feel anything until after dinner, when all of a sudden the anxiety set in. Not nervousness, definitely not, just wanting to get the transition over with and be here already.

Sally gave me a gift before I left - a journal. I'm using it right now! It's awesome, now I'll remember what to blog about. Let's go down the list:

1. Sheldon Kane is insane. After staying awake until 7:30am the previous night (with Dan)completely changing his and Dan's travel itinerary, he made sure to arrive at the airport with about 7 seconds to spare before he would have missed the flight. Dan was already exasperated, finished with dealing with all of this...I can only imagine what the next few weeks will be between them.

2. On the plane, I sat behind TWO (2) crying babies. Why do I always get so lucky????? WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T SIT NEXT TO BABIES ON AIRPLANES????

3. I haven't cut my hair since September (besides a few small trims) and when I wear a hat, I have wings. I'm still determined not to cut it until I get back in May.

4. Before he accidentally spilled red wine all over himself in his sleep (we saw it coming), Sheldon struck up a conversation with the girl sitting next to him who, it turns out, is an ADPi at USC studying abroad in London this semester. Her name is Andrea and she is very nice.

And that does it for the plane ride. I slept for maybe 90 min, tops, so of course I was a bit groggy. Time to find the hotel!