i'm still not in school mode

So remember when I said I didn't have classes on Tuesdays?

Yeah, well, turns out I do. Of course I found out about this after the class had already met for the day. Apparently, NYU uses "R" to mean Thursday, so "TR" on the schedule actually means "Tuesday and Thursday" and not just "Thursday." That's not confusing at all.

At least I was productive with my time yesterday: I did laundry for the first time (talk about complicated), grocery shopped, applied to a fall internship, and ate endless amounts of cheese and crackers as the boys cooked pasta for us girls. At night, we went to M1, which actually played hip hop music, but it was kind of small and the dance floor was weirdly empty. It's funny that after coming here and getting away from the "Duke bubble," now everyone's talking about how it's so easy to get trapped into the "NYU bubble" while in Prague. I guess with any small group of people, where everyone's bound to be connected through three degrees of separation or less, social bubbles are inevitable.

Goal for the semester: make Czech friends!

Starbucks Guy actually emailed us back and wants to take us out this weekend, but we're leaving on a trip to Northern Bohemia on Friday. I'm really looking forward to it, although I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to have a weekend in Prague. I guess I'll just have to make up for it during the weekdays.

london calling

I JUST BOOKED TICKETS TO LONDON!

They were $220 total, including tax and fees. I'm going to go so broke this semester, but damn it, I will see the world.

On another note, I know this city is very ethnically homogenous, but I seriously feel like the only Chinese girl in all of Prague. Not only can I count the number of Asian people I've seen on one hand (which is so weird coming from a summer in Vietnam/Asia), but I'm pretty sure all of them are Vietnamese (apparently, there's a huge population here), which I suppose is weirdly appropriate.

As for today, Czech class was a total joke. Probably around 6 of the 20 people actually showed up to the "mandatory" class, and I really only did because I forgot to turn my alarm clock off last night (and because I had to meet this academic advising lady, since last night left me enrolled in only 2 classes -- which means I wasn't even a full-time student anymore -- after I completely failed at drunkenly trying to drop/add classes and coordinate schedules with my roommate at 4 am). I'm pretty sure every person doing NYU in Prague was at Mecca last night, which has no cover Wednesday nights and has a free Sex on the Beach for ladies until midnight. It was a cute club that's overall what you'd expect when you think of European clubs: flashing lights, smoky dancefloors, techno music, guys in tight shirts and gelled hair, girls in flashy outfits, and people awkwardly bopping around on the dance floor. And I finally tried absinthe for the first time!

let's spazz

As one of our suitemates said to me last night, "Cross Club will change your life."

Stepping off the metro, I first saw what I thought was the Czech version of a frat party until I realized that people were all coming out of a metal building that seemed to melt into the surrounding grounds. The place is about four levels, the bottom three screaming of metal, grunge, dreadlocks, techno, and smoke and the top one (the one where you bought your ticket and which I suspect was actually ground level) surprisingly classy with yellow walls, tables, and paintings. I was immediately in love with the place the minute the bouncer took my arm and stamped a white stamp on my wrist that only shows up under blacklight. After we took shots of absinthe and some "dark, Czech" rum, the rest of the night, I'll admit, is a blur of swirly metal lights, loud music, and the smell of weed. We met some guys from our dorm -- one of whom is apparently the grandson of some knight in England and hangs out at the gym in Beverly Hills with Penn Badgley from Gossip Girl.

...And Amanda, Lily, and I definitely woke up at 2 pm today.

In other news, I need to get out of the habit of immediately rating clubs on the Shooters scale the minute I step into them.

cheers to immersion

We made a Czech friend!

So after spending about three hours at a French restaurant having wine, cheese, and fondant chocolat (side note: I LOVE how they don't rush you at restaurants here at all. People not only eat later, which is taking me some getting used to, but they eat for a much longer time too, which I've discovered is also the best thing ever because I feel like I'm really enjoying my food and having a meal), we were giggling and squealing our way down Old Town Square, when we stopped to take a frappucino sample at Starbucks (aka my lifesaver for these past three days thanks to late nights and early Survival Czech class). The guy handing them out was really chill, so we ended up talking to him for a bit, and he asked us for our emails and if we'd ever like to go with him and some of his friends (he's 19 and goes to university in the city) out at night sometime.

Um, hello? Partying with the locals?
Sign me up!

Lesson learned: yeah, it's surprisingly quiet here (i.e. everyone gives us really weird looks wherever we are because people talk in super quiet voices and are really reserved, even in public places like restaurants and the metro), and yeah, people don't generally smile, but the Czech people really do seem to be a lot friendlier than we anticipated.

the food the wine the cheese the people

Can I just say?
I LOVE EUROPE!