Holla back, Mary, holla back.

This weekend my roommates were ALL gone traveling about. I stayed home (which turned out to be a wise choice, they seemed to experience some weather and complicated traveling logistics unpleasantness). It was so strange to be here all by myself - and without the internet it would have been very, very lonely.

Alas, I have the internet. So.
I worked out and watched Colbert a lot... it's a pretty good life when you get to do that... (although mid-weekend I ran out of fresh Colberts, so... it got pretty rough...)I had a great time having the kitchen to myself... I made some chicken with jar of Indian sauce, burned some rice into the bottom of a pan, started drinking tea instead of coffee... I also got to do some laundry... I guess all of that is pretty mundane, but it's mundane and IN EUROPE! so, take that!

I took a long ride around Prague in the tram, saw some more outside-the-city sights that you don't really see on foot. Not everything in Prague is restored and old and beautiful... but it's all got different charm. I saw some billboards, which I hadn't seen for a while, as well as a bunch of old communisty buildings and some really cool graffiti.
Yes. I also did more exploring of downtown, and I am really getting to know the statues up atop the churches. I really like them.
I like the style, I think it's Boroque, of the saints chillin on top of the church, looking down and blessing everyone, or giving a shout-out, or saying "holla atcha boy" or, you know, whatever your beliefs interpret... At any rate, they really make me smile.
Last night all my roomies got home! It was very, very, very exciting. I missed having people here sooo much. Today classes began again, and in Media & Democracy our guest speaker was Jan Urban, who was a big deal dissident during communism in Czechoslovakia - he worked, among other things, with bypassing censorship by publishing books secretly and smuggling them about. Here's a really short biography, if you're interested: http://www.nyu.cz/Members/jurban
He had a lot to say about the role of journalists, and how politics is for dummies, and also spoke about his regrets and what he would have done differently with the dissident movement, knowing what he knows now. He said that things are clear when you are working against something- but the problem came for the Czechs when the Soviet Union collapsed, and people did not know what they wanted, only what they didn't want. He regretted broken promises made to the Czech people about the setup of the new government - and that the communist party was not immediately disbanded, and all of its property distributed to the victims of the oppressive regime.

This weekend all of my program is going to Krakow, Poland! The next weekend we are taking a day trip to Cesky Krumlov, a little town with a castle outside of Prague. Then... it's mid-term break, and we are going to Athens or Barcelona, then I'm visiting dad in Helsinki and dad's visiting me in Prague (or the other way around), then Mark is visiting from St.Petersburg... and after that I have no plans (other than turning 21!!!)

My complete photos from this weekend are added up (here).

Peace!

This weekend, I took a picture of myself on the Charles Bridge, because I was all alone.