hello, friends! so prague is... excellent. and so are all of the people i am making friends with- i love them, we are some crazy fools hahaha. weve only had one day of class so far but i was inspired. we went to the local art school exhibition and they blew me away. crazy rediculus.

since we have three day weekends, we partied it up the entire weekend, here at the hostel. a group of us went out to a fancy night club thursday night. got our dance on.

friday, we hit up the only really good american food restaurant in prague then took pictures all over the city including old town square, charles bridge and prague castle, again. at the top, katlyn and i sampled our first czech beer and stumbled through the castle. haha

that night, we went out to another club, this time a bit less attractive...?

i was incredibly tired the entire time.

saturday night, we took it easy but just going out with a small group to a chinese place and then walking down to the mall with a cinema. we had desert there and then we saw cloverfield, known in czech as "monstrum." (i wouldnt personally recomend)

sunday. ahh sunday. after eating at the closest restaurant to our hostel, some of us walked around old town and went to cafe louvre, God's own personal desert heaven. the hot chocolate tastes like melted dove bars, the cake consists of layered chocolatey goodness, and the sundays have all the perfect ingredients to satisfy any tastebud. absolutely life changing.

we stopped by Tesco, the brittish wal-mart for some cereal and sport equipment supplies. later, we decided that it was the perfect night for kareoke. yes, we went to kareoke. it was SPLENDID watching everyone belt it out to incubus, spice girls, and "ain't no mountain high enough." we WILL be back.

i have studio this afternoon. we had a meeting with the hostel this morning about rooms. turns out katlyn and i will be spending the remainder of this adventure in a teeny tiny room, but its okay because we have internet... sometimes. haha

this weekend, we have a fieldtrip to cesky krumlov, in bohemia. should be fun with EVERYONE going to the same place. at 5 am. after a hall crawl event. when we will probably still be awake... but im excited and ill try to be more frequent with my posts(kelsi).

before i go, ill leave you with some interesting facts about the czech repulic:

~dogs are rarely on leashes.

~it is rude to tip a waiter more than 10%.

~peanut butter is unattainable.

~coffee-to-go is a brand new invention.

~beer is cheaper than water. yes.

I AM IN PRAHA!

its true! its effing amazing!!! but first things first...

the night before i left, saturday night, davidhiatt and i were driving in my car at about 10:30. stoped at holden and green valley. i got a left turn arrow, began turning and BAM! i got hit by a drunk driver. thankfully, we were both okay, but my poor poor precious baby mini is in critical condition. The airbags deployed and the front left of the front left of the car is pretty bad. The older man driving was driving a large truck without headlights going at very high speeds. niether of us ever even saw him. he did not stop until his car would not drive anymore, a block down the road. he was seen out of the truck pacing, and then fled the scene. the police found him at the post office and they arrested him, obviousely under some major influence. Actually, his mother called my mom to make sure we were okay, which was nice. i am glad that i dont have to deal with it quite as much since i am here.

next, i traveled here... for almost 24 hours, after a sleepless night...

i left my house before 10 am on sunday, flew on 4 different planes, met katlyn at JFK. The long flight across the atlantic was surprisingly giddy. Brittish airways is frickin awesome-all the amenities you could need- they served COMPLIMENTARY dinner and breakfast, with pillows, blankets, socks, eye covers, earphones, and a travel toothbrush and a tiny serving of toothpaste!

yummmm! see that tv in the headrest? its also quite fantastic- your own personal movie rentals- tons of tv shows or movies or track the flight! oh yes, by the way, i am in love with brittish accents!

we got to the prague airport and found that only one of katlyns bags arrived... but no worries, it came today! we changed some money and then took the most REDICULUS ride of my life- on a mini-bus with the stunt driver from mission impossible or the italian job- we almost clipped several cars, people and dogs, drove the wrong way on several one-way streets, and i could have enjoyed the sights if i hadnt needed to throw up.

after a four hour nap, we had dinner and drinks with art and dana and other students. then, we walked around prague to several pubs, including the greatest place on earth- the peach pit, a beverly hills 90210 themed bar. what great times with great people. katlyn and i were kickass for lasting the whole night.

TODAY was a GREAT DAY! katlyn and i were the tourists of all tourists! we learned how to use the subway system, ALONE! we saw the city of prague- we live near this great tower with statues of babies crawling up the side and the jewish museum with a cool graveyard. We went to Prague castle and charles bridge- the most tourist-y places imaginable, but also the most beautiful- i was in complete awe of prague castle, it is the oldest place i have ever been as well as the most architecturally gorgeous. i took over 100 pictures today... will hopefully to be posted in the near future. we are extremely proud of ourselves. we have sort of gotten our bearings and know somewhat where important things are. dinner with alot of the group tonight! need to shower! bye!

xoxo

lauren

OH MY GOSH

AHHHH
i am SO excited slash nervous! im excited to learn, and nervous i wont know what is going on. i started packing today! i am so indicisive! do i bring this hairband or that one? three pairs of pants or four? this hat or that one? ahhhhh
i think that from now on, less is more. i will bring only what is necessary and buy things there that will be way cooler because they are from another country. katlyn and i agree, our moms worry too much- they both think we will get robbed and then freeze to death.
i have been looking at pics, figuring out flights, baggage, etc.
i just hope that i am busy enough to not get homesick!
that was quick, but ive only got two more days at home and im sure i will be busy busy busy packing, visiting, packing, packing. katlyn and i agree, our moms worry too much- they both think we will get robbed and then freeze to death. im excited to learn, and worried i wont know what is going on.

love ya, mean it
xoxo
lauren

Begin Countdown

Now i know its somewhat cheesy to have a blog, but my friend Steven said i am entitled if i intend on leaving the country, which i am, to Prague for spring semester '08 for fashion and costume design. this way, my friends who miss me can read it and see what I'm up to since it will be difficult to talk to you all. although, if you'd like to speak with me while im away, download skype!
Let's see... Ive been home for almost a month now and haven't done much at all except prepare and buy. buy, buy, buy- things i think i will need but probably wont be able to fit into my suitcase. i keep thinking of things i might possibly think of needing.
i leave in less than a week and the nerves have begun to hatch.
until i have something more interesting to say, Dobrou noc. (good night- i have no clue how to pronounce anything yet although i have equipped myself with a phrasebook and two guidebooks)