Hello my blog readers!
Yesterday was the one-month mark until I leave for Prague!!!
I started the morning off by taking a drive to the Czech Consulate in downtown Chicago to pick up my visa (they weren’t able to mail it to me because I needed to hang onto my passport while I was in Ukraine). I learned something very valuable about myself during this visit: my ability to parallel park, an extremely necessary skill downtown, has gone completely out the window. Don’t worry though, because after a quick fifteen minutes of pulling up and reversing, my large van fit snuggly in between two tiny cars. I got out hoping no one saw any of that, paid the meter, and walked towards the Czech Consulate. Good thing parallel parking is not on the list of what you need to obtain a Czech visa.
While waiting in the consulate, I got my first glimpse of life in the Czech Republic: a man carrying a huge stack of papers was speaking in Czech with the woman behind the counter. I tried to make out the words they were saying to see if any were similar to Ukrainian or Russian. The only thing I understood from their whole conversation was the phrase “I have” (which the man kept repeating) and the word “wall.” Well, at least I understand something. I eventually got my visa and am pretty proud at how awesome it looks glued inside of my passport. ☺
And now that all of that is settled and I leave in exactly one month, I feel like my official list of goals while abroad is finally ready for unveiling (a list I have been thinking for a while now):
1. Get to know Prague inside and out… well enough to be able to give others directions and discover places that only the locals know about.
2. Personalize Prague to find my places in the city: my parks, coffee houses, my restaurants, my bars, etc.
3. Learn the Czech language to the level of being able to order my own meals at restaurants and carry out small conversations.
4. Go paddle boating on the Vltava River on a nice day.
5. Go to a Czech hockey game.
6. Go to Oktoberfest in Germany. Who knows when I’ll have that opportunity again?
7. Go snowboarding in the Swiss Alps.
8. Keep in contact with friends from home as well as friends I meet while in Europe.
9. Make new friends from all over the world.
10. Do well in my classes.
11. Have an amazing 21st birthday. There’s no Nitty in Prague (gonna miss the Garlic Burger ☹), but I’ll still attempt to make turning 21 a big deal.
12. Keep up this blog and post frequently. I’ve tried this before one and it didn’t work out too well, so I’m making it a goal this time.
And now it’s time to pack… one of my favorite past-times!
UvidÃme v praze,
See you in Prague,
Lesia
