Culture-iffic

Sunday night Ellie, Bre and I went and saw Okkervil River, an indie rock band (that Ben really likes). It was a fun show. I haven't been to a little concert here so it was neat. It was held in a sort of club, in a basement below a bar, which itself was below a very fancy cafe with a separate entrance and all. The club had cool furniture, very modern though, as noted by the band, it was "Jim Beam" themed.
The show was fun, they play good music, we took a poster.
On Monday, my media and democracy class took a field trip to the headquarters of "Radio Free Europe" which is now many things and "Radio Free" for many places, but not Europe so much, since "Europe is free." We talked to the director of Radio Free Iraq, who was a cool Russian guy. He told us about their service, which is compiled in Prague and sent to Iraq via satellite, for safety reasons. They only have about 7 people who have to put together a 5 hour broadcast 7 days a week. Which is crazy. They also have something like 27 correspondents in Iraq who file reports. He talked about the situation on the ground, where now 4 major attacks and 100 people kidnapped a day is considered a vast improvement over the past few years.
The RFE building itself involved a lot of security - we had to give them our passport numbers several days in advance and went through metal detectors and such. Apparently, this building would be the target if Prague ever had a terrorist attack, not only for its symbolic importance but also just because of all of the things that go on there - Radio Free Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.
The RFE building itself is historical and rather intimidating.
Media and Democracy, as a class, has gotten interesting lately - I had to turn in my paper (and I must give a presentation next week) on an issue in journalistic ethics - mine was "Lying for the story". I read two case studies about journalists who were deceptive in their methods to get information that the government was withholding. The first case study was about a guy who snuck into (the office part of a) prison during a riot to find out about a hostage situation - and the other was about a reporter who pretended to be a mortician to access the morgue during Desert Storm, because he suspected combat casualties were being underreported. Apparently "reputable" papers don't go for any undercover journalism, although it does get published elsewhere... and there are lots of arguments on both sides considering duty to the truth, freedom of press vs. government, endangering others... ask me about it sometime :)

In art class today we went to "trade fair palace" (Veletrzni Palace) to see some modern arts - Cubism, Abstraction, Expressionism, Impressionism, Surrealism - it was pretty great. The museum is big and "a functionalist masterpiece" - it was built in the 20s and opened as an art gallery after communism.
My favorite part was a bit on set design for the theater - there were a bunch of little dioramas displaying sets for plays, designed by one of the Capek brothers (Czech playwrights who invented the word "robot"). There was some really crazy stuff, with false perspective, sloping floors and big staircases.
I was also impressed by the collection - there were paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, Degas and Picasso - including this one:
Art history is fascinating. Story about Czech art history - under communism, art essentially stopped. The only style allowed was "social realism" - this was the case everywhere communism ruled. My art teacher, a tour guide, everyone here who talks about this style basically laughs and talks about how terrible it was. The idea was just to glorify communism. My teacher said today that "mediocre artists used it as a way to become the official artists of the state." The paintings really are awkward - smiling workers and the communist flag, etc - but I find it so funny how appalled the Czechs are by the whole movement. Especially since in Russia - according to Mark's blog and pictures - the soviet art is still everywhere.

an awkward communist painting (not one I saw, but those were awkward too)

more social realist art from the Museum of Communism in Prague

After communism, Czechs were behind the modern art movement, according to my teacher, and are still working to catch up to the cutting edge.

Midterm Week

Midterm week is over already - can you believe it?
The answer is no, you can't.
I had three midterms - Media & Democracy, Czech, and East/Central European politics. They were all ridiculous and not too hard. A bit upsetting that they weren't what was advertised, and thus not what I studied for... but it'll be fine, moving on, moving on.

I didn't tell you about this weekend: it was nice, we went to Cesky Krumlov, which is a UNESCO-protected heritage town. Very pretty. That's pretty much what it was. Pretty. Look at our happy faces blocking the view of the pretty town.

(Whitney, Cassie, Me, Allyn, Ali, Breanne)

After that trip, I studied and studied until about 2 hours ago when I went in for my last midterm, and now I'm done.
We had a guest speaker in Media & Democracy on Monday - a former reporter for Radio Free Europe who talked to us about how the current state of Europe can be best interpreted whilst remembering the history (Hitler and Stalin, in particular). But we did get her to talk about as well RFE - of which she is a fan - and she believes (as many do) that we should have more independent, external journalism not financed by companies. RFE didn't have to make money, it just wanted to tell the truth (of course a somewhat subjective and pro-America truth, but it balanced Soviet propoganda well). We just need some other planet to come in and finance some media for us, so journalism can have some of the economic pressures removed. I will be working on this for you. You're welcome.

So... break starts now! Friday Allyn, Breanne and I are supposed to be leaving for Athens. However, Greece right now is in a bit of a... well... this:
which is somewhat discouraging. There is a strike, there are riots, protests, throwing of things, tear gas... we will hope this calms down, and that there are flights flying. On a brighter note, the weather's in the low 70s.

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.

so vikend?

It was a long and tiring weekend - we went out at night, saw the debate live at 3am, and we went to Karlstein castle to a wine festival/renaissance fair the next day.... we saw Leonard Cohen that night... we walked, we danced, we adventured.



Highlights summary:
- going dancing Friday night (and enjoying it), and then at 3 am going to an English bookstore/bar to watch the Presidential debate
- music at the festival (including some Abba karaoke) - we heard them singing a folk song we learned in Czech class! Holka Modrooka.....
- going to the Leonard Cohen concert: 7th row on the floor, chilling in the green room, meeting the backup singers with awesome accents, taking a little tour of the awesome hotel they were staying in.

- meeting Breanne's friend Rosie, who came to visit as she is studying abroad in Salzburg - she was really fun!
- going back to our usual coffee shop haunt - Bohemia Bagel - last night, and finding my way without my glasses (but I cleaned my room today, so I found them for class).
- today in Media & Democracy our guest speaker was the Czech equivalent of the NPR Congress reporter... she talked about the nature of reporting for radio, and how hard it is to get the Czech Prime Minister to talk to you :)

The photo album (this time with some videos!) is here: click

So long, farewell, until we meet again...

William Randolf Hearst and other light classics

Happy Tuesday, everybody!
Life as an aspiring journalist has been going pretty well for me lately. In Media & Democracy class yesterday, we watched Citizen Kane and discussed it. It was a really neat film, and now I know who Orson Welles is! (other than "another guy who cameo-ed in the Muppet Movie")

Last night I went to my second student council meeting - I was assigned to cover the "Student Council Beat" for my Reporting class, and am supposed to write a story about the student council, their obstacles in creating a cohesive community at Anglo-American, and their attempt to overcome these obstacles through club parties. After the meeting I interviewed the President, who had a lot of opinions and concerns and is a very cool guy.
Today I was supposed to have an interview with another student council member (who also happens to work at the library and is very friendly), but I canceled it when EVERYTHIHG CHANGED.

My teacher sent out an e-mail to our class asking for someone to cover the upcoming US election--actually he said "BTW, anybody noticed we have an, um, election coming up rather soon that will have a major impact on the future of the world?" I responded that I was kinda sorta interested, and had just requested my absentee ballot with the help of some organization with a booth at a coffee shop-- see?
So he told me to scrap my student council story and work on this one. So my deadline is shorter than it was, and some of my work is gone - but I have a substantially more interesting story.
My teacher asked me to write an informational blurb (but he said "graf") for American students about getting an absentee ballot, which I just wrote and he just posted, and you can find here: http://www.lennonwall.net/ More on this topic to come!

In other journalism news, I am in the process of writing a short article for the PioLog about my study abroad experience - it is really hard to find a focus but it's coming. Apparently the PioLog had some weird printing issue this week, so I don't know when the next paper is coming out... but you'll be informed. Because you care!

Other than that, I have been enjoying my camera and trying to notice new things and new angles in Prague on my daily walk home from school. I go the same way, but I see new things--it helps that every building in this city is decorated from top to bottom and there's a statue around every other corner. Walking through the touristy old town square on Monday, I was amazed at how different it all looks from behind- I walk through there every day but saw it in a whole different light when it was framed this way. So, there's that.

My pictures from this week so far are up in an album, with captions, here: http://picasaweb.google.com/angelar.w/PragueLife#

hearts!
-Angela

PS - I did taebo twice so far this week, just following muted videos on youtube and putting on my indie/hipster music nice and loud so my apartmentmates don't judge me. It's fun, but it makes me feel pretty un-coordinated... who can kick and march and punch and twist all at the same time?
Also, I made myself fried chicken for lunch, to cancel that out.

Dobra Kava = good coffee

More more more!
I only have tonight, and then I'm done with classes for the week, Again. On Monday, we had a visiting speaker in my Media & Democracy class: Iva Drapalova, who was the AP bureau chief for Prague during Soviet rule, 1968-88. She had a lot of great stories, about being tailed by the secret police, about working for people who she never spoke to, and about journalism being a really poorly paid field. She was really witty and fun (and 84 years old!), and honestly quite a bit more interesting and well-spoken than my actual teacher, who is probably a great journalist, but not a great teacher, especially of philosophy.
Czech class has been really cool this week; our teacher is out so we were placed in a different class, which is quite a bit more organized and fast-paced. We are learning adjective endings, numbers, and restaurant vocab. Today we learned a couple other phrases as well:
Jsou zamilovani. = They are in love.
Laska je slepa. = Love is blind.
Miluju te. = I love you.
In Prague Art & Architecture yesterday, we took a walk through the city to see the gothic architecture, and then went to the National Gallery, which is held in a former convent. It was cold... but interesting! We saw the evolution of Gothic art from functionalist to emotional, and the shift of feelings from peaceful reverence to suffering, in the faces of statues and paintings. We saw about 20 statues on the same theme; Madonna and Child; and our teacher explained in detail the significance in each tiny difference. It was fastinating, no lie.
I have reporting this afternoon, and then East-Central European politics tonight. If I can survive through that my roomies and I are going out for traditional Czech dinner! Huzzah!

Here is a slideshow of MORE pictures, this time, from Breanne's camera. There are pictures from Dresden & a couple from Prague near the end of last week. There are some pictures of me&the roomies, and some of my NEW CAMERA. :)

Classes... begin!

This weekend was lazy. I hung out at the house and went to the store a couple times. I bonded with my roommates... overall quite relaxing. We have been attempting to cook a bit with our somewhat limited utensils. We don't have a tea kettle or a coffee maker... no pans for the oven, etc... but pasta has worked so far, as has delicious Czech Ramen, and that's enough for now. I want to make some chicken, but I am scared at the supermarket, since I don't know what the packaging says... and I don't even know how to approach cooking a whole chicken... so, we'll see how it works without that, and how long I can last.
Yesterday, my classes began! We went to school early, because Breanne and I wanted to switch our schedules around a bit. Unfortunately, one of the classes I really wanted/needed for my major, Politics of the EU, is full! I switched it out for "Reporting", which should actually be great, since there are no journalism classes at Lewis & Clark. I'm a bit sad that I won't be able to fill that International Affairs requirement, though.
After the registrar, we hit up the library for textbooks. Here, we get textbooks and readers from the library... for free! We just have to return them at the end of the semester. Overall, this seems like a pretty good deal... No shelling out $600 for textbooks, and no heavy things to sadly depart from at the end of my time here.
My roommates and I then paid a visit to Bohemia Bagel for some coffee and, well, bagels. It's pretty cheap-ish (although it would be cheaper if we had a coffee maker... grr...) and RIGHT down the street from school... less than a block away. It seems like this will probably be a hang-out location all semester.
My first class is "Media in a Democracy". My professor's name is Bruce Konviser, and he is a freelance journalist from the US, living in Prague now for over 10 years. He has been in the Washington Post and on CNN, so I trust him to know what he's talking about. This class is about media ethics, and the role of media in a democracy. After a year at the PioLog, I think it will be really, really nice to discuss the issues of ethical and moral journalism... the duty of the media in the system, etc. It's pretty complicated, and I don't think we all really "get it."
Speaking of PioLog (being the Lewis&Clark school paper)... I miss it! I'm sad to be gone this semester, and I'm concerned that there won't be a good position for me open when I get back. I don't really want to edit news again, and I am nowhere near wanting to edit sports, features, or arts... but there's really nothing I can do; they need to give positions to people who are There. If I had my mac with me, I would offer to edit from here... but that's not really reasonable, since I'm completely out of the loop and the time zone. I really wanted to steal "back door"(the back cover, comedy page) this spring... but apparently they've offered that position to Ben. I guess I'll just have to fight him! :)
Back to Prague: Today, I had two more classes: Elementary Czech, and Prague Art & Architecture. Czech is a difficult language... but my professor seems like a nice guy who is very interested in us taking advantage of our time here in Prague. I hope I can be dedicated in challenging myself and learning as much as I can.
Prague Art & Architecture is going to be amazing. Today, the first day of class, our teacher took us on a walk up to Prague castle, where she talked to us about the Romanesque and Gothic styles on the churches up there. It was really cool! One of the big theses of her lecture today related to the "layering" of Prague's architecture. One building can show features typical of several different eras, as through the centuries, it has been renovated, repaired, and redecorated. For example, the St.George's Monestary was first constructed in the Romanesque style. A Gothic chapel was added a century later, and then a new Renaissance entryway was constructed centuries later.
Anyway... I love this class. I have never done art history before, and so far it's really quite amazing. I spoke to my Professor briefly about research she's been working on; currently she is specializing in the transition in the 1990s, directly after the fall of the Soviet Union. She said that there was a lot of change going on in that time, since during communism there was no private art market, no independent galleries, etc, and all of it thus needed to be created from the ground up.
Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my classes: I will have "Reporting" and "East Central European Politics." Hopefully they will go as well as my first three have.
I went to TESCO (our wal-mart superstore) today to try and get some school supplies... and ran into the entirety of Prague, trying to do the same thing. Kids and their parents held lists of school supplies and were crowding the aisles picking out notebooks and pens. I was scared... so I went home. There's always tomorrow.
And here, my friends, are the photos:


Technical note: The photo captions should just "show up" now. I went back in time (to old entries) and fixed the other slideshows as well... to make them hopefully easier to use and prettier. I also added slideshows to old entries that didn't have photos... So... yay! Everything is documented now.

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