First weekend in Prague

I made it to Prague! I'm studying abroad for the semester here in the Czech Republic, so I won't be back until May 10 or so.

Getting here was quite a trip. Eight hours on a plane from San Francisco to Frankfurt, Germany. I started and finished "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman on the plane ride and also watched Hairspray. In this part of Europe, we are nine hours ahead of California, so if I wait until afternoon to call you, you'll still curse me for it being too early.

Calls also cost about 99 cents a minute, so don't expect long, dwindling conversations on the phone. I downloaded Skype and will be borrowing Krystal's headset so that is now a possibility.

About my living space: I was originally set to live in the dorms, but apparently the rooms were iffy and were pricey for the services offered, so the resident director got us all furnished apartments. I live in a two bedroom apartment with four other girls: Krystal, Lauren, Sarah and Austin (yes, she's from Texas). It's pretty big, much bigger than a dorm. There's a kitchen, living room, fireplace and dining table. And only four beds. Two girls share a king sized bed and I am one of the two that has a single while Sarah has a king all to herself.

We also have dishes and glasses provided. Including shot glasses, very unlike Chico. I'll post a video tour soon.

Students are spread around town, but our apartment building has a pub downstairs. The beer is good, but I still miss Sierra Nevada. I've only drank socially and only a couple beers at a time. No partying this early for me. Lots of clubs, and American '80s and '90s music is everywhere.

Pickled cheese is quite delicious, despite how it sounds, but it is primarily a bar food. I've also had some other dish which was like a sweet goulash, which I didn't care too much for. The bread and steak were good, but the gravy was sweet and thin, which ruined it for me. Tonight we went to a bar aimed at tourists and Lucy, Gabby, Kathy and I ordered two fifteen inch pizzas and desert, none of which was Czech. But they spoke English there, which was a plus.

We start our two week intensive Czech language course tomorrow, so I should go to bed. It's 2 a.m. here. Because of the time change, I'm just not tired. Hello, Dramamine!

Ally