Swans, Strangers and Sniffles

After returning from Vienna, I had a lovely weekend settling in to life in Prague.

I spent most of the day Friday either at Ikea or at home, and got my room all set up. My roommate and I had a really nice time shopping together, and we're both happy with the results. I'm so relieved that everything is working out so far with my flat. My flatmates are also very nice, and have been welcoming and happy to help me with my Czech and to practice their English with me. One of them is bringing Czech films from home so we can have a culture weekend. There are six of us, but often only 2-4 at home at one time, and so far there haven't been any issues with the bathroom or kitchen. Fingers crossed that things continue to go well!

Before

After

On Saturday I headed to the river, which is about a two minute walk from my flat, and walked around the Farmers' Market. I bought myself a rosemary plant and a slice of baklava, and enjoyed people-watching and swan-watching for awhile. It also gave me a chance to just sit in the sun and read a book, which is always a great weekend activity. 

Swans on the Vltava

Farmer's Market

On Sunday my roommate and I headed to Petrin Hill, which I first read about years ago in The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Not only did it become my favorite novel, but it also was my first inspiration to someday come to Prague. I was thrilled to be going to a location which featured heavily in the book, and I was not disappointed. We took the funicular up the hill, and at the top we discovered beautiful rose gardens, lovely old buildings, a mini-Eiffel Tower, as well as walking paths and grassy areas to rest in. We found a spot where she could slack line while I read a book. While there, two Egyptians and two Germans happened to come by and we all got to talking about religion, politics, and life. The Egyptians shared their bananas with us, and we all sat around passing the time with great, spontaneous conversation. The Germans left, but we ended up walking down to town with the Egyptians (on the way I rolled my ankle and scraped my knee, which has resulted in a pretty ugly bruise, but no real damage). We grabbed dinner at an Italian restaurant near our flat and continued our deep conversations. It was one of those encounters that makes me sure that I am on the right path, making travel a priority in my life. I was so happy to be debating morals, belief systems, history, logic, and political revolution with strangers. I am so happy to have met them, and to have had the time to give to the conversations we had. 

The Rose Garden at Petrin Hill

My roommate doing slack line - she's so much cooler than me, haha : )

Unfortunately, by Monday, my allergies and asthma problems, which have been bothering me slightly for several weeks now, turned into what seems to be a full-blown cold. I feel like my head is full of fuzz, and I am constantly embarrassed by my violent coughing fits in public. As a result, after my first class on Tuesday, I thoroughly dusted my room, washed the windows, and made a homemade neti pot with saltwater and a ziploc bag (it works!). Luckily, several of my classes have been canceled this week, which has given me more time to rest, so I think I'm on the mend...I hope! That could just be the Theraflu talking, which I found in with my tea, leftover from my bouts of colds in Korea. I've heard pharmacies here need prescriptions for just about everything, so I was relieved to discover it.

Boats on the Vltava at sunset

Swans on the Vltava at sunset

My classes so far seem manageable, so I've decided to take 8 classes for 48 credits. I decided not to look for work until the spring when my visa is all sorted out, so I have a lot of time to study this term. I'd like to finish in a year and a half if possible, so hopefully it will work out fine. My impression so far has been that US schools are more rigorous and have higher expectations, so I'm maybe better prepared for the course expectations than my European peers (based on what other students and some professors have said). Of my 8 classes, though, only 3 have actually met this week, so I'll have to wait two weeks to get a better idea of what they will all be like. All of my classes are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, except one (which will only meet 4 times in the semester, and always on Friday mornings). I don't know why I'm giving so much detail...so I'll stop.

For now, I'm trying to focus on getting well, getting paperwork taken care of, and getting started on the readings for my classes. I'm looking forward to sitting by the river for the Farmer's Market tomorrow (it's every Thurs and Sat) and reading about counter-terrorism. And yes, really, I am so excited : )