Czech Republic

The final week is upon me as I am cramming to write my final papers and take the final exams. I have realized the last week of studying abroad brings out a lot of different emotions. I have enjoyed every single day abroad but I still have missed being home with my friends and family throughout the whole semester. This was especially the case during Thanksgiving when I didn’t get to be with my family to give thanks and eat a great turkey dinner. Luckily my friends and I were able to find a restaurant in Prague that served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but it was definitely not the same. Ever since Thanksgiving I have been able to see myself being back at home more and more. With only a few days left I am excited to return home but I know I will miss being in Prague.

         Prague has really been the perfect city to study abroad in for me and after visiting a few other cities I would definitely say I made the right choice. One of my highlights of the city for me has been how small and how easy it is to get around. You never really feel overwhelmed by how many people there are in one place which gives the city a sense of comfort. The transportation system runs late and drops you off within a 5 to 10 minute walk to any of the places you need to go. When the rare occasion occurs where you need to call a ride the Ubers are also very cheap. This brings me to my second point that Prague is very cheap, especially for a city. A sit-down meal normally costs around $10-$15 and take away can be $5-$10 and beers are $2 or less at the right spots. Having the ability to go out to eat more than usual is something I definitely took for granted and will be a rough adjustment when I get back home. I already am sad that I will be leaving Prague in few days as I enjoyed living in this city immensely but it will great to see my family and friends and have a nice relaxing Christmas break with them. I am expecting not to miss Prague much when I first get home because I miss my family and friends a lot but, when it gets to be a month or two back home and at school I know I will wish I could be doing this all again in Prague.

I really am looking forward to seeing friends who I have not been with since last May. I definitely will share my favorite moments of abroad and compare them with those who have travelled abroad in the past. One of the biggest takeaways for me was how drastically different all European cities are. For my entire life, I addressed all people from Europe as Europeans and blindly grouped everyone into the same category. I now realize that it is exactly like the United States: people from New England are entirely different from people in the MidWest; people from the West Coast vary greatly from those on the East. Obviously, citizens from London are going to be different from those in Prague. That said, people from Prague are entirely different from people in Vienna, which were under the same empire for decades and are just a three hour train ride apart. I realize this is a bit naive of me to say, but I honestly did not know any better. I hope this realization will benefit me in my return to Colby as I learned to appreciate people for the little things: mannerisms, work habits, food interests, personalities, etc. These were characteristics that varied city to city and was an eye opening experience to witness so many in such different cities across Europe. 

I am just days removed from the city of Prague and my friends and I have already begun discussing our return trip. We created so many memories and shared so many experiences that we know will be difficult to recreate. Although I do not plan on continuing to practice my Czech language skills, I do plan on staying engaged with Czech culture as well as European culture. There is more to the world than just what is happening domestically. Whether it is following global news sources or consistently following up on European affairs, I need to find a way to stay globally engaged and continue to develop my global understanding of other places. 

I can guarantee that I will not be missing Czech cuisine like goulash or fried cheese dishes, but there is so much I will miss about the city of Prague. It is a city enriched with history as well as pristine beauty. My favorite fact to recite about Prague is that it was untouched throughout World War II. Practically no buildings were destroyed and henceforth, its historic sites and buildings date back centuries. I was grateful to be in my ‘Prague as a Living History’ course. Without it, I would not have seen half of what I did throughout the city. Although we would walk for an hour at a time, we ventured to corners of the city that I otherwise never would have found myself in. I was pleased with all of my courses, but this one was especially my favorite. 

I really cannot say enough about my time spent this semester. It was by far and away the best college semester I have had so far. I am extremely grateful for having been able to do it. I encourage all students who have the opportunity to study abroad to do so. Although the time was short, it was 100 days of my life that I will never forget. 

It is hard to imagine that three and a half months have come and gone just like that. My time abroad is something I will never forget; I am truly grateful to have been given this opportunity by not only Colby, but my parents and family as well. As I mentioned in the beginning of my blog posts, I had only been to Canada prior to this semester. Now, I am happy to say that I have spent over three months in a foreign city and traveled to many others as well. 

There is no doubt that I will miss Prague; although I miss home, school, and my family, I made so many friends and shared so many different experiences with them. Going back to school will definitely be a hard transition; going from a our own apartment to a single dorm room on campus will be a big change that I am honestly not looking forward to. I loved waking up in the morning, walking into our common room and being able to cook whatever and however I wanted. Living with my three best friends was a luxury that I now realize we took for granted. We know first hand that not all students were as fortunate as we were and for that we are grateful. Overall, we felt that UPCES, our school program, helped us make the most of our semester in Prague. On top of living situations, they organized trips and group activities that we otherwise never would have done. We were able to see other parts of the Czech Republic, which was great because much of the Czech Republic is quite different then Prague. I would fully recommend applying to the UPCES program to anyone who is considering studying in Prague. I have already reached out to multiple underclassmen who I know have been considering it and have emplored that UPCES provides that best combination of school and entertainment. I wrote various letters to the leadership group of UPCES thanking them for such a wonderful experience. From what I have heard from friends in other cities is that their programs were entirely hands off, and although that has its benefits, we believed that having UPCES there to lead the way in the beginning was key to our experience. From providing phone plans to public transportation guidance, they were there to ensure that we did not feel lost in an entirely new city.

Furthermore, going back to school will be a severe change in scenery. I spent the last three months studying in a massive city. Going back to the small community of Waterville, Maine will feel extremely different. I have never viewed Colby as being a small community before. I always wanted to go to a small school and felt that Colby’s size was very ideal. Throughout my first two years at school, I was constantly meeting new people from class or extra curricular activities. That said, I cannot help but think about it as I prepare to return to Mayflower Hill. Walking through the streets of Prague was a new and unique experience at all times; it was just like at home, when I travel into New York City. Obviously, New York is much larger than Prague, but the feel of being in a major city is the same everywhere: there is always a lot going on and you truly never know what you are going to get. I hope that being in Prague will not make Colby feel small to me; I had never felt that before but would be lying if I said I was not thinking about it as we head into JanPlan in a few weeks.

I have finally returned from my 3 and a half month study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. First, this experience would not have been possible without my parents and their support. I enjoyed every second I had across the Atlantic Ocean and in the 9 countries I was fortunate enough to visit. Living in Europe was incredible, from the culture and food to living in a city as opposed to small town Waterville. I would encourage every student, regardless of where they decide to study, to not be afraid and branch out. During my time abroad I was able to meet and develop relationships with friends from Middlebury, Hamilton, Georgetown, and Wake Forest to name a few. We came into Prague as strangers but left as close friends with plans to stay in touch upon returning  home. I think not being shy and having the confidence to build a social bubble outside of Colby is immense because the network will only help after graduation. Having been able to travel around Europe I was blown away by the unique cultures within a small radius of each other. I enjoyed the ability to immerse myself, not as a tourist, but as someone getting to live their for multiple weeks.

Having already been to Europe as well as Mexico and other Central American countries I have loved to travel and explore. This experience only furthered my love for travel and made me want to continue after I graduate. I have two cousins who went to Australia after they graduated and have loved it so much that they have only been home once in the past 2 years. I would not change a single thing about my abroad experience because it was everything I envisioned and more. The trips, friends, long nights, and spontaneous events made it all worth the time away from family, Colby, and the U.S.. In fact my three roommates and I wish we were able to spend a full year abroad it was that enjoyable. I hope every Colby student is able to have the same experience I did because it truly opens ones eyes to a world outside of the Colby bubble.

The other week I had my friend visit for the weekend. When I have had people visit I feel obligated to make sure they see all of the local tourist attractions along with taking them to my favorite spots in Prague. When this is the case I often once again feel like a tourist because these are mostly spots I saw my first couple weeks in Prague and have tried to avoid after that because of the number of tourists there. These local attractions include going to Old Town Square to see the Astronomical Clock, walking across the Charles Bridge, and seeing the John Lennon Wall. The one place I hadn’t been to yet that we visited was the Prague Castle. The Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world and first started to be built in the year 870. Just trying to fathom something being built that long ago is very difficult. We were able to walk inside the Cathedral which had stunning architecture and stained glass on the inside. This past weekend was also when the Christmas markets started opening up all around Prague which they even had inside the castle complex. A common thing they sell at these markets is the Czech mulled wine which is hot red wine with fruit, sweetener, and spices. After touring around the castle for a while we walked to the Letna beer garden which has a great view over the entire city and is something I will definitely miss when I go back to the states.

On November 17th Prague celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. This day is now known as the Freedom and Democracy day. There were celebrations throughout the entire weekend spread throughout the city. The Velvet Revolution was a non-violent protest initiated by students to end the communist regime of Czechoslovakia. The protest was successful as it forced the end of the one-party communist government and lead to the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The weekend consisted of people flooding into Wenceslas Square to listen to live music and hear speakers about freedom and democracy. Wenceslas Square was the same place that the protest took place just 30 years ago and a place I walk through every day to get to class. 

Being able to see how passionate people were about the freedom and democracy celebrations was extremely moving and made me feel lucky to not have a recent history of extreme oppression by the government. The weekend before these celebrations I went to the communist museum with one of my roommates. This was an insightful experience and made me realize the severity of the oppression people faced during the communist times. It made me appreciate what the Czech Republic has gone through and how they fought for their freedom in a non-violent way. Overall, before getting to Prague it was extremely difficult for me to comprehend how this oppression was happening just 30 years ago but these celebrations have made me realize how prevalent that time period was in many of these people’s lives.

The week before midterms my parents decided to come to visit me in Prague and then travel with me to Budapest for the weekend. I was very happy to see them and show them all I have learned about the amazing city I had decided to study abroad in. My parents decided to make the most of their trip to Europe, so they visited Rome, Italy and Paris, France before taking a flight over to visit me in Prague, Czech Republic. I made it a priority to try and finish as much work as I can before they arrived because I knew I would be busy with them all week and was not going to have that much time to study for exams and complete upcoming homework. Lucky, I successfully completed the majority of my work, so I was able to revisit all of the historic places in Prague with them such as Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, and Old Town Square. Each night they stayed in Prague, they took my friends and me out to dinner which I greatly appreciated because I was able to save some money and spend some quality time with them.

A few days after my parent’s arrival in Prague, we hopped on a train and headed for Budapest. We took a three and a half-hour long train ride with one of my roommates and his Mom and then headed for our Airbnb. The apartment we booked was clean and spacious which we were all happy about. We were also located a to minute walk from the Central Market Hall which is one of Budapest’s most popular spots. This market is two floors packed with food, clothes, and souvenirs. The first day we were there we bought a pass for the “hop-on-hop-off” bus which makes stops at all of the touristy sites around the city. Using that pass, we saw the Budapest Parliament building, Fisherman’s Basin, St. Stephens Basilica, Matthias Church, and Heroes’ Square. The second night we were there we got a boat tour of the city which was fantastic because we timed it up so sunset was right in the middle of the ride, just as we were passing the Parliament building.

Saturday night my friend and I decided to ditch our parents and check out the nightlife in Budapest. We each bought tickets to the “Sparty” at Széchenyi Thermal Bath which they offer every Saturday. When we got there, we met up with two of our friends who study abroad in Prague and go to Middlebury. We hopped in our bathing suits and had a great time drinking and dancing in the warm pools that were packed with people. After we were a little tired of the bath party we changed into our clothes and hopped in a taxi headed to a club called “Instant.” We had a great time at both the Sparty and Instant. The next day my parents got on a train headed to Vienna, Austria and I got on a train going back to Prague. It was really hard to say goodbye to them, but I knew I would see them soon and I was excited to be back in Prague. Overall, I loved Budapest. My only critique is that the city is big so some of the bus rides we took were really long.