Oh so this is culture shock...

I'm all settled in my apartment, the students have returned back to school, the season is changing, and now it's time for me to adapt here in Prague. First, I'll start with my living situation. I am so lucky to have such a great roommate Mylene. We are like a little married couple (mom I'm not gay) that enjoys cooking dinner together, sitting and eating together, discussing each others day, and then have a nice glass of wine to unwind. I told Mylene when I moved in that I can cook and am a good cook; however, she puts me to SHAME with her cooking. Mylene cooks everything from scratch! Muffins, pasta sauce, pizza dough, pizza sauce, cookies, breads! I need to learn as much as I can from her since I realized here in Prague they do not have meals made easy here unlike back in the states. Meaning, pasta sauces are few and hard to find, especially white sauces like alfredo. And all the "just add water" meals we have back in the states, you can forget about seeing those here. They do have frozen dinners but that's only if you like goulash and some other questionable dinners. Grocery shopping takes me a good hour or two because everything is in Czech. I go down every aisle and look at each row of items and it's like a game. I have to guess what it might be and hope there are clues. Pictures are always great but also looking and examining the items. For instance, my greatest challenge here has been milk. It is confusing that milk sometimes is not refrigerated in the grocery store. I made the mistake once of purchasing a non chilled milk and the next morning when I poured it in my knock off honey nut cheerios lumps fell out! And the expiration date was not until September 18! I then saw refrigerated milk at my favorite grocery store Tesko. Alberts is the other grocery store that is close to my apartment and has an ok selection of groceries. Tesko had a bunch of different brands in clear plastic bottles. I basically tilt the bottle to see if how thick the milk is and I buy the most clear milk. I'm sure this milk story is not entertaining at all so let me continue on to somethings that are more exciting. Mylene and I one Saturday took a journey to Ikea. The place was packed and it's just like the Ikea's back home. Although I notice on the refrigerators, they do not have ice cube machines like in the states. Instead, they have expresso machines which was awesome! Rarely, if ever, do you get ice in your drink. I guess the winters here get very cold so I can understand why an expresso machine is more urgent than an ice machine. When we left Ikea, I realized then how much I missed my car! I had to lug three bags and a backpack full and two plastic chairs on a bus, on a tram, and on the metro and then have to walk to the apartment. At least I got my workout in for the WEEK! Back to living situation again. I have a new roommate that is Czech. Her name is Sharka and she is around my age and works at Vodaphone. She moved in last night and she brought over homemade czech pickles and honey from her grandmothers. Next weekend, we are going to go to a vineyard because one month every year they have a festival and sell a wine (which I forgot the name of but will blog about it next time) that is still fermenting. I will let you know how it goes! I have met the people in my building and all are so extremely friendly by greeting me with, "Dobrey Den" (good day) and smiles. I love living in Vinohrady because I am a quick 15 minute walk to the Center and Old Town. My neighborhood looks like Manhattan with tiled sidewalks, cobble stoned streets, trees on the sidewalks, and buildings that are run down but have tremendous amount of character. Vinohrady used to be the happening place here in Prague and when I took a stroll one day I couldnt believe "I live here".

I would describe the people here in Czech Republic as New Yorkers but way more hard. You have to remember tho, communism ended here only a couple decades ago and before that there were the Nazis. Life has not been easy for the Czech people but even under oppression, the culture of the Czech people has survived and is proud and strong. I found that if you stop and ask a question or need help finding a location, they are very patient and friendly even when they do not speak English. It also took me awhile to get used to not smiling when you make random eye contact with someone. They just respond with an angry look so you just stare and well look away. And in case you were wondering, yes, the Czech do love their beer. I have to admit it is very tasty and delicious. My favorite brand here in Prague is Gambrinus. I live a few blocks away from a beer garden in the middle of a park and is where I had my first meeting with my coworkers. I feel very safe in Prague, however you do have to be careful about pick pockets. Many can speak English but mostly I survive on reading expressions to understand what is going on or what they are telling me in Czech. I have had a couple tourists come up to me and ask if I could help them with directions and if I was Czech.

The students at Magic Hill are absolutely adorable. Just like students back in California, I find they love to compliment me. From my glittery eyeshadow to my shoes, the girls love commenting about my fashion. (It can spoil a girl like me) But now I have to be careful what I wear since I work with fashion critics. The students thinks it's incredible and unbelievable that I live in a place where the winters are not cold and snowy. When the parents found out I was from California they asked me if I knew how cold it can get in Prague. Don't worry, I plan on getting fur hats, (fake fur of course) and insanely heavy jackets that eskimos wear and perhaps invest in a UV lamp in my room. The weather is already chilly here in Prague and it started to get cold end of August. I hear this is not normal for it to be this cold all ready. The weather is like a winter day in San Diego right now. Cloudy, cold, raining...I think the weather will be my biggest shock.

I love communicating with my students and found that most students can speak English very well. It's adorable when they have trouble explaining something in English, they act it out. And I have to say their acting and facial expressions along with sound effects are very impressive. I feel like they are in acting school as well and will be talented actors and actresses. We are fed lunch everyday at the school and we always start with a soup and then a pasta dish which is not too bad. We eat with the students and teachers to show unity. Another way we show unity is our indoor shoes. I am so excited because ALL the students wear CROCS! I am totally getting a pair and I will proudly rock the crocs!

This past weekend, I went on a jog around Vinohrady and also down to Vltava River. Ok, you got me, a brisk walk since jogging only lasted a couple blocks. I cant explain the feeling I got from everything I was seeing. Every corner you turned, every building you saw is fascinating. If just one of those buildings were in San Diego it would be a tourist destination. It is like nothing I have seen from the colors, to the statues carved into buildings, to the historic churches that have been blackened with age. I walked past the "dancing building" that was designed by an American architecture. Then walked over a bridge and starred at the castle. Google was right, Prague is definitely top ten most beautiful cities in Europe. On Saturday, I took another stroll but this time to the Center and Old Town Square. In Old Town Square, they had artwork displayed in flowers where you climb a tiny bridge to see. After looking at the display, I turned the corner and found a fashion runway in the middle of the "fancy" designer street. It was Fashion Weekend in Prague and I made it just in time to see a fashion show. If you have heard of the website FML I totally saw an FML moment. So a runway model was modeling jewelry. The model had a black cloth wrapped around her body and it was held together in the back with safety pins. Well, unfortunately, one of the pins came undone. Can you guess which one? Yes, the one right in front of her bum! She mooned everyone and well just FML moment. So I decided to walk down the runway and noticed that they had a few seats next to the runway that were 4 rows. I really just wandered through the barricades and sat front row next the runway. I loved it! Not only did I feel like P Diddy and celebrity status but it was my very first fashion show and it was amazing! I would love to be a model but I love food too much. It was so neat and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Prague always has great things going on. I hear they have a wild nightlife (more intense than Vegas) but I'm just taking it one step at a time and need to make some friends. I met with a girl Sunday morning and here is a coincidence. My friend met her at dog park in San Diego where she is from. She moved to Prague 4 years ago and is teaching English at the Prague British School! Talk about a small world. It was great hearing her advice with teaching and living abroad. I can't wait to hang out and nice to have a fellow San Diegan here in Prague. Also my roommate Sharka is very social so hopefully I will meet more people and make friends.

So that's the latest and greatest and I'll blog next week or so about future events and adventures I have had! Thanks for reading and you keep classy San Diego.