Eastern Europe

Executions took place here... its in the area by the castle (which really is just a big church... nothing that special, but still cool)
This guy is famous. His name might be Charles. He was thrown off the St. Charles Bridge for communism or just being a heretic of the royal order... I forget. Anyway when he was drowning in the river it is said five stars appeared over his head (yeah right) but cool story I guess.
Praha castle/chruch
Old town is on the right across the Vltava river
Communism... can you tell?

This makeshift Effiel Tower
Praha at night (castle and charles bridge)


The opening set of the play we saw. we never saw this set again. Nothing made sense so weird.

On the Charles Bridge!
Same Saint as from above. This is a statue on the Charles Bridge
John Ledgend Wall. It is an ever changing wall but I guess this Imagine Peace sign has been up for quite some time
Cady and Patrick
Me outside the Kafka Museum... these statues/fountains are really funny. They pee in shapes and letters and spell things haha.


TV tower... You can see the babies.


This week was fun. Monday night I stayed up till like 3 am with Paco correcting my 6 page Spanish paper (all in spanish). On Tuesday there was this really fun ESCI party. It was great until the last hour where it turned into a middle school dance. People were making out to cheesy American 90s music (or music you would hear at a middle school dance). So I left with my friend Chris Varga and we got a call from Matt saying he got sucker punched. Turns out he did and when he met us at the metro he was all bloody. Some Spanish kid from our school hit him and he got kicked out. I do not know the real story but I am sure Matt said something. He was pretty drunk. On Wednesday I watched Contact with John Clark. Turns out it is a much cooler movie than I remember. On Thursday it was off to Prague (Praga to Spaniards and Praha to Czech). I arrived at the airport and met Matt. We get to the ticket counter I get my ticket and Matt was told his ticket has been canceled. Long story short he canceled the wrong ticket when his Grandpa died, so he ended up not coming.

In Praha I met my friend from Georgetown Cady Gokey. Fun fact she is from North Dakota. She had an awesome place in a really nice area of Praha. Her roommate was out of town too so I got to sleep in a nice bed. That night she showed me around the city, which is incredibly beautiful. We went to a wine bar after the biggest Czech meal I have ever eaten. Really nice food for like 12 dollars (aka like 250 crowns). The wine bar was cool because like most places in Praha you enter into a small room at the street level and walk down to where it opens up. This is because most of downtown Praha around the Old Town area was built on top of the old city. So these downstairs rooms are usually all small rooms but a lot of them and each has it own vibe. Czech is very liberal place. People were drinking, smoking, eating, and some were even doing drugs out in the open and usually with their dog right next to them. Strange to see. I also found out that the Czech are Atheists and that they really do not smile. Anyway after the wine bar where I met some of her friends we went to some cool club and listened to some live music. Ironically when we entered we went to the Spainsh music room and I knew some of the songs. On the way home I had some of their famous late night food of sausages.

The next day we woke up walked around the city. We also took the tram there which I hoped on for free. It’s a cool transportation system. I went to the TV tower which has these black baby sculptures on it with supposedly no face and a barcode. I could not see the barcode but I will take their word for it. We also went up to the top of the TV tower to look at the city. The communist areas are very interesting. From afar they look like dorms with decent living quarters but up close you can see how poorly made they are and I guess they only come with like one chair and a bed. Really not much there and a huge absence of architecture as well. Speaking of architecture most of the city is all very well done architecturally. From there we walked around and went to buy tickets to this “black light” theater. While we waited for the show to start we got some Pilsner & Budweiser beer and hot wine (all very good by the way) and some dinner. This place is famous because it was where the intellectuals during communism would come to meet and socialize. This play we went to was quite ridiculous. It started and ended with black lights and then it turned into the weirdest play I have ever seen. It was about some crazy clowns that were born out of eggs and some crazy overpowering circus ring leader. That is about all I got. The Czech have a very strange taste for modern art and theater. Afterwards we started to drink some more. Cady went to bed but I went out her friend Patrick for a little but came back early because we had ambitious plans of going to this beautiful looking place the next morning.

Well turns out Cady woke up and forgot to wake us up. Oh well, it rained that day with some sun as well, so maybe it was good we did not go out. That day we had brunch where Rhiana shot her video for “Please don’t Stop the Music.” Good food and a cool place. Then we went on top of this hill to go to this mirror maze, and check out the Eiffel tower of Praha (which is at the exact same altitude of the real Eiffel tower). It was cool, then we went to the Castle area. We also went to the Kafka Museum which was okay and the John Lennon wall. We just hung out the last night. I had to wake up early to catch my flight. All in all I liked being in Praha. It is now Tuesday so up until now not much has happened, except that I made my own necklace with a seashell from Sitges, and that when it rained I used Pacos umbrella which is the largest umbrella in the world (not good for walking on the tiny streets of Europe). However Spring Break is next or as they call it here Semana Santa. My plan is Amsterdam, Pals, Tarragona, Sailing!!!

Some other things to know:
Praha was Hitler’s favorite city
Their government was founded and run by playwrights, artists, musicians, and the like because of a cultural revolution.
Every major attraction is lit up at night which makes the city look beautiful
The Czech are very racist and do not like Obama
Only 10 million people speak Czech
Czech Republic is not in a recession, and not on the Euro even though currently the Czech president is the president of the EU
Praha reminds me a lot of Georgetown. Food, Beer, and weather remind me of Ireland.
They say dobrý den (good day) as a greeting in every situation
Facked (pronounced F*cked) means really
Tipski Czezki means typical Czech
Praha is practically execution city... There is a lot of history about this around basically each square.

Let it Burn

The Georgetown Students I met at the Aquarium. Victoria and Donald



The Falla in the background is the one that burned when the firemen would spray people.



This is the Falla that burned in the center of the city... It was huge!
The train station next to the Bull fighting stadium.

Placa Catalunia del musica. I have mentioned it before. Basically the music hall here. Very beautiful.


This week I became sick. I could not wake up for a class and since the attendance policy is so strict here, I had to go to a doctor to at least get excused. The doctor visit was sooo cool. His office looked like a really old library mixed with Dumbledore’s office. Turns out he studied at Northwestern so we had some stuff to talk about. He gave me some antibiotics and wrote me a note that I asked him to excuse me through Friday. So that means I did not have to go to class all week! However, I did have two finals, which I think went decently well. I also went to Las Fallas in Valencia. This was soooo cool! Fallas are these huge extremely well crafter float looking sculptures. It looked like they are made out of wax with a wooden structure. These ranged from really small ones to huge ones which were taller than some buildings.

I went to Valencia by myself before my friends since I was the only one who had to be back for Friday. Quick note. My train was at 12:00 and for some reason I did not set my alarm. Paco, woke me up at 11:40 and I made it!! Can you believe it!! I guess that is why you always pack before bed. When I was in Valencia alone I checked out the Fallas and wondered the center of the city. It was really cool! I also went to Europe’s largest Aquarium. It was pretty cool, and I met some Georgetown kids who are studying abroad in Madrid. A pure coincidence. Then Matt, Steve, and Louis arrived and Louis had some friends who have a summer pad there that we go to use. It was so nice. I had my own room and bed, and we did not have to pay a dime. The people who owned the pad had a French friend named Florian, who met us and took us to the place and hung out. He also took us around to all the Las Fallas. Big and small. We saw a few small ones burn at around 10:30 then we made it to the center of the city. It was accompanied by fireworks and the biggest fire I have ever seen. Oh also las Fallas are normally some sort of commentary on the past events in the year, for example one was Obama, but I did not get to see that one.. Then we started walking around and stumbled upon one that has not been lit yet. We hung out there for a while and got front a row view. We were next to a screen writer who was really nice and we chilled with him. While we were waiting, which was a long time, we made noises on the fence with everyone else in anticipation of the fire. Finally the fireman (bomberos) showed up. They lit fireworks and then lit a string of like baby dynamite which ended up lighting the Fallas on fire. It was really cool. Afterwards the bomberos started spraying the people with their hoses. It became a game after awhile as they would ag them on calling them bomberos maricones (“gay firmen”) or Coños (pussies). Not the nicest sayings but it was fun because people would aging them on and then they would spray us, but we would try and run away down the street and not get soaked. Some people got drenched though. At the end, when they stopped spraying the entire plaza started chanting ole, ole, ole, ole. And was jumping around and sorta huddled around the bomberos. It was really cool to say the least. We went and got some churros and then headed home to our own rooms a like 4 am.

Then I woke up at 9 am to get my train at 10 am to get back for my exam. I think my exam went well, I was the first one to finish so we shall see. On Friday night I went out to a new part of town around the Universitat metro stop. I went with the other Louis from Georgetown to a bar and then to a club after. It was a fun night since it was something new. On Saturday I hung out with Vin Jeffery on the beach. It became way to cold so we went to his place and I met his roommate Jackie from Scotland. She was really nice. Then we went to a movie called The Reader. Kinda strange but in the end I liked it. Then I rushed home took a shower and headed off to L’Oveja Negra in the Poble Nou. Here I met a bunch of my friends before the Girl Talk Concert at Razzmatazz. This concert was amazing. We pushed our way up to the front row. There were sooo many people that it was almost like one big giant moshpit. The music was great and it was a good time but I was exhausted and we all went home from there. I woke up on Sunday at 5:30 pm haha. I guess I needed it. Oh also quick note on the week. I am done with my two ESCI classes now and I got to see the new apartment in Atlanta via video chat with mom of GChat. Pretty COOL!!! And it was Moira’s BDAY!! Happy Bday Mo!

Sheesh, Spanglish, & Sun

Where I saw the parade from at Carnival... the exact location and perspective looking at that watch tower building








"La Casa" where my CIEE courses are and where CIEE is headquartered




Turns out Sheila did not come in town till Thursday. We made plans to meet at Café Zurich in Plaza Catalonia and I was running around trying to communicate to people in Spanish that my sister is lost in the city and she has no way to communicate with me. Anyway turns out it was just my mistake and I read the ticket wrong since it only gave the date of the first flight when it took off, but not the date when she landed. I also was supposed to have a presentation that day, but couldn’t since the power went out at school. During that time was also Barca’s champions league game. It was cool to watch on TV at least the end and on my way home to hear bars go crazy when the team scored.

I met Sheila on Friday at the Airport, but it was hard since her flight changed including the flight number, but in the end we met up. That day we hit Barcelona by storm. She met Paco, then I showed her my work, which I got off because of her and oh I found out that my friend’s sister will not be in town for Las Fallas so I cannot stay at her house… oh well. Then, we had a nice siesta style lunch in Bario Gotico at Taller de Tapas. Then we did some shopping, walked to ESCI where Sheila got to meet Laura and Vicent. Then we got some water and chilled in Park Citadel. We went back for my presentation and Sheila loved it. She thought it was so funny because the Spanish do no real research for their project, do not present well, and basically treated it like a joke. But hey it was all good because we left after that. That night we went back home to regroup… Oh Sheila also brought two great gifts for Paco, a black Obama t-shirt and a book of DC with Georgetown in it. Anyway we met up with Vin Jeffery (he graduated with Sheila at Gtown… he is here teaching English for a little) and his sister and her friend. We had dinner at El Pared in Poble Nou. Shady area but great place. We had colcots, pan con tomate, and some wine. Afterwards we headed to El Dorado for the end of a Reggae concert. Sheila and I were getting free drinks and consequently got pretty drunk. Also, guess what shirt Paco was wearing… The Obama shirt!!! Sheila and I loved that. We played some foosball and tried to go to a club after. We got denied the free entry which was really strange since I was on two lists, but it probably was for the better and we went home.

I missed my Spanish class due to all the free drinks haha. That day we went to Gaudi’s House on Passeig De Gracia and then headed to Park Guell. We hung out there and talked and had a great day enjoying beautiful weather. We headed to the center of the city for a little and shopped some more, but this time actually bought something. Then we headed to Mountjuic for the magic mountain. This was really cool. A bunch of huge fountains and the biggest one having color and time coordinated functions to music. Afterwards, we returned home to have dinner with Paco. Another great meal with Paco, and Sheila communicated health care policies in Spanish… I was quite impressed. Afterwards we met up with Angelica, Maddie, and Claire. We went to this traveler’s bar where the waiter did not know Spanish haha. Afterwards, we went to Opium and had a great time.

On Saturday, we woke up and went to Sitges with Vin. I love Sitges as we all know and we had some nice walks with some wine and a great lunch with an amazing view. We stayed there till the sun went down and talked about life and enjoyed life at the same time. We came back and saw Vin’s place in Barcelonetta. It is kinda funny. You have to light a furnace to get hot water, but he is right next to the beach and has a terrace up top so he really cannot complain. We went to get dinner and had some Paella and then headed home for the night.

On Sunday we woke up early and got Sheila in a cab. I was out of it all day mainly cause I was hung over. I definitely had an amazing time with Sheila and I am so grateful she got to visit me. I won’t forget it. I also will miss her. Oh ps funny story about Kevin. Him and his friend have been in an argument about who is in worse shape. Turns out Kevin is for sure. He went for a run the other day and now has to get surgery… Ask Sheila for the details. During the day I did not do much at all except try to attempt work, nap in and out, and I talked to Perry via gmail video chat. It was good to talk to him because it has been awhile. Anyway I have finals this week so nothing too exciting. I miss you all. Much Love!