Week 1 Abroad: Czech

1. Daily Life

Although my first week in the Czech Republic was accompanied with a lot of stress, I can easily say it has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life.

Tess, Louie, and I departed Omaha on Thursday March 12, where we would begin the long journey to Prague, Czech Republic. Despite this being my first trip out of the country, everything started off smoothly. However, after arriving in Atlanta, that was no longer the case. Our flight to Paris was delayed by over an hour. It was a long, boring flight which I barely slept. Upon arriving in Paris, we had 30 minutes to make it on our plane to Prague. We worked our way through the huge Charles de Gaulle airport as quickly as we could, despite the language barrier, only to discover that we missed our connecting flight to Prague. Our Friday the 13^th luck had only just begun. We eventually made it on a plane to Prague to complete the last hour of our long trip. At this point we were all exhausted. We got off of the plane in Prague, and soon figured out that our luggage had not yet arrived. Luckily, Tess and I received our luggage late that night, but Louie had to wait until MondayL. Needless to say, we learned a few lessons about navigating airports and checking bags that day.

After all the chaos, we finally made it to Olomouc late Sunday night and have spent this week adjusting and exploring the city.

Monday morning, bright and early, we met for orientation. After learning a few things about Palacky University, the school I will be attending for the next 2 and a half months, we went on a tour of the Town Hall in the middle of the main square. There we climbed to almost 200 stairs to the top of the tower where we saw an incredible view of the entire city. It had been a long and exhausting weekend, so I came back to my dorm to get some rest for the evening.

Holy Trinity Column in the Town Square

Astronomical Clock in the Town Square

Panoramic view of Olomouc from the top of City Hall

Tuesday morning, we woke up and attended a lecture about the cultural differences between Czech and American people, which was very informational. Then we were taken on a guided tour of Olomouc, where we saw some of the city’s most historic and beautiful sites. Tuesday night we were welcomed by the University and the members of Erasmus, students in a program similar to ours.

St. Wenceslas Cathedral

City Hall

Wednesday we attended another lecture in the morning and then took a tour around the library where we were taught how to navigate and use the machines. We finished early that afternoon so we took some time to explore around the city. I began feeling more comfortable with the Olomouc, and finally felt as though I had somewhat of an idea of where I was going after being completely unsure for almost a week. It has been very difficult to adjust, because if being lost and confused isn’t bad enough, it’s nearly impossible to even ask locals for help due to the language barrier.

Thursday we were able to sleep in and then head into the city around 11 to explore our new home. We then attended our first class in over 3 months, which was a lecture about the history of the Czech Republic. Then we had our first Czech language class. And wow… I left the classroom feeling like a kindergartner who just sat through a calculus class. Czech is not going to be easy, but I am thrilled to try and learn as much of it as I can throughout the next 2 and a half months. This is what most of our days are going to be like while we are here. I am so excited to spend my mornings exploring the beautiful city and getting to know all of the nooks and crannies, and then spending the afternoons learning Czech history and language from our professors.

Friday we were back in the classroom for our Czech class. We had some time in the afternoon to grab some lunch and then we came back and got ready for the evening. The University organized a Pub Crawl for us to experience night life in Olomouc. They took us out to 5 of the best pubs in town. The food, drinks, and company were all great.

This weekend we took a trip 20 minutes outside of the city to see the St. Kopacek Basilica and the Olomouc Zoo. The Basilica was beautiful, with amazing architecture (just like the rest of the city). The zoo was cute. Plus we got to hold baby goats! It was pretty cold so we didn’t get to spend a lot of time out there, but I’m glad we made the trip. It was nice to see the country side of the Czech Republic also. I hope I can get back out there soon. It was a great way to end the first week!

St. Kopacek Basilica

Holding the baby goats

This week was a little different than the future ones will be, as we have been working on adjusting and getting acquainted with the city. Nonetheless, it was a great first week and I cannot wait to see what else this quirky city has in store for me over the next couple of months!

Sbohem!