Prahaland

So this post is a week late, but I've just been so lazy in the past week that I haven't done it yet.

My little weekend jetset to Prague felt more like one big day than a weekend. First off, our flight there was at 8 am out of the god forsaken Charleroi airport. Charleroi is about a 45 min drive south of actual Brussels. My solution to this problem was to stay up all night in downtown Brussels and then get on a bus to the airport around 5 am. Let's just say it was quite an adventure through the Portuguese quarter of Brussels.

Upon arrival in Prague, I met up with my friends, Jon and Ari, with whom I was staying and immediately took a two hour nap in lieu of the walking tour we were supposed to take. Thankfully, my boys took me on an even better tour around the next day and I didn't have to deal with Asian tourists.

Speaking of Asian tourists, they are the one and only thing that stay the same in every city I have ever been to. You might be bummin because you're in a foreign city that doesn't sell your favorite soda and then BOOM a taste of home in the form of a yellow-skinned hoard reminds you that you are never far from civilization.

Jon and Ari were the most gracious hosts, cooking us authentic Czech food, showing us around the city, and letting me crash on their couch which was actually the most comfortable pull out I've ever witnessed. We went out a discotheque both nights I was there. From the restaurants to the shops to the nightclubs, Czech people were extremely friendly and good natured, a lot also spoke English. In reality, they were just happy and relieved to get away from Communism.

Back to the discotheque, this was first real nightclub experience in Europe. I heard that they were basically hot sweaty dark rooms where everyone rages until 6 am to intense light shows and house music. That was pretty much true. Didn't go til 6 am but had a great time nonetheless. Other amazing discoveries in Prague were fried cheese, cabbage, "borchuk" (a delicious mulled wine), and these twisty cinnamon things.

I'm beginning to realize that weekend after weekend of jetsetting around Europe is going to leave me shattered. O well. No one ever said "I wish I slept more while I was abroad". Prague was really so amazing though. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera when we were doing touristy things. Lucky for you, I loved it so much that I will be returning at the end of October and I'll make sure to take some pictures.

Last Mango in Paris

Ok so the title is actually a Jimmy Buffett song. Side note: Jimmy Buffett concerts are where your parents suddenly come back to life and think that they are 20 again. However, that's neither here nor there. This past weekend I had quite an eventful weekend séjour to Paris.

It began with me out the door at 630 am to catch my 8 am bus that left from central Brussels. That was fine. The buses are actually quite nice, the seats are clean and reclined. I slept most of the time on the way down. I finally awoke as we were driving through le banlieue (suburbs) of Paris. I remembered from high school french classes that all the rich people live in the city proper of Paris and not outside. Well, I was yet again reminded. Paris suburbs are straight ghetto; never somewhere I would want to find myself.

I metroed my way over to the hostel I was staying at (first hostel stay ever btw). It was nice, just an apartment retrofitted to cram in as many hipster 20-somethings as possible. It was a sweet location though, look at this view.





I finally met up with James in the middle of a bust metro station. Some lessons learned about the Paris metro:
1. The Metro is Free. Everyone below the age of 35 just hops over the metro turnstiles and squeezes past the little gate blocking you from entering (thats assuming you are skinny enough to squeeze through). Thank god they don't feed us barely any food in Belgium, I slid through with ease
2. The Metro is Dirty. Over the course of 2 days and 1 night I witnessed at least one person do the following on the metro: eat, drink, smoke, piss, vomit, and do drugs.
3. Parisians love that the Metro is Free and Dirty. They love the metro so much, I guess it's just Paris

James and I attended the Inox Park electronic music festival at l'Ile des Impressionistes in Paris. Aside from the vodka that some friendly Americans offered me while waiting in line, we danced all afternoon and evening essentially sober. You can thank the 60 minute lines where all that was waiting for you was a beer for 7 euro. Woof. Amazing sets though, made a ton of friends, also saw some high school friends who were also studying abroad. Here's a vid I took of Avicii's set.

After going out for a drink around 1 am and wandering around observing many more questionable Parisians, I decided to head home (to the hostel which was now my home). Of course I missed the last metro at 2 am and had to navigate the ridiculously confusing "Noctillen" buses (nigh buses) to get home. What resulted was a 45 minute ride next to an extremely inebriated individual who divulged to me (en francais) that he was a pickpocket (he showed me his 8 stolen cell phones to prove it) and a drug dealer. Paris, killin it yet again.


My next day was a more typical Paris vacation. After checking out of the hostel, meeting my "hostel-mates" for all of five minutes (some cool Australian guys), I checked out the outside of the Louvre, the Tuilleries garden, some big obelisk, l'Arc de Triomphe, and of course le Tour Eiffel. Unfortunately, my camera died just as I arrived at the Tour Eiffel so I only snapped a few shots.

One more Paris event of note. I was standing in line to check into my bus to go back to Brussels. All of a sudden, one guy cuts another off in line. Before you know it they are embroiled in an all-out brawl. Blood is spewing on the floor, children are crying, and worst of all, the bus company employees are trying to break up the fight and hence not checking me in to my bus. So I miss the bus, there are no more available seats until the next day so I am forced to trek back across town and purchase a train ticket back home. Sure couldn't handle another night of the madness I had experienced in past 24 hours.

Way too long of a post, but the events of the weekend needed to fleshed out. Désolée que je ne suis pas désolé.

Bienvenue à Bruxelles!

So after a tedious and stressful process to get my visa (it came the day of my flight), I finally landed in Brussels, Belgium which will be my home for the next three months. Our first night we all stayed in a hotel in downtown Brussels and acquainted ourselves with a true local delicacy, Belgian beer. Never again will I drink Natural Light. I am too spoiled here.

The next day, we met our host families. My host mother and father are great. We live a bit outside the center of the city in a region called Wezembeek. We also have a swimming pool in the backyard and a Golden Retriever named Frosties (after the European version of Frosted Flakes). I'm also living with two other AU students.

Today we toured around Brussels with our host parents. We saw huge, ornate buildings and churches. Sadly, I forgot my camera so no pictures so far. We also paid a visit to "Autoworld" a gigantic car museum which was actually really interesting.

Tomorrow, school starts so we will see how that goes. Hopefully I can get away with minimal studying this semester