Me=neglectful

This is the apartment building.

Can you say "yes, please!"

(Sorry about the random street sign)

Dear diary,


I feel really bad. I have neglected you. You promise to listen with no judgment and yet I do nothing. It's like you're a baby and I leave you in the car, because I am just going in to the market for one thing (like bread), and then I get sidetracked (I see the muffins). And so then you are in the car with the windows rolled up and it is triple digits farhenheit. And then you are dead. Diary, I am sorry.


Sincerely your truest friend,
Jacob


PS diary=blog

That's me! Although I feel that

there is a strange aversion in 

Prague to not going by your

first name.

So basically what I am saying is that every night I am so tired and I think to myself "Oh, it's ok. I will write a post tomorrow" and/or "I finally have time to write a post, but I'll just lay down for a hot second." Hot second becomes five hours...what?


For peeps who want to know about my life, my apologies, so much has happened these past few days and by few I mean five. So what has been happening is orientation. That word has never been more apropos. Every time I attempt to traverse the city whether with a group or by myself (which was today) I am completely disoriented. Oh and did I mention I don't speak Czech. Well, I can say "good day" and "thank you." Oh and count to a thousand...not that I've tried. That only gets you so far.

Entrance from the
kitchen into the room.

The kitchen.

Sorry, couldn't get my camera 

to flash so lighting is weird.

So we've been taking Czech classes in the morning at the NYU center which is gorgeous and really close to Old Town Square (AMAZING). Um...why are there no vowels in the Czech language? For example, a famous Czech tongue-twister: Vlk zmrzl, zhltl hrst zrn/a wolf froze to death that swallowed a handful of grains. WHY? Also, I love that there is a word for "froze to death" in Czech.


Monday night we went to dinner with our RAs. Everyone ordered traditional Czech cuisine (although it was done up all fancy like). I ordered the goulash. It was SOOO GOOD. It was beef in this ridiculous sauce. I envisaged a soup/stew but whateves--still amazing.

My corner of the room
(sans the top bunk).

My bunk.

Sorry I didn't make the bed.

Tuesday morning we went to the NYU center and received tickets for the cultural events. Options: Circus Theater Performance, Jazz Club, Don Giovanni, Swan Lake, Marriage of Figaro, and the CZECH PHILHARMONIC. Need I say it, the choice was obvious. I can't breathe. It's a part of the Dvořák festival. 


(sidenote: that "ř" is horribly difficult to say and is the reason why I will never fully be a quality Czech speaker)


After Czech class and lunch, we had to get our metro/tram/bus passes. First, the transportation in Prague is so organized but more importantly sooo clean. Second, it works via the honor system. Like what? That's just amazing. Kudos, Prague. Kudos.

The Jewish Cemetery.

Sorry, pictures weren't 

allowed in the synagogues 

so this is my only picture 

from the tour.

After that I went on a tour of the Jewish section of Prague. The lecture was interesting and the guide was great. Funny too. We went to synagogues and the Jewish Cemetery. It was breathtaking. And there was something about the Old New Synagogue that seemed to transcend everything. It was built in the thirteenth century and is still in use for practicing Orthodox Jews. Our guide sang a traditional Jewish prayer. Incredible. Well, not the quality of his singing but the deeply penetrating fact that I was surrounded by hundreds of years of history.


Tuesday night was a documentary about the history of the Velvet Revolution about which my knowledge was minimal. I knew it was a non-violence revolution that dismantled the communist regime. But that's about it. The film was geared toward American high school students (which was evident). Nonetheless, there were very moving and powerful moments throughout the film. Perhaps, best of all was the Q&A with a NYU in Prague professor who was a participant in the revolution and spoke in the documentary.


Hopefully soon, I can become a little more of a tourist and have some pictures of the Prague landmarks (ie. the castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square).


Please enjoy these views from my window.

Picture 1.
YESSS.

Picture 2.
mmmmm.

Picture 3.
You better be enjoying.