Sometimes it's amazing to know that no matter where in the world you are, your best friend is only an internet call away.
"I've Never Been So Lost, I've Never Felt So Much At Home"
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Overview of Week One
I've been planning on updating ya'll for about four days now, but I swear, each day has been even busier than the day before it! I can now semi-confidently say that I am beginning to become more comfortable with the city and the life in Praha, and that's not just because I've literally taken the wrong metro/tram/bus at least once a day, which often result in me landing myself somewhere off the map of Praha itself ( story to come later in the post.) This whole week has been a orientation/ get to know the city type of week, with mandatory intensive czech classes for two and a half hours a day as well as various lectures and tours around the city. I've been making my rounds at the grocery store, everyday goods store where I was able to get shampoo etc. as well as to the cell phone store where I unlocked a phone given to me by my dear friend Jesse who was on tour around Europe and happened to have an extra cell phone ( this new phone is called the Bullet, due to its Bullet like appearance). I have been eating out a lot ( A LOT of mexican and italian, as czech food really isn't that great. But I will give a shout out to fried cheese, that stuff is gooooood!) , as food is very cheap in restaurants due to the exchange rate. I've explored a bit of Praha's history through its architecture and landmarks, as well as experienced a bit of the nightlife.
NYU in Prague is located right in the middle of Old Town Square, one of the main tourist destinations for not only the beautiful buildings, but because of this super cool clock called the Astronomical Clock, which is really fascinating, so you should read up on it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock) !
(Some pals, Grace and Kelly, or Grace Kelly.)
On Tuesday, I was incredibly happy to be able to hang with my friend Jesse and his band(s) Snuffaluffagus and Witt. Not only are they really talented dudes, but they were so much fun and I had a blast exploring Praha with them. For the past month of so they had been touring Europe, so on their way home they made a bit stop to SEE ME ( as I like to tell myself) and Praha, and were welcomed to the city by not only getting their rental car window smashed but by a amp being stolen as well. Nothing says " Enjoy your stay" like filing a police report! It was with the boys that I experienced my first "Czech" food, which were potato dumplings that were very thick and took a very long time to chew. I also tried a bit of "knee", whose knee I do not know, but I'm not gonna lie, it was tasty!
( Presenting Jesse Kranzler. Cutest couple in the Czech Republic.)
It is really powerful yet heartbreaking to hear Jewish History. The majority of my best and closest friends are Jewish, and living in a predominately Jewish community in Florida as well as attending a predominately Jewish summer camp in Canada for over 9 years, I have always had a fascination of the Jewish religion. Although I don't consider myself a very religious person and I don't really support organized religion, I have my own personalized and individualized beliefs that carry me through this life. But although I wouldn't be able to identify myself as one type of religion over another, I have always found it so incredible beautiful that no matter how religious or unreligious a person who identifies as Jewish is, they are always very passionate about their religion. I had noticed this since at summer camp most friends went to Jewish Academies, but on the Praha Jewish tour it was the first time that I was actually able to see the passion, feel the passion myself. In a famous synagogue called the " Old New Synagogue" that was modeled off of the fallen temple in Israel, my tour guide, a Czech culture attaché in Israel, sang a beautiful prayer song that literally brought me to tears because in those few moments I felt the synagogue come to life. It was in this song and in the vibrations his voice was making off of the temple walls that I was actually able to feel the pride, love, and passion of the Jewish religion. It was in this song that I was finally able to pin-point why the Jewish religion has always fascinated me, why I have always been interested in the religious lives of my Jewish friends, and it was because of the undying devotion and belief to the religion that many of their grandfathers, great grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters had to unfortunately fight to the death for.
Something they introduced to all the students was the Velvet Revolution, and the impact it has had on the country. They screened the documentary " Power of the Powerless," an American made documentary covering the Velvet Revolution, but because I have an unbeatable illness called "falling alseep everywhere and anywhere I possible can /having to fall asleep every time I'm either sitting in a classroom with a talking professor or in a dark warm room with comfortable chairs AKA old man's syndrome" I missed a lot of the documentary. Interested in what this "Velvet Revolution" was all about, I came home that night and did hours of research that extended to reading about communism, Stalinism, totalitarianism, etc. The Velvet Revolution was basically a two month non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia during 1989 where its people, mostly the youth, fought to end communism and overthrow the communist government. Taking a step back, how absolutely breathtaking is it to think about how a country who had been under a communist regime for over 40 years as well as under Nazi rule was completely changed to a democratic nation in UNDER TWO MONTHS? Another point that completely baffles me: How did the people who had been repressed for almost if not all of their lives develop a voice that they believed would be heard? What gave the 100,000 Czechoslovakia people who had been protesting the hope, courage, and belief, that a demonstration was needed in order to change the nature of its country? For a nation of people who had always had their voices and individual rights kept from them, it is incredible to digest the reality that it was those two things that gave them back what was rightfully theirs. My czech class and I had an hour or so discussion with my beautifully sweet and kind czech teacher Petra about the Velvet Revolution, the after effects of it, and the reality of the country. Speaking very openly and candid, Petra explained how her family was as active as one could have been during the communist regime without completely being thrown to jail for life. Her father fled to Britain during World War II, which eventually led him to jail. After being released, he worked as a chemical researcher in Praha. Her father once again saw the insides of a jail cell when he along with a few other of his colleagues and friends were caught with British books they had smuggled back into the country. Petra's oldest sister would type up and distribute radical pamphlets, although Petra never got to ask what was in them because not only was speaking about any revolutionary action forbidden, but her sister sadly passed away two months before she would have seen what all her hard work and her fight had done: given her people freedom. Petra herself was 17 years old when the Velvet Revolution occurred, and she is proud to say she participated in it. She still recalls when at age 12 she was caught by her teacher passing a note to a friend that said she was listening to American radio the night before, an illegal act in all communist countries at the time because there was a censorship by the government on all news, all media. Petra introduced the reality that many people, especially the older generation, have had a hard time adjusting to this democratic government even 20 years after it has been in place because they have never known the freedom that comes with making decisions. In their earlier lifetime, they had one yogurt and one yogurt only and were lucky if they even got a yogurt, but today they have different flavors, different companies. The older generation also does not like to discuss the communist regime nor do they enjoy teaching it in schools because many are still very ashamed that they did not do anything sooner or they are ashamed that in those hard times they did some things ( such as give information about others to the secret police) that they are also not proud of. Petra herself admitted that she was once very angry and disappointed that her parents did not fight earlier and harder for freedom. By having a little more knowledge of the Czech history, I can now begin to understand many reasons why Czech's are the way they are. Czech's are very reserved and very quiet, especially in public, and that partially stems from the fact that merely 20 years ago, they could not trust anyone, thus speaking in public would only further jeopardize them.
Going hand in hand with my new found fascination to the history of the Czech Republic, I had the most interesting thing said to me at a local bar the other night by a older Czech man, Michael. While discussing his short lived residency in Australia, Michael turned to me, pivo in hand and told me with the most sincere look in his eyes how much he, as well as many Czechs, appreciates and admires the United States of America for its strength, its presence and dominates in the world, as well as for the ability to stand as a role model to all other countries. I was perplexed. As an American, I have very rarely if ever looked at the rest of the world admiring what my country has done for them over what they believe is destroying the economy, deteriorating the world in general. It's as if as Americans we are subconsciously convinced that the rest of the world hates us and wants to see us go down. I am guilty in saying that even at times I rarely see the positive that my own country has done in the world over the negative. Michael's words truly touched my heart, as I am still moved by it. I was once again given hope that this world will become a peaceful place before the blood stops flowing in my veins and my body lays to rest.
( Me and a new friend.)
NYU in Prague is located right in the middle of Old Town Square, one of the main tourist destinations for not only the beautiful buildings, but because of this super cool clock called the Astronomical Clock, which is really fascinating, so you should read up on it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock) !
On Tuesday, I was incredibly happy to be able to hang with my friend Jesse and his band(s) Snuffaluffagus and Witt. Not only are they really talented dudes, but they were so much fun and I had a blast exploring Praha with them. For the past month of so they had been touring Europe, so on their way home they made a bit stop to SEE ME ( as I like to tell myself) and Praha, and were welcomed to the city by not only getting their rental car window smashed but by a amp being stolen as well. Nothing says " Enjoy your stay" like filing a police report! It was with the boys that I experienced my first "Czech" food, which were potato dumplings that were very thick and took a very long time to chew. I also tried a bit of "knee", whose knee I do not know, but I'm not gonna lie, it was tasty!
( Knee.)
( Presenting Snuffaluffagus and Witt. After Czech meal, Before drive to Germany, With taped window.)
Throughout the week, I've been doing a lot of activities in conjunction with my school. On Tuesday night I went to the National Theatre to see the ballet " The Nutcracker/ Christmas Carol," a combination of the two stories. With my luck, I got shut out of my seat for the first half of the performance because I was standing in a ridiculous bathroom line, and as soon as I got out of the bathroom, BAM! doors closed, no re-entry. But from what I saw, it was lovely. Ballet always is. It's so pretty and it brings me back to my childhood days where I thought I too could dance ballet and go to Juilliard like in Save the Last Dance so I would steal my cousin's old pointe shoes and dance around my house. One of the most special things I have done is go on a tour of Jewish Prague around Josefov ( The Jewish Headquarters), where we visited several synagogues and a cemetery world famous because it is "layered," housing over 12,000 tombstones with as many as 100,000 burials in all.
Something they introduced to all the students was the Velvet Revolution, and the impact it has had on the country. They screened the documentary " Power of the Powerless," an American made documentary covering the Velvet Revolution, but because I have an unbeatable illness called "falling alseep everywhere and anywhere I possible can /having to fall asleep every time I'm either sitting in a classroom with a talking professor or in a dark warm room with comfortable chairs AKA old man's syndrome" I missed a lot of the documentary. Interested in what this "Velvet Revolution" was all about, I came home that night and did hours of research that extended to reading about communism, Stalinism, totalitarianism, etc. The Velvet Revolution was basically a two month non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia during 1989 where its people, mostly the youth, fought to end communism and overthrow the communist government. Taking a step back, how absolutely breathtaking is it to think about how a country who had been under a communist regime for over 40 years as well as under Nazi rule was completely changed to a democratic nation in UNDER TWO MONTHS? Another point that completely baffles me: How did the people who had been repressed for almost if not all of their lives develop a voice that they believed would be heard? What gave the 100,000 Czechoslovakia people who had been protesting the hope, courage, and belief, that a demonstration was needed in order to change the nature of its country? For a nation of people who had always had their voices and individual rights kept from them, it is incredible to digest the reality that it was those two things that gave them back what was rightfully theirs. My czech class and I had an hour or so discussion with my beautifully sweet and kind czech teacher Petra about the Velvet Revolution, the after effects of it, and the reality of the country. Speaking very openly and candid, Petra explained how her family was as active as one could have been during the communist regime without completely being thrown to jail for life. Her father fled to Britain during World War II, which eventually led him to jail. After being released, he worked as a chemical researcher in Praha. Her father once again saw the insides of a jail cell when he along with a few other of his colleagues and friends were caught with British books they had smuggled back into the country. Petra's oldest sister would type up and distribute radical pamphlets, although Petra never got to ask what was in them because not only was speaking about any revolutionary action forbidden, but her sister sadly passed away two months before she would have seen what all her hard work and her fight had done: given her people freedom. Petra herself was 17 years old when the Velvet Revolution occurred, and she is proud to say she participated in it. She still recalls when at age 12 she was caught by her teacher passing a note to a friend that said she was listening to American radio the night before, an illegal act in all communist countries at the time because there was a censorship by the government on all news, all media. Petra introduced the reality that many people, especially the older generation, have had a hard time adjusting to this democratic government even 20 years after it has been in place because they have never known the freedom that comes with making decisions. In their earlier lifetime, they had one yogurt and one yogurt only and were lucky if they even got a yogurt, but today they have different flavors, different companies. The older generation also does not like to discuss the communist regime nor do they enjoy teaching it in schools because many are still very ashamed that they did not do anything sooner or they are ashamed that in those hard times they did some things ( such as give information about others to the secret police) that they are also not proud of. Petra herself admitted that she was once very angry and disappointed that her parents did not fight earlier and harder for freedom. By having a little more knowledge of the Czech history, I can now begin to understand many reasons why Czech's are the way they are. Czech's are very reserved and very quiet, especially in public, and that partially stems from the fact that merely 20 years ago, they could not trust anyone, thus speaking in public would only further jeopardize them.
Going hand in hand with my new found fascination to the history of the Czech Republic, I had the most interesting thing said to me at a local bar the other night by a older Czech man, Michael. While discussing his short lived residency in Australia, Michael turned to me, pivo in hand and told me with the most sincere look in his eyes how much he, as well as many Czechs, appreciates and admires the United States of America for its strength, its presence and dominates in the world, as well as for the ability to stand as a role model to all other countries. I was perplexed. As an American, I have very rarely if ever looked at the rest of the world admiring what my country has done for them over what they believe is destroying the economy, deteriorating the world in general. It's as if as Americans we are subconsciously convinced that the rest of the world hates us and wants to see us go down. I am guilty in saying that even at times I rarely see the positive that my own country has done in the world over the negative. Michael's words truly touched my heart, as I am still moved by it. I was once again given hope that this world will become a peaceful place before the blood stops flowing in my veins and my body lays to rest.
On a happier note----
I have discovered how I'm going to beat this freezing winter: pivo. I am not exaggerating when I say that pivo has almost become more dominate in my diet than water. I was not lying when I said I was having pivo not just for me, but for all of you! I am just so into the here and now that I'm not thinking of what's going to happen to me ( well, mostly my body and figure) if I continue to drink pivo at least three times a day as well as stuff my face with fresh warm baguettes, fried cheese, and enchiladas. Although staying healthy to me is very important, I'm not going to let it dominate my life right now, now in this experience. I am not holding back on anything, not the nutella, not the KFC chicken sandwiches that taste oh so delicious when one is drunk, not the incredibly hand rolled pasta. I'm not going to think about calories or trans fat, but instead just continue to do daily exercise such as yoga and aerobics, and just enjoy myself. I am excited to share that I tried absinthe for the first time, and although lighting sugar on fire and placing it inside my shot was exciting, I saw no green fairy. But do not fear, I have hope in this European treasure. All it means is it just needs a second chance to prove me wrong. My new friends and I have been exploring the nightlife of Praha without overdoing or overwhelming ourselves. So far we've done the big club thing at a place called Mecca, a two floor club with a techno floor and a 60's/70's/80's/90's floor, where it was a mix of young NYU kids and creepy old Czech man checking both us and adult "dancers" out. Although the techno got to me after a few hours, I've never been so happy to hear things such as Backstreet Boys, "I Get Knocked Down", and Modonna being played. Mecca made me realize that next to my sister Sandy, Kelly is the best dancing partner ever. That girl can dance, brah. It's probably a Berkeley bay thing. Along with exploring night time hang outs, I, along with Kelly, have had to unfortunately ( or fortunately?) explore the Praha transit system by getting constantly very lost on it. Although we have often taking the wrong trams or gone in the opposite direction, nothing can yet top off our journey which involved a tram going the COMPLETE opposite direction of the city that got us off the Praha map, a bus which we believed would take us the way we had come from but which actually took us up and around a mountain giving us a complete view of the city ( during this bus ride I believed that we were not only heading towards Germany, but I truly thought I would never get home), until the bus finally heard our request to Stop which coincidently was the end of a subway line. With luck on our side, it was by this point 5 a.m. which meant the metros were up and running again and we were able to take the subway (with a transfer) all the way home. What an adventure!
( Only in Europe.)
I'm already beginning to feel that feeling of disconnection. Not permanent disconnection, just a temporary disconnection from my real life back in the USA. It's really hard for me to be here in my all of my mind and body if I'm constantly pulling myself back to my old world. This is why I'm kind of grateful that I didn't even try to keep my blackberry connected. I'm living in a new world where I just kind of do whatever I want, with no social obligations to text people, call them, or try to avoid them. I'm living back in a world where everything is a lot more simpler- although I have a cell phone, I never hear it ring. I just feel such a sense of freedom from the ability to disappear for a little bit, not run away from anything, but just kind of put whatever I was dealing with into a perspective outside of my own perspective. Although I have meet some incredible people thus far and have danced, enjoyed myself, and laughed harder and more genuine than I think I ever have in the past few years, I'm finding real comfort in the fact that I am truly in this alone. And being in it alone means putting myself truly and with all my heart into this new world I am exploring and discovering with not too many outlets back to my old world.
( No matter where I go, I will still manage to be Silly Illy.)
Most importantly, I am feeling very happy here. And I'm excited to start school this week and regulate myself, establishing more of a daily lifestyle here instead of feeling like a tourist that is overstaying their welcome.
As my sister had reminded me yesterday, Do One Thing A Day That Scares You, God knows I am.
xoxo,
ivd
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
And so it begins...
It has been one hell of a week, just to say the least. As I hustled around Boca Raton trying to get everything together in time for my departure, it felt as if a week smushed itself into one very short day. Although the packing itself is always the toughest part for me because I try to bring as much as I can from my four closets ( two in New York, two in Florida, and yes I have an illness), I was lucky enough to have the "packing" itself done for me by packing expertise and mom's friend Elyse ( Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!). But I was still left with the reality that every single 2.2 pounds would result in 10 euros ( roughly $13.40), so although it broke my heart into a million little pieces, I had to be "realistic" and pack as light as possible for a clothing/accessories/shoes/fashion addict of my caliber. So the day came, and my journey began: 22 hours, 5 airports was the only thing standing in between me and Praha.
Miami: Very sad leaving my mother. Always is. I cried.
JFK: Ate a overpriced cheeseburger thinking it was my only other option besides Wendy's. I was wrong. Turns out I was in the wrong terminal. My RIGHT terminal had Chili's and Sbarro. FML. Bought Sour Skittles to ease my pain. Get on plane, and guess what? No one is sitting next to me for the entire 9 hour plane ride, two seats all to myself! Took full advantage of the unlimited complimentary wine as I watched Life As We Know It ( Incredible, super cuties) and Charlie St. Cloud ( Bawled my eyes out, but the wine probably didn't help).
( New York from 15 thousand feet. Window glare.)
Milan: I could easy declare this city as the most effortlessly chic city in the world. Every single person that I observed in Milan was dressed so incredibly well without looking like they are trying to play a part or look as if they have walked out of Vogue. My crush? A 50 year old or so man who was wearing a beautifully tailored suit and gorgeous leather loafers. I was given a break with my luggage, only being charged for 15 overweight kilos instead of 23.13 kilos. Bless my Lufthansa baggage assistant. Milan Airport is where I also started watching my latest obsession: Modern Family. Thanks to my dearest friend Alfredo, I have all of season one downloaded onto my computer, and I cannot stop watching. I was laughing uncontrollably in the airport. Talk about a classy lady. Enjoyed more complimentary white wine at approximately 6:30 am EST.
Praha: Finally! Destination met! I joined up with four other NYU students who were looking for the " NYU" sign. We were greeted by two RA's, one who is actually my next door neighbor, and after a little chitchat we were on our way to our new homes!
Driving through the city for the first time was a bit strange for me, as I was being conflicted with nervousness derived from excitement, as well as a bit of a indifferent feeling, which I now believe was stemmed from lack of sleep. Upon first seeing my dorm building located on Machova for the first time, I giggled to myself as from the outside it looked a bit like a nunnery slash orphanage house. After much help with my bags from my Czech security guard and building manager, I was in my new home, my little wooden room that I like to call the Czech version of Hey Arnold's Room.
Miami: Very sad leaving my mother. Always is. I cried.
JFK: Ate a overpriced cheeseburger thinking it was my only other option besides Wendy's. I was wrong. Turns out I was in the wrong terminal. My RIGHT terminal had Chili's and Sbarro. FML. Bought Sour Skittles to ease my pain. Get on plane, and guess what? No one is sitting next to me for the entire 9 hour plane ride, two seats all to myself! Took full advantage of the unlimited complimentary wine as I watched Life As We Know It ( Incredible, super cuties) and Charlie St. Cloud ( Bawled my eyes out, but the wine probably didn't help).
Milan: I could easy declare this city as the most effortlessly chic city in the world. Every single person that I observed in Milan was dressed so incredibly well without looking like they are trying to play a part or look as if they have walked out of Vogue. My crush? A 50 year old or so man who was wearing a beautifully tailored suit and gorgeous leather loafers. I was given a break with my luggage, only being charged for 15 overweight kilos instead of 23.13 kilos. Bless my Lufthansa baggage assistant. Milan Airport is where I also started watching my latest obsession: Modern Family. Thanks to my dearest friend Alfredo, I have all of season one downloaded onto my computer, and I cannot stop watching. I was laughing uncontrollably in the airport. Talk about a classy lady. Enjoyed more complimentary white wine at approximately 6:30 am EST.
( Milan.)
Munich: Although it was cool to see signs with a bunch of random letters which were actually German messages throughout the airport, I was disappointed with the lack of food in my terminal. Too much wine, too little of food. More Modern Family. Very short flight, very small plane.Praha: Finally! Destination met! I joined up with four other NYU students who were looking for the " NYU" sign. We were greeted by two RA's, one who is actually my next door neighbor, and after a little chitchat we were on our way to our new homes!
Driving through the city for the first time was a bit strange for me, as I was being conflicted with nervousness derived from excitement, as well as a bit of a indifferent feeling, which I now believe was stemmed from lack of sleep. Upon first seeing my dorm building located on Machova for the first time, I giggled to myself as from the outside it looked a bit like a nunnery slash orphanage house. After much help with my bags from my Czech security guard and building manager, I was in my new home, my little wooden room that I like to call the Czech version of Hey Arnold's Room.
Arnold's
Mine.
Okay, so now that I've actually seem a picture of Arnold's room they don't necessarily look too much alike, but it won't stop me from being overjoyed with the fact that I know have an attic- type room with a slanted wall of my very own. Although I don't have a roommate, I have a bunk bed, which is actually quite lovely as I will soon convert it into my own little cozy study/nap/ homework/ chill den, or somewhere where my "pals" can sleep, as my dorm manager said to me.
Although I have only been here for a day, I'm a little surprising with how comfortable I already feel in my new environment. Everyone I have met thus far seems to be open and excited to this new experience we are all undergoing together, and being able to see 140 odd kids from either NYU or other various universities across the USA bond over this very unique life time experience is quite lovely.
I spent my first night eating pizza and trying hot wine with 2/3 of the NYU in Prague students as a Welcoming dinner held by NYU. After this dinner, Kelly, a girl I had met at my Czech Speak Freely classes (before I dropped out) and myself decided to venture on our own to a place where we could have our first Czech beers. Strolling through the quite cobblestone street, we landed upon a cafe/bar type joint that had the one thing I wanted more than beer ( pivo) itself: LOCALS! I am a sucker for locals because they are the true heart of the city, not the bridges, not the buildings, not the roads. This place called Kacárna Medúza was the perfect place to start off our new lives. Here, in a very casual laid back environment, local Czech's kicked back in comfy arm chairs and cozy tables as they discussed god knows what, because of the language barrier, I couldn't exactly ease drop. Our very nice waiter helped us out with understand the beer menu as well as encouraged and supported my very limited Czech vocabulary that as of now consists of more or less 5 words/ phrases. Ironically enough, everytime I say hello to someone in Czech ( " Ahoj!") I get a "hi" back, and I am getting a little upset that it is that obvious I am not a local. Anyways, at this cool place Kelly and I met our first friend, Max, who is a English cello player who is currently working on his masters in Praha as well as teaching english. Very cool guy, we all had great conversations, great laughs, and great beer. It was really nice to talk to someone who was kind of in the same position as us, Max has only been living in Praha for four months and speaks next to nothing czech, so it was cool to get a honest review on Praha from a guy who was as new to this city as we are.
After a mandatory two hour general orientation meeting with the whole student body that I partially slept through ( I blame it on being jet lagged and not the fact that I was up til 4 am unpacking and watching Modern Family) I, along with roughly 12 other students ( mostly NYU film students), walked through the center of the city for the first time. NYU's building is right in the middle of the Old Town area, so as you can only imagine, each building was impressively more beautiful than the one before. I feel really blessed, humbled, and brave by the reality that I was given this opportunity to live abroad for a semester, and I took the opportunity, I took the challenge of completely throwing myself into something so unfamiliar in context, yet so familiar in theory. The older I get, the more I realize that although I often complain about change, I need it, I crave it. Maybe it was my childhood and the reality that I moved from country to country, continent to continent, or maybe it's the simple fact that I know there is an entire world beyond my immediate comfort zone that I know I want to explore. I find it funny that usually when I feel the most comfortable in my surroundings, I immediately put myself in a completely new situation and environment, as exemplified by my independent moves to Australia and now Praha. Why I do it is honestly not completely known, maybe it has a little bit to do with the theory I have that one grows and learns a lot more when they are completely vulnerable, or maybe it's a way to step back from my immediate life and feel a little more alive than usual. Regardless of the answer, I have a sneaky suspicion that I will never stop exploring, traveling, and learning. It is in my blood. Just look at my father. Like father like daughter.
Here are some pictures taken either out of my cool window or the terrace located at the top of my building.
I want to say a very dear thank you to all of you who have supported me and my decision to relocate myself for a little while. Thanks to all of your support, love, and encouragement, I truly feel like I have nothing but love supporting me and blessing me every step of the way. I shall drink one pivo for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, you can take my word on it.
Truly yours,
ivd.
Monday, January 10, 2011
And So The Nerves Begins...
So, here I am, five days away from Prague, and it's as if the universe is throwing everything in my path to complicate my depart. Duffel bag bought to be able to pack more? Turns out to be too big and really not much lighter than normal baggage. Airline canceling direct fight causing me to add four hours onto my trip? Done. Over $550 in excess baggage fees because I like my clothing too much and Europe likes to laugh in my face? Also done.
As I enjoy my last few days at home in Florida, I've been running around getting things assumed to be needed for my five months abroad. But I am slowly realizing, no amount of extra purchases or strategic packing is going to prepare me for what I will soon embark in. And that realistic fact that I have absolutely no control or vague idea of what my life will soon become is truly what is causing me to go borderline clinically insane.
Am I excited? Damn right I am. But I would be lying if I were to say I am not petrified. This is not the first time I have dropped everything I have ever known to go experience something completely new, but no amount of practice or experience can ever prepare someone for a life change. I keep using all these materialistic obstacles, such as getting all desired clothing to my new home, as my real worries in going to Prague, but as transparent as a ghost the real obstacle in this experience is myself. I know that I will get out of this experience what I put into it, and that alone is a hard concept to grasp. Although I have worked very hard for the things I've wanted in my life, I feel like I've spent the past two years in New York City waiting for my life, the life I have always wanted, to just happen. And the truth is, it's not. And that is my New Years Resolution for 2011: To bring myself the life I have always wanted by starting to work for that life. And surprisingly, that life starts with Prague. The fact that if I want to travel while abroad I will have to be the one to schedule and plan it is a little daunting, because it brings truth to the idea that the older I get, the more in control I am of my life, thus if I want it, I need to go out and get it.
But I must confess, through all the crazy roller coaster rides my emotions have been on in the past few weeks, nothing has been more helpful and supportive than my mother. So, thank you mommy, I love you so much, regardless of how many times I unfortunately raise my voice or say curse out of anger. You are the best mom in the world, and my stability and sanity is still semi intact because of you.
Peace & Love
As I enjoy my last few days at home in Florida, I've been running around getting things assumed to be needed for my five months abroad. But I am slowly realizing, no amount of extra purchases or strategic packing is going to prepare me for what I will soon embark in. And that realistic fact that I have absolutely no control or vague idea of what my life will soon become is truly what is causing me to go borderline clinically insane.
Am I excited? Damn right I am. But I would be lying if I were to say I am not petrified. This is not the first time I have dropped everything I have ever known to go experience something completely new, but no amount of practice or experience can ever prepare someone for a life change. I keep using all these materialistic obstacles, such as getting all desired clothing to my new home, as my real worries in going to Prague, but as transparent as a ghost the real obstacle in this experience is myself. I know that I will get out of this experience what I put into it, and that alone is a hard concept to grasp. Although I have worked very hard for the things I've wanted in my life, I feel like I've spent the past two years in New York City waiting for my life, the life I have always wanted, to just happen. And the truth is, it's not. And that is my New Years Resolution for 2011: To bring myself the life I have always wanted by starting to work for that life. And surprisingly, that life starts with Prague. The fact that if I want to travel while abroad I will have to be the one to schedule and plan it is a little daunting, because it brings truth to the idea that the older I get, the more in control I am of my life, thus if I want it, I need to go out and get it.
But I must confess, through all the crazy roller coaster rides my emotions have been on in the past few weeks, nothing has been more helpful and supportive than my mother. So, thank you mommy, I love you so much, regardless of how many times I unfortunately raise my voice or say curse out of anger. You are the best mom in the world, and my stability and sanity is still semi intact because of you.
Peace & Love
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