Hallo!

Hello!

Well, as I said, I am in Berlin, but I would like to catch you up on Praha first.

I really enjoyed Praha. The city was so beautiful! The only problem I had with it was it was extrememly touristy. Of course, all of us on this trip are trying to figure out what our role is--student or tourist? I think most of the time we are all a little of both. Regardless, too much "touristy" stuff is annoying.

Well, what did I do in Praha? I went to the Franz Kafka museum with Julie. I thoroughly enjoyed it because it was kind of . . . mystical? That's not the right word. . . it was just very other-wordly (yay for made-up words), mysterious, and a little creepy. However, it did, unfortunately, freak Julie out a bit.

I also spent some time in old town, which is extremely touristy. I haven't heard that much of a concentration of English speakers since I left the Chicago airport. But it is beautiful, and I did end up buying some stuff there.

I also took a walking tour of Praha with the group. We walked along the river and went up to the castle. The castle is massive, of course, and up a winding hill. Our director Iveta, who is from Czech, has this theory that a city in Europe isn't really a city unless it has a castle on top of a windy road. (Praha, of course, qualifies. Berlin does not.) She's funny.

I also visited a few churches, but they were kind of touristy as well.

The lady we stayed with was fun, as I said earlier. She lived in the states for quite a while, actually, mostly doing PR work for Amnesty International. She now works in Praha doing PR work for a theater company.

Well, that's about all I did in Praha, except for classes, of course. I spent a lot of time at our homestay because it was so nice.

Now I am in Berlin, trying to get my bearings again. I can't believe this trip is almost halfway done! Eek! It has been crazy and draining at times, but also a truly awesome experience.

Jennifer