One Month to Go

In a month this program will be over.  It's almost hard to believe, and yet it makes perfect sense.  It seems so long ago that I arrived in Prague.  So much has happened in approximately 3 months.  At the most superficial level, the city looks so different.  I must be honest, it was depressing to behold the dead trees and grass of a Prague winter.  But now that it's spring, Prague is verdant and lovely.  I'm so glad I chose to study in the Spring semester.  I get to see the city come to life, as opposed to wither into winter.  As a result of the warmer and sunnier weather, the tourists are out in full swing.  Many like to complain about the crowds of aimlessly ambling out-of-towners, and they can get annoying, but they are mostly endearing to me.  Tourists are always good for the economy.

The McDonalds down the block from me is no longer a source of comfort for me as it was a few blog posts ago.  It's just sort of there.  I hardly notice it now.  I suppose this is some sort of sign of growth.

On an academic level, I am now over 30 pages into my screenplay.  I'm pretty proud of it and excited to see where it goes.

I'll definitely be missing this program and this city, and probably go through some withdrawal symptoms, a month from now.  But I take this as a good sign.  This has been one of the better decisions I have made in my life.

You Should Know I'm Listening to Aaron Copland As I Write This

What I meant to mention in my previous post, before getting on a tangent, was that being here makes me appreciate America more.  On the surface, this sounds like a horrible insult to the Czech Republic.  I do not mean to degrade the Czech Republic in any way.  I absolutely love it here.  At the same time, I do not wish to claim some false Czech heritage.  I am so glad to be from America.  I love that one of the stereotypes of Americans is that we are happy and optimistic.  I love that America is largely inhabited by people who choose to live there.  I've heard Stephen Fry theorize that the fact that the residents of America are the descendants of those who chose to emigrate and leave their home country for a new life means that sort of bravely spirit remains in the American people.  I know I'm starting to sound all corny and like this is a big lead up to announce my candidacy for 2012, but taking a break from America is just what I needed to realize how great it is.

I'll Be There For You

An unexpected habit I've gotten into during my time abroad is to compulsively watch Friends.  I have seen every episode of this 90s- early 2000s sitcom before, and yet I have the urge to relive them here in Prague.  Perhaps, unconsciously, I am craving something that reminds me of my New York home.  But I don't feel the same tinge of homesickness I felt while watching Annie Hall in class a few weeks ago.  There is a sort of comfort in the show Friends for me.  It was there all through my childhood.  So maybe I'm not craving the physical location of home, but the emotional home, the time I spent growing up.  It takes a lot of growing up to live in a different continent for 4 months with no one you knew before.  And growing up is scary.  Just ask Rachel Green.

At any rate, I'd like to personally thank the internet for providing me with these episodes of Friends.  I can't imagine studying abroad without the internet.  Not just for the television, but the communication.  It's so much cheaper to Skype or email home than to call.  I occasionally peruse the New York Times to see if anything significant is happening back home.

Right now what's on my mind is money, or lack thereof.  I purchased my train ticket to Berlin, and am thinking I way over paid.  I went to the train station to buy it, and it is significantly cheaper to purchase a ticket online.  I'm hoping I can return the ticket for a refund and buy the cheaper one.  We'll see.