Two weeks ago I had to wave goodbye to Prague.  I took an uneventful flight to Dusseldorf and on to New York.  I was sad to leave that city because I learned to love it over the past 4 months.  It was quite a shock stepping into my house because everything seemed foreign but still everything was untouched.  I became restless in my house living in suburban NY because it was such a contrast to the bustling city.

I didn’t think this would be an issue coming back but it was incredibly  strange hearing everyone speak English. In Prague you hear English every so often and try to listen in to hear what the people are talking about but when everyone is speaking the language my brain had a hard time adjusting to it all.  As odd as it was, I welcomed the change.  As each day goes by I keep remembering all the things I did abroad and it makes me happy that I decided to participate in such an experience.

Every student has to take a 2 week long 5 hour a day intensive Czech language course. It is a lot to absorb but 100% necessary. Your brain will be fried by the end of the day but it’ll help you get by and you’ll receive 3 credits. (I believe SUNY schools, at least Purchase, grades you abroad on pass/fail and the grades won’t hurt/help your GPA. But check with your registrar) This all happens in the first weeks you are there before classes start. Normal classes meet once or twice a week for either 1.5 or 3 hours. They aren’t extremely hard and all of them are based off of Czech culture in some way. There are art history, literature, history, cinema studies, economics, and politics classes. It is really interesting to see how different the viewpoint of the Czech Republic is opposed to that of the US. Most of the midterms and finals are essays that are somewhat open ended so you can write about what part of the class interested you. The classes I took were Czech for Everyday Use, Alternative Literature, Music and Culture, Czech Art and Architecture and Czech Surrealism. All of the professors are native Czechs but teach in English. 95% of the other kids in the classes are other American students from your program. I have no Czech students in any of my classes and it is relatively hard to meet them. There are a few international students in each class which does mix up the class a bit. My one critique of the classes is the lack of student diversity. I was hoping I would be the odd man out because I was American but this wasn’t the case.

The school that I am a part of is named Charles University and it was set up by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1348. Yes, 1348. It has history that predates our country by several hundred years. It is an urban campus consisting of dozens of individual buildings all across the city. I’d be walking down the street and look up to discover a new Charles building. They are everywhere. My favorite feature of these buildings is their architecture. Since there are so many buildings they range in styles throughout the centuries. There are school buildings that are from Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classicism, Functionalism, and Soviet designed buildings. This fascinates me coming from a school designed in the 1970s.

Both the Polka dance and the term “Robot” originated in the Czech Republic.

I have found that Prague is the perfect location for traveling.   It is where the east meets the west.  In the words of my Czech Surrealist teacher it is the surfboard the Soviets used to get across Europe.  So obviously its has a great geographic location. Traveling around Europe is somewhat cheap.  I must myth bust this right now and say its more expensive than most people think.  One you cross an international border the price of a ticket jumps significantly.  You can go anywhere in the Czech Republic for under $15 for a one way trip.  Thats a great price and there are some amazing things to see in the country such as

Cesky Krumlov- The most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.  It is the backdrop of many movies about fairy tales.

Karlovy Vary- A quaint little spa town where you can drink out of the hot springs and get a massage.

Zdar nad Sazavou- The site of Czech exclusive Baroque Gothic architecture.

Kutna Hora- Site of the Sedlec Ossuary.  Church decorated with the bones of thousands of Plague victims.  A must see.

Karlstejn- Location of Charles 4th’s castle.  He was the leader of the Holy Roman Empire.

All of these places are within a 3 hour train ride from Prague.

Besides the Czech sites you can get anywhere in Europe under 3 hours by plane.  For countries nearby most people travel by train or bus because it is cheaper and a great way to see a country.  I have had the opportunity to travel to England, Germany and Austria.  Before I come home I plan to also travel to Turkey and possibly Serbia.  Heres a picture of me skiing the Austrian Alps from my weekend trip there.

Easter in the Czech Republic is a lot of fun………..for men.  It is custom for males to run around hitting women with sticks on Easter.  They do this in order to bring youth to the women.  I took a picture of a kid on the prowl to share with you.  The sticks are made out of intertwined vines and can be as long as 5 feet.