The Melting Pot Grows Bigger

Today was a good day. We began the day by getting up and going into the city with Michelle, Jenny's friend. She helped the girls and I get monthly unlimited metro passes (the correct one this time) and from there we went to exchange money. I'm glad I was there to help the girls exchange money because I made sure they got a good rate at the exchange kiosk (24 EUR to CZK, which is pretty decent considering the current rate is 26 EUR to CZK) not to mention my awesome sense of direction allowed us to get around a little better. It's weird to think that I've only been here for 6 days and I already can take the train alone, get around the city, and even have a sense of direction without any help.

When we finished running errands, we met up with Jenny and had lunch. I went to Mcdonald's because we were near Wenscelas Square and I had already tried the bratwurst. McDonald's in Czech Republic was kind of a let down. It tastes very American, but it gets bonus points for several reasons. First, they have the Big Tasty, which they no longer serve in the US. This is what I got and it was in fact, big and tasty with the special Big Tasty sauce of course. Second, they get bonus points for a special promotion they are doing right now for the world cup. You can check it out by clicking here, and I don't know what it is but it looks delicious. I'm definitely going back to try it. It comes with waffle fries--enough said.

After lunch we continued on to Old Town Square, where we were able to take group pictures of ourselves in front of the Astronomical Clock and Tyn Church. We made our way over towards the Prague Castle, but soon realize we wouldn't have enough time to actually go inside, so instead we went to the Torture Museum, which was a total tourist trap for USD$7. It was alright, interesting at parts, but I could tell it was a trap by the amount of foreigners in there. We were right by the Charles Bridge, but by this time it was time to head back to Roztoky to eat and prepare for the evening. Jenny had to go to pick up Aysegul, our Turkish intern, from the airport, so I led the girls back to Masarykovo train station and yes, this time we made it back to the town in one piece and on time.

On the way home we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some things to cook for dinner, but each of us obviously have different tastes and different ideas for dinner. Ekta is completely vegetarian, she's never had any meat in her life, so obviously vegetables were the first place they started. I love meat, so I went straight to the meat section and got pork cuts. We got a bag of pasta, onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, a bell pepper, potatoes, and a few random things. It only cost us 65CZK each, which is like $3.

When we got home, Jenny was still not back from the airport. We were tired, but Ana Luisa (from Brazil) and I began chopping vegetables right away. Ekta joined in the cooking and we figured out that we're just going to have to use every spice in the kitchen to make something good that we all can eat. I knew that we had to steam the cauliflower, but Ana suggested we put onions and garlic to sautee the mushrooms. Ana Luisa and I have a funny relationship. She speaks to me in Spanish, I respond in English, and she yells at me. She also realizes that I don't take her crap and so when she gives me a hard time, I can give it right back at her. She kind of reminds me of my sister in a way. When Ayşegül and Jenny arrived, the kitchen was cookin' with some pork meat (sauteed in garlic and spices), cauliflower (with salt, pepper and butter--steamed), pasta (mixed with mushrooms sauteed in grilled onions and garlic--cooked slightly over butter and salt and pepper). It was probably the most random meal I've ever had because we didn't really know what we were doing and we were trying to take a little bit of Brazilian, American, and Indian cooking techniques. Although Ekta brought spices from New Delhi, we ended up not using them because we didn't really know which one to put in what dish! The end result was a fantastic mix of everything and it really wasn't that bad.

After dinner, we sat around and talked. I'm really enjoying spending time with so many people of different cultures. I speak Chinese with Lin and Spanish with Ana Luisa, but beyond that, it's fun to see how our cultures relate and absolutely differ. Differences in food, customs, and senses of humor all make it one big learning experience.

On a random note, I'm the only one that brought a plug adapter, so Lin Zhou, Ana Luisa and I are all sharing my one plug for now. I feel bad that I'm blogging while Ana's iPod and laptop are completely dead and Lin needs to recharge her camera battery...but, oh well.

Another random note: Aysegul just made Turkish coffee, which was delicious. It is made by putting hot water and finely ground coffee together, with only a little bit of sugar. Surprisingly, it wasn't strong, but quite enjoyable. Let's see if I can go to bed now, being as it is 11:00 PM.

Tomorrow we have a lot planned for the day. We begin by going to Prague Castle. This time, I will actually go inside and I can't wait. Afterward, we need to be ready for an evening session, where Jenny and I will explain the agenda/schedule for next week and the week after. I'm kind of nervous because I only have so much to explain about the schedule. A lot of it still needs to be filled in with creative games and time-filling activities that do not consist of working on the special skill-developing projects. I'm sure I'll manage. More to come.

Meeting the Others

Since Saturday, a lot has been going on around over here. Saturday night, after the whole train fiasco, we ended up going out to Prague to meet some other international students here on their internships. When we arrived at their apartment they welcomed me to Prague and introduced themselves. Zrinka (Zizi) a girl from Croatia, Rusha an Indian girl from New Zealand, Tinzo a guy from Tunzania, a guy from Colombia, and a Brazilian guy. They are all really outgoing and had all been here for at least two months already. I think most of them plan to stay for more then 6 months. Prague, come to find out, typically hosts between 30-40 international exchanges a year. That's a lot for such a small city!

When it was time to go out it was already nearly 1 AM. Jenny and I had taken the last train into the city, an 11:30 PM, and since the trains do not run at night, planned to take the 4:41 AM home. That is just the way it works here. The first place we went to was a "music bar," 

or a club, that was kind of crowded but not too much. It was mostly filled with a bunch of random people from middle aged people who just wanted to dance, to some younger people there just for the drinks. The music playlist was a whole other story. A mix of 80s rock and Michael Jackson to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and random techno songs, overall it wasn't really good music to dance to. It was fun however to watch the unique dance moves of some select individuals, who grooved to their own tune or who simply just danced like they thought the world was ending. Those people were the most entertainment I got from the place because it was kind of awkward and pretty much like pulling teeth to force ourselves to make the best of it. After two hours of this, it was finally time to call it quits and we moved on. By now it was nearly 3 AM and in typical American fashion we stopped by a late night pizza place to grab a quick snack. I got a gyro, which was nice and fresh, and we moved on to the next place. We eventually found this place called "Hell," an underground club with smoke machines and gothic decorations. The DJ was really good even though I don't particularly like electronica. He played minimal techno, which means it has no words just beats mixed together, and I thought he was pretty good. This place was much better and nicer than the last place, but unfortunately there was one big problem. We were the only ones there. I mean there was one couple in a dark secluded corner and one guy dancing by himself--who would randomly shout when the music got really good and he couldn't contain his excitement (pretty funny)--and there were people along the bar, but mostly the place was empty. Bummer. We ended up making our own dance party until it was time to leave and Jenny and I caught our train and slept in.

When I woke up yesterday it was time for a busy day. Jenny left around 1 PM to pick up Ana Luisa, our Brazilian exchange who is going to camp with us. While she was gone I went to the store, bought eggs and bread, and worked on the schedule. When they returned from the airport, I was preparing to leave to pick up Ekta, our Indian exchange. I did have a chance to eat and talk with Ana before I left.  She is very bubbly and outgoing, she brought two bottles of cachaça (a Brazilian liquor that is made from sugarcane) per my request, which was very nice of her, and she also insists that I practice my Spanish with her. We did get to speak long enough for her to call me a "drama queen," at which I laughed and just shook my head. This is coming from a girl who just complained that there are no Victoria Secrets around so she couldn't buy her lotion for her dry skin... Great.

I left for the airport by myself with just the numbers of the busses to guide me. Luckily I have a great sense of direction and I made to the airport without getting lost or missing my transfer. I greeted Ekta at the airport and bought her ticket for her and we began our journey back. We talked about many things, including life in India, her vegetarianism (she's never had meat in her life and not for religious purposes), life in Singapore and traveling.

Upon arriving at the house, Jenny had just left to pick up the other interns from the train station. The people we had hung out with the previous night were coming to say hi to the new interns. They brought with them a girl from Russia, Maria, and we went to the local pub in Jenny's town. The group was quite the mix. Ekta and Tinzo don't drink, Ekta just doesn't like it and Tinzo is Muslim. Ana, being a typical South American, was really excited to go out, but was happy to have a beer at the local pub instead.

The pub closed at 11 PM and on our way back we found Lin, our Chinese exchange, returning from the airport. We talked for a little while and I soon realize that I'm living with four international women. I'm just going to leave it at that. I fell asleep to them chit chatting about who knows what. I woke up this morning to see that they also invaded, but haven't yet taken over my sleeping space, but we will see how that goes. Today we are going to get the new interns settled into Prague, they need to buy train passes and get cell phones (which I refuse to buy for two weeks in Prague even though Jenny insists that I do so). I'll hopefully have a chance tonight to write again. Our exchange from Turkey comes in today so we'll have another addition to add to our group.

Searching for Myself

Well, well, well, where do I even begin? Let's start with yesterday. I got to sleep in until 9, and Jenny and I began work on the schedule for the camp right away. She left to go look at the apartment that some of the other leaders are going to have to stay at while they are here in Prague. It's about 30 minutes from Prague by metro (subway) in the opposite direction from us, which makes it about an hour away. While she was gone I mostly completed the two week schedule, giving the students plenty of breaks and plenty of time to work on the projects for the universities that will be seeing their work. Now, I need to think of night activities and figure out what projects will be done on what day. I'll definitely have to use input from the other leaders when they arrive tomorrow.

When Jenny came back, I had to go to the city to meet with Jaro (pronounced Yaro) about the agenda I completed. He gave me a lot of feedback about what camp should look like: time should be organized in a way that is structured, but needs to be flexible enough to give the kids the feeling that they are at a summer camp and not school. Furthermore, he emphasized that the schedule is going to have balanced correctly to give them a lot of motivation, especially during long periods of work. It's a delicate balance between work and play, but I think I can do it right. I'm excited to see how the first camp goes and how much the agenda changes (or doesn't).

After my meeting with Jaro at the AIESEC offices, he invited me to grab a quick bite to eat, and actually bought me my food. After talking with him more, it turns out, he's working for Pricewaterhouse Coopers in their audit department. He was originally was on track for their advisory department (I'm working for KPMG Advisory), but the financial crisis hit and it was either audit or unemployment, so he chose audit. After dinner, we went to this awesome beer garden on the other side of the Vlatva River. It was a little bit of a hike to get to because after we crossed the bridge we had to walk up a really tall hill. At the top, the beer garden looked over the entire city of Prague. The sun was setting and the spires were lit in hues of orange and red. Great scenery, great beer, and lots of fun.

Although they invited me out to a disco afterwards, I was unable to attend because I had my laptop, backpack, poor clothing, and Jenny's house keys (otherwise I would’ve loved to join them). When I got home, Jenny offered me wine and we sat outside on the patio enjoying the summer night. I showed her how to find satellites in the night sky, which is my favorite thing to do while I stargaze. Jenny's friend and fellow AIESECer Michelle came over around 1-2 AM and we played cards and had more wine. I soon found out that the sun rises at 4 AM in Czech Republic and we made our way to bed shortly afterwards.

I woke up this morning at 10 AM with Michelle telling me to get up and get ready to go before we missed the train. I had forgotten I told her I would go with her and her friend to the Czech National Bank the night before and although we were both tired, I knew we had to go together. We got to the train station and both of us were in pretty poor shape. Tired, not showered, and wearing the same clothes as the day before, I was clearly a mess. When we got to Prague, we got a slice of pizza from the train station (it was OK, but nowhere near NYC standards), and walked to the Czech National Bank. When we arrived, the line was out the door and around the block. Since today is some kind of Czech national holiday (kind of) the bank was giving free tours and it looked like all of Prague wanted to take advantage of that. There was no way the three of us were going to wait in the long line in the sweltering heat, so we decided to go somewhere nice and enjoy an ice cream: so we went to McDonalds!

I had a McFlurry with Michelle and Martin (different than the one who picked me up from the airport). Martin leaves soon for London to begin his AIESEC internship and he recently spent some time in the US. He told me that the Prague Castle is having a similar special and that I should go there, so after the McFlurry we parted ways and I headed across the famous Charles Bridge toward the Prague Castle. After crossing the bridge, I bought an over-priced tourist water because it was about as hot as Hades and I began walking to the castle. Prague Castle is the largest castle in the world, with beautiful gardens and the St. Vitus Cathedral, but it sits on top of a hill that overlooks Prague. When I made it to the castle, I went in the walls and through the courtyards. Apparently you still had to buy tickets to get in the buildings, so I went to the only free thing, St. Vitus Cathedral. This church is huge, awesome, and beautiful. It is a Roman Catholic cathedral, which holds tombs of kings, and has towering pillars inside along with a beautiful stained glass rose window and other adornments. The church has roots back to 925 AD, and the current cathedral was built in 1344, so it’s quite old.

Here’s when things get good. After the cathedral, I walked around the grounds more and made my way back to Prague. I got to the train station by tram and missed the train by about 2 minutes, so I waited for an hour for the next one. I was so tired, so overheated, so miserable by this point, I couldn’t even deal with myself. Sitting on the bench, my exhaustion caught up with me and I was so uncomfortable I could only close my eyes and wait. When the train got to the station, I jumped on to have some refuge from the heat and closed my eyes. Closing my eyes turned into a nice little power nap, and when I woke up, I was pleased to see the train had taken off. At the next stop, I looked out the window and enjoyed the beautiful Czech scenery, with the Vlatva River winding calmly next to the train. And then I realized, I didn’t recognize this countryside. And when we stopped at the next stop, I looked down the isle at the flashing sign that shows the next stop. Sure enough, I had slept right through my stop and was on my way to who knows where. I got off to find myself in a nice little village town with no terminal, just tracks and boarding platforms. I walked under the tracks to the other side and sat down alone at the empty station. By now, I was fed up with the heat, but luckily the hills provided shade on my side of the tracks. But now I began to wonder how long it is going to take for the next train, what am I going to do about a ticket, and a flurry of other questions. Of course, I have no phone service or wireless and there really isn’t anyone around besides some townspeople working on their houses nearby. Most Czech people over 35 don’t speak any English, so I knew it was pointless to ask them.

Naturally, I pulled out my cell phone and began to play games, listened to music, and I even wrote the first half of this blog. The train had to come eventually. I ended up waiting another hour before the next train arrived, taking me back to my stop and thankfully with no conductor to ask me for my ticket. When I walked in the door, I had a splitting headache and I was about two shades tanner from being outside all day. All I could think of on the walk home from the station was, “Good job Regis, now you really have something to tell everyone” and here I am. I took a two hour nap, and after waking up I asked Jenny what where doing tonight. I get what I deserve, because I had asked Jenny earlier if we could go out Saturday night and here it is, Saturday night and she’s got the evening planned for us, and I’m getting lost on trains after staying up to ungodly hours the night before…and I am the future of America. Don’t worry, this doesn’t happen often... (or does it?)

Stay tuned for more stories!

A day in AIESEC Prague

Today was day two in Prague and already I feel like I’ve been here for a whole month. I’ve learned so much, seen so much, and experienced so many new things that my brain can’t process it all. Today I took the train to Prague by myself to meet Jenny and Olga for lunch. I walked from the apartment to the train station, made it on time, and from Masarykovo Nádraži (Masarykovo station in Prague) to the university. Jenny’s university is very nice, it is the University of Economics in Prague and it has a small square outside with a statue of Winston Churchill. Walking into the University, Jenny introduced me to some fellow AIESECers who are members of AIESEC Prague. It was cool to see everyone speaking English and welcoming me to Prague, just the way I would greet someone when they come to New York on an internship. The university buildings are a little confusing because they added the new complex onto the old complex, and the floors don’t exactly line up. I almost died when we walked to the cafeteria and I saw a nice Sodexo sign smiling me in the face. I couldn’t help but laugh and think to myself, what great luck I have—that even after I graduate Sodexo finds me. For those of you who don’t know, Sodexo is the company that provides the cafeteria food at Fordham, prisons and to the president of the United States. The students warned me before we started, “It may look good, but it has no flavor.” Ironically, as much as I disdain Sodexo, I secretly love it and lo and behold, I actually liked the cafeteria food here too.

After lunch, it was time to work. Olga, Jenny and I went to the AIESEC club office and begin planning what to do for the Presentation Skills Workshop next Thursday. We came up with five basic elements that the students should walk away with:

• Preparing the presentation
• Goals of the presentation
• Body language and voice control
• Using visualizations
• Working with the audience

Each student will have to give five presentations and each time using more of the techniques that we teach them (which are much more detailed than I described, I just didn't want to bore anyone). I’m really excited about the work we did and it will be a good workshop for the students (sophomores in high school).

After this, we took a short break and Jenny and I went to pick up our Green Day tickets at the ticketpro dealer in Old Town. After, we ate dinner (at the cafeteria again), and made our way over to a lounge where AIESEC had planned a “Welcome to Prague” event for me. Going to the lounge, I walked in on a table of 12 AIESECers all sitting down talking and having drinks. Now I really know what it feels like to be a foreigner meeting a bunch of new people. Of course, we were the last people to arrive…which seems to be typical when meeting AIESEC interns. Even in New York, the foreigner is either waiting alone at the restaurant for the rest of us or they are the last one there after we’ve already ordered. I said hello, awkwardly, and sat down at the end of the table.  The table was far too long to hear what was going on at the other end, but I made good conversation with my fellow Czech AIESECers near me. They were very friendly and spoke good English and we talked about random topics. They couldn’t help talk in Czech every once in a while, so I kind of just sipped my drink and pretended to listen and, of course, I would laugh whenever a funny joke was told…haha.

Overall, it was a good night. The drink specials ended at 8 PM so most of the group left around that time. Jenny had left to run a quick errand and wasn’t back until 9:30 PM, and by this time, I felt bad for the rest of the students who wanted to continue their night at a less expensive venue near their dorms while they waited with me for Jenny. I would have loved to join them, but I knew I couldn’t just leave to go to their dorms, which are 30 minutes away in the opposite direction, so we waited for Jenny and then parted ways. I’m pretty tired and it’s past my bed time (again), but today was a really eventful day. The heat has been unbearable, but I’m biting my tongue because it’s supposed to be 65°F and raining this weekend. Bummer. Anyway, I’m working on the Camp Agenda tomorrow and it should be a low key night aftewards. We’re just waiting for the other trainees to arrive before all the fun really begins. I miss everyone and my sister still hasn’t had her baby. I’m waiting for the e-mail! Take care and pictures to come tomorrow.

PS -- In the previous post I said I ate babufka for breakfast, it is spelled babuvka. 

I'm in for a Treat

Well, I just finished my first full day in Prague and it's 1:13AM. I woke up this morning around 4AM, with my body telling me to get up because I've been sleeping all "day" (in US time at least). When I finally fell back asleep, I had a few hours before my alarm clock went off. I took a shower and ate a little bit of babufka (coconut/chocolate breakfast cake/pastry) and Jenny (Jana) and I went off to catch the train to Prague. The train to Prague's city center is only 15 minutes from station to station, so it's not much different than a Metro North ticket to Grand Central from Fordham. Jenny had work to do all day, so I started off the day by walking to the Old Town Square. I was pleasantly surprised that at 10:30 in the morning, the summer sun was already warming the streets, but for that early, it was already way too hot. When I finally arrived I was greeted by Prague's famous Our Lady before Tyn Church, which still stands after six centuries (it was built in 1365 with it's towering spires completed in 1620. For more history: click here). Of course, they're doing reconstruction on the entire face of the main entrance. Through the scaffolding, there was one English sign that said "Please use side entrance". I walked to the side and the sign said "No Entry"...well, typical luck. I guess I'll have to see the inside later.

I moved on to other sights in the square and spent about 20 minutes looking inside another nearby church. This was St. Nicholas Church, a Baroque church built in 1735. It was great to look inside and it was a shelter from the heat, but it was smaller than I expected so I just took pictures and left. I then made my way down to the famous Prague Astronomical Clock. This medieval clock can tell time quite a number of ways. Built in 1490, the clock still functions today, although it is rather complicated and best explained if you're looking at the picture below:

It shows zodiac time (represented by the smaller black/middle circle), which has all the zodiac symbols. You'll notice that the summer month zodiacs take up more space than the winter zodiacs due to the longer days of the summer months. The large outer black circle is numbed 1-24, which symbolizes the ancient Czech calendar. It is the inside Roman Numerals that represent the current hours and minutes (which are indicated by the black indicators--pointing to the XI numeral above). The background is painted various colors to indicate the viewers perception of the sky. The blue indicates that it is daylight, the orange indicates sunset or sunrise, and the black indicates night time. The gilded sun has several meaningful movements. First, it moves with the position of the actual sun, with the outward pointing lines indicating the equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, etc. Also, the gilded sun moves with the sunlight and sits in the black area during the night time. There are a lot more features to the clock which I can't quite remember, but I'm sure you get the point: it's really cool.

After this I made my way around and found a place to rest and eat. I had a traditional Czech lunch of meat dumplings with cabbage and onions. The cabbage was more like sauerkraut, but the onions and dumplings were delicious. I couldn't even finish my plate it was so much food. After lunch, I made my way down to Wenceslas Square and the National Museum. I didn't want to go into the museum because I was meeting Martin at 3:30pm to buy my metro pass, so instead I found a seat and people watched.

I am so glad to be back in Europe!! I'm thinking I need to get myself a pair of capris, because those are the in thing to be wearing apparently. I thought of my sister today as I saw three pregnant ladies walking around. Each one was looking like she was ready to have a baby (which makes me think today may be the day), but the one that surprised me the most was the lady smoking a cigarette... Yup, she was smoking. I realized i missed the random street toilets that you have to pay to use, but I also realized that this time in Europe is a lot harder when you can't speak the language. I got approached by someone asking a question in Czech and all I could do was shrug and nod my head...

After people watching, I met up with Martin to buy my ticket. Here's the short version. I was supposed to get an unlimited monthly for the train only, but instead I got a 5-day unlimited subway/bus/train for the same price ($25). This may not sound bad, but what also happened was the ticket I bought was only unlimited within the city of Prague. I live in Roztoky. One stop outside of Prague. This meant I had two options. I could use the 5-day pass (which only gets me to the last stop in Prague) and buy an additional unlimited pass from the last Prague station to my station (Roztoky u Praha)--that would be an additional $4. OR I could buy an unlimited monthly for 550 CZK, and try and sell my unlimited 5-day pass. Well, there was no way the ticket officer was going to refund my money and I know (from NYC experience) that there's no way I'm going to sell a 5-day unlimited to a stranger...so I'm going to have to use the 5-day, buy the additional unlimited for the last train stop, and then buy another monthly pass when the 5-days are up. The good news is, however, is that my program is paying for all of the leader's unlimited monthly passes (so I get $25 back), the bad news is is that I bought a week-long pass for no reason. Martin nor I don't know where the confusion came from, but regardless, I'll be forced to buy a monthly next week rather than let my 5-day pass go to waste.

When I got home this evening (I met Jenny at the train), my legs were so tired from walking countless miles, I didn't want to do anything. Jenny and I made dinner "a la Jenny" as she called it, by throwing together random ingredients found in the cabinet. Some sausage sauteed in onion and garlic, with elbow macaroni and soy sauce for flavoring (and a spice that could've been rosemary or thyme--I have no clue). It was served with a side of mystery vegetable (which is round like an onion but tastes almost like a cucumber?) and some radishes (which I did not eat). To tell you how good it was, Jenny and I each had our first plate...and then I continued to finish the entire serving that was left in the pot. I felt like a typical American, eating everything in sight like a glutton, but it was delicious and I was hungry!

We finished the night by discussing my role as agenda manager for MBM. I have SO MUCH WORK TO DO! We went over our schedule for this week and tomorrow I begin. At noon, we're meeting at Jenny's university (University of Economics in Prague) to discuss and plan a "Presentation Skills Workshop" we will be conducting next week with high school students. This is unrelated to our program My Better Myself, but we are going to try and recruit some students to join our summer program (it's not full yet). Then immediately after that, Jenny and I are going to start working on a detailed day-by-day breakdown of the camps in July. After that, we are going to meet AIESEC Praha for a night of socializing (of course my favorite thing to do). Over the weekend, I'm preparing a schedule for what the other group leaders are going to do when training ends (June 22-28), which I have dubbed (Camp Prep Week). During CP Week the other leaders and myself are going to have to finalize the projects the students will work on during the camps as well as choose who will lead what programs and who will manage what sessions. Work work work work work...that's all I'm saying...it's now 2:18 AM, I need to go to bed, but I'm just going to say...I forgot for a day that I was here to work and not to just be a tourist. I'm in for a real treat--but really, it's going to be great!

I've Arrived in Prague

16 hours later...I've finally arrived in Prague. Let's start from the beginning. My trip begun at Denver International, waiting in an hour line to check my bag. Of course, I was waiting in the wrong line, but I eventually got my bag checked. I lucked out by going through a security line that was about to close, so that meant there was no lines and no waiting through security. My 8:00 PM flight left on time and after two weeks of weddings, graduation parties, and visiting friends, I was exhausted. I was lucky enough to have the adjacent seat empty, so I got to spread out and get comfortable. All I wanted to do was pass out, but I had to stay up for the delicious airplane food and enjoy a complimentary drink! I was kind of surprised to hear the British lady next to me (at least in her 60s) ordered a whiskey-sprite, but was even more surprised when she almost downed it quicker than I could pour my drink! I slept the entire flight and upon landing at London Heathrow, I felt pretty well rested.

London Heathrow was nice. I was really excited to see that they had a Wagamama, the "Tokyo Joe's" of the United Kingdom! It's definitely a notch up from Tokyo Joes and after converting the prices it's definitely about twice as expensive, but for me, it was totally worth it. I haven't had Wagamama since the last time I was in London in 2006. After enjoying my soba noodles with steak (& a Singha beer of course), I made my way to the gate to wait for my next flight. When I boarded my connecting flight to Prague, I passed out instantly before the plane took off. When I woke up, I realized I had slept an hour and a half...but naturally the plane hadn't moved from the gate. Being confused, I asked the gentleman next to me what the problem was and he explained that a circuit had shorted on the dashboard and they had finished repairing it but due to scheduling conflicts we were still delayed another 30 minutes. I'm glad they kept us on the hot plane for 2 hours sitting at the gate...it was really nice to wake up sweating with neck aches from napping in a cramped airplane seat. Really great. I also couldn't help but feel bad knowing that I had no cell phone and someone was supposed to pick me up from the airport. I really hoped they didn't leave me there alone.

After finally landing in Prague, I got my bags and was relieved to see Martin waiting for me in the lobby. By this time, a huge torrential downpour had started and buckets of water were falling from the sky. Luckily, the bus stop was covered and we didn't have to get wet, but the muggy bus ride to meet up with my boss was slightly reminiscent of the humid car rides I once took in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Martin dropped me off with Jana, my boss and host for MBM, and we made our way on another bus to her house in the suburbs of Prague.

Although I arrived at 10:00 PM, and the sun had barely set beyond the horizon, I could tell right away the house and neighborhood is beautiful. There are green pastures all around, a quiet and peaceful village town with a Tesco and a grocery store, and nice houses with patios and gates. She lives with 4 other people and will be adding a few more once the other leaders arrive. This is the place I'll call home for the next few weeks before the camps begin.

Tomorrow, Jana is busy with work stuff and Martin is still in school, so I'm going into Prague with Jana in the morning and will be wandering around on my own discovering the city the fast way. Martin will meet up with me after class, help me by a monthly metro card that is good on all of Prague's subways, busses and trains. I think it'll be no more than $25. I'll be sure to let you guys know what I discover tomorrow...

Praha in Three

Well, it's been a while since I last updated, but it's been a busy month. Since my last entry I've graduated from Fordham, meaning I'm now an alumni--which makes me feel old--but on the other hand I've also received a degree--which makes it all worthwhile. Yesterday, my parents and I went shopping for new luggage. My previous set was on its last leg, having gone to China, Europe, Mexico, and numerous other places within the US. The new luggage is a great piece of gear for my next adventure and will hopefully last through many more to come.

The details of the summer program are starting to come together. The international leaders have been keeping in touch through a Google group, through which we can share information about ourselves and help each other out. During each camp there will be international nights where each of us has to represent our country. We've been giving feedback to each other about what we want to know about the other's country. I'm the most excited to talk to the leader from Izmir, Turkey. Since I have a few weeks after the camps, I definitely want to go to Turkey for a week and spend a few days in Istanbul, before making my way to Cappadocia for a few days. Cappadocia is a part of Turkey that has been molded by volcanoes and shaped by erosion. The rock formations are spectacular and the porous rock allows for underground cities, castles in the side of cliffs, giant rock columns, and much more. Here's how one blogger describes Cappadocia:

“an incredible volcanic-created landscape of fairy chimneys, natural stone castles and underground dwellings of ancient civilizations and early Christian hideouts. It is one of those unique places on Earth where nature and humans lived in harmony over the years and left over amazing traces of Civilizations and Culture.”

Check out some pictures here: Cappadocia, Turkey.

Besides Turkey, I plan to spend a few days in Berlin (Germany), Krakow (Poland), and Vienna (Austria). From Prague, Berlin and Vienna are 4-5 hours by train and Krakow is about 8.5 hours by train. I don’t know if I’ll have enough time to do all of them, but I’d really want to see these cities and at least do the tourist stuff.

When I’m actually in Prague, I’m going to be very busy. I’m a little disappointed that the weather forecast for my first week there is rain and a high of 70°F. But otherwise, when I arrive, I’ll be going straight to work on the projects that the students will have to complete in small teams (with their leader’s help). Right now, my boss has been working hard with the top four universities in Prague to get their input for what they would like the students to realize over their two week session with us. So far I worked with Lessya, from Kazakhstan, to outline the projects that we will be giving the students during the camp. I’ll tell you more about them once we figure out the details and have more information from the universities. One thing for sure that I’m looking forward to in Prague is a Green Day concert that all of the leaders and MBM staff are going to on June 29^th! It’ll be a ton of fun even though I don’t listen to Green Day that much. I’ll probably have another update before I leave, but if not, the next post will be from Prague. Stay tuned, knowing me and travelling, it’s bound to be a great story…