Have yourself a Vesele Vanoce

Christmas proved to be fairly uneventful. Mom and I watched the classic Christmas movies (It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, the animated version of the Grinch, etc.) and spent all day in the Christmas markets. We also ate jatrovymy knedlíčky polévka (liver dumpling soup!) at U Dvou Koček. The waiter brought us the bill without us asking and then stood there waiting for us to pay...very un-Czech. Not only that, but the gesture made me fear going back to the states where you are rushed out of a restaurant after eating. I have become quite accustomed to sitting around for an hour or so after the meal and not having anyone come by to bother your conversation.
The previous day/night we went to Christmas Eve midnight mass at Svaty Salvator across from Karlova Most. The church was cold and had heated seats that made your butt feel like it was on fire. I won't even go into detail about the number of people that would walk in during service with cameras just to take flash pictures before leaving in the middle of mass..tourists...
Since everything was closed Christmas Eve (it's Czech tradition to have big celebrations that night as Christmas day itself is less of a big deal) we decided to go see a string quartet perform at the oldest church in Prague, Svaty Martina (Saint Martin). We, strangely, ran into Nancy and Jordan on Národní Třída sometime in the morning and then later ran into my friend, Kaylyn, at Kavárna Slavia (I didn't know she was still in Prague!). I quickly remarked to mom, "who else is hiding nearby??"

Christmas itself felt..un-Christmaslike. In my house, Christmas is ALL about family. 100%. So to be away from them, was really difficult, but thanks to skype, we were able to talk to them. The one main perk to the arrival of Christmas day was the removal of the carp-killing stations.
Since Czech families traditionally eat carp on Christmas eve, the city sets up carp stations ALL over the streets. It was fine walking by the first couple times: seeing the fish jump and swim, and people point out which one they wanted. It was NOT fine when we walked by just as a woman beat a fish senseless with a bat. It quickly lost it's cool factor after that...

Climbing a mountain

Well not quite..but with the cold and snow, it sure as heck felt like it.
As mentioned in the last blog, Susan and I made plans to take mom and Jordan to Vyšehrad. It was a beautiful day, but just a tad..cold..
We wandered a lot. Seems to be a common theme, huh?

Susan and Jordan looking at the oldest rotunda (in the Czech Republic? the world? the details are a little blurry...)

Something very interesting over there...

Jordan was over the moon to be at Dvořák's tomb. "Holy cripes!! He's like..right there!!!"

Which city are we in again?

Praha: Round 2

I have three different "rounds" in Prague during my 5 months here:
1. Time with friends. Time that I took classes. Time to be a student at Karlova Univerzita.
2. Time with mom. Time to play tourist and tour guide.
3. Time by myself. Time to reflect. Time to spend writing in cafes and seeing what I have yet to see.

As I write this, I am already half done with Round 3, but due to my inability to update the blog in a timely manner, I must go back to Round 2. Fill you in on some of the details. ;]
Where to start....

Mom helped me through the rough patch that was my friends' departures. 'Twas an emotional day, but through a few pep-talks and some serious Christmas music listening, the world still seemed as bright.
Sunday, I dragged her to Unitaria with me for a service of Christmas music. We then joined Susan and Nancy for dinner at Kabul, an Afghani restaurant in the back streets of Prague, afterwards. We talked for a long time and I got to know these two women that I had only met a few weeks before. Nancy is an ex-Carthage professor that moved to Prague with her partner, Susan. Both women are from Chicago and have truly remarkable life stories. Dinner was a blast, and Susan and mom became quick friends over a common love: rocks..
Susan and I made plans for later that week to show Vyšehrad to mom and Susan's son, Jordan. Jordan was visiting for the Christmas season before returning to the states with Susan and Nancy. They had to return since their Schengen days were expiring and they are still waiting to hear about their visas. Good luck ladies!

Me, Susan, and Nancy at Unitaria!

Mom and I mostly wandered the city, despite the freezing cold conditions that we were hit with.  We hit every single Christmas market possible and climbed to the top of the Old Town Hall tower.
Along with all of that, we spent a day exploring the Jewish Quarter. Moving from synagogue to synagogue, we tried to keep warm from the brutal weather. 
I took mom past all the major parts of Prague: Lennon wall, Mala Strana, Communist monument, Staromestska, Vaclavske Namesti, etc.etc.etc.
We ate Palačinky and Trdelniky constantly. We watched the traditional dancers and singers in the Vánoce Trhy. We soaked up the sounds, smells, and overall soul of Prague.
And it was incredible.

Our somewhat comical Christmas tree: sorry bout the poor photo quality....

Devon Hollahan

It's with a heavy heart that we say goodbye.
I briefly mentioned Devon going missing a month back.

It is with the uttermost horror that I relay the information that Devon's body has been found.
My heart goes out to his family and friends.
Goodbye, Devon.
Rest with the angels.

It's been nearly 3 weeks..

..since my last post. Sorry about that. So in an attempt to fill everyone in on the last 3 weeks I'll do a series of blogs. Please forgive me if I repeat things. It's a tad hard to remember what I wrote more than 3 weeks ago..
Let's start with the last week of school. In the last blog I mentioned that everyone would be leaving soon. Finals finished up and went fairly well and I got the notification that I passed all of my classes (always a wonderful thing!) It was comical, in the fact that very few people actually showed up for the last classes. I only had 2 written finals and therefore the other 2 classes weren't "mandatory" to attend the last session. If I remember correctly, only 6 people showed up for my photography class.  Finals weren't too horridly difficult, but I did discover that I learned very little about Romanesque and Baroque architecture. I think I enjoyed looking at it more than learning about every detail, but that is simply personal preference.

Mom arrived on the Wednesday of my finals. We went to dinner at Černý Baron, where I had taken Beth for dinner her first night. It was a great meal and it was absolutely incredible to see her.  When I got back to my suite, I walked in to find 15 of my closest friends crammed into the tiny room. As I sat there, laughing and sharing the recent care package that mom gave me, I realized: I have never felt more at home with such a large group of people. They became my family and for that I absolutely love them. That night, we went out to our last night club: Chapeau Rouge. I left fairly early after saying my goodbye's to the people that were departing for Morocco the next morning.  The next day marked our last real night there. As a group, it had been decided that we wouldn't go out on Friday night, since everyone was leaving early early early Saturday morning (see how responsible we are!). So Thursday night, we put aside our sadness over the inevitable end, and gathered at the bar, U Sudu. Attempting to find tables near eachother for almost 55 people, proved almost impossible, but we pulled it off (it's a large bar..). We said goodbye. Had last conversations. Last jokes. Last tournaments of foosball. Last time to see many of these people.
Saturday morning, proved to be more than a little sad. I woke up at 5 am to go with Annie, Sam, Kary, and Alex to the airport. Raila spent the night in our room so that she could come with as well.
After the world's longest "Oregon Trail" journey to the bus stop, loaded down with overweight suitcases and tons of snow, we boarded the bus and were on our way. We quickly discovered at the airport that we had to separate, as Annie was at a different terminal.
To the great torment of Alex, I said my tearful goodbyes. While I don't think I've ever cried that much in my life, I enjoyed those last moments. I may not be spending most of my hours of the day with these people anymore. I may not see them for months or years on end. But one thing has been determined:
There are people in your life that you don't see forever and it's awkward. Lots of pauses in conversation. And then you leave and you say "it's kind of ok that we don't necessarily talk all the time."
Then there are people in your life that you love with all your heart. That you may not talk to all the time. That you may not talk to for very long amounts of time. But when you do talk, it is as if nothing has changed. It is as if you have been together every day. They are the people that you say, "See you so very soon" and you know that it's true. That you'll do your absolute best to make it true.
I love these people. I was ridiculously lucky to be blessed with such a great group of friends.

So friends, we had some amazing times. See you so very soon.

One last look at Christmas markets

At U Sudu

See how many people you can squeeze in a picture, and I can guarantee that at least half will ruin the picture.

Annie attempting to "Nazdravi!" I was too distracted. Last beer.

This is right before we got yelled at by the Ukrainian mafia..I wish I were kidding...

This is so not ok.

A tad sad.

Our faces aren't quite as epic.

Oregon Trail style. Shame that someone always dies on that game. Kary was chosen to be the unfortunate.

Bye Annichka..Slow loris style. Love.

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??