First Impression (or, Pride and Prejudice)

I've been here about 2 days now, enough time to form at the very least something of a glib impression of the city.  Of course, the architecture is beautiful, I expected that.  But there are also quite a bit of things that I did not expect at all, mostly because I had no idea what to expect other than it would be aesthetically pleasant.

Firstly, public transportation-- there are the underground trains, buses, and the trams.  The trams seem to be the best way to get around for us, seems to be the most comprehensive mode of transportation.  The buses, too, are quite extensive and not all that dissimilar from the tram.  The metro is very simple, only three lines, but the signage is all very clear.  It seems to be difficult to get lost while taking the train.  There also isn't the signature stink of the New York subway here in Prague.  None of the stations we visited today could compete with the malodorous Sutphin Boulevard station in Queens.  Also, people brought their dogs onto the train which must be illegal in New York because I'm pretty certain I have never seen that before.  Though, I was told by my Czech roommate that dogs on the train are required to wear a muzzle.  The greatest difference between American public transportation and Czech transportation is reliability.  I asked my Czech roommate, Anna, if the tram is ever late and she answered with an emphatic and certain "no."  Such a thing is unthinkable here.  The New York subway schedule is treated more as a loose suggestion by the MTA.

The language barrier, or, perhaps, lack thereof is another one of the aspects of Prague that stands out to me.  All the Czech people I have met speak English wonderfully.  There are moments, though, that I find amusing-- they sometimes are not sure how to translate certain Czech words in English, and must consult one another about what this word is.  Just about everyone in the service industry here knows English.  We will be taking Czech starting Monday, which should be interesting because so far this language is not sticking in my brain.  For the life of me I can never what "Thank you" is.  I am assured by Czech people that it's alright to just say "thank you" in English, but that's not the point.

Right now the receipts of everything I have purchased so far are spread out on my desk.  It's the essentials-- food, soap, toothpaste, stuff of that nature.  I've decided to be rather conscious of my money-spending habits.  Mostly because I'm curious about how much I'm spending in USD.  It seems to be a bit cheaper.  I've spent around 28 bucks on the essentials, which is great.  The one thing that is pretty comparable to the American way is the coffee-- the Cappuccino I bought today at a coffee shop was 4 USD.  It's necessary to indulge on occasion.

One last, non-Prage sort of item-- Anna has a calendar of attractive men that she got from Germany, and it seems to be a random collection of male celebrities.  Among the German guys I have never heard of and Ryan Reynolds is TR Pescod!  Yes, THE TR Pescod.  Ok, so he's a bit of an esoteric celebrity.  Actually, you cannot get much more D-list than him.  But that doesn't stop me from being a fan.  Among Ina Garten's fabulous friends who visit on her show, The Barefoot Contessa, is TR Pescod, of the species silverus foxus.  He's an actor and model, native of the Hamptons aka Ina Garten country.  Here's his website, which includes his visits on the cooking show.  Anyway, I was just shocked to see his picture on a German calendar from Prague.  Perhaps he's an even bigger celebrity in Europe than he is in America, though Anna did not seem to know who he is.


I bet you didn't think a blog post about Prague would turn into a rant about TR Pescod and The Barefoot Contessa.  I could honestly write a lengthy paper about Ina Garten and her friends.  It's just nice to be able to work that into my study abroad experience.

I'm Innovative

I just thought of this crazy idea that I think will catch on-- keeping a blog while studying abroad.


I'll make an actual post later.  Just know that I am an in Prague now and I survived my first night.  Now for my first Prague breakfast.