Settling In. **UPDATED**

Ahoj!
Well, it's about 12:50am here in Praha, so technically I am entering Day 4 of my stay. I went out last night... and the night before that... so I'm taking a breather, despite the fact that the concept of a night without drinking doesn't seem to exist over here.

If you have even the slightest conception of Prague, you know that it's all about the beer. And after trying it... several times within the past 72 hours, I can certainly see why. I'm not a big beer drinker. At all. But Czech beer has got it right. Imagine if you will...

One pint of beer.

That tastes like rainbows sliding down your throat.


For 18kC, which is about $1.

Just slap this bad boy on the counter... and get change! I feel like I'm in High Plains Drifter.
And you can drink this ANYWHERE. In the park, while you're walking in the street, in the movie theatre... yeah. So much the beer.

And, wouldn't you know, beer is such a common staple around here that people exercise MODERATION. They drink in large quantities, sure, but beer isn't treated like that bagel that you try to shove into your mouth ten minutes before class so you won't be hungry until lunch. You know the one. People are reasonable. They pace. So, if they get drunk, it's not "oh my Bob get the stomach pump and a bear whip" drunk.

Is there such thing as a bear whip? I think so. There should be. Somebody's got to keep those bears in line.
I'm pretty sleepy so I want to wrap this up, but I have so many beans to spill. It'll be a mess. It'll take hours to clean up. You'll never want to look at another bean as long as you live.

The apartment flat, if I haven't mentioned it already, is pretty awesome. In terms of location it is right in Nové Město (literally "new town") which is like the center of Prague's selling points. Everything surrounding here is fascinating and walking distance, and if it's not walking distance then it's a brief tram ride or Metro ride away. FAMU is about 6 minutes walking distance away, which kicks some nicely-toned booty.

The Prog Blague presents...
A Brief Tour of my Flat

The inside of the flat is spacious-- two double bedrooms that are each twice the size of a double dorm room in Whittier. Here's my side of the room:


Messy...

Note that all these photos are from Day 1 of move-in, so there's a major lack of set-up/order/furniture/etc. I'll probably post some updated photos of the place when we make it cozier. It's slowly but surely getting there. The fridge is fully stocked as of today, and that's really all that matters.
Hmm... Blogger is being tempermental and won't let me post any more pictures, so I'll have to go back in and add them later. In the meantime, please allow me to exercise my literary talents by painting the picture of my flat through the magic of words.

I promise to stop talking like that. (maybe)

So you go up a few flights of stairs to our apartment. There's a sort of front entry way which breaks off into the different rooms-- to the right is Julia and Kristyna's room, and the toilet. To the left is the bathroom.

"Huh?"

Yeah. The toilet is in a separate room from the sink/tub/shower. It's kind of weird, but extremely convenient when one of us wants to shower and one of us needs to use the bathroom.

Anyway, moving on: forward and to the right is the living room. We're getting a couch tomorrow or something, for now we just have a futon. There's also a t.v., bookshelf, ironing board, et cetera. Again, we'll make this place cozier in the near future once we're not having our lives consumed by orientation.

Straight forward is the kitchen area on the right, and a little further is the "dining" area. If you go past the kitchen, to the left is my room, which I share with my roommate Vera.

We have a secret washing machine, too. It's under the kitchen counter next to the dishwasher, AKA the last place you would ever look for a washing machine. It's pretty James Bond. Our fridge is, too-- from the outside it looks like another cabinet. I like it.

Hmmm, what else. I'm getting really tired so I need to get brief about all this. LET'S GET BRIEF.

(Here's where I would post a picture of briefs... ha, ha, ha!)

THE PEOPLE:
-In Prague-- Friendly, but a lot more blunt than people in the U.S. It jostles you a bit at first, but it's refreshing to have that sincerity.
-In the program-- Awesome. They are awesome. I was really nervous that I'd be stuck with pretentious film jerks, because most/many film folk are that way. But no... these are 15 incredibly down-to-earth people. I like everyone, and we've already set the bonding ball in motion over the past three days. I'm so relieved and grateful I get to spend my Prague journey with these people.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING:
-Going out to bars.
-Going out to concerts-- the first night we saw a little folk group perform at a pub, and last night we saw an underground Czech band from the 80s called "Plastic People of the Universe" at a LITERALLY underground pub. They were pretty awesome.
-Walking around the city and sort-of-learning how the tram and metro work.
-Swimming at a "natural pool"-- that's what we did today. It was SO MUCH FUN, and absolutely perfect since it's been really hot and humid out. My understanding was that it's more or less the Czech substitute for the beach. There were hundreds of people at this pond, swimming around and tanning on the banks. And did I mention this was a clothing-optional natural pool? Yeah, didn't pick up on that until I saw a trickle of naked men wading in on the other side of the bank. People are so much more candid about their bodies over here, which I can certainly appreciate. I kept my suit on all the same. But in a month? Who can say...
-Seeing movies-- There's a big film fest going on right now. Tonight we watched "Bellflower," which was really good, though a lot of my Film Studies peers disagree. It's melodramatic and kind of abstract, but I enjoyed the ride. See it-- it's an independent American film. Tomorrow I think we're seeing more fesival films.
-Orientation-ing-- Overwhelming. We are going to be doing SO MUCH this semester. I'm chomping at the bit. Classes don't start for another week or so, though.

Aaaaand I seriously need to go to bed. I feel my throat getting sore and I'm concerned it might develop into something awful if I don't squish it early. Good night!

**UPDATES**

Photos of the flat!

Secret washing machine!

Add caption

From standing in the front entryway.

Our dining area. With a picturesque view into someone else's window!

Kitchen area.

YaHOO

Well… where to begin. Holy cow. I’m here. I’m actually here. I am sitting on a bed, in a room, in a flat, on a street, in Prague. There are noises outside, and those noises are Czech citizens walking down Czech streets and driving Czech cars while blasting Euro-pop Czech music. If I had a word to describe my current state of mind, it would most likely be:

Frenamanabawhoohay!

No, that is not a Czech word. I didn’t check, anyway. BTW, the whole “check” thing—not an intentional pun, but it’s probably going to happen a lot so start getting used to it now.

My trip to the Czech Republic was not an easy one. Here I shall attempt to recount my harrowing misadventures, and maybe now that it’s all over I can find the humor in it.

The first heart-stoppingly terrifying thing to happen to me was calling the Business Office the day before I left and discovering there was a hold on my account. If I didn’t submit all the right paperwork and junk by the end of THAT DAY then I straight up would not be able to board the plane. I wouldn’t be in the program, I wouldn’t be in Prague. I would be in absolute misery.

Fault: Mine, for not making sure all that crap was taken care of sooner. However, I’d like to qualify that with a

SERIOUSLY WHITTIER?? You weren’t planning on letting me know that you had your boot on my fragile little neck and you were just gonna WAIT until I was royally screwed over to tell me something was up? Not cool, Whittier. Not cool. However, thanks to the personable staff over in the Business Office I was able to get everything squared away last-minute. But still… there’s definitely some tension when Whittier and I are in the same room.

Anyway, the flight from San Diego to Chicago was a breeze. The only issue was typical Chicago weather being a little attention-seeking punk, so we had to fly around in circles in the air for a while until we were finally given clearance to land, making the flight about 3 ½ hours. I entertained myself by doodling. The woman sitting next to me really liked my drawing, and I think she tried to take a picture of it over my shoulder when she thought I wouldn’t notice, so I gave it to her when we landed.

Oh yeah. At one point we hit an air pocket and dropped about a foot in the air. I nearly pooped my pants. Although truth be told it was actually pretty fun, so I don’t really count that as a horrific misadventure.
Chicago to London was a little messy, just because the O’Hare International Airport is the size of yo mama. I had to take a shuttle just to get to my side of the airport on time. Other than that, it was fine. The outbound Chicago flight was about 7 hours. I just alternated between sleeping, doodling, reading, and wasting my computer battery on PC games. It wasn’t too bad, though it was an ultimate test of my endurance.

So what’s the deal with airplane food? I requested the “Vegetarian” meal option online in advance. Kids, heed my warning: never select the vegan-vegetarian option. The stewardess handed me a tray with tin foil-wrapped bowls whose contents looked something like this:



It was repulsive, to all of my senses. I couldn’t do more than a few bites. It was airplane food’s worst ever. I could’ve gotten better nourishment being segment C of the human centipede. However, British Airways does get kudos for pouring the red wine like its OJ. I felt very sophisticated drinking my red wine with my airplane food.

*delayed cringe*

So here’s where it reallys starts to suck. Perhaps the worst slip-up on my trip was missing my connecting flight from London to Prague. The layover was only an hour so I was really pressed for time, and I was all the way in the back of the Chicago plane. You know what that means. About 20 minutes of awkwardly sit-standing in your seat waiting to leave, but somebody’s having a wedding in the aisle or something because NOBODY IS MOVING. And then the Heathrow airport was madness. I imagine it’s what a factory slaughterhouse would look like if we ate people instead of cows. I was herded into queue after queue after R after S until I was told that I missed my flight.

“But it leaves in 20 minutes…”

“You missed it. Get another flight.”
“But if it’s not off the ground for another 20 minutes why can’t I—”
“I hate airports and I hate helping people and most of all I hate you, Jessica Miller. Right down to very core of my soul.”

“Oh.”

So I got another flight departing a few hours later, which isn’t too bad. All the same I was stressing hardcore. Someone play me a song on the world’s smallest violin: I was sleep deprived and malnourished, I didn’t have a way of contacting my family because my phone was dead and the charger is in the United States (Fault: Mine), I lost my little electronic translator to use for communicating with Czechs (Fault: Mine), and I was arriving in Prague late, which meant “CIEE representatives” would not be waiting for me with their “bright orange signs and blue banners.” Which meant I had to take a taxi to my flat.

Okay, what’s rule #1 of Prague? NEVER TAKE A TAXI. But I had no choice. And it actually worked out fine because I asked a representative at the counter to calculate a rough figure of the fare in advance, so I would know if the dude was cheating me. The taxi driver didn’t cheat me (he had a meter that I could watch, anyway) and I reached my destination safe and sound, if not slightly tardy.

Oh, did I mention the fun part yet? My luggage got kaffumpled with the whole missed flight ordeal (Fault: Anyone’s but mine), so my checked suitcase didn’t make it to Prague when I did. When will it be here? Sometime tonight, we’re hoping. It’s doubly difficult because since I don’t have a phone, the airport is going to have one helluva time contacting me to bring me my suitcase. But I gave them the director’s number… the only number I have… so I’m hoping to have the other 4/5ths of my junk by later tonight.
OKAY, so now that I’ve sweated all those toxins out, let’s talk about Prague. Speaking of sweating, it is a hot, humid day. It’s dusk now so the sun is pretty much gone, but it was out and it was beautiful. The city is so different. It reminds me a lot of London; a bunch of ancient buildings with breath-taking architecture all smushed together along arbitrarily-mapped cobblestone roads. We crossed the Vltava river to get to my flat complex, and the whole view from the bridge is beautiful. I saw the two famous dancing buildings, too:


Heeeeere's Fred and Ginger!
It was cool to see everything in person after stalking all of Prague on Google maps street view.
When I got to my flat, a full-time FAMU student helped me settle in and then a fellow Film Studies participant and I met up with the rest of our group in a nearby restaurant. It’s a really cool place; you go down a winding staircase into the basement, and it’s like a pub/restaurant. I forget the actual Czech name of the place, but apparently in English it means “The Hairy Ghost.” I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time there. Especially after ordering the smoothest pint of beer I’ve ever tasted. I wish I could remember what it’s called… I have a hard time with words that are more than three syllables. What am I doing in the Czech Republic?

The flat’s sweet. I roamed around and took pictures. It’s not all set up yet, but I’m looking forward to doing that soon. Looks like I’m gonna have to make a few trips to Tesco.

Thank Bob I wound up accidentally packing a pair of basketball shorts in my carry-on. It feels so good to unwind! My body’s really confused because of the 9-hour time change, but I’ve got to be up early tomorrow for orientation so I’d better try to get some sleep tonight. Try.

It's The Final Countdown

Today is my last day in California. Also in the United States. Also in Northern America. Also in the Western hemisphere. Wait. Is Eastern Europe in the Western hemisphere? Typical stupid United Statesians... don't know their geography...

Well, last day. What am I doing on this sunny, beautiful day? Besides watching my hair fall out and going hand-to-hand with this nervous lump in my throat? For the most part just making rounds and squeezing as many friendly faces as I can into the next 24 hours. I'm at Casey's house right now, for instance. She's my homie from school who conveniently lives about 10 minutes away from me when we're home. She's going to Spain in a couple weeks, so our paths might cross once or twice in the next four months. They'd better, anyway. And yes, that IS a threat. (CASEY.)

Oh yeah, and I kinda sorta also have to PACK at some point. Sure, I've started, but I've got a long way to go. I have one suitcase full at this point. I can only take one more suitcase and a carry-on, so this should be fun to figure out. It'll be a new strategy game. Like Blokus, only more stressful.

For those of you who aren't in the know BLOKUS IS THE BEST GAME EVER.


I guarantee this will not be the last time I reference Blokus.

Okay, so.

Current Mood: Content, anxious, in denial. I don't think it's fully hit me yet that I am leaving, although sitting here talking to Casey's mom about phone cards is kind of freaking me out.
I was trying to look up the clip from Arrested Development where Tobias gives a professional diagnosis of Denial but I couldn't find it. So enjoy this instead:



That's all I've got. Bon voyage!
...That's French, idiot.

Vitejte!

Hello, and welcome ("vitejte") to my Prog Blague. This delightful little piece of internet will be used to detail my various adventures and endeavors as I cross the pond (British phrase; big whoop, wanna fight about it?) and spend a semester in the lovely city of Prague in the lovely country of the Czech Republic.
I figured I'd start off with a little FAQ session so that we're all on the same page. Even though we techically are already. www.itstheprogblague.blogspot.com, tell your friends.

The Prog Blague proudly presents:

Interview With A Vampire Myself

So liek OMGz you're going to Prague?

Yes.

Are you there already?
Obviously not. I would be too busy fapping* over the city to write this sort of eloquent introduction.

*Contrary to urban dictionary's account of this word's definition, I use 'fapping' in most contexts to mean choking on one's own excitement and giddiness almost to the point of drooling. Example:


Hurr durr durr I'm in Prague!

Oh totally. So when do you leave then?
I leave Tuesday morning and will arrive in Prague around noon on Wednesday.

Holy crap, that's in like 5 days.

Right??!???!1!!?

How long are you going to be there?

A week. PSYCH. I'm gonna be living there for a little over 4 months. I leave August 23rd and I fly back home on December 30th.

Oh, cool. So. Wait. What exactly are you going to be doing in Eastern Europe for 4 months?

I'm glad you asked. I'm going as a part of a study abroad program through CIEE. I'm doing a Film Studies program at Charles University within FAMU, one of the oldest and most prestigious film schools in Europe. I am enrolled in the Production Track, which focuses on the-- you guessed it-- production of film. This includes a little bit of everything: directing, screenwriting, shooting, editing, et cetera. I'm going to be enrolled in a "film mentorship" course in which fellow classmates and myself will collaborate to create short student films.

Originally I had applied for the Screenwriting Track under the Film Studies program (if you haven't figured it out yet, writing is kinda sorta my life). This involved submitting an excerpt from an original screenplay and two proposals for other potential scripts. According to the e-mail I received: although they liked my material, they didn't have other qualified enough applicants to offer the Screenwriting Track this semester. So instead, they offered to admit me into the Production Track where they thought I might also do well. I'm gonna cross my fingers on that prophesy. While I haven't studied production as much as I've studied screenwriting, I know some editing basics and I can work my way around a camera. I'm actually quite excited to be studying the broader scope of film, although part of me is paranoid that the other program participants will be better-versed and that they'll point and laugh at me when I don't know how to create a split-screen in Final Cut.


"I don't know how to use color fill!"

That's cool I guess. But let's be real for a second. Why of all places, I mean... the Czech Republic? What the hey?
After writing a personal statement on and responding to some very incredulous acquaintances asking this very question, I'm quite used to the confusion and I'm quite used to giving this answer: EXACTLY.

My goal in studying abroad is to gain a new perspective on the world as I perceive it. Yeah, it's cliche, except I really mean it. I'm a writer. Writers create characters, minds, worlds-- how can I do that from only ONE perspective? Can't be done. Not up to my standards, anyway. So what I want to do is go somewhere that is entirely unfamiliar, completely off my radar, something I've never considered. Say, the Czech Republic falls into those categories pretty nicely! My hope is that living in a country that I have little/no previous conceptions of will foster new ideas and perspectives. And this will make me a stronger writer. Once I'm a stronger writer, hopefully somewhere down the line I'll be a successful writer. Then next stop: WORLD DOMINATION.

P.S. This is totally what I tell the infuriatingly-practical jerk wads who ask me what my plans for after college are. It usually ends with me standing on a table screaming "WORLD DOMINATION!!!" and them nervously inching out of the room.

Totes. So what language do they speak in the Czech Republic?

Czech.

I hope you feel dumb.

Just kidding, almost everybody asks me this question. Except I still hope you feel dumb.

Do you speak Czech?

Nope. I know how to say "hi," "please," "good day" and "microwave."

MIKROVLNA!
Speaking of microwaves, where will you be living during your stay in Prague?

An apartment, located on a street whose name I cannot currently pronounce.

One last thing... there aren't going to be any puns in this blog, are there?

Oh hell to the yes there will be. Because I'm the coolest kid on the blog.



That's all I've got. If you've got questions for me, by all means post 'em down there in the comment section and I'll answer if I can. I cannot promise any sort of consistent update via the Prog Blague, but I'll do my best to regularly post pictures and anecdotes and random lolcat pictures.