Another Prague Pic I forgot

I took all those pics! Yeah, I know.. I should be a photographer.... There's more money in accounting... :)-

Easter Traditions

I love Easter! I love spending time with family and going to church practically all day and enjoying traditions! This is how Easter usually goes: Sunrise Service with the Alexanders at six or seven in the morning. Breakfast at the church afterwards. Regular church service after breakfast. I have to mention that in one of those two services I get to hear my mom and dad sing "Up From the Grave He Arose" which is quite possibly one of the greatest moments in my life. I cannot wait for it every year! Then Mark and I go to see his family. We go his Dad's house for lunch and an INTENSE Easter Egg Hunt.. Let me explain this tradition.. Bill and Lisa hold an annual Easter Egg Hunt for all the kids in the family. ((Kids meaning 12 to 26 year olds.. haha*)) We are all included... The Easter Egg Hunt starts and is in the front yard and back yard. The eggs have money and candy in them. I earned sixty three dollars last year! Yeah, it is pretty serious! I came in my nice Easter outfit and (before the hunt) got decked out in some gear that showed I meant business. From the bandana to the tennis shoes, I told people to WATCH OUT! :) After the egg hunt, we go to Mark's mom's house for dinner. I love that we get to spend the whole day with those we love! It is so much fun and I will miss it this year!

Now let's talk about the CZECH Easter traditions. Keep in mind that the country is more than sixty percent athiest... There is an acknowledged Easter holiday here. They celebrate it on Monday though. Boys go around town with sticks and beat girls that they think are cute with them. The girls, in turn, are supposed to give them candy or colored eggs to stop. I THINK NOT!! Rachel and I are going to go in town on Monday.. Don't get me wrong... I hope I get hit because I certainly don't want to be considered ugly over here... On the other hand, Becky, Rachel, and I all bought sticks of our own today.. We are going to be ready! We got really weird looks from people because only boys are supposed to be buying the sticks.. haha* We were hitting eachother in the streets of Brno today! haha* When people hit us and tell us it is a Czech tradition on Easter, we are going to hit them back and tell them it is an American tradition to kick some major @$$ when you are getting hit.... We are ready to fight! Bring it on! :) Can't wait to give a full report! :)

Hodge Podge

This story is proof that I am a college student living in the dorms... So, at the grocery store on

Friday, Rachel and I decided to make Mexican... We didn't know how to ask for beef and we didn't want to play a guessing game, so we put our stuff for tacos back on the shelf and decided to make a mean batch of nachos... We don't have a microwave in our dorm so we decided to heat the chips up on the hotplate... With the cheese... Instead we ended up with cheap Dorito-like chips and hard, plastic cheese.... That was before it all got burnt to the pan... That was a bust... Did I mention that we had to find the tortilla chips and salsa in the international food section!?!?! :) Oh yeah! I found syrup as well! IN THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD SECTION!! I am such a freak... Anyways, we ended up mixing the cheese and the salsa and warming that up on the hotplate. Then we poured the mixture over the cheap Dorito-chipcs for what was as close as we could get to mean nachos.. haha* Becky's grandma sent her a care package that had Kraft Mac and Cheese in it. That was her contribution to the 'meal.' Kraft Mac and Cheese has never tasted so great! :) You have to remember that I haven't had anything in a while! I don't know how to buy cheese or butter or milk here that I can trust, so I just don't.. To top off the meal, I had a beer as well..

"Nachos," Mac and Cheese, and Beer... Dinner of Champs! ((Or college kids...)) I miss my Lean Cuisines.....

My LaZy WeEk.........

So this week has been a pretty lazy one for me.. And it was MUCH NEEDED!! :) Monday and Tuesday, I only got outside my room to run ((training for that mini))... I did homework for my classes back home, but was very lazy! Wednesday was the country presentations and the normal clubbing night. At the country presentation, we heard from Austria and Turkey. Then we went to Charlies (a pub in town) for some bonding.. I had to bust out the scenerio pics. I have come to the realization that I do these for my own entertainment! The only people who truly understand scenerio pics are my girls from back home! It is so0o0o0o great to see people's reactions over here! haha* After Charlies we went to Club Remix for the International Student Club's St. Patty's Day party! :) Thursday we were going to go to the Brno hockey game! Here is another reason it is great to be a local person! We had no idea where the rink was and we didn't know how to say 'hockey' in Czech so we gave up after looking around Brno for an hour. We went to a pub called Wayland instead. The pub doesn't have barstools! Instead it has swings! WooHoo! That is a lawsuit waiting to happen! There was also a random stripper pole in the 'pub' but we decided to stick to the swings.. :) Finally, yesterday Rachel and I went grocery shopping. The grocery store we go to here in town also has a little cafeteria at the entrance.... Cute, right? wrong! We saw a mother with her child in the shopping cart. That's normal. She was at the grocery store at one in the afternoon on a Friday... Okay, that's normal... She was enjoying a nice cold....beer?!?!?? Yeah, apparently that's normal too! haha* If I had kids, I guess I would drink publicly too! haha*

Other Prague Pics I love.....

Things I learned from the Museum of Communism

The Museum of Communism has a website....http://www.muzeumkomunismu.cz/

1). At every exhibit, I had to search for the English translations... It is just such a weird experince to be the foreigner.. I am s0o0o0o glad to have this lesson.... First hand....

2). In one of the translations talking about a statue of Stalin they missused the word past. For those of you who know my best friend, Jenny, you would know why I mention this. The poor girl doesn't know the difference between 'past' and 'passed!' It is one of the many reasons I love her! I have attempted to teach her the difference many times.. She still gets it wrong... haha* Anyhoooo... The translation went something like... "As time past....." and I couldn't help but think of Jen! In a Museum of Communism in Prague, Czech Republic, I see something that reminds me of one of my bestest friends from back home! haha* ((*I heart you, Jen! Hope we are still friends after this post! :) *))

3). The government attempted to create a "Socialist Man" from the children in schools. They taught them to hate the rich. They brainwashed kids to enjoy middle wage and to hate religion. Isn't that bizarre? It is amazing to me how much of a role the government can play in the thought processes of people! Of course kids are going to go along with what they are taught in school! They are stupid kids!!

4). During the Cold War, the Communists distributed gas masks to the public to induce fear of the West (That's us). They warned that the West would stop at nothing with their nuclear bombs. They would even attack schools and hospitals! This sounds ludacris right? YEAH! We said the EXACT SAME THING about them!!! What a revalation that was! Propaganda is the same CRAP in different countries! I could have taken ANY of their propaganda and switched the players and it could have been found in the United States during that time! I had never thought of propaganda like this.... They also had readings about scares where they were suspicious of people in their communities and trust was very low... RED SCARE ANYONE?!?!?!??! It really was a life-changing moment for me.... I will look at things differently for the rest of my life after reading that dumb little paragraph in the Museum of Communism in the Czech Republic.... Wow.. This is exactly the reason I wanted to study abroad!

5). There was a movie that played in one of the rooms in the museum. I watched in horror at the whole thing. The movie showed raw footage of protests that went on during the time. At one point, it showed the Russians entering the country. They were in big tanks in the middle of the streets.. Can you imagine!!?!? How scary would that be!?!?! I could not imagine it! Talk about feeling completely helpless! Then the protests came. Plain clothed police would be in the crowds and would just BEAT people to a pulp. There was one guy who had a camera. The police opened the camera and ripped the film out of it and threw it in the street. (*Yeah, they used film back then...haha*) It just left me with such an intense feeling of empathy for those people. Jan Palach was a student who set himself on fire in protest of the government. He was also upset with the passiveness of the people to the government. It was a huge deal. I have to admit that I was told about this event by our 'tour guide' the day before. I immediately didn't understand and ignorantly disregarded the event as some crazy guy who wanted to make a statement. After seeing the story at the museum, I realize the craziness of the times. This move was a bold statement and was a huge ordeal. Jan Palach died a week later. His parents wrote the following on his tombstone: "Defend truth to the death, for truth will set you free." -Jan Hus

I am so happy that I had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Communism in Prague. I learned so much in the two hours that I was there. Seriously, my life will never be the same....

SuNdAy

Sunday's tour was supposed to bring us to the Jewish Quarter.. Instead a group of us went shopping and then to the Communist Museum..... I had a great time! The Communist Museum was something you absolutely do NOT want to miss when you come to Prague! It was pretty small, but it totally got the point across! I made some great revalations while I was there that I will share in the next post..

Remove those things!

So another thing that we saw on our Saturday tour was a church that had cannon balls in the side of it!

The cannon balls were from the Thirty Years War... Why are they still there? I would guess so that tourists will have yet another thing to take pics of.. Yep, I fell for it....

Sidenote..

I know... I'm mature.... ((*I was the only one who would take a pic touching the statue winkies....*)) haha* Couldn't pass it up... Once in a lifetime! Hey! I held back in Greece! Did you see those perverted statues?!?! :)-

Artwork that made even ME speechless

Before the island, our tour guide, Jan, took us to this artwork in the city... He didn't know why it was there, but he thought it was definitely something that we should see.. I agree! Thanks, Jan! :)

Night Two in Prague

I loved our guides! They were students so they were totally cool! One of them was from Prague! It was great! The second night that we were there, we went to a place where the 'local' kids go... He took us to this little island in the middle of the city! It was beautiful! And totally romantical! Mark! I promise I'm not giving anyone kisses, but it does make me miss you! :) Anyways, czech out the pics from the island.. Awesome! We drank a few bottles of wine and just hung out! It was great.... ((*Sidenote... I did not partake in the wine drinking.. For those of you who know me closely, I have yet to drink lots of wine since Art and Wine Fest in the Haute last spring...ewwww....*)) Sloppy...Just plain sloppy.....

Did I mention the view?!?!?!?!

Did I mention how romantic the view of Prague was from the castle?!?!?!?! It totally made me want to make out with someone's face... Maybe even the guy from the video!?!?!??!

600 years to construct

Yeah, you thought the church in Spain was bad? This church in Prague is by the castle! It took about 600 years to completely construct! We didn't have time to wait in line (about and hour and a half) but we got to see the outside....

Lennon Wall

The John Lennon wasll is located in Prague.. The wall was just a normal wall but some hippies decided to paint it back in the day.. The commies didn't do much about it besides repaint it every night. They didn't want to be hostile towards the hippies because this wall was located right across the street from the French Embassy! Those hippies may have been stoned, but they certainly weren't stupid! The commies didn't want to beat the hippies during the day when people were at the French Embassy because they were afraid the French would take pictures and post them in the papers about how terrible the commies were treating the people. After 1989, the people could write on it whatever they wanted.. That is where I come in.. The wall has all kinds of things written on it about peace, love, and everything that was hippy-ism... There's even a "Where's Waldo" thing! haha* I decided to add my little touch! I left a note for that boy from home that I miss s0o0o0o much! :)

Are we in France??

Eiffel Tower? I think not! We traveled up a LARGE hill in Prague on Saturday so that we could get yet another amazing view of the city. haha* Apparently, there was this structure at the top that was supposed to look like the Eiffel Tower.. I haven't been there ((I will see the real one in September with my husband)) but this one didn't seem like a good replica.. What do you think??

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge is the famous bridge of Prague.. It is also where all the pickpocketing takes place... There are lots of people selling artwork and knick-knacks along the bridge. There are also statues on the sides.... I didn't buy any artwork and I didn't get pickpocketed.. One of the statues is supposed to bring good luck if you touch it... The trick is that you have to touch it with a certain hand.. We couldn't remember which hand you had to touch it with, so Becky, Rachel, and I took pics touching it with both... I am such a germ-freak that I had the hand sanitizer ready to go for right after we touched it! EEWWW! Oh yeah, the last video is explaning our experience touching the statue.. First of all, it doesn't really bring luck... No one really believes in that.... Unless they really think that Harry Potter is a real boy.. Second, people were touhing the lucky statue for a LONG TIME! Yeah! Touch it and go! There should be a sign that says that! Get your luck and get your move on! Don't stroke the statue! It is just common courtesy! Third, (and finally) there were people touching ME while I was touching the statue! Yeah! You wait your turn for your luck! I'm getting mine right now! Don't try to vicariously get lucky through me! By the way, IT'S NOT REALLY LUCKY! Please refer back to the first point!!!

Saturday

Saturday was filled with more sightseeing... We went to the castle! It was great! I got to see the changing of the guard! Again! There were no skirted soldiers this time, though! I also got to see these crazy old men putting on a musical performance. It really made me realize something.. Why do tourists take pictures of those guys? They aren't famous.. They are most likely bored old men who will google "Prague" on Monday to see how many pictures they show up in. How dumb is that!!?!?! I have to admit that I am totally guilty of this and I am not sure why I did it even when I was thinking about how dumb it was! haha* I also was the tourist who took a picture with the soldier who couldn't move.. Yeah... When in Rome, you know? :) I also got some potential wedding jewelry that is handmade in Czech.. I'm not going to show you that.. You will have to see that in August! :)

Clock At Night

So we walked past the clock on our way back to our hostel on Friday night.. I was super excited because I got to have a private performance! There were no other tourists around! Turns out the clock isn't really that exciting at (I think) 3:30 in the morning..... I sure was excited though! :)

Out and About

It pretty much goes without saying that we went out Friday night in Prague. It was a lot of fun! There were 24 students who went on the trip to Prague. Only six of us stayed out for the long haul! I am happy to report that I was one of those rockstars! :) The funniest part about going to clubs or bars is the reaction of the DJ. I don't know if it is just a coincidence or what, but whenever we get to a bar, the DJ's play things like Sweet Home Alabama, Cotton Eyed Joe, and (like the one in Prague) American Woman... haha*

Friday night

Friday night in Prague, we went for a little more sight-seeing. There is a TV Tower in Prague where tourists are allowed to go and get a grrrreat view of the city! It was quite romantic! Great place to be by myself, you know? :) One weird thing about the tower is that it had little babies climbing up the side! What!??! I didn't get a good picture of them because it was dark (it was night...haha*) but it was really funny... and bizarre... After the baby/tv tower, we went past the Jewish cemetary! It was really sad to see. The graves are literally right next to eachother. :(

Tangent

I don't know if any of you watch South Park or keep up with the whole Britney Spears thing, but if you are interested, Czech this out! http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=06757861-34ea-4acd-919c-a245d2f59253

Revolts

So in 1989, Czech overcame Communism. This was due greatly to revolts by college students. I got to see the street that the students walked down in protest that year! It was a really cool experience! I also learned about the Velvet Revolution. It happened in 1993. http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/all-about-czech-history/the-velvet-revolution-and-its-consequences/

That is when government officials decided to make Czechoslovakia two different countries: The Czech Republic and Slovakia. Our guide, Jan, told us that this split happened without consulting anyone in the public in the country. Another interesting point was how this split happened in merely five months. Wow..... I can't imagine something like this happening...

Tour of the Old City

After boozing with urine at lunch, we all took a tour of the old city of Prague. Prague is known world-wide for its architecture.. And for good reason.. There were all types of buildings there! It was really neat to see. We got to see one of the only buildings in the world that is built in a "Cubism" theme. I didn't really appreciate it as much as someone who knew what they were talking about would, but it was pretty cool to see.... We also got to see the astronomical clock. Remember the clock from Olomouc that went on and on for fifteen minutes? This one was just the opposite! It was a ten second performance.. Not too impressive, but glad I got to see it.. The clock is really intricate and old.. haha* I have to mention that Prague is one of the most preserved cities in Europe. This is because Hitler wanted to live there after he went on his crazy streak.... During WWII, Prague essentially went untouched. This is one of the reasons I was so excited to come to the Czech Republic! Prague was pretty cool, but I have to admit my disappointment. After going to Spain and Greece DAYS before, I was a little let down. I am glad I got to go, but I missed my palm trees.. :)

Arriving to Prague

Prague is one of the worst cities in the world for pick-pockets.. I am happy/sad to report that nothing of mine ever got stolen. I was very careful, but there was always a little part of me that wanted to experience what it was to be pick-pocketed.. Alright, there.. I said it.. :) Our hostel was nowhere down to par with our Spain hostel, so that was great! It was actually centrally located and had adequate lighting in the stairs so I felt pretty good about it... haha* Nikki, Matt, Becky, and I all went for lunch as soon as we got to Prague. Which meant that we had to booze as well.. If you ever get a chance to try Bernard beer, don't.. If you aren't sure if you will ever get the chance to, just take a sip of your own urine.. That's pretty close... :)