February 2012
11 posts
Because of the six hour time difference between Prague and the American East Coast, it was very difficult for me to get into contact with anyone state-side. International calls were expensive, and connections were spotty. I didn’t have wifi in my flat, and even the cafes that offered it closed by 9 or 10pm each night. If I wanted to talk to anyone, it had to be past 11pm, when it was 5pm...
Occasionally, we went out at night. We sat in cafes, got together and watched popular American television Nate had downloaded onto his computer, drink wine in dimly-lit bars or dine on fine foods in new restaurants we’d discovered. Renata only had a cable modem, which was connected via USB cable to her own crappy Czech-brand laptop. In order to connect it to mine, I had to disconnect the...
In the evenings, we were usually left to our own devices. Occasionally there were class events, such as concerts, films, gallery openings, and theatrical programs, but many times, our nights were free. It got dark in Prague early, and many times people just went home. Renata made dinner while I entertained Benji, did my homework, or both. Sometimes, he would help me with my Czech homework -...
Some days, we held informal class sessions at significant places around the city. Viewing spy photographs at the archives of the Institute for Totalitarian Regimes. Admiring abstract art at the Museum Kampa. Literary discourse in the back room of a local cafe. Roma debate in the living room of a social activist. Interacting with Czech instruments at the Rock ‘n Roll Museum. Snapping...
Class started at ten o’clock, thank God. It was nice to be able to wake up late, take my time getting to class and settle in with a cup of mint tea before our lectures began. We had Czech lessons three times a week, for three hours every day. Our lecturers changed from day to day - some days, we had acclaimed art historians. Others, we had famous Czech film directors. We talked to...
Our school had three levels of rooms for us to utilize and explore. It would have made a fantastic loft apartment if purchased by the right people. The first floor had a kitchen, with a stove and oven, a table, cabinets with plates and silverware, and a full-sized American refrigerator. Across the hallway from that was a smaller school room that we didn’t really use that much. It made...
You had to pass Cafe Alchymista in order to find the school. Sarah took us there our first day, introduced it as “Prague’s only coffee museum.” She told us to order whatever we wanted. It was one of the perks of SIT - meals and amenities were taken care of. We rarely ever spent anything out of pocket. The place had rustic charm, akin to that of a scientist’s workshop...
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Sparta. The summer before I moved to Prague, the film 300 came out, with its catchphrase of “THIS. IS. SPARTA!” You couldn’t help but ruminate over the statement as the mechanical, automated female voice announced the tram’s arrival as the last stop. A huge soccer ball marked the entrance to the football stadium, where Prague’s home team played to the delight of...
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A majority of the time, I took the Red line to Vltavská, where I caught the tram onwards. Vltavská was a model of Communist working-class architecture - modern (well, as modern as 1970s architecture can get) and streamlined. A man stood at its entrance selling fruits and vegetables; I’d pick up a pale yellow Chinese apple, or a waxy persimmon, or a bag of grapes, every so often. He was...
16 tags
I lived ridiculously close to the metro station. Around the corner, down the block, past the train tracks, through the tunnel, and I was there. The Prague metro is fantastic - it is clean, efficient, and its routes are not complicated with Express and local stops, myriads of colored, lettered and numbered lines, and inconvenient transfer points. The cars were roomy and spacious - I almost...
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Mánesova itself was a sleepy block, with a pub across the street and a cafe on the corner. To get to the metro however, I had to walk around the other way. An eclectic row of shops occupied Španělská - a cello manufacturer, a travel agency specializing in Finnish tourism, a small coffeshop/sandwich type place, and a herna (casino), strongly lit with neon light. Crossing the street, I came to a...