prague is my jam

first day of czech class! just to give you some indication of how ridiculously hard this language is: we spent the first hour and a half of the class JUST learning how to pronounce the letters in the alphabet. AwEsOmE! but our teacher is great, and she also talked to us about what to expect living here in the next few months. for example...the fact that vegetables are only a recent innovation here in the czech lands. after communism, people went crazy over bananas and broccoli. but it's still difficult to find veggies at just any old grocery store here - they simply just aren't a staple food in the czech diet. [shout out to talia, my vegetarian roomie!]

after czech class we had a tour of the jewish quarter, Josefov, which was a beautiful sight to see. went to the oldest functioning synagogue in the world, the Old New Synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue, a Holocaust memorial for Czech Jews, and the old Jewish cemetary (not to be confused with the New Jewish cemetary, where Franz Kafka is burried). it was amazing and sad at the same time to see such gorgeous, old buildings that were once inhabited by a thriving Jewish population.

on a lighter note, i'm starting to plan my trips to other cities!!!!!!! i think Amsterdam is first on my list, then Paris to see Becky, Elaine, Katie, and Libby! Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona, Florence, Istanbul, and Athens are all also places i'm hoping to make it to....and possibly Tel Aviv after my program here ends.

***Special shoutout to all my homies holding down the fort in MADISON!!!! reba, i miss ya tonzzzzzzzz!!!!!!***