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November 2008
Thanksgiving
28 November 2008 - 00:13
First off, I must say that I am very thankful for Judith, who has graciously loaning me her laptop for this evening so that I can call home! Secondly, I am thankful for all the great people and experience I've had here and of course my family and friends back home and all that!
It has been a fairly bland week because not too much has been going on and we are all desperately awaiting our reimbursment money. It would be FANTASTIC if it had came in on the 25th as it should have, but according to an email I got today, it may not come to until sometime next week. Though, and were all hoping on this one, it may come first thing in the morning based upon previous trends.
Speaking of tomorrow, I am very excited about it because I will be taking a group of fellow exchange students off to Olomouc to show them what real love is! I will be all alone on this one and hopefully I've paid enough attention to where I've been and what I've done before to guide these guys an girls around. It can't be that difficult, right? I've easily been there five or six times and that shoule be enough, I hope, for their sakes...
Other than that, the semester drawns ever onwards towards the bitter-sweet end. I will loose many great friends and in doing so be presented the oppourtunity to make many new friends; though none will ever replace the ones lost.
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Life Is As Life Is
21 November 2008 - 15:57
Things are going pretty good at the moment. In general, I probably could be better, but I really cannot complain considering I'm living in Europe and have next to no responsibilities. However, I do have that one complication, but he goes home fairly soon! Speaking of, I posted some new pics in my "Euro-madness" album on Facebook. Yes, sadly, that is what I have dealt with everyday since he moved in. And that is only the "dirty and unclean" side of all his bulls**t.
I suppose I can elaborate a little bit more on my reason adventures around the continent, as I know have the time. First of, London. It was very interesting as most of "our" history is stemmed from this one town. Everything we've ever been told about in our history classes comes from England, Germany, France, Russia, Japan or Spain. So, rightly so, the country from which we broke away from so may years ago, is where the majority of our history comes from.
It was certainly the most expensive city I've ever experience with a beer weighing in as much as $7.50 in some places, or 5 pounds; though this was certainly an extreme. Because of the expense of the things, and possibly another factor or two, the general morale of the group wasn't so high. The best night of the entire trip was the night of Ten Bells Pub. We found ourselves not having so much to do and decided to go downtown. We grabbed some food and that and then stumbled into a Tesco hoping to find some cheap booze. Luckily, we found a bottle of wine on sell for 1.33 pounds. So, Layla, Jordan and I each grabbed a bottle of the stuff. Surprisingly, Jordan got carded and Layla was asked her age, while me, the youngest, was neither questioned nor carded...
We walked to Big Ben and here it was decided that we should each chug our bottle of wine before riding the "Tube" to Ten Bells, seeing as how alcohol is prohibited while riding. Being the foreign exchange students that we are, we did. It was great downing practically an entire bottle of wine in a matter of a minute or two, minus a few swigs. Then, we made our way to the famous Ten Bells Pub where Jack The Ripper picked out each of his victims before killing and disfiguring them. Kinda' cool huh? It was then decided that we should race back to Tesco and get another bottle, or two, or five... of that surprisingly good wine.
Be it that they stopped selling liquor at 11, we had to rush! Luckily we made it with only minutes to spare but the clerks wouldn't sell it to us. It was later discovered that on Sundays, they stop selling at 10:30. How pleasant to discover then, after running through train stations... Anyway, it turned out to be a fantastic, adventure-filled evening.
At some point, prior in the week, we were figuring out what we were to do the next day. Several of us wanted to see Stonehenge, actually everyone did, but some still had things left to see in London. We were about to decide to all stay in London and see what was left when Layla walked up after smoking a cig and said, "I'm going to Stonehenge". I too was set on this and decided to go as well! The next day, I had to awake at 5 am or so, but hey, what's another night with next to no sleep? It turned out to be so worth it because it was every bit as mystical and amazing as one could expect. Be it that I have been fascinated by this ancient stone structure for some many years and could only ever dream of being in its presence, I was one content 'lil camper.
On into Ireland; the more beautiful country of the two (except Stonehenge). Dublin was fairly interesting, but for the majority of our time in that city, we slept. We had such an early flight that that is what we wanted to do. The next morning we awoke and caught our train off to Cork. The trip in between was pretty cool to as the Irish countryside is just as you see in the pictures, but better! Upon our arrival and check-in, we caught the first available bus to Blarney castle, the primary reason anyone visits Cork; especially for only one night.
This castle instantly and easily takes place in my top five favorite castles. First is Bouzov, here in the Czech Republic and then tied for second in Blarney (Ireland) or Neuschwanstein (Germany). Anyway, as everyone must do after touring the castle, I kissed the Blarney stone. It was only after that we discovered it wasn't the real Blarney stone for that one requires being held by your ankles and held over the edge of the castle. No thanks...
After that it was a almost relaxing evening in the city of Cork. Some not-so-cheap McDonald's preceded our finding of the Long Valley Pub. Here I had my first shot of Jameson and my first Guinness. I am glad to say that Irish Whiskey is, by my tastes, acceptable and as decent as that of good ol' Kentucky bourbon, at least Jameson is anyway. The Guinness was good too, a nice heavy beer; certainly earning my respect.
The only problem I have with this bar, or any for that matter, are those who claim not to drink, but seemingly are proud to have been to the Guinness brewery and drank almost half of one and then at this pub, half of a cider. One individual here, has made such a case. His reason for not drinking is legit and I completely respect it, however he does not hold to his convictions and I find this EXTREMELY insulting to his friend who died in an alcohol related accident; the reason he cites for not drinking. I cannot understand how one could use something so tragic as a scapegoat for not having found that one drink that opens the doors to other alcohols and therefore being a "not-yet drinker"...
After a short, too short, two nights back in Brno, we were off to Poland. It was a rather interesting trip because of everything that happened. First was Auschwitz and not much needs be said about that... Then, touring the city of Krakow, was thoroughly enjoyable. It takes high ranking in my favorite cities because of its beauty and extremely easy navigation. Also, the city center is humongous!
Out final night in Krakow was one of drinking and debauchery. Ok, maybe not so much of that latter, but you get the idea... I'm sure it was a rather fantastic evening, but I am ashamed to say I only remember the very first half and a few bits and pieces of the rest. Since then, I have been informed by others, some I didn't even know knew, as the what all went down. It was wild and crazy, but more importantly, the last time something like that will ever happen. I am still feeling a few minor effects of that night...
Since all that, I have been finding myself extremely tired and trying as best I can to catch up on some sleep; some nights successful and others not so much. In my free time, I have been reading "Twilight", not so much because I like vampire or love stories, but because it was readily available and I can eventually discuss it with my sister, a huge bibliophile. Other than that, life is as life is. Until next time...
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The Queen, Shamrocks, and Concentration Camps
17 November 2008 - 18:16
Yes, I have been to England, Ireland, and Poland. Surprisingly, all within three days of one another, with a stop in the Czech Republic in the middle. I cannot say too much about it as I am in a bit of a hurry. Not having your own computer really blows! Hopefully, a solution will present itself soon enough.
So, my trip to London/Ireland was ok. It wasn't as grand as I would have liked it to have been, but it certainly wasn't a let down. I think everything would have been fantastic, if a certain someone hadn't been on the trip and brought the entire thing down a notch for everyone, but such is life. I guess you can never get around aholes no matter where you go...
Poland, was crazy! As is every "excursion" organized by the International Student Club here. First we visited Auschwitz concentration camp which was pretty much as you can imagine. Then we stayed the whole weekend in Krakrow. That was pretty cool, and where the craziness comes into play. Let's say, there was a lot of drinking and I don't remember every detail of Saturday night. I especially don't remember all the details of the stupid, STUPID mistake I made, but I am no less regrettably sorry.
So, that brings everything briefly up to speed. I will fill in more details when there is time. Of course, I cannot post as many pics as before, but I am still posting random samples on facebook when I find the time. Go look at those...
Cau!
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Sometimes You Are The Statute And Sometimes You Are The Bird
03 November 2008 - 15:33
So, this morning I awoke to something quite unpleasant. My laptop is officially FUBAR! I tried taken it all apart and putting it back together but to no avail. Thankfully, I have at my hand some "public" university libraries where I can check my email and all those basic things. At the moment, that means no more skype for me.
It all kinda sucks, but I think such is life. Ultimately, this may be good for me as I could use a serious break from computers and the like. Just don't take my iPod, camera, self-updating watch, internet, or electricity away from me! I need those.
I suppose this means I will be more adamant about writing in journal, taking notes of my journey. I had planned on not going more than two days without writing in it because it is so difficult to make up. However, this morning, after I cooled down about the laptop, I opened my journal to discover that I hadn't written in it since last Monday. This is bad because its a lot to remember, but it was good because it certainly passed some time writing about ten or so pages at once. Still, I hope to not get that far behind again...
That is about all I have to say for now. So, if you want to get in touch with me, you can send me an email and I will try to get back to you within a day or two. Or, you can send me a text message and I will get back as soon as possible. My Czech number is 00420776615072. Yes, it is a mouthful... I know that for AT and T customers it is twenty-five cents to send to me, so make sure it is important! For me, its like three cents or something.
Peace!
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Let No-Shave November Begin!!!
01 November 2008 - 16:11
So, it is now November, that's two months down and eight left to go. Crazy how time flies! Though it has been a slow week, everything is coming at me fast. London will be here on Thursday! People are already discussing their final essays for our Cinema and Music classes. And based upon decorations and that going on sell at Tesco, Christmas is practically around the corner!
Also, it should be noted that, once again, it is time for "No-Shave November". It isn't so popular here in Europe but I have at least two others fully committed to another ridiculous American "tradition". It should be quite fun to see how it all turns out by the end of the month; those of use who will actually stick to it.
Earlier today, we made reservations for all our accommodations on the "London" trip. Here is the finalized plans. Fly to London on Thursday evening; try some Beefeater gin. Abbey Road, Stonehenge, Westminster Abby, Etc... Monday, catch our early as hell, 06:30 flight to Dublin; have a Guinness and shot of Jameson. Tuesday afternoon head over to Cork and kiss the Blarney stone. Finally, Wednesday morning, we will catch another fairly early flight back to London then wait until our flight back to Brno that evening. That leaves us all of Thursday in Brno. Friday morning, we head of to Poland; straight to Auschwitz.
Europe is so awesome! This literally is where all the history comes from! At least, especially for us Americans, generally speaking of course.
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