Overwhelming Adventures!

There are just no words to sum up my trip to Croatia, so I won't try (there are, however, over 250 pictures that might do the trick at least partly). I was alone for so long, I met so many people, I saw my second bar brawl in the past week, and I had countless adventures involving random Croatians, Queen music videos, and bottles of whiskey. And I kept track of it all in my little brown book.

I'm not really sure how to go about this...do you want to hear details of every day? Send me your feedback, friends.

Generally though, I can say a few things. Firstly, reading On the Road was a good, but dangerous choice. It gave me inspiration to break some boundaries and just talk to people, which is good, but it also made me crave those epic adventures worthy of writing in an entire novel, which can be illegal if the atmosphere is right. Everyone I met became a character in my modern version of that book. And that's what it could have been, too. I wish I had had the time to be able to just kind of float around - there were two instances when people offered for me to just go along with them on their travels, and I would have loved to have done it, but knew I couldn't. Instead, I just made the most of what I had.

A lot of fantastic things happened. I felt freedom, real freedom, for the first time. I learned why backpackers and travelers become smarter, better people. I suddenly realized I understood my sister, a world traveler for years, a lot better. I chased the experiences that might make me feel worthy of getting older.

Now I'm just trying to grapple with the headache I'm getting thinking about this being my last night in this little nook of a library, writing to all of you on this blog. My trip back from the airport took me past the best sights in the city, and all that nostalgia I was hinting at last week became less of a hint and more of a smack in the face from a guy with a ring on. I am overwhelmed with the amount of familiarity I have with a place I had never dreamed of seeing only a year or so ago.

Tonight, I've also had to systematically say goodbye to everyone in the Jančařík family, which has brought tears to my eyes (and will likely bring many more once I get home tomorrow). It was hugs for Vaclav (after we set off the fireworks he bought to honor the occasion) and for Jonas (who skipped a day of a class field trip to be here and see me again. Then a final "dobrou noc" to Zuzana, who reminded me to take some cake if I got hungry. And then another handshake from Tomas. Hugging is an American thing I think. But everyone deserved them.

I have never, ever, met any people so giving, so friendly, so welcoming, so selfless, and so wonderful as the four members of this family. For the past four months, I've done nothing but eat their food, use their electricity and water, and not clean my room well enough. In return, I've been given fantastic conversation, wonderful trips all around this beautiful country, and my own true family across the ocean from the one I grew up with. I owe most everything I've done, learned, and experienced to them.

For a while now, I've been planning some final posts that might serve as a good way to sum up the whole trip, but I think I'll do those from Northbrook tomorrow night, when I'm sure I'll be in a terribly Czech-sick mood and will want to write about such things and drink copious Czech beer.

Feeling even more at home

I find it amazing how quickly I can switch "modes" back into the way I am and always have been back in LA. I mentioned how in the next two weeks, I have a moderately large amount of work to get done, and the pile just keeps getting bigger. With that comes me feeling myself beginning to time-manage my days again, planning out exactly what I need to get done and how I'm going to do it.

To that extent, I knew I had a lot of class today (I always do, but my last class was a double today, so we weren't going to finish until 10pm), so after waking up at 9am for my Art and Architecture tour, I decided that twelve hours of class just didn't seem right and I went back to sleep until Czech class.

I think I should take a moment to write a bit of an ode to my Czech class, probably my most enjoyable class here. There's just such a fantastically colorful combination of people in the class that every day is nothing but a fantastic time. If someone's not saying something hilarious ("statistics don't exist") or doing something ridiculous (like falling out of a chair...and taking the table with), then at least I always have Stephanie right next to me to make delightfully malicious fun of other people ("ohhhhh, MO!" but seriously she's going to get a shoe thrown at her one day).

Take today, for example. We're all putting together these presentations to help the class review for our final next week, so each of us is in pairs and we're leading the class in a game to review our grammar and vocab. Today, my friend Steve, a quiet but goofy guy from Colorado with a soft side I discovered one day as we sat by a lake and talked about fishing, and Katherine, an incredibly friendly and cultured art major who's a chain smoker and always looks well dressed even in pajamas, led the class in Czech Fear Factor. Get a question wrong, and eat some funky Czech spreadable meat. We laughed so much, I really don't even remember what part of the language we were supposed to be reviewing.

Rest of the day was relatively uneventful. Watched a Hungarian film in my last class called The Red and the White, and I actually stayed awake...because I had taken a half hour nap while he was talking about something else.

I'm hoping that when I go home I can retain at least some of the carefree spirit I've had here. My life needs more trips to the park with a book (and MacArthur park is right up the road from us, too). That said, tomorrow I have class, followed by FedEx drama, then project finishing, perhaps paper beginning, and then certainly Brave New World finishing, and packing. I'm going to Berlin this weekend!

Weekend, revisited

Today's been a standard Monday, so I thought I'd take a moment to elaborate on the weekend a bit before I head off to the concert.

So an old friend of Dan's, who I know too, was coming to visit this weekend, and one of her good friends, who we know too (Nicole, her blog is a link on the right), decided to surprise her with a visit (confused yet?). So Friday we all went to dinner and hung out at a bar, and I managed to see some old friends from the play too, which was fun.

Saturday I told you about, with its castles and monasteries, and the evening was a series of good decisions for me. Had dinner with Dan and our friend Nicole and Dan's friend Eric (who I just met, it's a long story), then watched the Bulls game at Dan's and then a bar. Afterwards, we were debating where to go - with Katie (from USC) in town, I wanted to find her at a club across town, but they wanted to go around the corner to Lucerna. I was set on finding Katie, until I realized something. This was the last weekend I'd have in Prague with Dan! In fact, it was the last weekend we'd spend together for an indefinite period. With that nostalgia weighing heavily on me, I went to Lucerna and had an unexpectedly fantastic time chatting with some Austrian girls who I'm going to see again this weekend in Berlin.

The tram ride home that night was quite eventful too. First, I had to sprint about half a Km to catch it (that's the second time this week. I'm hoping not to make it a habit...). Then, once I got on with my smaženy syr (fried cheese sandwich), a drunken Czech man started to speak to me in Czech, and I actually understood enough of what he was saying to realize that he was absolutely hilarious (especially when he started to hit on a girl from my program).

That settled down once he lost interest, and as I finally found room to sit down, a couple stumbled onto the train, and the girl literally fell over. My incredibly charming self couldn't help but ask her if she was ok, and she laughed and said she was fine. Then the guy next to her who she hadn't come on with, a man in his late forties wearing slacks, a sweater, a collared shirt, and...earplugs..., asked (in perfect English) if I was American. I am, are you? No, I'm Czech, but I'd like to practice my English, if that's alright (ok, so he had a Czech accent). Of course it's alright. So what do you think (he took out his earplugs now) of the US radar base in the Czech Republic? Yep, I discussed politics with an entire Czech tram all the way home. (The base is crap, by the way)

So I slept well on Saturday night. Sunday you pretty much know about, and it was so nice to spend some time with Katie, who very kindly told me that seeing me made her trip for her. What an awesome lady, with great friends too.

This weekend was the first time in over a month that I've had the chance to really just be in Prague, without any kind of rehearsals to attend or trips to think about. And it made me realize something (I might start an entire new blog called "Evan's realizations" because I think I already have enough content for it. But that was not the realization). I am in love with this city. It's not like a "I loved studying here" or "I had a great semester here" or "This place is so pretty" or "I want to visit again" (all of those are true, but after a while you kinda become desensitized to how awesome the place is in those senses). It's more of a "this city owns a part of me" kind of thing. I want to live here again, not just in a college-student-studying-abroad-wishes-he-could-just-party-constantly way. And I could live here, really live and work. I don't feel like that about anywhere but Chicago.

Which is why I'm not going to Munich this weekend. I don't need Munich, and I can always go back. In my last few weeks here, I just want to be here as much as I can. So I will!

Catalyst

I have been terrible to you, and I am sorry. No posts for a week?? I know, but there's a good reason I think...this blog has always been a kind of safety net for me, a way to bring my head back to home and have something comfortable. With my parents here, I guess I don't need it as much.

Spending time with my parents for the past week has been really great. They don't want me to go into detail about anything having to do with them (guess everyone's scared of the media these days), so I'll keep it pretty vague...but I told you last time about how great it's been to use their visit as a tool to reflect on my time here, and that has proven itself very true.

So what did I come up with? A bunch of things. Tuesday night, they came here and I had my second incredible experience of someone from home meeting the Jančařik family. Mom and Dad did their best to talk slow enough for everyone to understand, and once we got a few drinks in us (and then a few more. And a few more. And oh what the hell how bout a few more) things loosened up quite nicely. Mom said something that's stuck with me: she told Tomas and Zuzana that I had really learned patience since I've been here. I wouldn't say I've learned it so much as it kind of found me. There hasn't been a time this entire semester where I've felt impatient about anything, but then, there hasn't been anything to feel impatient about - no rushing, no appointments, nothing to make me wish things were going faster. Plus, when you have to speak slower to make sure you're understood (and when you talk as much as I do), you don't have much of a choice. All the same, I hope that's something I can take back with me.

Wednesday night Mom and Dad took everyone out to dinner, and it was another really nice night. But I'd like to talk a bit about Thursday, a great night with my dad. I think I spoke a bit about a famous Czech band called the Plastic People of the Universe, leaders of the Czech Underground culture during the Communist era. One of my classes had a field trip to see them play on Thursday night, and I invited my parents to come with me, not expecting them to come along. Mom wasn't too interested...but Dad was all about it!

So we went! I introduced him to all the usual suspects, including my teacher ("I can't believe you'd be interested in seeing the Plastic People!!" she screamed. What can I say, Dad's kinda cool). We walked into the venue, drinks in hand, and headed towards the seats in the back of the place, away from the rest of my friends. The band was really outstanding, especially once they got going (Dad wore earplugs. What can I say, he's really cool). The whole night was a tribute to their Underground colleague and frequent source of inspiration, Egon Bondy, who died last Monday.

Friday was the big drive to Budapest, followed by an excellent weekend of fantastic walks around a really nice city (not quite as nice as Prague or Amsterdam, but worth a visit all the same) in summer weather. Dad and I won some cash at the casino next to our hotel, we saw every Jewish-related site there was in the city, and we ate one of the greatest meals I've ever had (contemporary Hungarian food - I had fois gras (I know they're mean to the geese when they make it, but I had to try it. And DAMN that shit's good), Goose breast in a gingerbread sauce, 2 glasses of Hungarian wine, and a shot of Hungarian Peach liquor). Pictures soon (from Amsterdam too).

You know, maybe it's the seemingly constant words of encouragement that I get form my parents, but the whole visit was just really reassuring. They actually like my hair (WHAA??), and they really like spending time with me and seeing what I've been learning and living for these past three months. It gave me a sense of peace and confidence I don't think I've ever felt before, like it justified everything somehow. Of course I don't need that kind of justification for things, but you gotta admit it's damn nice when you can get it.

Especially when you've only got one more month left in a place you've grown to love so much. I feel like I've started something here, a kind of new life, and it's going to get cut off right when it's about to find its stride. Then it's back to the land of impatience, to-do lists, less reading for pleasure, and more bike riding to class. They say the culture shock going back home is worse than the culture shock getting abroad. I can see why, and I'm not looking forward to it. (Though I am excited to see everyone at home again).

Time to wrap this up...this week is not nearly as eventful, so you'll probably hear from me more often. I've been posting really vaguely for a while, which makes this really uninteresting, so I'll do better this week! (though this blog had a record number of hits last week, 115 on Wednesday alone! If you're reading on Facebook, you really should just take a peek at what these posts look like on evaninprague.blogspot.com) It's scary, but I can actually visualize the end now: next weekend I'll be here in Prague again (I need the rest...badly) followed by a weekend in Berlin and Munich (Vaclav is trying to get 2 free nights at his hotel's branch in Munich so we can go together...two free nights in a 5-star hotel? Eh, ok). Then it's back in Prague, finals, Croatia, and LA for the summer already.

Where does the time go?

The moral of the story

NOTE: This is part 2 of my adventures this weekend. It won't make sense unless you read this first.

I can travel alone. In fact, in some ways I prefer it. Those several hours by myself were really great, and I had no problem finding things to do and places to explore. Albeit, it was really nice to see a familiar face when I spotted my friend Kara, and I was happy once everyone got there. But unlike them, I really had something to hang my hat on about the day. This is a good thing to realize, considering I'm more than likely going to be spending five days wandering Croatia alone.

It reminds me of something Kristen (the girl me and Dan stayed with in Switzerland) told us about traveling alone (which she's currently doing for two months). I asked her what it was like and she responded with, "it's actually hard to be alone sometimes." Which I took to mean she got lonely. But she really meant it was hard to find herself physically alone. Wherever she went, she started talking to people and made new friends (like me and Dan) and as a result, she hadn't really had any time to herself the entire time she'd been traveling "alone."

It was really great to spend time with some people from my program, something I feel like I haven't done enough in these past two months of rehearsals and performances. It's just so easy to call up Dan. But it's good to know I have other options - it reminds me that it's not as if I've failed in making friends while I've been here. When I was in a bind, I got help. If that's not friendship, I don't know what is.

Enough with the sentimentals. This week should be fun - Josh and Marty (Dan's friends from Michigan and mine from high school and other places...it's complicated) arrive on Wednesday, and on Friday morning (eeaaaarrrly) we all leave for Amsterdam. And tomorrow is a HUGE day for sports - sure, the NCAA basketball championship, but the opening day of baseball! Cmon, what's more important?

PS - Happy (belated) birthday, Jason!

It's still light outside

Spring has most certainly sprung now, since the clocks changed. I'm completely thrown off by how late the sun is out! It makes me feel guilty for being at home, inside. I'm going to start carrying a book around with me so I can always stop in a park and do some reading whenever I find myself with nothing to do (I'm trying to read more books. I feel like I don't have time to read for pleasure at home).

Which is exactly what happened today. Class ended at five and the sun was still bright in the sky, so I took a walk around the Vysehrad area and found myself gazing, once again, over this fantastic city. I love how familiar the skyline looks now - between my Art and Architecture of Prague class and my own sightseeing, I've managed to get at least a little background on almost all of the most prominent buildings. That familiarity that was missing at the beginning of this trip? Well, when I got off the plane yesterday and took the bus back into the city, I suddenly felt at home, relieved to be not understanding Czech again (as opposed to not understanding French and German). Guess I'm familiar now.

Another sign of this: Zuzana's cooking dinner right now, and told me we'd make garlic mashed potatoes again, like last time. I said "but Tomas didn't like them!" And she replied "he'll have the plain ones, we'll have the garlic" and smiled in that sneaky way mothers do that seems to say ain't he boring?? Familiarity and family. And I'm thousands of miles from home. (Or am I? Oh now I'm going back to a very old argument of mine...)

The warmer weather reminds me even more of home, as in Northbrook home. I'm remembering how much I always loved that first day of warm weather in high school, the first day when you could take off your jacket on your way to your car and leave the windows open while you drove home, music loud, drumming on the steering wheel. And around Vysehrad today, there was a smell of a grill coming from a restaurant that to me could only mean Memorial Day or July 4th.

I love this time of year, if you can't tell, and I'm excited to spend it here. This weekend I'm traveling with my program to southern Bohemia, a town (and UNESCO World Heritage site) called česky Krumlov. The next weekend, Dan and I hit Amsterdam. And then, before I know it, my parents are visiting and we're driving to Budapest. With less than two months remaining here, I'm just excited to let it all happen!

Prague Spring Fever

Show went well again last night, save for a hilarious moment when Dan and I almost cracked up on stage. Jonas was in attendance, as were another few people from my program, and they all enjoyed themselves thoroughly. I'm having a lot of fun performing again! Maybe I should be an actor...

Anyhow, today has been a fine day, punctuated by a dinner courtesy of the University of Southern California. The adviser from the USC abroad office is here until Wednesday, and he took all the USC kids out for dinner. He's a great guy - getting a masters in PoliSci, and in the meantime gets to take all-expenses-paid trips to Prague (and Poland). I knew I liked him the minute I met him. While advisers from other schools were all in their suits, ties, and dark colors, this guy is wearing khakis and a powder blue button down, looking like LA incarnate (plus he's Filipino...and everyone in Prague is white). He could have gone to dinner with his colleagues but, in his words, "I was like, I'm....gonna go out with my kids!" Drinking on USC's tab is always fine with me! (and we got a FIVE seed??? Fight on!)

It made me realize something (oh, here he goes again. yeah, eat me.) that I've learned by being abroad, and by turning 21. I suddenly feel much more experienced. Where I've always felt a sort of gap between myself and anyone I spoke with who was older than me (like I should be almost reverent), I now feel a bit more qualified to identify with them. I don't feel so young. It's nice. And scary.

Today I should finish the book I've been reading since I got here, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It's a new favorite of mine, and as with all books I like, I find myself wishing it was longer because I feel like it's come to sort of define this moment. My voice in this blog has certainly been influenced by it (if you can't tell, click the link above and read the first page. You'll get what I mean). So I almost feel like there's going to be a change in my general feeling soon.

And I'm not the only one feeling that way. I think it's the weather - in the 60s for the rest of the week. It's springtime in Prague, and it's almost the halfway point of our little journey here. I see those couples who've been together since the beginning (in secret, of course, never officially together because that would close off options and being in your 20s is all about keeping options open. Which is why no one can ever decide what club to go to), they suddenly start to look all too familiar with each other, like it might turn into a "real" relationship. And friends are beginning to settle even more, people moving into a new phase of confidence in their Prague identities. I certainly am.

Change is always good.

Time to study for my midterm.

Tech rehearsals suck

...in any language, in any country. Especially when the tech crew has to take cues in a language they don't understand.

Saturday I really didn't do much except sleep and go to dress rehearsal. I stopped by a party some of the folks in my program were throwing, an "Američanka Party." For the little bit I was there, I had an awesome time. And I think the fact that a few of the people in my program couldn't help but throw an American-style frat party out of their apartment in the middle of Prague probably tells you something...that said, they really are very nice people.

Sunday was similarly lazy - went to The Globe cafe in the city to read Tom Stoppard's new play Rock 'n' Roll which is playing now at the National Theatre, and is about the underground rock scene in Prague during communism. Tom Stoppard is Czech - that was news to me!

I'm beginning to finalize my plans to return home for the summer. And I'm starting to submit my resume for internships and the like. Looks like I'll have five days to travel once I'm done here, and my sights are set on Croatia - said to be the most beautiful place in Europe, but a place I probably wouldn't go otherwise. I've been realizing lately that I really wish I could study here for longer. It's nice to be here for four months, but I'm still so focused on getting back home and setting things up for myself there. If I had been here a year, I could have really detached myself from home.

That's not to say I'm not completely exuberantly overjoyed with my experience here thus far. As I was saying to JC in a recent Facebook message, it's incredible how clear my mind is from being here and having some time to just kinda...do anything...and nothing. It's allowed me to kinda re-look at a lot of the things I've done and a lot of the things I'm trying to do. And something awesome happened - I was really happy with what I saw.

Ah, I got really sentimental there for a moment!

Anyhow, the show goes up this weekend and I'm excited to perform, AND to get it out of the way (though rehearsals have gotten much better thanks to my and Dan's ability to hang out with our incredibly attractive costume designer). I hope people see it.

Tomorrow is class and rehearsal. Sounds like high school all over again...

Self-meditation, all the time

Thursday was yet another beautiful day here. It's beginning to feel like spring already, complete with some girls venturing to wear flip-flops again. That's probably sounds insane to those of you in the Midwest right now.

So my producing class was, as always, ridiculously awesome, and the Contemporary Culture class that followed was just as good. Afterwards, I bought my ticket to Sperm Festival, which I'll be attending with Paige and Maggie, and maybe even all those people from dinner the other night. It should be a ridiculous evening.

Spent some time at the Museum of Communism, too, which I was supposed to do with my friend Mona, but couldn't get a hold of her. The place is pretty interesting, famously located above a McDonald's and next to a casino and started by an American business man who thought he could make a buck off the idea. They have some neat artifacts there, and I learned some interesting things. Like, for instance, since groceries were hard to find (to say the least), when stores got shipments the workers would save some items for people who they knew would pay them more. Butchers started to trade their meat, which they received once a month, for other goods, so a kind of barter economy was born. On top of that, something I thought was really strange was the Czech system for foreign currency during communism. Foreign money couldn't be exchanged for Korunas (Czech currency), only for a new currency (the name escapes me now...). This new currency was actually worth EIGHT TIMES as much as normal currency - so women would whore themselves out to Germans or Americans, take their foreign money and exchange it, then sell their exchanged money on the black market at an 8x profit.

On my way out, I bought a postcard and a red candle in the shape of Lenin's head. Such kitsch!

Speaking of things that are more valuable because they're tough to find, I got this email from my mother yesterday:

"So-Dad doesn't want me to tell you this-but- I got a Wii !!!!!!...as we speak, Dad is connecting it up downstairs. Will let you know how it goes!"

Jealousy ensues!

I also had the chance this week to start looking at classes for summer school, and was slightly enraged to find out that one class I have to take starts May 16, only four days after this program ends. So it looks like I'll be coming home much earlier than expected, and won't get the chance to travel much, if at all, after the program ends. It's kinda made me feel foolish for being in this play, since I probably won't get the chance to see everything I wanted to, but at the same time I think I've managed to organize all my remaining free weekends well enough that I'll get to see a bunch. I think things are really going to change once I can travel more; right now, after the play I've scheduled trips four weekends in a row, and I don't plan on leaving it at that.

Today has been relaxing, as all days have been lately. Czech class, followed by lunch at a place I've been meaning to find for a month - an American-owned, Chipotle-style burrito restaurant. Wow. I didn't realize how much I missed Mexican food. I took my time, savoring the burrito, spanish rice, and refried beans while reading this week's Prague Post (really, a great, intellectually written newspaper).

I think this week has been a time for me to really see why I'm in Europe for a semester. Of course I'm experiencing another culture, and that's one huge part of this whole deal. But in talking to some of those people at dinner on Wednesday, I was realizing how nice it would be to be able to spend a year here - long enough to not have to worry about what happens when you get home, to really disconnect. (I'm doing fairly well in that respect, I think, but all the same...)

Anyhow, I had intended to make this semester my time to try to relax for once in my life and see what happens. I kinda talked about this already this week, so I'll suffice it to say for now that my nights out with people from my program (which are fun-filled and more frequent lately, at Scott's shrewd suggestion) and my large amount of free time for reading, thinking, listening to music, looking at Centuries-old sites, museum browsing, and talking to my constantly interesting host family...they've all combined to start giving me a much better sense of...stuff, to be exact. So there you have it.

I'm gonna try to find a decent torrent of this week's LOST episode. Then I have a pillow fight to attend to.

Goodnight

Just thought I should say hello before I check out for the evening. It was a nice day, despite the newly foggy weather, the end of which was filled with some interesting introspection.

JC and I have been talking for the past day or so about the wonders of svičkova (the lunch I had yesterday...and today). Don't worry, I've already been promised a recipe (there is no definitive version), so it will be made at home! The first step of Zuzana's version involves wrapping the meat in bacon and cooking it for a bit, then cooking the meat with vinegar and vegetables for about 5 hours....mouth is watering currently...

Had class this morning, followed by homework I had forgotten, more class, then four hours of rehearsal that actually went by quite quickly, for once. I'm starting to mess around with new bits and stuff, and it's always fun to make people laugh.

The highlight of my day has been the evening though. For those who don't know, I love public transportation, and taking it home was yet another chance for me to spend some time with myself, something I really don't get the time to do when I'm in LA. It's nice to have that kind of self-reflection.

Got home and was happy I had made the decision not to go out again tonight (just seemed kinda worthless to go pretend I'm better friends with these people than I actually am...I feel like I barely spend time with anyone on my program now, with Dan being here and us being in the play. Oh well). Instead, I ate leftover svičkova and had a nice long conversation with Tomas and Zuzana while we polished off about a bottle of wine (they were proud to point out that it's even legal in the US for me now...yes I will talk about that in every post from now on, thank you very much).

Also booked the return flight from Budapest for the weekend my parents are here (I'll be driving there with them). I love booking trips...can't wait to nail down spring break. It's strange - I find myself constantly waiting for the next thing to happen here, anticipating my next adventure and hoping it comes soon. This blog has certainly been fueling that to some extent (seriously, I narrate my life in my head now. I'm narrating this to myself right now (WHOA!)), and I don't mind it. It keeps me making the most of my time here, I think.

Tomorrow I have one class and then I have to do some shopping, since I'm getting tired of my limited wardrobe (I underpacked, as suggested, which was good, but it's time to mix it up a bit). Who knows what adventures the day might hold. I'll tell you all about it.