I am leaving Wednesday!

AAAAH
I am home in MA now, living at the house, which is crazy clean and organized and decorated these days, since Aubrey and I are both in Portland. It's been a good visit here. My parents are fun people and it's been pretty chill. Mom and I went shopping yesterday and got some clothes that I needed... and some awesome shoes that are black but also walking-ish. They aren't waterproof, which would probably be nice, but I'll pick up some of those in Prague, maybe?
Dad & I went on some really nice bike rides yesterday and today. He says we probably did about 3 miles yesterday and 5 today, on the rail trail in MA and New Hampshire. It's a really nice paved former railway track, it's very level, very scenic, and very busy!
There are still a couple more things I need to pick up before it's time to go, but I hope it'll all work out just fine! I am trying to decide whether or not I want to bring a guitar and my dad's nice/big DSLR camera. Nice things to have, but expensive and a big bulky, both. So we'll see how it looks once I'm all packed up.
Speaking of which... I am going to go pack up! I can't believe this is happening. I especially can't believe that I planned it so I will be arriving in Prague by myself with all my stuff, walking around the city to my hostel (with all my stuff), and then moving into my apartment (with all my stuff). What was I thinking? It makes me just sick thinking about it.
:)

And, here are some pictures from the end of my summer in Portland.

I am leaving in 13 days!

I can't believe it!

I am getting very excited. I have about 15-20 library books filling my room's windowsills- travel guidebooks for Europe, Poland, everywhere - plus a bunch of Czech literature. I got a really great book about culture, customs, and manners in the Czech Republic - it's really interesting. It is making me really want to meet some Czechs and get to know them, hopefully experience the real, not-just-student culture.

Oh my goodness! I am getting butterflies just thinking about this. I am going to another country - all by myself - for months! What was I thinking?

Advice

At my dear sweet mother's suggestion, I found (through a social networking site) some students who went on the CEA Prague program in the past. I sent a message to a few of them asking for any advice or stories they were willing to share, and they all wrote back! I received pages and pages of suggestions and useful information. And the common thread?

"Prague is a GREAT city. It's very different than other cities which makes it hard to explain but I can't understand how anyone could dislike it....YOU WILL LOVE PRAGUE."
"you are going to fall in love with this city! get ready to have an incredible experience!"
"It was the best time of my life hands down. I love love love PRAGUE. you will have the time of your life."
"it was the BEST decision I ever made. Prague has soo much too offer! you are going to love it."

So... that's encouraging. I also received lots of helpful advice, like the location of the closest grocery store and the best way to exchange money (using an ATM, large amounts at a time). Most of the people I talked to said that they traveled a LOT during their programs (one student gave me a list of places he'd been: vienna, croatia, bulgaria, oktoberfest, budapest, krakow poland, belgium, amsterdam, slovakia, and rome).
The more I think about and hear about this program, the more excited I get. I can't wait!!!

Countdown

I can't believe how soon it is until I will be in Europe!

Excursions

I was just reading the excursions page for my program. I've known that I will have some time to travel about; but I forgot that my program has some trips included!

According to this website, I may be visiting:
Vienna, Austria
Dresden and Berlin, Germany
Budapest, Hungary
Krakow, Poland

and many cities and settings throughout the Czech Republic.

I'm really excited about Budapest. What a unique opportunity!!!

update: It looks as though we will be visiting Krakow, and the rest of our excursions will be within the Czech Republic. But that's ok... I can go to Budapest on my own.

My course selections

Art 131/1 Prague art and architecture: Tuesday 11:30-14:15

This course examines the key developments in Czech visual art and architecture from the early medieval to the contemporary period. Slide-based lectures are complimented with visits to monuments, art collections, and galleries. This course will provide students with an overview of the history of art in Prague. In this respect, the course intends to have students acquire knowledge of the main characteristics of art styles while observing and analyzing paintings, sculpture, and architecture first-hand.

POLS 320 Politics of the European Union: Tuesday 14:45-17:30

This course examines the politics and economics of the European Union. Beginning with an historical overview of why the EU was originally created and how it has developed, the course then examines the institutions of the European Union and how they promote cooperation between the member states. After examining the successes and shortcomings of the EU, students will look to the future and what European integration may mean for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

CZE 101 Elementary Czech: Tuesday and Wednesday 8:15-11:00

This course, designed for exchange students, introduces students to contemporary Czech language. It focuses on conversation and basic grammar, but includes reading and writing elements. The course is conducted using interactive methodology.

POL 330 East central European politics: Wednesday 18:30-21:15

This course will address the issues facing East-Central Europe as a region, beginning with an historical overview of the region, followed by a discussion of the 1989 revolutions and the collapse of communism. Students will address issues such as the re-emergence of nationalism, the break-up of states, and the desire to join Western security institutions, and they will study how specific countries in the region are addressing the current political and economic challenges of transition.

JRN 220 Media Ethics and Democracy: Monday 11:30-14:15

Because of that profound declaration, contained in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, American press is above government regulation. There are no minimum standards of education for journalists, no entrance exams, no license to practice, and no systematic reviews of a journalist's performance. The press is basically free to watch the government and all powerful institutions to ensure they're doing just what they are supposed to do for their citizens. But, who will watch the watchdogs to ensure they too are doing their job and not abusing their power?

Invasion of privacy, inaccuracy, bias, cheating, and deception are examples of unethical behavior. Some journalists may resort to such means in order to achieve positive ends for society. Few corporations are consolidating their ownership of the media, increasingly controlling a crucial ingredient of democracy: news and information. At the same time, the news media are experiencing budgetary cuts, downsizing, and shrinking foreign news bureaus. Does this present lost news for the consumer? The events of 9/11 changed the way journalists cover war and terrorism. Sometimes questioning or writing too much can put their patriotism on the line. How is democracy then being served?

Join us for presentations by some of the most intriguing journalists in the Czech Republic to examine the state and role of the media around the world, from the government-controlled media of the Middle East to the unregulated press of the United States. Our speakers include controversial filmmakers, media executives, and international reporters who will cover different regions of the world, including Iran, America, Iraq, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Afghanistan, and of course the Czech Republic.

Students will navigate through the web of media ethics by learning from the real-life experiences of our speakers, as well as active class debates and presentations. They will also learn to use philosophical principles and models to recognize and analyze typical ethical issues that confront journalists. This class will help students to be better journalists and public speakers. It will also improve students' moral reasoning skills, hopefully, for life.


My Alternate Choices:
POL 231 Czech and Slovak Politics
POL 201 Nationalism
HIS 320 War & Diplomacy
REL 271 Religion as a Social Force

Continuing on...

They sent my visa application back! There were just a couple little problems, and thankfully my parents fixed them and send the application back (because my parents are awesome). Hopefully it sticks this time.

Other Prague preparations are going well. I am still having a hard time finding Czech music, but I like listening to the song "Ani k stáru" which I heard in the Czech movie "Empties" during the Portland International Film Festival. You can hear the song and see a clip from the movie at YouTube: (link)


That's all for now, but here's an interesting little gadget:

Using a cool website, I created this "word cloud":

which shows how often I use words in this blog by making them bigger in the picture. Cool, huh?

Happy Weekend

Happy Sunday!

This has been a nice, relaxing weekend. I have internet at my house for a brief moment, so I've been able to post some pictures of my housemates and myself in our first week at the new place. It's been almost exactly a week now since we moved in, and our house is really a home now.

Enjoy!

Timing and Missiles

Today it only took me 8 minutes to walk to work-Amazing!

Barack Obama won the nomination of the Democratic Party last night... hooray! Even the people who get money for reporting on this race were getting tired of it months ago. On to November! Speaking of November... I've been thinking about the big events I'm going to miss while I'm in Prague. The election-that's a big one-it'll be the first Presidential election since I turned 18. I'll also miss-on a slightly smaller scale - two Supreme Court justices coming to my college (link) - which would've been cool to see.

But I'm sure I'll keep up with exciting news when I'm in Prague. For example, big in the news in the past few months has been the agreement between the US and the Czech Republic to install US missiles in that country (link). This has upset peace people, and of course has upset Russia, and it's very interesting.

Hopefully I'll get internet at my house soon, so I can start posting some photos!

I am learning Czech through my iPod... here are some great words:

• Praha - means Prague
• Dobry den! - good day!
• Jak se mate? - how are you?
• Velmi dobre, dekuji (velmee dobjay, de-kooey) - very well, thank you
• ano - yes (I'm also told that they abbreviate this to just 'no'... how confusing is that?)
• ne - no
• cukr (pronounced like "zucker") - means "sugar"
• mysl (pronounced like "missle") - means "mind" - I like this one.

Czech is so hard!! Thanks for the book, Grandpa & Nana!

Pre-Prague Adventures, Volume II

This weekend I moved in to my new house, which I share with 5 other Lewis & Clark students. We're calling it "the improv house", since most of us are on the improv team. The house is great, my room is nice and big, and it's all wonderful!

Today Aubrey is mailing my visa packet for me. I got so stressed out about getting my czech visa... which made it take so much longer to finish my application. But it's done now and-hopefully-it's done right and they'll send me my visa in plenty of time.

Now that I'm moved in and settled down, I have a few goals for the summer.

1. Learn some Czech, or, at least try.
2. Read some more classic Czech works & histories of Prague.
3. Practice guitar, make a band with my sister, and perform in Portland.
4. Get better at cooking!

Aubrey is mailing my visa packet for me, because I am at work! Today is my first day of my summer job, which is working for IT/Computing Services at my college. I think it's going to be fantastic! My bosses are super nice and enthusiastic, and the environment is great. Plus-it's just a 15-minute walk from my house!

Pre-departure

Sure, it's Spring Break. But I'm spending this week-well, other than the parts where I'm sleeping in-preparing for my trip to Prague, which will take up my fall semester this year (August - December 2008).
I've been trying to learn some Czech, with a book & CD set given to me by my grandparents this Christmas, as well as by listening to Czech music (which is pretty hard to find). I'm also reading up on Prague and some Czech literature. All that's boring though.
Welcome to my blog! This is (hopefully) where I will keep you updated with photos and stories from my trip to Prague, when it does actually happen. So... have fun! I uploaded some photos from the Germany/Europe trip I took the summer before I came to college.

We spent a couple fun days in Prague, and it was fantastic. The city is rich with culture, and hasn't been completely overrun with tourists, at least in its appearance. The buildings still have the charm that has survived so many revolutions. I just can't wait to go back!