SPRING!

You know how sometimes you are in a new place for a while, then all of a sudden, you see something that just makes you say, "Wow, where am I?"  That's today for me in Prague.

Today in Prague is the first day of spring.  Officially by the calendar, no.  But it is sunny, and warm so that you don't really need a jacket, and all the snow is finally melted...it's like the dust has cleared and a whole new city.  Every single beautiful thing about the city has become magnified.  The colors of the buildings are breathtaking.  The castle against a blue sky is unreal.  Looking out from a bridge, there is actually no way to know if the year is 2010 or 1850, as nothing major has changed since then and the city remains an old treasure.

After my family left this week, things went back into a routine, somewhat.  Classes this week were pretty easy, and everyone in my program seemed pretty unfocused.  For instance, my economics class Monday was kind of a joke.  We talked about the history of European religion and major empires through the ages for about an hour, while going through a map and learning some basic geography.  Then, my teacher decided to move class to a coffee shop and buy us all coffee.  At this place (illy is the name) across the street from school, we talked for another half hour about whatever, mostly asking our teacher questions about himself.  Then, he decided we should probably have lecture for about 45 minutes, and then let us go early.  Not bad for what was supposed to be a 3 hour 20 minute class.  And the coffee was really really good.

Tuesday I got my first haircut in the Czech Republic at a place called Hair Gods, located down the block from school.  I went there based on a recommendation from a friend and with the info that they offered a student discount.  At 340 crowns (about $17-18), it wasn't cheap for a buzz cut, but the service was great, they spoke English, and I look normal.

This brings me to yesterday:  St. Patrick's Day.  They don't really celebrate here like they do at home, so I missed the festivities going on in Ann Arbor.  Actually, even the Irish kid in my class told me that America is such a better celebration than Dublin even, where there are just a bunch of riots and violence and 15-16 year old kids getting drunk.  No joke.

The day was pretty mellow (but I did wear green), but the night was awesome.  This club called SaSaZu, located in Prague 7, had a big St. Patrick's Day party.  I guess Wednesday nights at this place are either Erasmus student (Europeans studying in other European countries, a big program pushed by the EU) or Ex-Pat (Americans who have moved to Prague) night, because it was extremely international and really fun.

The place was enormous, with bars all around surrounding couches and a giant dance floor.  The music was pretty good also, alternating between DJs and live bands.  They had some usual St. Patty's Day stuff such as green beer, but also put a European spin on everything.  It was lots of fun, and we stayed out extremely late.

Now, I am getting ready to pack for a weekend in Krakow, Poland, with a visit to Auschwitz as well.  This trip is obviously going to be part fun and part somber, so we'll see how it goes.  I am also hoping to find some sports bars with American tv so that I can watch March Madness...this is a tough weekend not to be home for!

I'll try to send a picture via e-mail from Poland!