An end before a continuation.

Classes are over.
Finals have ceased.
And as the un-emotional person that I am *cough* HA *cough*..it has nearly brought me to tears.
I walked into my room today to witness two overflowing, giant suitcases in the middle of my floor. Annie has begun to pack up her stuff. The walls are bare for inspection tomorrow. And the tokens that once decorated our wall are now settled comfortably into the trash can.
I may be here for another 5 weeks, but it feels as though this chapter is fading. As if I am saying goodbye to the Prague that I know.
I had two final classes today, and for some reason both professors decided to take us to a pub to celebrate during the last hour of class. Now, I understand taking us for a beer at 4 in the afternoon. I, however, fail to understand taking us to the pub during a 9 am class. Just goes to show that I have not grasped ALL aspects of the Czech culture..beer for breakfast will probably never reach within the realms of my vocabulary.

Addtionally, mom has arrived safe and sound! And it's wonderful to share this place with her. But (forgive me!) it seems as though Prague is losing a little bit of it's soul. My friends were what made this place, our home. And people have already begun to depart.
Annie is playing some distant French tune in the background while unpacking and repacking bubble wrap. And all of these details may seem mundane. They may seem random. But they are my life. And they're what I love so much.

To top it all off, Prague has decided to become just a little more magical by giving us a good half inch of snow on the ground.
I don't believe that I've ever shared one of my favorite aspects of Prague with everyone. And that is: the view from our classroom. Just goes to prove how difficult studying really was during all this time. Yet somehow it got done. And somehow we all completed the time here. So to complete the blog, I give you...pictures!::
I apologize for the choppiness and random thoughts of this blog. It has been hard to separate one thought from another in this fairly crazy and somewhat nostalgic time.

When you walk outside of the kolej (dorm), this is what you see..

At the Fakulty building, waiting for Czech class to start.

Very possibly the greatest professor of all time: Jiří

Before taking us to the pub, he sang for us. He had us sing along for Czech beer, wine, and folk songs. Then as a bonus he sang an American song. The last word was goodbye....

When I'm in class..guess what I see.

Hint: it's rarely whatever my teacher is talking about..

Všechno je český

Finals week has come and nearly gone. I have 1 final left today and 2 more classes without finals tomorrow. But overall the most exciting aspect of this week is the arrival of my mom who is expected in Prague in an hour.
Last weekend marked the last weekend with my friends, and so we decided to celebrate at all of our favorite places throughout Prague. It feels as though I have to say goodbye to everything twice. Once with friends, and once when I inevitably leave.

In the third image, Kary and I are abnormally pale and the photo isn't the greatest quality, but this is one of our favorite places to go: Bukowski's. It offers 7 Kč pivo (approximately 40 cents for a half liter of beer..) and free sangria for women on Tuesday nights. You just can't complain bout that..
Last night was also the "goodbye" party thrown by ECES (Eastern and Central European School) through which our courses are offered. Just about all the ECES and AIFS students showed up. There, they recognized everyone that had volunteered throughout the semester as well as awarding the prize for the photography contest. As all those who have been reading this blog religiously know, I have been consumed by my photography these last couple months..and I've loved every moment of it. It was because of this, that I was absolutely touched and honored to be awarded first place in the category of "The Other Prague." There were 3 categories total and 2 other close friends were also awarded first place in their respective categories.

Rakel, Raila, and myself (the three winners!) with Czech renowned photographer, Jan Stary. Jan also happens to be my photography professor! He gave me one of Josef Sudek's photography books for winning.

This photo is not accurate. I am 3 inches taller than him. Just for the record. :]


It's hard to believe the end is really nearing. Our friend Mike already left this morning..and my suitemate, Alex, and two friends, Jordan and Tom, leave tomorrow for Morocco.
Where the heck did time go??

To have a favorite place in all the world..

Sorry to post 2 picture blogs straight in a row. My final for photography:
Mala Strana has now officially trumped my previous favorite place in the world (The spruce tree plot at Morton Arboretum..I'm cool..I know..)

Light Experiments

Another series for my photography class. Experimenting with light as the main focus. The first is from Prague. The rest are in Berlin.

That quote obviously says, " Socialists love lemonade"

This past weekend, my roommate, Annie, and I decided to take a trip to Berlin. So Thursday afternoon, we boarded a bus and headed to Germany. The trip was a welcome one, and we met up with some friends once we got there. The whole thing was a lot of fun despite the chilly weather in Berlin.  Annie and I found out that the hostel we had booked was probably the coolest hostel we've ever stayed at. We walked into this building with a tiny sign that says "St. Christopher's Inn." At first, we thought we were in the wrong spot because the building we had just entered was a bar. However, on the far right side of the bar was check-in and then there was an elevator to take you up to your room. All that aside, we paid $15 a night to stay there, and breakfast was included. You just can't go wrong with that.

The next morning, we decided to wander a bit before joining a 5 hour free tour of the city. The company that offers the free tour works solely off of tips, so if you hated it then you simply walk away. Our tour guide, Mick, however, was incredible and it was very possibly the best tour I've ever been on. Annie and I both would have given 100 € each (if that kind of money was in our vocabulary..)

Since we started traveling all over Europe, my friends have kept a running competition between us and the city. It's a bit goofy, but for instance: if we find our way somewhere without any trouble, then we get a point. If we trip, or get horribly lost, then the city gets a point. It's absolutely ridiculous, but also a lot of fun.
Berlin, however, beat us..badly.
Perhaps it was our inability to find anything, near death by cyclists, or our run in with the metro police after we had accidentally purchased the wrong tickets, but Berlin definitely conquered our trip.
The great thing about it though: we didn't care. Annie and I were just happy to have this last trip and enjoy the incredible city. And all the things that went wrong, just made it that much more interesting.

^^At a German bank, paying off our metro tickets. To no avail, we tried to convince the police that we really weren't trying to scam the system...my German language skills just aren't up to par. He didn't seem to care.

Christmas markets were also going strong in Berlin, bringing our Christkindlmarkt total up to 3.

Overall, the weekend was a success and we greatly enjoyed the chance to see another part of Europe.  Annie and I saw a lot, and met a lot of people along the way. We even had it worked out so that we made it back to Prague for Mikuláš celebrations. The festivities were a lot of fun. There were angels, devils, and multiple St. Nicholases wandering the city. Annie and I also had a chance to attend Czech house party for a friend that is moving out of his apartment.  The party just happened to coincide with Mikuláš and so Mikuláš and a few devils made appearances throughout the night.

We've been joking for some time now that we may just "accidentally" miss our flights back home..Oh to dream..

To be home for the holidays..

..would be a wonderful thing.
Thanksgiving dinner is not the same when eaten at a hotel. But at least I had the opportunity to be with close friends. I am thankful for the wonderful meal, my incredible experience here, and the family and friends that I miss very much.
I just wish that everyone could be with loved ones on this day.
I did have the chance to just talk to my entire family on skype. I didn't think about taking a picture of the first 2 groups of people :[ but for your viewing pleasure I give you my brother and aunt on Thanksgiving!
Missing you all tons. Love you so much.

^He's a little silly.

Our program treated us to a fancy dinner at the Marriott hotel complete with turkey, yams, and cranberries.
The food was absolutely incredible, but as with these things, it simply was not the same as sitting by the fire at Beth's. The food was fancy banquet food. And there wasn't even any Jifka involved!! :]

This week has been a crazy week as it seems to be the time for everyone to visit friends! Possibly due to the fact that we only have 3 weeks left in the program, many family members and friends are visiting. I went out to dinner with Annie's family at U Fleku.  They seemed to enjoy the experience and I absolutely loved getting to know them.
Additionally, my friend, Raila, had a friend visiting from Finland. We took her to the Globe (a local coffee shop) and Pantheon (the Czech freestyle rap bar that we often spend our Mondays at.) After all, no Prague experience is complete without the crazy rapping styles in Czech. I can barely understand English rap, let alone a language that I barely speak, but places like the Pantheon just make this whole experience more personal. I'm pretty sure that every time we step foot in the underground bar, we are the only non-Czechs, and I love it!

It's not that the city lost it's sparkle..

..it's just that the sparkle has officially become home.
When we first arrived in Prague it automatically felt like it fit. It was an incredible feeling, very much like the first time I stepped foot at Nazareth and was greeted with "welcome home!"
But things have changed a little. The city still has so many secrets to unravel, but that is true with any place.
When I round a corner, I know exactly where I am (mostly..)
The language doesn't sound angry anymore, but familiar.
The people aren't mean, just reserved. And often times more friendly than not.
Cobblestones are normal. So is stunning architecture.
It is still exquisite. But now it feels like the norm.

It is home.

I'm sitting at Kavarna Slavia. 2 months ago it was "that cool cafe that Vaclav Havel used to hang out at.."
But as I'm sitting here for the umpteenth million time staring at Narodni Divadlo and the river, it isn't strange. The trams rounding the corner aren't an unusual site. People running to not miss the 22 is normal.
It's not Kavarna Slavia. It's my cafe.

Last weekend I went to Vienna. It was absolutely stunning, but as I've told many people, the Christmas lights added an ability to fall in love with the city immediately. Our weekend was spent mostly at the Christkindlmarkt, trying the cuisine (aka street food stands..), and overall just wandering and getting lost. After all, that is how we discovered Prague. And it worked out pretty well for us.

The only strange part of the weekend was the unexplained act of violence towards my friend, Matt. As he was wandering the Christmas Markets enjoying the hot chocolate and lights, a guy about our age walks up and punches Matt square in the jaw. Whether it was a case of mistaken identity, or for some other forsaken reason, it rattled us all a little. But Matt, being Matt, was able to laugh it off later and he didn't let it ruin his experience of Vienna.

Other Vienna experiences included our trek to see the car that Franz Ferdinand was shot in starting the chain of events leading to WWI.

Now for some not so good news::
When Beth, Kelly, and Charlotte were in town we had lunch with a close family friend of Kelly's. Devon is currently living in Prague teaching English. The 5 of us had a great lunch and Devon even told me about a great bar in Prague that has beer for 7KC (about 45 cents!)
Last weekend, he traveled to Frankfurt, Germany with a friend. As they were looking for their hostel late at night, his friend went to go ask for directions, but when he turned around Devon was gone. No one has heard from him in 6 days now. There is no credit card activity. Devon's friend figured that he would show up to meet at the designated time to return to Prague, but unfortunately that was not the case. With these situations, the best and only thing there is to do is to spread the word to as many people as possible. Many of you who read this are nowhere near Frankfurt, Germany. But spreading the word can only help.  I am hoping, praying, wishing with all my might that he returns safely and soon.
Devon's father's contact info can be found in the link.
Please keep him in your thoughts.
http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=139486