So Saturday (September 8th), I woke up for the last time in my hotel room with Tom and Dan. I got all my belongings together, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Pickup time for us students was around 10:00am. Petr was there on the dot. I took my big orange-colored suitcase, my duffle bag, and my backpack and put it in his car. We drove for about 25 minutes south of the city center, driving along the Charles River. He was showing me different sights, like old factories, water sources, tram stops, etc. He even pointed out my bus stop and my tram stop for when I commute to class from now on. Well, I arrived at the house, and all I can say is that it's beautiful! Here is a picture:
There is the first floor, where Jana's mother and father live. And I need to take off my shoes and put on slippers as it is a Czech tradition to do so. Up the stairs is the main floor of the house, with a kitchen, dining area, living room, and an outdoor patio. Midway up the next flight of stairs are offices, and at the top of the house (with the brown roof part) are the bedrooms. I have a nice, comfortable room, with shelves, a desk, a mirror, and cabinets for my clothes. The bed is really nice, and I have a pretty skylight view.
So that's the tour of the house, and I was able to unpack my things, and I was given a big lunch for my welcome. Me, Petr, Jana, a family friend, and Jan (the youngest son, 25), sat down on the outdoor patio and feasted. It was so good and I definitely developed a food baby after that meal. To continue, I finished unpacking, exploring the house, and later that evening, Petr took me by bus & tram into the city at night for a walk and a drink. It was very nice and we even witnessed a marathon going throughout the city. He showed me some more sights and landmarks, then we headed home because it was getting late. End of Saturday.
Sunday (September 9th), was a very active day for me. It was the first time I was able to get some good sleep, so I slept a little late, then got some reading done. I walked downstairs, had a bite to eat for lunch, and was invited to go biking with Petr around the neighborhood. Woah, did we go around the neighborhood indeed. I was given a nice bike, seat hoisted up, helmet on, and off we went. He showed me all the trails, and many meadows that I could bike through, all which seemed so nice to get out and be active in the sun. It was about 80 degrees and we went everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Through golf courses, along two rivers, to the playground, on a bike path, into 3 towns, stopped at 3 pitstops, visited a skate park, my tram stop, then biked up and down two hills, and saw a grass-based airport on the top. Altogether I would definitely say it was around 20 miles. I was beat. Exhausted. Tired. And worn out. It was so worth the trip, but I went back, showered, and fell asleep. It was great bonding time with my host dad, and I know that my dad at home would really appreciate the bike trail I accomplished. So then, I decided to do some laundry before dinner, and the laundry here is also different. I put a load of clothes in, and once it was done, I had to hand each article of clothing up individually on a clothespin rack outside. Timely, but entertaining.
Today (Monday the 10th), was the first day of full classes. I didn't get much sleep because I spent most of my night hunting down insects in my room (TIP: DO NOT leave your skylight window open during the night, the creepiest, disgusting, harmful insects will appear). So with about 3 hours of sleep, I woke up slowly, got dressed, and headed to the bus station. From there I hop on a bus, take it 2 stops, then transfer to a tram. The tram ride is about 25 minutes, then i arrive at the stop near my school. I got a quick espresso to start my day, then it was off to Literature. We talked about the novel "Amerika" written by Franz Kafka, and transitioned to Theatre in the afternoon lecture. It was a most successful day, and I might say that I grabbed a quick treat in the Town Square after school and walked around to "take in the day." A great end to a great day. Oh, and my laundry was all dry by the time I got home, but I went and ironed every single thing because the air dry wrinkles everything. Haha. Well, if you're still reading, thanks for catching up, and I'll keep you updated throughout the week about my studies and trips.
NOTE: COLDPLAY is in 6 days in Prague. I'm preparing my Coldplay playlist for my commute this week.
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