OFF

I'm off to Amsterdam for the weekend..... I will be back Monday evening!!!! I'm sure I'll have LOTS to talk about!!! Love you and miss you all!!! xoxo From this side of the world!

AGGGHHH!!

SO I WAS JUST TALKING TO MARK WHEN ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE HAPPENED?!?!?!?! AFTERSHOCK??? AGGGGHHH!!! BE CAREFUL ON THAT SIDE OF THE WORLD!!!!!! XOXO

CARNIVAL RIDE IN EAST BOHEMIA

POWER OUTAGE

Okay, so when we were in East Bohemia last weekend, there was a short power outage.. Luckily I was there with my camera to record the event... ;)

Beer Marathon

So last night was Beer Marathon. Darren and I were able to participate in it because of our crazy ticket mishap. And it was A BLAST!!! ;) First a little background on beer marathon:

BEER MARATHON SPRING 2008 WAS INTENSE! ESSENTIALLY YOU GO FROM PUB TO PUB (TEN TO BE EXACT) CHUGGING BEERS AND COMPLETING TASKS... FIRST TEAM DONE WINS... OUR TEAM FINISHED IN TWO HOURS AND CAME IN THIRD! I'M A GIRL SO I GOT TO DRINK LESS BEER....ONLY 3 LITERS INSTEAD OF 5.... THANKS GUYS! ;)

That was from my facebook.. wow.. It was a lot of fun! We paid about 12 USD and the International Student Club footed the rest of the tab.. haha* I love this country!! ;)

We had to do tasks at each bar like take a picture of a statue, kiss certain parts of statues, figure out how many taps were at the bar, etc... It was a lot of fun! ;) I tried to take lots of videos and pictures.. haha* The first video is Darren and his thoughts on Beer Marathon at Bar Six... The next one is when we are done with Bar Ten and are running to Remix (Where it ended)... I ask how my team is doing (They would say GREAT the entire night) and Darren says "Shut Up".. I love it! LOL

After Remix, I went to Livingstone (another club) in Brno with Rachel, my smart roommate who didn't participate in the event. At one point we heard a song that I had to video for my Dad!! ;) Love you and miss you oh so much!!!

Beer Marathon was a really fun time.......You know me! Can't pass up a chance to run a marathon!! ;)

DUO Party

So this week I am FRANTICALLY doing homework in order to graduate this whole college thing! ;) I also found time to play... haha* Hey, NEVER BEFORE IN MY LIFE have I not had stress in my life! HERE IT IS! So I get to play... Anyhoo.... There was a DUO Party at Club Remix on Wednesday... So my roomie, Rachel, and I went as the Hilton Sisters! We wore sunglasses, she wore a dress, and I wore a tube top and no pants.... yep.... I did... It covered the essentials MOM! ;)

At one point, we were on the dance floor and Rachel pretended she was engaged so that no one would attempt to pursue her.... haha* That was picture worthy... Brandon let her borrow his ring.. haha*

At another point in the night, Rachel and I met some guys who were really nice. They were asking about us. We told them we were palientologists who had discovered a Stegasaurous outside of the Brno airport. We were a pretty big deal and were studying at Masaryk because they had the best dino program in the world. They were skeptical (as everyone would be) but Rachel knows her dinos so I'm pretty sure they fell for it by the end of the convo.... We had to take a picture with them.. Notice the background of the pic has a screen that shows pictures from past parties.. Yep... It's our picture up there! haha* Later in the night, while waiting for the bus, I acted like a stegasaurous so we could have a pic.... Thought I'd explain the pic.. ;)

Another cute outfit was Salt and Pepper. Ulrik and Rachel dressed up! It was so cute!

Gratitude Journal: Local News Online

Holy Moly! So I get online to frantically blog about my week before I leave for Amsterdam and find out that THERE WAS AN EARTHQUAKE BACK HOME YESTERDAY?!?!?!?!? AGGGHHH!! I want to hear stories! I hope everyone is okay! Love you all!!! Miss you!!! BE CAREFUL!!! XOXO
http://www.wthitv.com/global/story.asp?s=8191452

27 Dresses

After the football game last Sunday, Rachel and I met up with some other friends and went to see 27 Dresses at the movie theatre..... It was quite an experience! The movie was in English with Czech subtitles! It was great to hear English jokes again! It was also great to be able to laugh at the jokes, then wait for our friends from Slovenia to translate the Czech and then giggle.. They were on the other side of the court this time! And (I couldn't help myself) I had to tape a little of it so you guys could experience it too! I didn't tape much because I didn't want to get arrested, but I had to share!!!

108 days

And I marry my Prince Charming!! Get your party shoes ready! This is going to be a party you won't want to miss!!! ((And there is no green, Jack!)) haha*

Gratitude Journal: Confirmation Emails

Yep! It's back! Although I haven't been posting my gratitude journal lately, I promise I thank God EVERY DAY for everything in my life! We all are truly blessed to have so0o0o0o much beauty around us at all times! ;) So let's talk about today's gratitude journal.. Confirmation Emails?? Yep! So0o0o0o0 funny story.. This weekend, a group of eight of us is flying to Amsterdam. It was going to be a crazy weekend.. We were going to get to Vienna to the airport around 6pm Thursday.. Then we were going to fly out twelve and a half hours later... so we were going to be homeless... ;) Then we had a hostel right next to the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House in Amsterdam for Friday and Saturday night! Turns out, Darren, the guy I booked my plane tickets with, noticed yesterday morning that our flight confirmation said we were leaving on SATURDAY MORNING! agghhh!!! That's a problem! Turns out, only our flight leaves Saturday at 630.. everyone else leaves at 630 on Thursday! Talk about a fiasco! Everything worked out okay. Darren and I are just going to have one less day in Amsterdam than everyone else.. The group promised they would hold the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House until we got there Saturday morning! I wonder what they are going to do to entertain themselves until we get there?? ;) Our flight leaves Monday at 9 in the morning. We are going to stay in the hostel Sunday night instead of spending the night in the airport like originally planned.. haha* Everything happens for a reason! I'm really excited to see Amsterdam this weekend! I'm sure I'll have some funny stories to share with everyone! Anyways, Thank God for the Confirmation Email because it would have been much more of a fiasco if Darren wouldn't have noticed yesterday! Hey! I'm not an accountant because I am detail-oriented! ;) haha*

Football

Last Sunday Rachel, Ulrik, Andrew, and I all went to the Brno VS. Most Football Game. It was a BLAST! With dollar beers AT A PROFESSIONAL SPORTING EVENT it was bound to be a great time! ;) The first thing that I noticed was how far apart the seats were! We weren't sitting on benches, but these stone stools! It was great! I guess there was a lot of room in between the seats so that you could put all your beer and your sausage link next to you comfortably! haha* So then I noticed that there were firemen at the stadium.. on duty... now what would a BUNCH of firemen need to be doing at a football game? I am pretty sure it was just in case David Beckham showed up! ;) The fans were so great! They had so much energy! There was one guy who didn't even face the field the entire game! He faced the crowd with one of those bullhorn things and started chants! That is dedication! ;) You can kind of see him in one of the pics of the crowd... he is in the bottom left corner! haha* Another dedicated fan was this guy that was standing in another corner SCREAMING at the field the entire time! He was all alone but was having the best/worst time of his life depending on how the game was going.. haha* He was so great! I wish I understood what he was saying! The fact that I didn't though, made it a little more interesting! Everyone wore their team's scarf and I had to purchase one to fit in! It was only about 12 dollars. How could I resist? The last observation I had on the day was the way the football players acted like they were hurt when the slightly got touched! BABIES!! I was making this observation when I realized I USED TO BE ONE OF THEM!! Yep, that's right! I started my dramatic skills early! I remember that I was ALL OVER THE FLOOR when I played basketball! I got a lot of fouls called in my favor, but I usually ended up getting fouled out... That was, of course, when I wasn't making SWEET shots for the other team... Yep.. that happened... Yep... It will get talked about at my funeral......In the end (after 90 minutes of play) Brno beat Most 2 to 1! WooHOo!!

Zoo

So I love love LOVED the zoo on Sunday! First, we went to the petting zoo. I'm not much of an animal lover, but I did pick up one of the little goats! It really was cute! ;) I think that one liked me... There was an animal that did not like me at all! The orange monkey kept yelling and screaming at me as soon as I started to make a fake monkey noise. He hated me and I couldn't leave! haha* We also got to see some zebras! I wore my shoes that were very appropriate! ;) I am going to say that I saw the weirdest, sloth-looking thing in the WORLD! haha* Czech it out and tell me what you think it is! eekers! Where are the legs?!?!!? The funnest part of the day came when we were attempting to find the exit! We didn't know how to get out of the zoo so we just started following this crazy road! There was a sign [see pic] that we "didn't understand"... haha* actually, we just disregarded the sign.. ;) BAD IDEA! We ended up in an area full of cheetahs! agghh!! There were cheetahs and chain link fences! I nearly died! agghh!! Anyway, we did end up finding the exit, so that was nice.. haha* Let's just say I am happy to be alive... ;)

Castle Kost

We visited a real castle on Saturday! There was a fairytale being filmed so there were certain parts that we couldn't see....There was a building by the castle that our guide had us guess what its purpose was.... I immediately guessed a pub.. Turns out it was a brewery! :) I was close! haha* We got to see the 'black kichen.' Apparently it was called this because it was all black on the inside because of the open flames. Healthy... We also got to czech out some weapons and armour in one of the rooms. I liked the gloves... ;) Apparently the last Silence of the Lambs movie was filmed at this castle, which is pretty sweet.. ;) See the picture of the window? That was the bathroom back in the day.. BAHAHHAHHA* EEEWWWW!!! ;) I totally thought that was picture-worthy!

This trip ROCKED!!!

So on Saturday (after the Robber's house) we went to Prachovska Skaly. Apparently that is Czech for a whole HAIL of a lot of rocks that you pay to climb.. I didn't realize this when I read the itinerary when I was packing.. So I wore a DRESS... Now, I have never been one to dress appropriately for any situation (you may recall my prom dress at my going away party) and I have never been one to mind being the center of attention (you can recall probably ANY memory you have that involves me) but, had I realized we would be hiking three miles in what are the CRAZIEST rock formations I have ever seen, I probably would have packed some tennis shoes and jeans over a sundress and ballet slippers.. Nevertheless, I looked hot... and uncomfortable.. But the first is obviously the most important.. I'm rambling again... Let's continue.... Oh yeah! Before continuing, I must mention that I bought pantyhose here in the Czech Republic.. I bought a three pack of 'nude' pantyhose... Apparently 'nude' in the Czech Republic translates to death... Yep, I'm pretty darn pale right now... But those suckers make me feel pretty good... Anyways, wanted to point that out so you don't start talking about my nasty pale death-like legs.. ALRIGHT, I'll start talking about rocks now.... THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL! BREATHTAKING! AMAZING! Seriously, these babies were s0o0o0o pretty! I would love to come back here to hike the five kilometers appropriately dressed and with friends and family from back home! AMAZING! It was Hikmat's 22nd birthday, so I told him I wanted to get a pic of the birthday boy! I had no idea that he was going to risk his life to get the perfect shot! AGGHH! He immediately climed on some crazy rock with what seemed like a 500 kilometer drop behind it and raised his hands for the picture! I immediately took it and screamed at him to get down! But I did get the pic! ;) You can count on me to get a full record of your near-death experience! haha* Happy Birthday, Hikmat! At another point throughout the hike, we came to an opening where there were no more markers for our trail. We had no idea where to go! I started to talk to our group to figure out which of us was going to have to get eaten first. We were going to be getting hungry soon.. That got everyone a little nervous.. haha* Then, Rachel used her handy dandy skills to point us in the right direction! Everyone was very relieved! ;) When w were done with the hike, I enjoyed a traditional Czech lunch of potatoes and fried cheese. Roxanne bought me a super large pack of Zlate Cookies (my replacement for Mark over here). It was very nice of her! I had resisted the urge to buy them at lunch, but felt like it was only right to eat them when they were a gift.. ;)

I suck

How could I forget to tell you about the 'disco' on Friday night? ;) It was a lot of fun because our group was the only one there! I competed (and obviously won) an intense dance off... I can never have a bad time with all these crazy cats! :)

Killing Time...

So Joe and I didn't know what to do with the rest of our time at the Robber's house.. So we played with his toys.. We found and competed in a very heated game of Checkers.. Yes... We are 22 and 27... and we are rocking out the checkers.... I guess my face in the second pic tells the outcome... ;(

Robber's House

So what would you think if you were told you were going to Robber's house?? Yep, I thought we were going to some crazy guy's house with some torture tools in it.. or at least some weapons...BECAUSE HE WAS A ROBBER...

Nope.. He apparently still was crazy.. just in a different way.. his house was filled with these crazy toys and dolls, etc.... There were apparently all these signs with jokes... I didn't get them.. I didn't understand them.. They were in Czech.. I pretended like I did and giggled appropriately every time I saw one.. ;) In the first pic you can see some of the dolls in the ?living room? In the second pic, you can see Wadih playing with one of the walls on the wall.. ;)

HOTEL IN JICIN....

So we moved on up and stayed at a hotel instead of a hostel this weekend.. ;) It was cool.. There was a 'disco' at the hotel which played some crazy techno mixes.. And it was pretty much just our group at the club so that made it pretty fun! One of the best parts of the hotel was the fact that we had a BATHTUB!! I GOT TO TAKE A BATH!! We also had CABLE! For those of you who don't know, I have not watched TV since I have been here... Let me also add that there were only two stations that we all understood.... and they were both CNN... ;) So I got caught up on the world news.... I found three things interesting....
1) The British weatherman covered the weather in the world and specificaly talked about INDIANAPOLIS!! WOOT WOOT!!
2) Apparently pirates are real?!?! I thought they were like unicorns... fictional characters that Johnny Depp plays.. Okay, so he has never really played a unicorn, but could the idea really be that far out there? I definitely think a unicorn role is possible.. in the near future.. I'm rambling... let's focus.. YES! There are pirates in this world! And I was appalled! Everyone I talked to warned me about crazy pirates for when Mark and I go on our European honeymoon cruise in September! EEK! ;) I'm going to bring an eye patch and act like I'm one of them if our ship gets attacked! ((*Call that last statement innappropriate.. I call it planning ahead*))
3) CNN International is totally all about covering the presidential campaign race in the States... And they showed a clip of Bill Clinton speaking... IN TERRE HAUTE FREAKING INDIANA!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO WAY! I AM IN JICIN IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC WATCHING THE ONLY CHANNEL ON CABLE THAT I UNDERSTAND AND SEE THEM COVER A SPEECH FROM BILLY BOY HIMSELF SPEAKING IN MY TOWN IN GOOD OLD INDIANA?!?! I'm pretty sure my life is complete.. There you go, Terre Haute... There's your fifteen minutes.. ;)

PAY TO PEE PROOF

THIS IS A SIGN ON THE DOOR OF A BATHROOM THAT YOU HAD TO PAY TO PEE IN JICIN, THE TOWN WE STAYED IN THIS WEEKEND... YEP.. ONE CZK IS 2.5 CENTS... THIS WAS A CHEAP ONE! ;)

Trebechovice pod Orebem

We also visited a TEENSY TINY town on Friday that is "world famous" for it's Museum of Nativity Scenes. Never heard of it? Me neither.. It was a quaint (get that, Abby?) little town with a quaint little Museum of Nativity Scenes. The first thing we saw when we got off the bus was an ice cream stand. Most people got ice cream.. Then we got to the Museum... And found this sign.. Wadih is such a REBEL! :) I had to take a picture! After scarfing down ice cream, we got to enjoy the world's largest handmade nativity scene (or something along those lines). Anyhoo, it was a wooden mechanical nativity scene with 2,000 different characters! It was pretty impressive! What was more impressive was how long it took the artist to create it! FORTY YEARS! Yowza! I was trying to recreate the convos the artist had with his wife in those forty years:

Wife: You should get a job.

Husband: I have a job, I am an artist.

Wife: Is that hunk of wood you have been working on what you consider a job?

Husband: This is going to make me famous one day! Can you imagine? WORLD FAMOUS! People will come from all over the world to see this masterpiece! I can see it now!

Wife: Well, do you think you could finish it sometime soon?

Husband: Soon dear, soon....

BAHHAHAHAHA* FORTY YEARS LATER!! I bet that wife was c.r.a.n.k.y.....

East Bohemia

We left bright and early Friday morning for East Bohemia. First we went to Litomysl to a Renaissance Chateau. There was some really hot furniture that I attempted to buy but the guide wouldn't let me. I guess because they were originals.. But I seriously wished they would have fit in my backpack... ;)