Cinderella Syndrome

You've seen all the fairy tales. At some point the evil stepmother locks the poor, downtrodden, undeserving beautiful stepdaughter in a room when the daughter really should be meeting the love at her life, and dancing in beautiful gowns.

Well, I always thought that locking people in a room was hoo-hah. I mean come on, out of all of the locks in my house, the most you could do was lock yourself IN somewhere, and sometimes that was desirable. Now, I know better.

Yesterday, I was getting ready for class. In the process of getting ready to leave I searched for my keys. Everywhere. They were nowhere to be found. Our door locks automatically, so I figured I would just leave without my key and meet up with Ty later. I reached for the handle, turned it, and I was... *cue dramatic music* locked in. And class started in ten minutes. (Ty was the evil step mother, and class was the ball. See what I did there?)

I'm impressed with myself. Very calm, no pounding on the door, yelling, or crying. As I was searching the room for the key I had to have lost and certain Ty wasn't going to respond because he's a good student and doesn't check his phone in class, I was slowly losing hope. *More dramatic music.*

Plot twist. I heard a key in the door, and in came my evil stepmother/prince short of breath holding up two keys. (Okay, maybe he's more of a court jester. ;) 

In the end... I made it to class on time. Education wins again!

On a more serious note...

I think I was in high school when I first learned of study abroad. It probably came up somewhere in casual conversation with a teacher, or my gifted program adviser, or some random person talking to me about college. It was a casual sort of thing. A thought. Like, someday, maybe you'll want to go stay in another country for a while. And I probably thought something to the effect of: "Well, that's cool, but I'm a freshman/sophomore/junior/senior, we'll wait and see."

Then, when I got to college, study abroad was practically shoved down my throat. ("Indoctrinated" is such an ugly word.) But, practically every class I was in, especially in my freshman orientation course it was brought up. My professors preached what a wonderful--and underutilized--experience it is. "It will look great on your resume!" They said. "It will broaden your horizons!" They declared. "It will be the adventure of a lifetime."

As a girl who had never traveled further West than Salina up until I visited K-State, the idea of "Europe" got me starry eyed. I romanticized the foreign country in my mind, and eventually I knew that at some point, I would be making the journey across the big pond. It was no surprise then, that I attended K-State's study abroad fair and two weeks later spoke with a study abroad adviser about where to go.

After Ty and I began telling people about our plan to study abroad, the general reaction was a mix between jealousy and elation. "Great!" they said. "That will help you get into grad school," my professors said. "It was the best semester of my life," the students who had already studied abroad said. Every source I turned to was saying that this would be the most wonderful time.

But, no one ever tells you what it really feels like. I am posting this with honesty. I want to share my own opinions, thoughts, and feelings.

The first week here was one of the hardest weeks of my life. I stepped off the plane with no one but my dear husband. We had been awake for over 24 hours, and within two feet of each other for about the same amount of time. A Czech student picked us up and that was all fine and dandy. We entered our squalid dorm room. And I thought, "What did I get us into?" 

I quickly figured out that some peoples' definition of "speaking English" meant one or two phrases of broken English in almost unintelligible accents. All around me, all I heard was jumbles of incoherent sounds. Every meat became mystery meat on the packages marked with these strange Czech symbols (read words). The college was ran differently. We weren't given the plethora of information we were used to getting at K-State. We were just told that things would work out.

I know I wasn't the only person overwhelmed, because another American student approached me on our third day here and asked, "Do you think people ever quit study abroad?" I was taken aback, and didn't answer for a little while, then I said, "I think it would be too expensive. I'm sure it will get better if we give it some time." I'm not sure whether I was convincing her or myself.

I am a thinker. I think about EVERYTHING. I am not an extrovert by any means, but sometimes I need to be in the company of people just so I don't have to hear my own thoughts. So, being around only one person that I knew well enough to actually talk to--not just small talk--made me extremely lonely. I called my family almost every day just so I could hear them speak English. I missed them and the comfort of being at home. I even sat by Ty when he spoke with his family, just so I could listen to them speak. It was so comforting. I always asked Ty if we could watch a movie. Listening to my own language made me feel better.

But what I told my American friend was true. I gave it some time, and things are better. I don't think I will ever get used to going to the grocery store and not being able to hear the people across the aisle debate about which brand is better or what they're having for supper. I won't get used to people struggling to understand me when I ask them if I can have a burger with fries. But, after a month in the Czech Republic, I have become stronger. I have met some absolutely wonderful friends. Believe it or not, I've actually made more friends in my month here, than I had in a year and a half at K-State. And maybe that's what it took.

Getting 100% out of my comfort zone has allowed me to get used to being uncomfortable. And I'm guessing, that most of the other students here are going through exactly the same thing I am. We have bonded over our shared fears, doubts, struggles, classes, and formed something beautiful from the challenges: friendship.

Now, I realize this all sounds very sad. To be honest, there were many sad parts of my first month here. However, moving past these has allowed me to do so many things: travel to a new place with a totally fresh point of view, make new friends, enter every day with little clue of what to come, empathize with those who don't speak my language, and I've also gotten pretty good at understanding accents... that might come in handy at K-State. ;)

Along with the other feelings, sometimes I feel overwhelming feelings of astonishment. How cool is it (and yes, I use the word "cool," because there really is no other equivalent) that a married woman from a town of less than 800 made it all the way to Europe. I mean really, the odds were not in my favor, and here I am truly having the adventure of a lifetime.

I want to take this moment to thank everyone who has read this blog, talked with me over Skype even with the bad connections, or interacted with me via Facebook or Twitter. It really means the world to me. I would also like to thank my husband. We've both struggled through the homesickness, adjusting to the lack of taco seasoning and Velveeta in the Czech Republic, and all of the novel experiences we're having. But together, I know we will make it through, and by the end, you can bet we'll have one hell of a story to tell.

Party like it's your birthday!... Because it is your birthday... duh.

On March 3rd, we celebrated Ty's 20th birthday! A very momentous occasion. Fun fact: in the Czech Republic you can drink anything at 18, so by the time we get back to the states, we STILL will not be legal to drink. In fact, we got "carded" for the first time the other day. I'm not sure why, because Ty and I were the only two out of the group who had to show ID. Probably because of his baby face. Anyway, the party started with a surprise party for Ty with some of our close friends here.

Of course the party would not be complete without "happy birthday" hats and balloons!

As you can tell, everyone was pregnant with emotion (elation) to celebrate Ty's big day!

And it seems like his "big day" has continued all week!

Before coming to Prague, we were lucky enough to speak with a couple of students who had spent the semester in Prague last fall. A common theme among them, and the many Internet sites we poured over was the party scene. People here go out. A lot. The fact that a club on campus has actual dance parties on Monday nights should give you an idea of the situation.

On Thursday night, in an effort to meet more Erasmus Students--exchange students from Europe--Ty and I went to a club advertised by our college with a group of three other girls. The club was called "Cross Club." Once I stepped in, I said, "Wow." And that about covers it. Probably one of the most unique buildings I've been in. I'm adding some of the pictures I took, but here's a link to the club's photo gallery. http://www.crossclub.cz/cs/interier/851-dolni-stage/ 

The place had all sorts of handmade gizmos, and multiple levels of seating made by welding rebar together. It had the feel a place that was kept quiet because it's cool... and because it prrrrrobably didn't meet safety standards.

It had two different areas. One that played, what I like to call "screamo" music, and another that played a blend of classic music from the US. (If "Jail House Rock" doesn't qualify as classic, I don't know what does.)

It was the kind of "classy" dive that had stickers like this posted on the iron handrails.

The night would have been perfect if we wouldn't have had to waited thirty minutes for a night tram and then forty-five minutes for a night bus. I'm estimating it took us about 2 hours to make what should have been a 45 minute trip. (TIP: Pay for the app that tells you all of the bus times. It's two dollars, and it's definitely on my shopping list!)

Thanks for reading!

PS. Happy birthday to Ty's mom, who just turned 29 on the 9th! ;)

I have to Wien myself off of making dumb puns. ;)

Last weekend Ty and I journeyed to Wien. It was a very beautiful, very expensive city.
One of our first ventures after what I have dubbed the "First-day-Fiasco" was a trip to St. Stephen's Cathedral. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vienna, and once I saw it I understood why.

These pictures don't even do it justice. I probably could have sat in Stephanplatz (basically the area of the cathedral) for hours just to look at this building. On a warmer day of course. :)

Believe it or not, the inside of the cathedral was even more impressive. Inside there were plenty of extras you could do. For a price, you could walk around the basement of the church in the catacombs, or go up to the altar, or sit in the pews. Most of it was fairly expensive, so we just enjoyed our surroundings.

For .90 Euros you could light a candle to leave there. I'm not sure what the exact symbolism for the candles was, because everything was written in German.

Once we were done at St. Stephen's, we walked outside in search of a restaurant. Warning: if you ever go to Vienna, food is expensive. The cheapest alternative to dining out would be to find a grocery store and buy your food there.

Despite the expense, Ty and I HAD to try wiener schnitzels.

Wiener schnitzel was basically just a very thin breaded and fried pork chop. We could have tried veal wiener schnitzel but it was an extra ten dollars a plate. So we stuck with our pork, and it was delicious. 

Refueled with schnitzel, we went out in search of the Schonbrunn Palace.

This is the entryway to the palace.

Once in the front courtyard, there were statues and pieces of art like the fountain behind me everywhere.

And, there was art inside the palace... Don't mind my husband being eaten by a lion.

Behind the palace there was a HUGE courtyard. There were walkways encased with greenery--or what would be greenery in the summer. We're considering going back during the warmer months just so we can see this courtyard in all of its glory.

Ty stands in front of a HUGE fountain. They drained it of the water, but the artwork was still great!

Online, the Gloriette Cafe boasts of having the best view of Vienna. It sits on top of a very large and hard to climb hill behind the palace.

The cafe is just as ornately designed as the rest of the palace and its property.

And here was the stunning view from the cafe... oh, and there's Vienna in the background. ;)

Once we had taken in the sights at the palace, we trekked across town to the Belvedere, which is also a palace. On our way to Belvedere, we came across St. Elizabeth's Cathedral.

In my opinion, St. Elizabeth's is an overlooked treasure. I couldn't help but enjoy the fact that it had the beautiful cathedral style, but also that Ty and I sat in the church for half an hour and no one entered. It was quiet, peaceful, and breathtaking.

Finally, near dusk we found Belvedere.

The property was dotted with all sorts of strange statues. Note, the weird horse shaped woman with a baby riding on her back.

There was also a pond in front of the palace.

All over the roof were different statues and symbols.

In the back, another beautiful courtyard, with a great view.

After Belvedere, Ty and I went out to eat, and I had the BEST pancakes I have ever had in my life.

Now that's what I call a dessert!

The waiter described it as "chocolate stuffed pancakes." I would seriously return to Vienna just to have this again.

With that meal, our time in Vienna drew to a close. The next morning we hopped on the Student Agency Bus, and road back to our home in Prague.

Thank you for reading. :)

Czech Cows say "moooooo...n shine"

Students from all over Europe (and America) traveled to Prague to study agriculture and English at the Czech University of Life Sciences. For us it was an ideal location where we could travel around Europe, food is reasonably priced, and we could take some courses for credit at K-State.

The other day I had the best experience I've had in a class so far. The class is Livestock Management. It's taught by a cute gal studying for her doctorate degree. She's very nice, is a Czech native, and speaks English the best out of all the teachers I've had here--and some at K-State. Go figure.

During our class Tuesday she set the mood by announcing that class the next week was cancelled. At the end of the lecture, she said she was taking us on an "excursion" to the animal research lab. Once there, I met all sorts of new friends, and I didn't discriminate based on genus or species. :)

My first friend marveled over my phone case... She was a little mad when I told her she couldn't eat it. Here were a few of her "neigh"bors. (Haha get it? Classy animal puns.)

She was a little shy at first, but she warmed up to us nicely!

But, my new goat friend couldn't let the cows have all the attention! She wanted me to say hi, and she wasn't "kid"ding around. (Man, I crack myself up.)

The research lab was pretty full of animals craving attention. Especially a stupid rooster. I think he was a teenager's alarm clock, considering he was crowing at noon. 

And of course, the pigs just lazed around and ate. Every now and then they did their best impersonations of my dad while he's sleeping. (Haaaaaa)

One was obviously hungry for bacon.

We even saw these cute monkeys. They were either camera shy, or toddlers because they couldn't sit still for two seconds. 

This was the best picture I got of "yellow foot," so excuse my phone's reflection.

Next we even got to see some guinea pigs, birds, and some fish.

Overall, a great trip. I'll definitely be returning when I'm feeling homesick, or when I want to be harassed by a lonely goat. :)

I finished off class that day by seeing some other wildlife in Parisitology.

Hopefully I won't be seeing these creepy crawlies any time soon.

Animals seem to be a big deal here. We see people with their dogs everywhere; public transports, sidewalks, restaurants, and I even saw this little guy in my Milk and Dairy lab after class.

I feel pretty fortunate that even in a city of over 2 million I can still get back to my routes and enjoy livestock. :)

Thank you for reading!

Ps. More about Vienna coming soon. :)

Looking Like WIENers

Our good family friend, Angie, told me the definition of adventure. "It's something you're doing that you wish was happening to someone else, that will probably make a good story in a couple years." Accurate. Since being in Europe, I've been on a few "adventures." Actually, our first day in Vienna was one BIG "adventure."

First, we rode on a bus from Prague to Vienna.

We started at "A" and ended at "B." Self explanatory.

If you're curious about how the bus ride was an adventure... Czech bus drivers are like:

Well, no we didn't die. We made it to Wien safely. Once we arrived in Wien, we had to buy tickets for the public transport, so we found ourselves a "bankomat" and withdrew some Euros. Then we found a tickets kiosk and attempted to buy some tickets. Turns out the bills we got from the ATM were too big (50 euros), so we went to the nearest bakery and tried to exchange it for smaller bills, or buy a roll so we could get change.  She refused to serve us.

Discouraged, we walked our happy you-know-what's to the ATM and withdrew smaller bills. FINALLY, we bought our tickets. Then, we realized that the directions we got from Google maps was awful. At that moment, a bus driver stepped out of the bus, and stood on the sidewalk for his break. It was like a sign from God saying, "It's okay, I got you." We basked in the theoretical light coming from the imaginary gap in the clouds, and with angels singing in the background.

"Ahhhhhhhhh."

 We asked the bus driver directions to the hotel. He gladly gave them to us--in English--and we went on our way.

Once we arrived at the bus stop near our hotel, we were once again lost. After thirty minutes of wandering around we finally found it! But, the person who was supposed to meet us with the keys to our room was late. We decided to pass the time with my favorite activity: eating.

By this time were were worn out, and in my case, incredibly homesick. (Where are all the English speaking Americans? Why don't I know where I am???) So we ordered a classic: Chili cheese hotdogs with french fries. Well, Austria's version of chili cheese hot dogs. They served us hot dogs with sliced American cheese (the only thing American about the dish) with onions, pickles, hot dogs fried in grease with the french fries, mustard, ketchup, and....... wait for it...... the spiciest chili powder I've ever tasted. So there you have it, a chili cheese dog. To help with the spice, Ty decided to buy us some water. Turns out it was the most awful tasting "sparkling" water. (Sound like an adventure yet?)

Getting to our hotel was like finding refuge. This place is absolutely gorgeous.

Our hotel is basically a studio apartment with a nice kitchen, bathroom, and washing machine (no dryer). It's definitely a refuge after being out in the elements all day. And yes, I do include angry shopkeepers in the "elements" category.

I'll be posting more soon about our other adventures in Vienna. :) Thanks for taking the time to read!

Let's get WIENerschnitzels!

Another bus stop. Another trip. For anyone who doesn't know, my husband is turning 20 on Monday! Woo! I will no longer be married to a teenager! (Thank gosh. ;) In honor of my man's birthday, we planned a trip to Vienna, Austria. Fun fact: in Europe Vienna is called "Wien."

The morning got off on the right foot. Below, see the picture of the chocolate muffin we tore up. We showed that delicious thing no mercy! 

We're starting out the trip with a five hour ride on student agency bus. Great reviews, cheap tickets, free wifi, no leg room.

We do get our own TV screen, and I think we can watch movies or play games on it... Pretty cool! 👍

We have a few ideas of what do do in Wien, but if anyone has any suggestions, COMMENT! :)

Soon, we'll be saying, "Greetings from Austria!" 

From this handsome fella and myself, thank you for reading! :)