On Thursday I did not do much, I went grocery shopping, did some reading and took a nap. Later in the afternoon Joanna's sister Audrey and her friend Nisha arrived and I went with them on a walk around the castle. Then we went to dinner at the Hanging Coffee Pot. Yesterday during the day Julia, Erin, Rachel and I went to the Chocolate Museum. Now this sounds like my heaven. However, the museum was pretty small but they had one display of all old chocolate wrappers that was kind of cool and then we got a sample at the beginning and the end. There was also a candy store at the end of the museum with tons of chocolate that looked amazing. They also had a lot marzipan and hard candy that they made in front of you. Then last night we went to dinner at Barbar and I got a crepe with egg, spinach and cheese it was really good and reminded me of breakfast. After dinner we went to this show called Laterna Magika Graffiti. It was a modern dance show that also had a cool background behind and in front of the dancers with lots of lights and colors. It was really cool and kind of difficult to explain but the way the lights were set up it seemed like the dancers could just appear out of nowhere. After the show Joanna and I took Audrey and Nisha to Cafe Louvre for dessert. We decided that since they were on vacation we were too so it was okay that we went out to eat twice in one day. This time I got black forest cake which was chocolate cake with cherries and whipped cream. After Cafe Louvre we went to this bar called the Fat Koala which was just a cool place to hang out.

Today I slept in for a while and then Joanna, Julia, Julie, Erin and I went to this town about 40 minutes outside of Prague called Melnik. When we got there we walked up to this old church and looked at the view. Then we actually went into the church and climbed all the way up to the top. To do this we had to go up extremely steep stairs that were more like ladders and then up a really twisty metal staircase. We climbed higher than the bells and it was cool to see how huge they were. Once we got to the top we got a 360 degree view of the town and the view was so pretty. The only bad thing was that today was not one of the 3 days the sun has been out ssince I've been in Prague. Luckily though it was the warmest day since we've been here, 45 degrees in Prague and then a little cooler in the countryside. After the church we went and did a tour of the castle. It was really pretty and had a concert hall and chapel in it. Then we went and did a tour of the wine cellar. In the cellar there was a giant griffin, so I guess Godric Gryffindor must have been there at some point. Once we left the cellar we did a wine tasting of Czech wine. We were a little disappointed because we thought that we were going to be able to actually learn about the wine but instead they just put us in a basement for 30 minutes with 10 bottles of wine and a description of each. It was fun to be able to try all the wines that were made there though. After the wine tasting we had dinner in Melnik and took the bus back to Prague.

If you comment on this I will bring back presents for you.

Or you can write to me:
Hannah Maurer
Kolej Komenskeho, Parlerova St. 6
169 00 Praha 6
Czech Republic

I haven't updated in a really long time, so I hope this post is not too long.

Saturday: On Saturday night we went out to dinner at the Mexican place. It was really good and a fun place to go. After dinner we went to this pub called U Sudu. This was really fun, it was very crowded but full of Czechs and other Europeans, not all Americans. We met a few guys from North Carolina who are majoring in landscape architecture. One worked on a golf course...interesting. Then we met these British guys who were hilarious. They said that the prevailing stereotype about Americans is that southerners sleep with their sisters. So I had to explain that while Miami is southern it is not the deep south and we do not sleep with our relatives.

Sunday: During the day on Sunday we went and did laundry. This place was actually really nice and gave free coffee or tea. The only thing was that the dryers didn't actually dry that well. This was okay though, we just hang stuff around the room. It was a lot better than the last place we went because I think the washers worked better and they were a lot faster. Then at night we went to the Globe cafe because on Sunday nights they show old movies for free, so we went and saw a movie and got dessert. I got a chocolate milkshake and it was better than the movie, which I got bored during and couldn't follow, but it was still fun. The people at the table next to us got real food and it looked really good so we're probably going to go back.

Monday: Classes started. The first class I had is called Does Central Europe Exist? Creating and Crossing Borders. The teacher gave us a map without any countries or borders and asked us to think about and outline what we thought central Europe was. Then when no one raised their hands she called on me. I had no idea so I said the countries in the middle of the map. I don't think this was the correct answer, she expected a little more detail I think. But whatever, I wouldn't be taking the class if I knew everything. Actually, I wouldn't be taking the class if the UPrague program had offered more classes since every other program offers tons and if I had gotten the classes I had actually signed up for. I actually think this class will be ok though. After this class we went to Bohemia Bagel and just sat for about 2 hours until the next class. The next class was The World and Prague: Overcoming Smallness and is just for the UPrague people and then 3 European students. It was kind of boring but I think that was just because it was the first day and in basically every class they've been doing the history of the Czech Republic. Then Monday night we went to this club for a band's cd release party and they performed and it was really fun. They gave us a flyer when we were at dinner on Saturday and it looked fun so we decided to go. After the show we met the band and got autographs in case they get famous.

Tuesday: Tuesday I only had one class and it was a UPrague class. This one was Prague and the World: Overcoming Smallness. This was also boring because it was a three hour class and I had no idea what the teacher was talking about. Both of the UPrague classes are taught by three professors and they are only there once every three classes. I am interested to see how this works out because the only team taught class I've had was the teacher taught their entire subject then switched, they did not switch daily. Then last night there were supposed to be fire works for Mardi Gras so we went to the Charles Bridge to watch. Unfortunately the fire works never appeared. Its ok because there were a bunch of us there hanging out and it wasn't as cold as it usually is so I ended up having a good time.

Wednesday: Today I had the same two classes as Monday and they were both kind of boring. In between classes we went to the cafeteria for lunch. The food was not great but it only cost like $2, so it was fine. After lunch we went to get coffee before class since we had watched a movie during the central Europe class and had all been falling asleep. After the second class I had another two hours before my third class. Joanna and I walked around and went into this store where everything was made by the owner. It was really cool. Then we walked around Wenceslas Square and found a few other really cute stores that I want to go back to when I can actually try on and buy some stuff. Then we went to the farmer's market to get some fruit and dried fruit and Joanna took it back to the dorm for me while I went to class. The class was three hours long and we just went over the syllabus and watched a little bit of a movie on Havel today so it was kind of boring. But the reading for the class sounds interesting and we are going to go to some poetry readings and stuff so I am excited about it. After class I picked up a salad from Paneria (not to be confused with Panera) and just came back and hung out at the dorm.

Tomorrow I do not have class so I don't know what I'm going to do all day. Grocery shopping is definitely on the list. Joanna's sister and her friend are coming tomorrow so I am probably going to do some stuff with them this weekend.

Here are some more pictures. Most of them are from the toy museum.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=257554766/a=159932039_159932039/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Yesterday in Czech class we got our tests back. I got an A on the test! I think there was only one other A and then a couple of people got A-s. This means that I got an A in the class if it ends up that we get credit for it. The reason I know people's grades is that after we looked at our test grades the teacher went around the class and said people's test grades and what that meant their grade for the class was. For the boys who sit in the back of the class, come late and skip class she says "now for the best students in the class. You get C+ on test, C- in class." Apparently every teacher did this same sort of thing. This is another thing that would never happen at home, or else the professors would get harassed by students and parents. After we went over our tests we watched another Czech movie. It was about World War II and was really sad. I don't remember the name but the movie was really good. My teacher told us that Czech people prefer movies without happy endings.

Last night we went to see Swan Lake. I loved this ballet, the costumes were so pretty and the dancers were great. Since I haven't been to many ballets, this is what I was picturing when I thought of ballet. It had a huge cast so there were a lot of really cool dances. After we went to Cafe Louvre which is a really famous cafe. It has a cafe, restaurant and billiards room where you can play pool and all sorts of board games. It is where tons of great thinkers used to hang out, such as Einstein and Kafka. To put the icing on the cake of coolness, the former president of the Czech Republic took Bill Clinton there. I had chocolate cake which was basically a chocolate mousse cake and was really good. Joanna had a raspberry cake which had tons of raspberries and then a some kind of cake on the bottom. Julie had hot chocolate which was basically a melted candy bar and a caramel sundae with nuts and whipped cream. Both of these were really good too. Julia and Erin split fish soup which was like Manhattan clam chowder and sacher cake which was kind of like grainy cake that tasted like there was some kind of fruit in it. The soup was really good but the cake was ok.

Today we went to the toy museum. It is right near the castle. There are tons of old toys there and the whole second floor is a Barbie exhibit. I took a ton of pictures of the toys. Some of them are kind of creepy, like the porcelain dolls...some people I know happen to think porcelain dolls are not creepy though. There were also some interesting barbies, such as drag queen Barbie (I don't think this was her actual name but its what she looked like) and pregnant Barbie. I took pictures of all of these but I can't figure out how to post descriptions of pictures.Also some of the Barbies I took pictures of are behind other ones so its kind of hard to see them.

Tonight we are going out to a Mexican restaurant. Its supposed to be really good and is always packed so you actually have to make reservations. Apparently the bartenders are actually Mexican so we're all excited because we may actually be able to speak Spanish and speak a language that we actually know a little of.

Today we had our Czech test. Joanna and I studied together last night but there was so much on it that it was impossible to know everything. The test was not very long, it was just one piece of paper, both sides. Some of it was difficult and I definitely made some mistakes. However, I think I did okay overall. Also, I've gotten A's on all my worksheets, except for one. On that one my teacher drew a flower. Before the test my class actually went to see a movie with another class. The movie was all in Czech with English subtitles and was really good but I can't remember the name. It was nominated for an Oscar in the 90's I think. After the test I went and picked up a few things at Albert's, the grocery store. I got apples, oranges, yogurt, bread and dried pineapple for $5. Then I came back and Joanna and I went and walked around the park near our dorm. It was cold so we just walked through and didn't go up to the Eiffel Tower. We also found the tram that takes you to the top of the hill to see a view of Prague.

Howard and Joe want to know more about the food. I make a lot of scrambled eggs and grilled cheese in my room. It is still college even though its in Prague. This country loves yogurt. There is always a full aisle of yogurt at the grocery store instead of just a little section. There is also a lot of muesli which is cereal and I like it in granola bar form covered in yogurt. Another Czech food is fried cheese. This is basically mozzarella sticks but in a triangle. It's really good. There are also bakeries everywhere. They are kind of different than at home and sell a lot of croissants and bread pastry breakfast type things. There is a little tiny bakery across from one of the classroom buildings that sells donuts that look really good. There is also one by one of the tram stops. I don't know how everyone in this country stays so skinny. In general though the food here is really good, especially baked goods. It is kind of hard for picky eaters because you can't always tell what is in everything. Czech food is pretty basic and is usually meat and potatoes. They also have salads, pasta and a lot of pizza places so there are tons of options.

Also, at the museum there were tons of kinds of animals, sea shells and animal bones and human bones. It was really cool. There was a giant elephant, woolly mammoth and whale skeleton.