I am now really on countdown as it is almost 2 weeks before I leave the country! 16 days to be exact. It is also now officially official because 1) I bought my plane ticket to Prague! and 2) my VISA came in the mail on January 5th!!!
I wanted to update you on my exciting news listed above, but the main point of this post is to describe why I already love the country of Czech Republic and I haven't even been there yet. It really cracks me up people's responses when I tell them I am studying abroad in Czech Republic. Here are the usual responses I get which are usually prefaced with a confused look on the person's face:
- "Oh...is that where you wanted to go?"
- "Oh....why?"
- "Why do you want to go there?"
- "Oh...you better be careful over there."
- "Really? Did you choose that?"
...or some variation of these!
And as a bonus I got these responses:
- "I wouldn't get your hair cut over there if I were you." (my hair dresser)
- "Do not get dental work done over there. I've seen dental work done in the Czech Republic and it is not pretty." (my dentist)
- *GASP* "Don't go there." (one of my customers....unfortunately it is a little too late for that, ma'am!) ;)
It is really entertaining actually because some variation of these responses almost never fails to come out of the mouths of those I tell! I certainly do not take offense to it because I know that I would probably be wondering the same thing if I didn't know anything about the country. In fact, at the beginning of this journey when I started looking at places I could apply to go, Czech Republic was not even on my radar of places I wanted to go. As I looked into going to all of the "normal" countries (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, etc.), there was always something that knocked each of them out of the running for me. Let me preface this my saying that I am not doing a typical study abroad program where you pay big bucks, can choose anywhere you want to go, can go with your friends, and not have to know the language. I am doing a program called International Student Exchange Program (ISEP). It is a cheaper option because we are paying the same tuition and room and board as we are at Truman! Also, you have to apply to several different places and then you find out which place you got accepted to. Because of this, you can't really plan on going with a group of friends. ISEP is also more of an immersion program than regular study abroad. Many of the schools require you to have 4 of 5 semesters of college courses of the country's language. That is the biggest reason why I couldn't go to any of those "normal" countries. Many of the smaller, off-the-beaten-path countries though did not have the strict language requirements (I mean c'mon, who is going to know Czech besides the Czech people?) and offered classes in English! So once I realized that these types of countries were basically my only options (at this point, I was kind of disappointed), I started doing some major researching about these countries. It did not take long at all to fall in love with these different countries and their rich culture. So, without further ado, here is why I love this country that I haven't stepped foot in yet:
1) It is centrally located in Europe. It is a great location for traveling to the rest of Europe. It borders Germany, Poland, Austria, and Slovakia!
2) Castles. Europe is home to crazy amounts of castles, but Czech Republic is one of the countries with the most castles in relation to its size!
3) Prague: the capital city. I've had quite a few people who have been to Europe tell me that Prague was their favorite place they visited! From looking through pictures, I can certainly tell why. Prague has its own unique and beautiful look and I can't wait to see it for myself!
4) The culture. I only need to tell you one fact about the Czech culture to convince you these people must be cool (or at least funny). In the Czech Republic on Easter Monday, it is customary for guys to (lightly) spank girls and women with a wicker stick with colorful ribbons on the end, in hopes that the women will in turn, give them colored eggs, candy or drinks. After noon, girls defend themselves by pouring water on the guys. Is that awesome or what? I sure hope I get to witness this silly Czech tradition come Easter time.
5) The quaint villages in the countryside.
Kutná Hora- 
Telč-
Karlštejn-
Anyways, this is a little sneak peak of the beautiful country I am going to be living in for almost 1/2 of this year! I hope you were able to see a little bit of why I am so excited to go the Czech Republic! :)
