Hello family!
I have got a great new lead on a flat that's actually pretty close to my school! I talked to the guy today and he's going to try to show me around tomorrow afternoon!! I was going to go to a showing of "Chocolat" tomorrow at this movie theatre that's on an island in the middle of the river, but I think I will forgo that so that I can have a place to live. :-) It's fully furnished, has a washing machine, is right on a tram line, and is only about $170/month, including utilities. No phone, but with the money I'd be saving, I think I will just get a cell phone and fuck the cost.
It's with a guy named Phil, who sounds Australian, works in a restaurant on the weekends and teaches during the week. He said he'd try to help me figure out a cell phone, and how to use the tram. He swore several times during our conversation, which I take to be a sign of Australian rough-and-readiness. :-) And he asked me if I was crazy, a heroin addict, or a serial killer. Very funny. So I asked him if he was an axe murderer, and he said, "Oh fuck yeah! I've got a couple axes and we can go chop up the neighborhood together!" It was most amusing. :-) He said he's only had one other call about the apartment, and it was a guy who had several things against him (mostly it was because he doesn't like living with guys), so I was the only candidate, and he'd love to show it to me tomorrow or Monday evening at the latest, and it's available immediately. So, needless to say, if it's acceptable, I will be moving in. :-) The girls who lived there before took the curtains with them for some reason, so I will have to buy new ones, but I think that won't be too much of a problem.
I can't wait to get out of my hostel! Last night I could not sleep hardly at all! I was just starting to doze at 4:30am, and then it started getting light outside!!! And then people started moving around in the hostel, and with the noise and the light it was impossible to sleep. So, first I tried just using my sleep mask for a couple hours, but that was useless because it was so noisy. Eventually, I found my ear plugs and with them and the mask, I was able to sleep a few hours. Good grief! And I have to meet with my schoolmates tonight, so I could have used the sleep. Argh!
Anyway, I'm going to run and get some late lunch. I just thought you'd all like to know about this new apartment development. :-) I'll let you know how it goes after tomorrow! Bye!
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Friday, July 18, 2003
Dinner and a show
Hello everyone!
Just a nightcap of an email before I drag myself back to my hostel. :-)
Well, today was a very good day. Finally! I left the internet cafe and made my way down this great street to the vegetarian eatery I mentioned earlier, to look for flat listings. I found several interesting ones, so that was a success. Along the way, I discovered a grocery store, much to my delight. I had a look around, and was interested to see that they carried several American brands of products. For example, Smucker's jams, Heinz Ketchup, etc. Of course, the American brands were twice as expensive as the Czech ones, despite the fact that they were about the same or even cheaper than at home. I didn't buy anything, but I think I'll go there tomorrow. Just a stone's throw from that store was one specializing in fruit! Their window displays were filled with the most luscious looking berries and peaches, and even tomatoes! I went in to have a look and was not suprised to see that strawberries were over $9/gram or whatever unit of measurement they were using-I can't remember! But, they looked great! Smelled good, too. But, too too expensive for this chick, so I moved on.
I spent quite awhile in the vegetarian place enjoying a delicious lunch of roasted potatoes and leeks fricassee. It actually ended up that I didn't have enough time to make it to the English bookstore, so I will have to do that tomorrow. In the end, I decided that I wanted to go to the movie more, so I went! What an experience!
At first, I couldn't even find it. It was on one of the busiest streets in all of Prague and I kept searching for the address, but no place was displaying their address in plain view. Eventually, I found the address, but it was for this sort of entry into a long alley of different shops. I wasn't sure if I would be there, but I walked down this alley, and thankfully, it was right there at the very end. So, I paid about $3.50 to see "Frida". It was down in the basement in what the man told me was the "big" hall. Hah! Um, this place was about as big as one of the rooms at the Cobblestone-and those are about the size of a private viewing room in some guy's mansion. And the chairs were like ones in a dentist's waiting room! Oh, and when you paid, you got to pick your seat location from a picture on a computer screen behind the counter. I chose row 3, seat 8, and then the guy printed up my ticket. Imagine the horror of just letting people find their own damn seats! Can you picture the chaos?! ;-) Very interesting... And, of course, no refreshments of any kind, although there was a bar, but it wasn't open. I saw where they were showing Casablanca and it was like your own little room because it's just on DVD. So, I don't think I'll be going back for that. :-) There are much larger movie houses here, so I think I'll try one of those out.
After the movie, I walked out into the twilight a little dazed to find myself in the middle of this busy and quite beautiful street. At the far end was an enormous building, the National Museum. And all around me were ornately decorated, quite colorful buildings, with facades that looked like wedding cakes. And this is the *norm*!!! Everywhere I turn, I see these buildings and I'm reminded of why I chose to come here. I stood outside the theatre for a bit, just soaking in the scene around me, looking down to the theatre building, and at the people strolling by. For the first time it hit me that *I live here*. I'm not just a tourist. For the first time I actually felt LUCKY to be here, to be doing this.
To be frank, I'm scared shitless to be here at all, but maybe it will actually work out. Tonight I had my first glimmer of hope. :-)
Anyway, enough sentimentalizing... I just ate a so-so dinner at a local pizzeria, and I'm eager to limp back to my rock-hard bed. :-) I'll let you know how dinner goes tomorrow night with my new comrades. Goodnight!!
Just a nightcap of an email before I drag myself back to my hostel. :-)
Well, today was a very good day. Finally! I left the internet cafe and made my way down this great street to the vegetarian eatery I mentioned earlier, to look for flat listings. I found several interesting ones, so that was a success. Along the way, I discovered a grocery store, much to my delight. I had a look around, and was interested to see that they carried several American brands of products. For example, Smucker's jams, Heinz Ketchup, etc. Of course, the American brands were twice as expensive as the Czech ones, despite the fact that they were about the same or even cheaper than at home. I didn't buy anything, but I think I'll go there tomorrow. Just a stone's throw from that store was one specializing in fruit! Their window displays were filled with the most luscious looking berries and peaches, and even tomatoes! I went in to have a look and was not suprised to see that strawberries were over $9/gram or whatever unit of measurement they were using-I can't remember! But, they looked great! Smelled good, too. But, too too expensive for this chick, so I moved on.
I spent quite awhile in the vegetarian place enjoying a delicious lunch of roasted potatoes and leeks fricassee. It actually ended up that I didn't have enough time to make it to the English bookstore, so I will have to do that tomorrow. In the end, I decided that I wanted to go to the movie more, so I went! What an experience!
At first, I couldn't even find it. It was on one of the busiest streets in all of Prague and I kept searching for the address, but no place was displaying their address in plain view. Eventually, I found the address, but it was for this sort of entry into a long alley of different shops. I wasn't sure if I would be there, but I walked down this alley, and thankfully, it was right there at the very end. So, I paid about $3.50 to see "Frida". It was down in the basement in what the man told me was the "big" hall. Hah! Um, this place was about as big as one of the rooms at the Cobblestone-and those are about the size of a private viewing room in some guy's mansion. And the chairs were like ones in a dentist's waiting room! Oh, and when you paid, you got to pick your seat location from a picture on a computer screen behind the counter. I chose row 3, seat 8, and then the guy printed up my ticket. Imagine the horror of just letting people find their own damn seats! Can you picture the chaos?! ;-) Very interesting... And, of course, no refreshments of any kind, although there was a bar, but it wasn't open. I saw where they were showing Casablanca and it was like your own little room because it's just on DVD. So, I don't think I'll be going back for that. :-) There are much larger movie houses here, so I think I'll try one of those out.
After the movie, I walked out into the twilight a little dazed to find myself in the middle of this busy and quite beautiful street. At the far end was an enormous building, the National Museum. And all around me were ornately decorated, quite colorful buildings, with facades that looked like wedding cakes. And this is the *norm*!!! Everywhere I turn, I see these buildings and I'm reminded of why I chose to come here. I stood outside the theatre for a bit, just soaking in the scene around me, looking down to the theatre building, and at the people strolling by. For the first time it hit me that *I live here*. I'm not just a tourist. For the first time I actually felt LUCKY to be here, to be doing this.
To be frank, I'm scared shitless to be here at all, but maybe it will actually work out. Tonight I had my first glimmer of hope. :-)
Anyway, enough sentimentalizing... I just ate a so-so dinner at a local pizzeria, and I'm eager to limp back to my rock-hard bed. :-) I'll let you know how dinner goes tomorrow night with my new comrades. Goodnight!!
Dancing Lucinda (dedicated to all the Nadas fans!)
Hello everyone!
I'm going to be checking my email at least a couple of times a day for the next week or so, until things get going with school. So, expect some frequent emails as I struggle to get used to things for a bit. :-)
Anyway, yesterday I just about had a breakdown. I got to my hostel and it was, let us say, not exactly what I had expected. It's in an OK neighborhood, but it's a little run down. As soon as I saw it, I decided that I would be having a private room, and damn the cost. But, as it turns out, the price they quoted me for a private was about $18, quite a bit less than the $34 I would have had to pay if I had booked a private online.
It's sort of like living in a dorm again, but with both boys and girls on the same floor. I have to walk all the way to the other end of the hallway in order to use the bathroom, and the showers definitely leave something to be desired, and little to the imagination. My bed is exactly as comfortable as sleeping on the floor-there is no give in it at all. But, it does come with a feather pillow and a down comforter, which I actually slept on top of, trying to give the bed a little cushioning, to no avail. I have one very large window, with a view of some buildings that is not so bad. Lots of wardrobe space, but no hangers. I get breakfast for free every day, but I didn't go down this morning. I can only assume it will be a stale bun and some water, from the look of things around here.
As for the apartment meeting I had lined up...well, that's down the toilet. I checked my email yesterday only to find that the guy I was meeting gave the apartment away and the new person was moving in that evening. Story of my goddamned life. So, now I am on a mission to find a new place, and I guess it will be Casa de la Rock-Hard-Bed until then.
Speaking of my Casa, it is at least a 15 minute walk to the nearest metro-a bit further than had been advertised. But, that's along a very busy street, so if I have to come home in the dark, I'll be totally fine. Of course, last night I was on my way home and it started to rain. And yours truly had left my motherfucking umbrella in the goddamned hostel. Of COURSE. So, I tried to walk right along the buildings as I scurried home, but eventually I gave in to the inevitable and cursed each squelching step back to my hostel. Let me tell you, it was the last thing I needed after such a long and exhausting first day--but I should have expected nothing less with my horrible luck. Please feel sorry for me, because *I* certainly do. :-)
I awoke this morning, bright-eyed and sore-backed, ready to go again. So, on the agenda for today, after a late rising, is to finish up email here, then walk god knows how far up this street where there is a vegetarian cafe that apparently has flat postings. I will eat there, hopefully find some leads on a place to live, and then I will get on the metro and go to the Globe bookstore, another English hangout that supposedly has flat listings. I'll peruse those, and the books, and then I will once again take the metro to Wenceslas Square, where I will dine at the Hotel Europa (or some other nice eatery) and then take in a showing of "Frida" at the Praha Theatre. After that, I will take the metro back in this direction and limp the 15 minutes back to my hotel, probably in the pouring rain-but I have my umbrella today!-and then I will end the evening studying up on my grammar and snacking on Snickers Bites (thanks Mom!), or possibly Godiva chocolates, as I hear there is a shop of theirs in the area where I will be dining.
Tomorrow I will be meeting up with my fellow students at a restaurant, so I'm very excited to finally talk to some people other than my new best friends at the bank. :-) Oh, and someone asked why I opened my account with only $10. Well, this is because if I put any more money in, it would be frozen until I get my new Visa Electron debit card in a week or so. By the way, my statements will be mailed to the house, Mom, so be expecting them. Since I don't have a permanent address here, I had no choice. Anyway, I don't intend to use that account very much at first; I just wanted to have it open ASAP in case I get a cell phone. But it looks like I won't now, unfortunately. Still the 10 hours I spent at the bank yesterday were certainly worth it. ;-)
OK, I need to stop stalling and get going on my plans, or I'll never make the movie! By the way, Dad, I think I've decided that I'm going to keep going to the movies every Sunday, if I can afford the money and the time. This Sunday I'm planning on going to a showing of "Casablanca" at the same theatre where they're showing "Frida" tonight. Of course, if I get there tonight and it's like $10 a throw, maybe I'll rethink my plan. :-) But after so many years of popcorn once a week, I'm not sure I'm able to give up my addiction. :-) Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes!
Take care everyone, and keep sending me emails! It makes me feel so much more relaxed about stuff, and connected to home. I'll talk to you soon!
I'm going to be checking my email at least a couple of times a day for the next week or so, until things get going with school. So, expect some frequent emails as I struggle to get used to things for a bit. :-)
Anyway, yesterday I just about had a breakdown. I got to my hostel and it was, let us say, not exactly what I had expected. It's in an OK neighborhood, but it's a little run down. As soon as I saw it, I decided that I would be having a private room, and damn the cost. But, as it turns out, the price they quoted me for a private was about $18, quite a bit less than the $34 I would have had to pay if I had booked a private online.
It's sort of like living in a dorm again, but with both boys and girls on the same floor. I have to walk all the way to the other end of the hallway in order to use the bathroom, and the showers definitely leave something to be desired, and little to the imagination. My bed is exactly as comfortable as sleeping on the floor-there is no give in it at all. But, it does come with a feather pillow and a down comforter, which I actually slept on top of, trying to give the bed a little cushioning, to no avail. I have one very large window, with a view of some buildings that is not so bad. Lots of wardrobe space, but no hangers. I get breakfast for free every day, but I didn't go down this morning. I can only assume it will be a stale bun and some water, from the look of things around here.
As for the apartment meeting I had lined up...well, that's down the toilet. I checked my email yesterday only to find that the guy I was meeting gave the apartment away and the new person was moving in that evening. Story of my goddamned life. So, now I am on a mission to find a new place, and I guess it will be Casa de la Rock-Hard-Bed until then.
Speaking of my Casa, it is at least a 15 minute walk to the nearest metro-a bit further than had been advertised. But, that's along a very busy street, so if I have to come home in the dark, I'll be totally fine. Of course, last night I was on my way home and it started to rain. And yours truly had left my motherfucking umbrella in the goddamned hostel. Of COURSE. So, I tried to walk right along the buildings as I scurried home, but eventually I gave in to the inevitable and cursed each squelching step back to my hostel. Let me tell you, it was the last thing I needed after such a long and exhausting first day--but I should have expected nothing less with my horrible luck. Please feel sorry for me, because *I* certainly do. :-)
I awoke this morning, bright-eyed and sore-backed, ready to go again. So, on the agenda for today, after a late rising, is to finish up email here, then walk god knows how far up this street where there is a vegetarian cafe that apparently has flat postings. I will eat there, hopefully find some leads on a place to live, and then I will get on the metro and go to the Globe bookstore, another English hangout that supposedly has flat listings. I'll peruse those, and the books, and then I will once again take the metro to Wenceslas Square, where I will dine at the Hotel Europa (or some other nice eatery) and then take in a showing of "Frida" at the Praha Theatre. After that, I will take the metro back in this direction and limp the 15 minutes back to my hotel, probably in the pouring rain-but I have my umbrella today!-and then I will end the evening studying up on my grammar and snacking on Snickers Bites (thanks Mom!), or possibly Godiva chocolates, as I hear there is a shop of theirs in the area where I will be dining.
Tomorrow I will be meeting up with my fellow students at a restaurant, so I'm very excited to finally talk to some people other than my new best friends at the bank. :-) Oh, and someone asked why I opened my account with only $10. Well, this is because if I put any more money in, it would be frozen until I get my new Visa Electron debit card in a week or so. By the way, my statements will be mailed to the house, Mom, so be expecting them. Since I don't have a permanent address here, I had no choice. Anyway, I don't intend to use that account very much at first; I just wanted to have it open ASAP in case I get a cell phone. But it looks like I won't now, unfortunately. Still the 10 hours I spent at the bank yesterday were certainly worth it. ;-)
OK, I need to stop stalling and get going on my plans, or I'll never make the movie! By the way, Dad, I think I've decided that I'm going to keep going to the movies every Sunday, if I can afford the money and the time. This Sunday I'm planning on going to a showing of "Casablanca" at the same theatre where they're showing "Frida" tonight. Of course, if I get there tonight and it's like $10 a throw, maybe I'll rethink my plan. :-) But after so many years of popcorn once a week, I'm not sure I'm able to give up my addiction. :-) Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes!
Take care everyone, and keep sending me emails! It makes me feel so much more relaxed about stuff, and connected to home. I'll talk to you soon!
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Hello from Prague!
Hello everyone!
Well, here is my first email from Prague....my god it feels like I left Des Moines about a month ago, even though I just got here this morning.
I almost didn't make it here at all. My flight to Minneapolis was 30 minutes late, so I had to run almost all the way to catch my plane to Amsterdam. I made it to the gate, huffing and puffing, and the guy told me I made it with *2* minutes to spare. Literally, they had already made two final announcements for the flight that I could hear as I was running along the endless corridors. It was horrible!!! I hate having to run for a plane!
But, I made it-that's the important thing. The bad news was that I was assigned to sit next to a Dutch woman and her two kids, a girl-maybe 3/4, and a boy-maybe 4/5. The girl was sitting right next to me, and she was constantly bumping against me, pounding on my leg, using me for a back rest and general plaything. All I wanted in the world was to be able to get some sleep, but this girl could not sit still for more than 2 minutes. And her brother spent half of the flight whacking her on the head or singing American songs ("Hey Baby"-the oldie) at the freaking top of his lungs, with no regard for what the words actually were, because hey-fuck it-I'm 5 years old and don't speak English and don't give a shit that I'm annoying every single person in the vicinity. Fuck all of you. By the time that flight was over, I had such a bad headache!! Even the mom was loud. She was in her mid-30s, with long hair extensions in purple, pink, and bright blond, all pulled up into a high ponytail. She kept egging them on and making them practice their English. It was a nightmare, the worst flight I have ever had.
Anyway, so I finally made it to Prague, and the taxi driver was there, as arranged by the school, despite the fact that my flight was late. Thank god, otherwise I don't know what I would have done!! He took me to my hostel, which is essentially a shambles, but oh well. It's in an OK neighborhood (quite posh in some bits), but it's run down on the inside. Once I saw the place, I opted to pay a little bit more for a private room. And it so happened that that rate was still about $20 less than what that booking service would have charged me for a private.
After collapsing on my bed for a bit, I braved the city and went out in search of several things: 1) A place to use the internet 2) A phone card to call my mom 3) A bank to open a Czech account in 4) A cell phone store, and 5) Food.
The good news is that there is an internet place essentially across the street and around the corner from my hostel. And a place next door to that that sells phone cards. Two things down. Now, the bank was easy to find, but the process of opening an account was excruciatingly slow. I was there close to an hour. The main problem was that the girl doing it didn't speak very much English, and the guy she brought in to help her wasn't all that much better! So, we struggled along together, and now I'm the proud owner of a Czech bank account with about $10 in it. :-) The cell phone store was right across the street from the bank, but sadly, I had no luck on that front. I just don't think I'm going to be able to get a cell phone. The cheapo phones that I had been eyeing are only that price if you agree to a *2* year contract! And then you still have to pay a $100 or so activation fee!!!!!! If you just want the prepaid minutes, then you have to pay full price for the phone. The cheapest is about $140. So, I think I might have to put that dream on hold for a bit.
I went to dinner at the restaurant of the hotel I stayed at last time. It was tasty and about $5, so that's not bad. It was raining outside when I got out of the metro station to walk home, so I popped into this internet cafe to dry off for a bit. So, I thought I would take the moment to tell you about the beginning of my journeys.
A big thank you to all who recently signed my guestbook. Yay! :-) Anyway, I need to get back to my hotel so that I can pass out for about 15 hours. Talk to you all soon!
Well, here is my first email from Prague....my god it feels like I left Des Moines about a month ago, even though I just got here this morning.
I almost didn't make it here at all. My flight to Minneapolis was 30 minutes late, so I had to run almost all the way to catch my plane to Amsterdam. I made it to the gate, huffing and puffing, and the guy told me I made it with *2* minutes to spare. Literally, they had already made two final announcements for the flight that I could hear as I was running along the endless corridors. It was horrible!!! I hate having to run for a plane!
But, I made it-that's the important thing. The bad news was that I was assigned to sit next to a Dutch woman and her two kids, a girl-maybe 3/4, and a boy-maybe 4/5. The girl was sitting right next to me, and she was constantly bumping against me, pounding on my leg, using me for a back rest and general plaything. All I wanted in the world was to be able to get some sleep, but this girl could not sit still for more than 2 minutes. And her brother spent half of the flight whacking her on the head or singing American songs ("Hey Baby"-the oldie) at the freaking top of his lungs, with no regard for what the words actually were, because hey-fuck it-I'm 5 years old and don't speak English and don't give a shit that I'm annoying every single person in the vicinity. Fuck all of you. By the time that flight was over, I had such a bad headache!! Even the mom was loud. She was in her mid-30s, with long hair extensions in purple, pink, and bright blond, all pulled up into a high ponytail. She kept egging them on and making them practice their English. It was a nightmare, the worst flight I have ever had.
Anyway, so I finally made it to Prague, and the taxi driver was there, as arranged by the school, despite the fact that my flight was late. Thank god, otherwise I don't know what I would have done!! He took me to my hostel, which is essentially a shambles, but oh well. It's in an OK neighborhood (quite posh in some bits), but it's run down on the inside. Once I saw the place, I opted to pay a little bit more for a private room. And it so happened that that rate was still about $20 less than what that booking service would have charged me for a private.
After collapsing on my bed for a bit, I braved the city and went out in search of several things: 1) A place to use the internet 2) A phone card to call my mom 3) A bank to open a Czech account in 4) A cell phone store, and 5) Food.
The good news is that there is an internet place essentially across the street and around the corner from my hostel. And a place next door to that that sells phone cards. Two things down. Now, the bank was easy to find, but the process of opening an account was excruciatingly slow. I was there close to an hour. The main problem was that the girl doing it didn't speak very much English, and the guy she brought in to help her wasn't all that much better! So, we struggled along together, and now I'm the proud owner of a Czech bank account with about $10 in it. :-) The cell phone store was right across the street from the bank, but sadly, I had no luck on that front. I just don't think I'm going to be able to get a cell phone. The cheapo phones that I had been eyeing are only that price if you agree to a *2* year contract! And then you still have to pay a $100 or so activation fee!!!!!! If you just want the prepaid minutes, then you have to pay full price for the phone. The cheapest is about $140. So, I think I might have to put that dream on hold for a bit.
I went to dinner at the restaurant of the hotel I stayed at last time. It was tasty and about $5, so that's not bad. It was raining outside when I got out of the metro station to walk home, so I popped into this internet cafe to dry off for a bit. So, I thought I would take the moment to tell you about the beginning of my journeys.
A big thank you to all who recently signed my guestbook. Yay! :-) Anyway, I need to get back to my hotel so that I can pass out for about 15 hours. Talk to you all soon!
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