just another night in prague....

Ahoj,

Sooooo the other night I was super tired and was contemplating staying home. I mean, five nights in a row is a lot. It really takes a toll on your body. I thought about it for about 30 seconds and realized, "Wait, I'm in Prague!" No rest for the weary baby!! So I did a few jumping jacks, let Jesse punch me in the stomach, and I was good to go.

A group of girls from the program were having a little get together at their place, so after an unreal three course dinner consisting of beef goulash, pork with potato pancakes, apple strudel, supplemented by a monster beer (total = $13), the three amigos made the icy trek down the street. When we got there, everyone was pretty ripped. Almost everyone from the program was there so it was a good chance to bond. And bond we did! (some of us even boned ;) haha nah nah. So we were all having a good time taking shots and having inebriated conversations when one of the girls yelled, "Let's go to the karaoke bar!!" Most of the chicks were stoked. I didn't mind. I was like, "shooooots, I'm buss enough to serenade some of these haole girls. Let's do it." So after two tram rides, our huge American entourage rolled in to a place called, "Friends." Here's where the night got interesting. So I'm standing in line talking to one of the girls, when I feel someone squeeze the hell out of my ass. I was like, "WHOA NELLY! What the hell??" All of a sudden I see two dudes walk past me into the bar. huh? I looked around, but there wasn't anyone else by us. hmmmm, okay, kinda weird, but oh well. The place was full when we walked in. I could barely make my way to the bar. Mind you, this was on a Tuesday night. So I get my beer and proceed to sit down on one of the couches. As I sat there, I noticed two guys next to me sitting a little too close to each other. "Wait a second, what's going on," I thought to myself. I stood up and looked over to the dance floor. Yup, I was definitely at a gay bar. I should've known when I heard three guys singing, "It's raining men." So I quickly weaved my way to Jesse and Jack, who looked like they just realized where they were as well. "So what are we gonna do guys?" Jack asks. We looked at our friends from the program and they all seemed like they were having a good time so we shrugged and said, "Alright, let's party." I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't the worst night of my life, mainly because we stuck close to our friends. I did get my butt squeezed like four time, and dudes were rubbing my head (not my schlong) all night. I just ran briskly walked away each time. The night was going well until about 1:30. I was sitting on a couch after dancing (with girls) when I saw jack talking with this guy. I see him look right at me and point. The guy sees me and heads straight in my direction. "No you did not just do that Jack." The guy sits right next to me, crosses his leg in my direction, and says, "Hey you, your friend told me you're a great singer. Let me hear a little something." That was the last straw. I didn't even say anything. I stood up, saw Jack, pointed to the door, and bounced out of there as fast as I could.

It definitely was an experience going to a gay bar. I'm never going to another one again in my life under any circumstances, but hey, I did it. And I got hit on more than I ever have in my life so that was comforting. haha. Just another night in Praha!

Adam

p.s. I hope my grammar was a little better this time Will.... dick. haha

Dobry Den!

Okay, i realize it's been a fews days since my last post but it has been soooo crazy here!! We have had so many activities with our class and we've been partying so hard that I haven't been able to just sit down and write. I barely have to enough time to call the parents (sorry mom and dad, i'll do better with that)! Anyway, so i'll give you a brief overview of what I've been up to these past couple of days:

So I finished my last post on friday, right before we were about to go out. And went out we did! I'd say friday night was one of the most entertaining nights of my life. So, me, Jesse, and Jack had a great dinner at this really touristy restaurant in the heart of the city. The restaurants and pubs here are crazy because they are mostly underground. There are many floors that just spiral into the ground. It is like you are in a winding cave! The dinner was very good minus all the czech people pointing and laughing at us because of our "Americaness". I now understand how it feels to be a tourist in a foreign country, like the Japanese in Hawaii. It is very difficult; we should give these Japanese an easier time. It doesn't feel good when natives just stare and laugh. Lucky we didn't feel like scraping that night or else we would have wrecked all those czechs.

Anyway, after dinner, we didn't have any plans so we started talking to a man on the street who happened to be from Cameroon. He told us about a great "club" that was close, and because we didn't really know the area, we followed him to it. I guess clubs in Prague are different than clubs in America. He took us to a strip bar! We didn't want to be rude so we stayed for a bit, watched the hottest girl i've ever seen dance, and then left. We would have stayed longer but we're poor and we looked liked little innocent kids (which we are), amongst old creepy european dudes. By this point, it was getting late and we were pretty sober, so we decided to get some drinks. Jesse led us to the "sky bar" which was also underground. Inside, we were introduced to the famous, but later learned to be deadly, ABSINTHE. Absinthe is a green alcohol that is illegal in the states because it apparently makes you hallucinate. Fortunately I did not have enough to get to this point. Unfortunately one of my companions, who won't be named, did hit this point. We ended up meeting two girls both in their late 20's: one from Serbia and Montenegro and the other from Poland. The girls, or should I say women, were VERY nice. We laughed, took pictures, and got pretty buss with these chicks. After a couple drinks, the girls wanted to go dancing. Being as it was 4:00 in the morning we gratefully declined. The night ended with us meeting two italian guys, renato and luigi, on our walk back home (which we luckily found after 30 minutes of walking in freezing temperatures). renato and luigi were pretty cool. They told us about italy and all the beautiful women. We finally hit the hay at about 5:30. not bad for our first night in Prague huh?

Saturday was a great day with the family. We stayed in most of the day because our heads pounding. Fortunately, Jazz played us some guitar. She has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard in my entire life, no lie. It is sooo soothing and just turns any hangover into relaxation. Unfortunately Jazz has a boyfriend so none of us can marry her :( Later, we all went out to a restaurant/pub near the Charles River. The dinner was amazing. We had such a great time, eating and drinking together. It really does feel like we're a family. And it's only been 4 days! After dinner we walked over the Charles Bridge for the first time. From the bridge, there is THE MOST amazing view I have ever seen in my life. I really think everyone should come to Prague before they die. I got chicken skin standing on that bridge looking out. It truly was perfect.

On sunday, we had orientation and class activities. We split up into groups of four and had a scavenger hunt around the city. It was cool bonding with the other kids Comly, Gabbi, and Hannah, who I hadn't met before. The scavenger hunt lasted all day and was finished off with a dinner with our entire program. Our group actually won first prize because we found almost all the sites on the list. Jesse's group ended up with the lowest score ever in the program's history! haha. another great day in PRAHA!

Just another manic monday??? yea right, not in Prague! After a long day of classes (intensive Czech), Jazz and Pavla hit off the night with some hot wine and a phenomenal ham, swiss, and mushroom burger. Then it was off to Chapeau Prague, a dance club we heard about from a kid who went on the program last semester. We thought that we'd have a few beers and relax because it was only a monday. the club would be empty right? no way!! not in prague. the club which was three stories underground was popping off!! the floor we were on was filled with young people like ourselves. We drank for a while until we were "warm" and then made our way to the dance floor. The room was filled with smoke, and the lights were flashing different colors. it's exactly what you'd think a european club would be like. just like the movies! As we stood on the dance floor, girls immediately started rubbing themselves on us. it was crazy! i would stand with my back towards jack, jesse, and jazz, and girls would just rub their butts on my butt enticing me to dance. So what's the first thing i do? I was outta there!!! I was soo overwhelmed that I got scared and ran out of there as fast as I could. hey! don't judge me! i'm still new to this whole scene, okay. call me a wuss, but i grew from that experience. maybe next time i will actually turn around before i run away. small steps, small steps.

On our way home, we had the best snowball fight i've ever had. The snowballs packed perfectly. I nailed jesse twice and jack once. Overall, I was the champion. another epic night!

so now it's tuesday. today we went on another tour of prague. I actually took pictures today so ill post a few of them up. but prague continues to amaze me everyday. i am so excited to see what will happen next! i love you all, and now i must ice my hands from all this typing i just did. na schledanou! Hezky den!

adam

My first day in Prague

Aloha!,

Finally, after months and months of anticipation, our adventure has finally began. We made it to Prague! Before I begin describing how unbelievable this country is, I want to tell you about our journey here. So after a great couple of surprisingly sunny days in Seattle with Jack (where we raged of course), we said our goodbyes and made it to the airport. I guess the whole "study abroad in Prague" thing never really hit me until this point. Jack and I could not hold our excitement so right when we got to the gate, we hit the bars! ahhhh, it's great to be 21! Jesse met us soon after and we proceeded to board the plane feeling a bit warm inside (we were actually both super buss). After a quick nine hour flight filled with complimentary wine and pretty grinds food, we made it to Heathrow Airport in London. We were just a couple of haole Americans among many European haoles. We had a two hour layover so we walked around, looked a few shops, tried to blend in with everyone else, a tough task however, especially when you look like a hobbit compared to everyone else.

The excitement was really building now. Only a hop, skip, and a jump away from PRAHA! As our plane approached I could see the landscape out the window. I couldn't believe it. We finally made it. After getting our bags, we walked out of the airport. WHOA! SOOOOO COLD! I immediately ran to make a snowball, but when i threw it, it feel apart into what looked like a poof of smoke. Ahhhh, too dry the snow. Kinda bummed, but oh well, I'm in Prague! haha, I'm sorry if I sound like a little school girl and I keep repeating that, but I've been anticipating this trip forever and I'm just so stoked to finally be here. Anyway, because we were the last group to arrive to Prague, we were driven straight to the dinner that the CET program put on for us. Driving to the city center was pretty amazing. The country was so different from anything I had seen in my life. It was like I was driving through the scene of "Taken". I was stunned......but also freezing my nuts off. When we got to the Pizzeria, Jack, Jesse, and I were finally separated as there were only a few open seats left at the restaurant. Time to make some friends! After a great Pizza dinner, it was time to see our apartment! I had to take a cab by myself which was kind of scary because the driver looked pretty nuts. oh well, i could have taken him.

The driver stopped in front of an old building down a side street: Tyrsova 5, my new home. Shortly after we arrived at our apartment, two beautiful women made their way towards us. Our new roommates! Wow, we could not have picked out better roommates than Jazz and Pavla. I know it's still early but I can already tell that these girls are going to be awesome!! Jazz is from Washington state and goes to Kenyon college where she plays rugby (I know, super cool, right?). Pavla is from the Czech Republic in a city outside of Prague. I already love these girls.

Our apartment is unreal. I've never lived in an apartment before so I'm pretty stoked. I'll put up some pictures. Da boys have to share a room and the girls share a double but it's not bad at all. I mean, it's me, Jack, and Jesse. We're pretty much brothers so no shame in anything (especially when Jesse walks around naked......). After hourrrrrs of unpacking, we decided to hit the hay. We had to be ready for our first day!

So it is 4:45 pm right now here in Prague. There is no way that I can express in words how amazing and mind blowing this day has already been. Okay, let's start with the women here because it is so amazing. THE WOMEN HERE ARE RIDICULOUSLY, AMAZINGLY, HOLY CRAP, O.....M......G, STUNNING. I wish everyone can actually see what I am talking about because I really can not explain it. I'm pretty sure, no lie, that about half the women I saw today would be victoria secrets models. And there are PLENTY of people in this city. TALL, SLENDER, piercing blue eyes, dark perfect hair. PERFECTION. okay, I could go on all day trying to describe how beautiful these girls are, but my mom's probably getting pretty bored (and she's probably the only one reading this anyway). So we met at the city center at 10:00 am for orientation. There are 12 people in the CES (Central European Studies) program. This is the group of people I will be spending most of my trips and classes with. They are a fun bunch; I'm sure we will have a great time. After meeting, JIRI, our group leader took us on a tour around the city. I've never been to New York but I'm assuming it looks like this: stores and restaurants everywhere, big lights, everyone in a hurry. The only difference is the buildings. These buildings are ALMOST as amazing as the women. I guess some are hundreds and hundreds and even more hundreds of years old. Just amazing. After the tour, me, Jesse, and Jack grabbed a sausage hot dog for 2 bucks from a street vendor. You might have guessed, THE BEST sausage dog I have ever eaten in my life. Oh yeah, we also bought a 2 dollar pilsner to go along with the dog. I mean really, does life get any better??? eatin' a dog, drinkin a beer, staring at would be super models in the most beautiful country in the world? Well, I think my life is on a downslope after this because this is really just pure ecstacy.

After some more orientation stuff, the five of us (me, jesse, jack, pavla, and jazz), went on our first grocery shopping adventure! WHEW, and a wild adventure it was. We had no idea what we were getting. Jesse got what he thought to be cream cheese, but ended up being a stick of butter. Good thing we had Pavla with us. She told us all the good things to buy. ooh an interesting note: they don't sell thirty racks of beer here!! oh well, I think we got enough beer to hold us down for a week or two (or maybe two days?). We walked back to the apartment to get a good look at the area where we're living. Again, everything was stunning. I'm still dazed that I am here. It is like I'm dreaming. Everything is perfect. And this is only day 1. I'm stoked to see what lies ahead for us. I will continue to post when I can but hopefully you can all understand how amazing this is. Well, off to dinner with the boys, and then raging tonight!! Na schledanno!!

adam