So, I'm in Prague! The plane ride went well. I flew aer lingus and had a layover in Dublin from 8am to 4pm, then to Prague, arriving just before 8pm. So I was already a bit nervous to start off with, moving to a new country by myself and all, and I find out that one piece of my baggage did not arrive in Prague me. The bag with all of my clothing in it, absolutely all of the clothing I own! So I was freaking out. Found my shuttle driver (to take me to my hostel), filed a claim form, and then we drove the 12 miles or so to my hostel. The hostel is beautiful, very modern and clean, really helpful staff. Fluffy pillows.
The next day I go to explore and Prague is beautiful. I've never been to Europe before but if I could fantasize about what it should look like it's this. Prague is one of the only major European cities to not get majorly bombed during wwII so most of the original architecture is there. The main siteseeing area is called Stare Mesto (Old Town). The streets are narrow and you just get lost in side street after side street, with tons of little shops or cafes. I haven't done a particular activity yet (like museum, tour), just lots of walking. I walked across the Vlatava River towards Prague Castle (it's massive), to the Little Quarter (which I really like, one of my fav parts), across the Charles Bridge, and through the Jewish Quarter. This place must be so pretty when it snows; it's very fairy-tale-ish.
It's Saturday now and I've been here for three days. I haven't had any problems getting a handle on the Czech currency or 24hr time clock. The public transportation is really easy to understand. The metro is much better than Boston's subway! Going out to eat has been a new experience. I've gotten by on just my english alright but I really want to learn Czech, at least enough to show that I am trying. Let's see, I've had a lot of coffee (hot and iced), honey cake, pastries, a fried cheese local thing, sausage, pizza, and sandwiches. Haha, I hope to eat healthier once I have a kitchen which will be tomorrow when I move into my student flat for the TEFL program.
Oh, and I did get my bag! Yesterday morning it was dropped off. It had been in Dublin the whole time and never got on my plane. Jon did a lot of calling for me to Dublin/Prague since I don't have a phone right now and he made it happen. Thanks, Jon :)
I do have the internet everyday so please email! I do make calls to the US from my computer using Skype when I have wireless which I should have more regularly soon. So we can do that too. I will post photos soon, it's been rainy and cloudy so I haven't been taking my camera out too much. Wish me luck, I meet my roommates tomorrow and then my course starts Monday.