My accomodations

Since a month and a half into being here, I still haven't shown pictures of where I live, I figured it was about time!

Walking into the building

Lobby area

Note the vending machine with beer in the corner.

This is the world's most evil ATM machine.

Hello dorm room! We have the most conveniently located room in this confusing building. Often means that our room is the meeting point..otherwise people would be wandering aimlessly for days on end.

Welcome to our cramped but wonderful suite!

Kitchen is directly to the right, Alex and Alexa's room is directly to the left, mine and Annie's room is down the hall to the left and the bathrooms are straight ahead.

Look at those organization skills!

Bathroom #1

Bathroom #1

Bathroom #2

Our amazing room! Ignore the stains on the carpet..we try to..

 

Annie was pleased I chose this exact moment to take photos.

P.S. Sorry for all the typo errors in previous blogs. Mom's been appointed my spell check. I guess that's the result of late night blogging. But no, there is no such river as the Vaclava. Or if there is, it most definitely is not the one that runs through Prague.

It could have been worse..

..maybe. No, it really could have been.

Today marked my first real day of internship. Although the internship would have been hard without the language barrier, it made it that much more awkward. The people were friendly, the kids didn't seem to want to shun me, and I had a chance to learn about the social work academic program in the Czech Republic. But that gnawing and overwhelming awkward feeling just couldn't be shaken off.

I did have an opportunity to talk with another volunteer who is a student of social work in Prague. He explained that their program takes a 3 week break in the middle of the semester for them to complete their clinical hours. This is equivalent to our program that has us complete clinical hours the entire semester while still in classes.

Apart from this knowledge, I did also speak with a couple people, but found it strangely more comforting to be surrounded by people speaking Czech then to speak English. Perhaps it's just my horrible guilt at not being able to speak their language and therefore causing them to go out of their way to accommodate me, but I'm hoping that this immersion will prove beneficial in language and content.

Additionally, I'm including the next series of photos for my photography class. There are only 2. The first is an "unconsciously" taken photo, and the second is a consciously framed photo (that was the assignment..). Opinions requested. It'll help me prepare for the criticism in class, not to mention if I need to edit something now, I'd like to be told by all you instead of a roomful of strangers :]

The first is unfortunately a tad blurry, but I guess that is the trade off for just snapping a photo.

Frantically trying to cross the street before being hit by an ambulance.

 

Update: this is the photo I actually submitted. I felt the colors were too good to pass up and create it in black and white.

Jahoda

As part of the Eastern and Central European School Program, we have an opportunity to search out internships and volunteer work. I knew from the start that I wanted to learn more about social work programs in CR, specifically geriatrics, but was told by the program coordinator that that would be very difficult to do. Gerontology programs are rare in much of Eastern Europe due to most elderly being under the care of their family. So, I have received an internship at something a little out of my field. Quite alright with me. After all, one of my best experiences was at the Domestic Violence Shelter and that is not within my "planned" field either. Who knows where this will take me.
For the next few months, I will be working at Jahoda, an after-school center for troubled teens from a financially disadvantaged area of Prague. 
While this new experience excites me to no end, my first day was more than intimidating. It was down-right nerveracking.

Place aside the fact that I am working with a group I have no experience with..I don't speak their language either..
The three Jahoda employees that I am working with all speak English, but many of the kids speak minimal English since their school systems do not push them to learn another language. With that said, one of two things will happen. A. It will encourage me to speak more Czech and become immersed in the language, while I can help the kids learn English that have a desire to learn, or B. It will fail..epically. 

But despite this seemingly monstrous barrier, I am determined that this will be a great experience. And if not..well then I only have to stick it out for a few months. After all, even if I'm horribly out of my element, who knows what I'll learn along the way. These months are supposed to encourage personal growth as well as academic. What better way than to throw someone out of their comfort zone? I can study personal dynamics out of a book as long as I want, but it will be these experiences that will make me the social worker that I someday hope to be.

Fotografie

Since I have officially started one of my favorite classes of all time, I figured that sharing my class work on the blog was the perfect addition. Photography class is absolutely incredible. Every week I will try to include my latest project (we have projects due every class period.) For Thursday's class we are supposed to wander around Prague and photograph things that remind us of home. Obviously, there's no right or wrong, but I would greatly appreciate your feedback (positive and negative!) as it will seriously help me grow as a photographer. I'm up for criticism to the extreme..from your opinion of the photos to ideas of improvement!

So let's start Operation: Help Amanda pass Photography class!!

Everyone's heard the saying, "Chicago has two seasons: Winter and Construction"

 

At the DV Shelter I worked a lot with parent/child relationships in the face of hardship. It makes it difficult NOT to notice these relationship dynamics..no matter where I go.

He plays in Old Town Square every Saturday Morning. I can't help but remember Grandpa dancing at Jacqie's wedding. And it makes me smile every time I see him.

I'll admit..I miss Keno..a lot..

 Seeing just about anything musical reminds me of choir. It also seems to remind me of Adya's band concerts that Ray, Jen, and I would always attend..and film illegally.. :] Just another little reminder of how much I miss my girls.

P.S. If you haven't noticed, I'm enjoying the study of Black and White Photography a lot. Feel free to critique whether or not you think a picture should be B&W or not.

:]

Švédsko

This weekend marked the first "independent" trip that I took during my time abroad. First off, I cannot believe that I've already been here a month....
Second, this weekend was absolutely incredible as I headed to Stockholm, Sweden with 6 of my friends. We arrived in Stockholm around 3 pm on Friday. After checking in at our hostel we wandered the city for a bit and then headed out for dinner. In our attempts to find the "local hang out," we ended up at a small karaoke bar surrounded by Swedish people singing American songs...very off-key. Either way, it was a wonderful night and we met some cool people along the way. Saturday we decided to get up extra early since it was our only real day in Stockholm. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we decided that the best way to truly discover a city was to get really really lost. And we succeeded without much trouble. Along the way we ventured to the local aquarium (complete with a room that rains and thunders!), as well as the Nobel Museum. The latter had a lot of interesting articles on past Nobel Winners, but was not worth the 50 Swedish crowns we paid for entrance (7-ish dollars). I did, however, play a game while there called "peace doves." The game was centered around how much you know about the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970. I happily restored peace in the big 5 countries, but failed to disarm Israel and Pakistan.. Oh well. I guess I just need to study up on nuclear warfare.
Saturday night we succeeded in our one true goal...eating a traditional Swedish meal. One giant meatball later we were fully satisfied with our weekend and agreed that it was by far the best first trip we could have asked for. (And it didn't matter that we had to get up at 3 am Sunday morning to catch our flight.. ;) )

No dancing or jumping..but dogs are allowed! ;]

SOOOOOO GOOD!!!

The Swedish found it necessary to steal a bunch of stuff from Prague..including the Staropramen street sign :[

No picture can do this city justice..nor could I capture how welcoming the people were. They truly made the city that much more beautiful.

Boating down the Vltava

Last weekend, as part of a celebration for the beginning of classes, my friends and I decided to go rowboating down the river. Very exciting as all 10 of us shuffled into 2 boats and then tried to race down the river.

Unfortunately, it took both teams about 20 minutes to figure out how to paddle without going in circles. Alas, neither team won as we lost steam easily and ended up circling around the same area for an hour.

 

Above: Val and Chris exasperated at our many failed attempts of rowing

Below: Battle of the Two Boats!

Skola!

So, let me just begin this spout of info by saying..My God, is the Czech language complicated!!

Put aside the fact that there's tons of different endings for one word making a simple sentence very difficult to compose. Real classes started yesterday for me and so far it looks like they'll shape up to make a great semester. My course load includes Czech Art and Architecture, Trauma: Memories of the Holocaust, Czech photography, and the Czech language.

Apart from the fact that my Trauma professor thinks we're already experts on the details of the Holocaust (I'm not..if you were wondering..) and my Czech course tried to pick up where intensive Czech left off :o, the semester should be really great.

Photography class was a bit intimidating as I walked in armed with my Canon Powershot. But the professor just took the opportunity to reemphasize what I've already heard, "it is not the camera that makes a good picture." He also took the first part of class to show us "boring pictures of Prague Castle." Well, while I find it difficult to grasp calling anything in Prague boring, I do understand his point and I'm hoping that he'll push us to capture shots emphasizing the unique-ness of Prague. Shots that a million other people haven't already taken. :]

I'm sitting at my desk drinking tea from a bowl (I have yet to invest in certain kitchen necessities..like cups..), and I can't help but hope that my cold goes away soon. I leave in an hour for Sweden and I have yet to pack..probably should get on that!