I finally did some more touristy things this week! I went and watched the changing of the guards at the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square. It was very interesting. I don't know the story behind it nor do I know the story about why a chicken rings the bells on the hour. I suppose I will have to look into that. One thing I do know about the Astronomical Clock is that the famous Czech artist, Josef Manes, painted the 12 paintings for each month on the clock. The road I live on is named after him. It is said I live on the most beautiful road in Prague because they planted trees all along it to make it extra special for Josef. (Note: No picture does this clock justice)  



The next thing I did after observing the clock was go inside of it. Now I don't think of myself as being afraid of heights but I stand corrected. I went to the very very top of the clock tower. Getting up there was quite the process. So many stairs and ramps. I have since decided that I don't care how structurally sound a building is, there is NO WAY that a building built in the 12th century is sound enough to hold people in whatever century we are living in!! Going to the top was the most terrifying thing I have done in a good while.  Straight fear.

Let me start off this blog with announcing that I am adjusting to Prague culture very well. I am starting to speak to more locals in Czech, I remember to bring my own groceries bags to the local grocery store and market, I can help people navigate the metro, and my feet have finally adjusted to long city walks and uneven cobblestone. Generally, I am comfortable here. With that being said, something happened that made me very uncomfortable this past weekend; I caught someone trying to pick pocket me. Scary. Well, more awkward than scary. I was in a bar and some women started talking to me, distracting me, but she was rather odd so I just ignored her and when I turned around there was a man with his hands on the zippers of my bag. I didn't panic, I just kind of stared at him dumbfounded and walked away to find a larger group of my friends within the crowd. I am thankful that I didn't get anything stolen or threatened by the pick-pocketer but I am also glad that this happened. It raised my alerts again which is very crucial in any city, not just Prague. 

Moving along, I was told this week by my Czech Language professor that my name is ugly. In class, everyone was translating their name into the Czech equivalent but Morgan has no equivalent and therefor is ugly. At least Morgan is easy to pronounce though, everyone knows the name thanks to my good friend Captain Morgan. I was quite surprised to know that for Czech people, my last name is rather difficult. If you have every seen Czech written out, you will notice there are a lot of accent marks above the letters. This is to show the reader where the emphasis is in the word. Well my last name doesn't have any accents so they can't pronounce it. 

Within the last few days, I finally walked to the baby tower! It is literally 2 blocks away from me and it took me 2 weeks to get there.The tower is a very tall TV tower with a restaurant inside but I have no clue why there are babies on the tower. I know they were made by the famous Czech artist, David Černý, known for his provocative artwork. The tower itself, people used to hate due to the fact communists put it there and they destroyed part of centuries-old Jewish Cemetery but  the babies make it tolerable. 


One last update of this week, I FINALLY played with a dog! I stumbled upon the coolest bar, where you could rock climb and play games, and inside there was a young border collie named after the ever so beautiful actress Amy Adams. I sat on the dirty floor of a bar in Prague 3 for like an hour giving this dog a belly rub. Her owner did speak some English (if you can call it that) and was quite intoxicated but he let me play with his pup (free of charge- the homeless people with dogs ask for money if you pet their dogs) so he is a O-K in my book.

       So class hasn't started yet so I have just been venturing around the city this whole week. I am starting to feel like a local..well maybe not a local (for many reasons....post soon to come on that). Anyywho, I have been noticing so many diiferences between U.S. norms and Czech norms. So here is a random list:
 

                               1. Grocery bags. In the U.S. you go buy your things and the cashiers or bag boys load up your purchases in plastic bags. Well in the Czech Republic you have to pay 2Kc for each plastic bag. I repeat you have to pay for EACH bag. I have since adapted to this by supplying my own bags which is a habit I hope to take back with me to the U.S. The Czech Republic has been enforcing this bag business because they are apart of the European Union which is trying be as environmentally friendly as can be.

                                2. This is a difference that took me a couple of days to pick up on and it is not talking to anyone on the metro. No one talks. I don't fully understand why there is this unspoken rule but I feel like it has all to do with how intimate the people are here. Not intimate in the sense of romantic (which they are definitely that too which I will get to later) but when a Czech individual engages in conversation they like to talk quietly and very directly to one or very few people. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen one person have a group conversation since being in Prague, besides Americans. However, in the spring there are establishing a "talking car" on the Metro which is supposed to encourage meeting new friends while on the metro. I have a slight feeling that my friends and I will be the only riders in that car. 

                               3. Another small thing I have noticed, when talking to Czechs who do speak English they love to add in the words perhaps and maybe at any point of a sentence. It's kind of hilarious and quite adorable. 

                               4. No matter what you are doing, generally no one will care. You can drink publicly, dress eccentrically, or be just down right odd and no one will even bat an eyelash at you. As mentioned in 2, they only care when you are talking very loud/making a lot of noise. 

                                5. This is difference is definitely my favorite one. Dogs. EVERYONE has a dog. I haven't seen one cat. The coolest part about everyone having dogs is that I see them everywhere and none of them are ever leashed. Ever! Dogs here are so well trained. You can take them on metro and bring them in the grocery store. And all of these dogs are sooooo well behaved. The next Czech phrase I have to learn is can I pet your dog. Even the homeless people  have dogs, and they all look very well taken care of. I witnessed a homeless gentleman give over half of his meal to his dog and then wrap up the dog in a blanket so it wouldn't get cold when he was trying to beg for money. 

                              6.  I knew going into this trip that people from the Czech Republic (and most European countries) are not going to like me being that I am an American. Though I have definitely met people here that automatically hate me, I have also found that Czechs really like Americans. I had a waitress last night that was so excited to speak to my friends and I last night when she realized we were Americans. She said she knew we were Americans because our voices where lower pitched the English people. She didn't speak English very well (which she told us she didn't) but she tried so hard and I really enjoyed talking to her. She also mentioned that she loved Americans because we are more friendly than others.

                            7. A small difference here is that when you go out to eat, you are not in and than out. It is customary in the U.S. to take no longer than 45 minutes to an hour to grab a "quick" meal but there are no quick meals in Prague. Meals are an all day/night affair. You stay and talk and drink for hours.
                                   
                            8. This is by far the most inconvenient  difference. Water. People in Prague do not drink water. They don't carry around water bottle. It isn't free here. The other day I was looking at beverage prices and I saw that beer (Pilsner Urquell) was 35Kc for a pint where as for a small glass of water is was 65Kc. Being a water drinker is not going to be cost efficient for me.

                           9. Last major difference in Prague that I have noticed is PDA, public display of affection. If I had to take a shot for every time I saw PDA a day, I would be dead in 45 minutes. People here love there PDA, especially on the long 
escalator rides. This goes back to what I said about how people are so inanimate here, they just want one on one interactions. Being an American, PDA is very weird to be around just because we are firm believers on personal space and privacy. This is definitely going to take some time to get used to.

Well kids, 
     it's been real.
        Until Next time,
                   Morgan

...or maybe not.

       I feel as if I will never get used to the scenery in Prague. Quite frankly, I don't want to. Prague is like a giant spot-it book, the more you look around the more you see. Everything is so intricate. Like the clock tower, and this is just the clock portion not the entire building. Every building in Prague has so many details that it is virtually impossible to capture a good enough picture. 

Speaking of not being able to take a good enough picture. Let's just talk about the Prague Castle. There is no way, NO WAY, that a camera could take a picture that shows the detail of the church within the castle, you can't even take a good enough picture of the doors. Add in the building itself, the stain glass, the statues...so much detail. Also, something no one told me about, to get to the castle you have to walk up this upward winding street. When you get on top of the hill, be ready to drop your jaw, the view of the Prague from up above is stunning. The only downside to going uphill to see this view in February is the bitter cold wind. On my way down from the castle, my roommates and I stopped and got Trdelnik for 60 Kc which is kind of like the Czech equivalent to a pretzel but ginormous. It is a cinnamon sugar, almonds, and caramel infused bread shaped as a cylinder - a must have for cold hands.

I tend to think of myself as a good packer, usually taking great pleasure in it, until now. Do you know how hard it is to pack for 4 months, 2 seasons, and numerous types of terrain? Hard. Packing shoes is by far the hardest. I need shoes for rainy weather, snowwy weather, sping weather, for walking, for hiking, for running, for beaches, and for going out. I physically cannot fit no more than like 4 pairs of shoes. 

The other difficult part about packing for this journey is to remember to pack for the unexpected. Will I be swimming? (I'm definitely not coming home until I swim in the Mediterranean so..yes to swimming) Where do I put my dirty clothes? (roommates probably won't enjoy them residing on the floor) What will I need if I get sick? (if I don't bring any, maybe I won't get sick...fingers crossed) What will I need if I get homesick? (get out in the city or country!!!) What if I get cold in my apartment? (solution: snuggie) What do I need for my apartment? (not going to worry about that one) Where do I even live? 

Despite these dilemmas, I am almost completely packed. Now I just have to go. 
                                10 days.
                                     Until then,
                                            Morgan

After 4 agonizing months, it finally came; my Czech Visa. My journey to Europe can officially begin. I am beyond ecstatic but this means that I actually I am going. The flight is booked, the fees are paid, the suitcase is ready.  But am I ready? I suppose that is TBD. But than again, how can you really ever be ready to leave everything you know and love? There is no amount of time that will make me completely ready to say goodbye to my friends, my mama bear, and my dogs. (I said dogs last because, well, who is going to take them to the park?) 

I keep reassuring myself that it'll all be worth it when I get home and have amazingly bragworthy stories to tell over and over again. So friends and family, you better ask me about them or else!!! But in the meantime I suppose I will just have to brag and display my newest edition to my passport like Vanna. 

Until next time dobrý den 
          (me so fancy, huh?) 
                   Morgan