Hi all!
It’s been quite some time since I wrote my last update on how things are going here. I guess that’s a good sign. I’ve just been too busy to think about what I should write here. And besides that, not every activity I do is worth writing a blog about. But since I know some people really want to know what I am up to here in Prague, I wrote a new update for you guys again today. :)
Some things have changed since the last update. For example, now I have internet at home. Still, it’s not wireless, but that problem will be solved soon. Besides that, I went to visit my potential new home near metro station IP Pavlova, but I’m still undecided about whether I want to live there. The room costs more than twice as much as my current room, but the room itself is not much better than the one I currently have. Only the location is perfect (15 minutes by foot to city center and 15 minutes by metro to work) and the kitchen is a bit larger than my current one. But moving there would have to mean that I would have to leave my current flatmates and replace them by some Erasmus-students and non-AIESEC’ers. Tough decision. I’ll let you guys know what my final decision will be.
Also, to write something about activities too, I’ve just came back from playing soccer again. After choosing teams, I ended up as the goalkeeper of a team with only Czech-speaking players. Communicating was quite hard, I only understood the words dobry (after I made a good save) and golman (when they were talking to me). But it was quite a good game, and I had a good time.
So tonight it will be burrito-time for me. Finally I will use the burrito-kit I have had laying around for a few weeks now. I hope they will taste just as good as the burritos I am used to at home, when my mom makes them. And I hope they will provide a good foundation for a great night out afterwards with my awesome friends Carlito and Paulito! :)
Okay, that’s it for now. Take care and see you next time!
L.
zaterdag 23 oktober 2010
maandag 11 oktober 2010
My first AIESEC Conference
During the past weekend I experienced my first AIESEC conference ever. And I must say, it was quite good. The conference was held in Seč, a small village around 100kms from Prague. I followed the special trainees program: while the other AIESEC-ers spent their days mostly listening to presentations, our schedule was a nice mixture of games (first time in months I played soccer again, so great!) and the some interesting presentation sessions.
So we arrived Friday evening. After a short introduction there was a party, with free beer, but the “installation” didn’t work, so there was no beer that night. As a compensation there was some free wine, but the wine was so bad that drinking too much it would guarantee a massive headache the next day. So I stayed sober that night.
The next day started with a game (during which I discovered that I have an unexpected talent for rope-skipping) and later we had some discussions. The day program was nice, unlike our lunch, which was like a traditional Czech meal I guess. Dinner was better, although I had to finish my meal all alone in that large dining room, because I arrived late. Luckily my lazy roommate was even later, so we could eat together. :)
In the evening there was a party, which was great. I watched the beer drinking-battle and talked to some very nice Czech (and Slovak, there are lots of Slovaks in AIESEC Prague) people. I really enjoyed myself at that party, even though I usually didn’t participate in all the special AIESEC-dances. That’s a really crazy thing about AIESEC. Every time we met in the conference room, we had to do a crazy dance altogether before the session started. But I think I have to get used to that. :)
On Sunday, well, what can I say.. Everybody was tired, so we didn’t really do that much. We had some nice quiet talks with all the trainees and visited the lake that was nearby, where we could lay down in the unexpected October-sun. After that we had the closing session and then it was time to go home.
So now I’m in Prague again, home sweet home. The conference is behind me, but at least I took with me some “veri” good memories!
So we arrived Friday evening. After a short introduction there was a party, with free beer, but the “installation” didn’t work, so there was no beer that night. As a compensation there was some free wine, but the wine was so bad that drinking too much it would guarantee a massive headache the next day. So I stayed sober that night.
The next day started with a game (during which I discovered that I have an unexpected talent for rope-skipping) and later we had some discussions. The day program was nice, unlike our lunch, which was like a traditional Czech meal I guess. Dinner was better, although I had to finish my meal all alone in that large dining room, because I arrived late. Luckily my lazy roommate was even later, so we could eat together. :)
In the evening there was a party, which was great. I watched the beer drinking-battle and talked to some very nice Czech (and Slovak, there are lots of Slovaks in AIESEC Prague) people. I really enjoyed myself at that party, even though I usually didn’t participate in all the special AIESEC-dances. That’s a really crazy thing about AIESEC. Every time we met in the conference room, we had to do a crazy dance altogether before the session started. But I think I have to get used to that. :)
On Sunday, well, what can I say.. Everybody was tired, so we didn’t really do that much. We had some nice quiet talks with all the trainees and visited the lake that was nearby, where we could lay down in the unexpected October-sun. After that we had the closing session and then it was time to go home.
So now I’m in Prague again, home sweet home. The conference is behind me, but at least I took with me some “veri” good memories!
zondag 3 oktober 2010
Getting lost in Prague
By daytime it’s very hard to get lost in Prague. You just walk for at most 15 minutes, find a metro station, get on the metro, and suddenly you’re not lost any more. At night it’s a lot easier to get lost though.
It all started in a bar. I was out with some other trainees and Czech AIESEC-members, but the music was terrible, so at around 2:15 I decided it was time for me to go home. I would have to take the tram, since the first metro would leave at 5 in the morning. So I went outside to search for a tram that would take me to Lehovec, the nearest stop to my flat. This was not too hard, just follow the tram tracks and eventually you will find a stop where the right tram line will stop.
So after 45 minutes of semi-sleeping in the tram I arrived at Lehovec. I asked somebody for Rajská Zahrada and the guy just pointed in one direction and told me I needed to “go around”. I had no idea what he meant, so I just walked in the direction he had told me to and randomly turned left somewhere. I asked some more people for the way and eventually I ended up at a gas station, where the woman behind the counter did not speak English or German, but was willing to help. She had nothing else to do anyway. So she opened the door for me, showed me the map of Prague, but Rajská Zahrada was not on the map. Then she just used her hands to show me where I needed to go. Finally I found tram tracks again and walked to the nearest tram stop. It was the last stop before Lehovec. I had walked in a circle. So I got on the tram to Lehovec again.
Then I remembered something my Estonian camp leader Kadi (from the voluntary work camp I did last summer) had said to me: “When you’re lost in the woods, just follow your instinct. It will always guide you home.” I know Prague is not really comparable to the woods, but I decided to follow her advice. It worked: with a small detour through a communist neighborhood I walked home in about 10 minutes. It was already 3:55 in the morning at that time. A quick calculation told me that it had taken me more than 1.5 hours to get home. The conclusion of this night out: I really need to move to a place closer to the city center. I hope to have more news on that subject soon. :)
It all started in a bar. I was out with some other trainees and Czech AIESEC-members, but the music was terrible, so at around 2:15 I decided it was time for me to go home. I would have to take the tram, since the first metro would leave at 5 in the morning. So I went outside to search for a tram that would take me to Lehovec, the nearest stop to my flat. This was not too hard, just follow the tram tracks and eventually you will find a stop where the right tram line will stop.
So after 45 minutes of semi-sleeping in the tram I arrived at Lehovec. I asked somebody for Rajská Zahrada and the guy just pointed in one direction and told me I needed to “go around”. I had no idea what he meant, so I just walked in the direction he had told me to and randomly turned left somewhere. I asked some more people for the way and eventually I ended up at a gas station, where the woman behind the counter did not speak English or German, but was willing to help. She had nothing else to do anyway. So she opened the door for me, showed me the map of Prague, but Rajská Zahrada was not on the map. Then she just used her hands to show me where I needed to go. Finally I found tram tracks again and walked to the nearest tram stop. It was the last stop before Lehovec. I had walked in a circle. So I got on the tram to Lehovec again.
Then I remembered something my Estonian camp leader Kadi (from the voluntary work camp I did last summer) had said to me: “When you’re lost in the woods, just follow your instinct. It will always guide you home.” I know Prague is not really comparable to the woods, but I decided to follow her advice. It worked: with a small detour through a communist neighborhood I walked home in about 10 minutes. It was already 3:55 in the morning at that time. A quick calculation told me that it had taken me more than 1.5 hours to get home. The conclusion of this night out: I really need to move to a place closer to the city center. I hope to have more news on that subject soon. :)
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