On to my second week in Prague!

I've already been here ten days....I've only been here for ten days....

I started classes this week! I have class on Monday night, Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday afternoon and evening. It's strange for me to only go to each class once a week for 3 hours at a time, but I'll get used to it. My Thursday night class was canceled for this week as the professor was out of town, so I only had 3 classes so far: Intro to International Relations, EU Market and Business Policies, and Political Economy. The fourth class is Nations and Nationalism. This semester shouldn't be too difficult, because 2 of my classes are pretty introductory-level courses. My internship also counts as 3 credits, so altogether I have 15 credits this semester, and I am really looking forward to starting my internship, which will be about 15 hours a week. I'll be at a small non-governmental organization (NGO) called The Burma Center of Prague, which focuses on raising awareness in Eastern Europe about the political conflict in Burma, and also to aid Burmese refugees who come to Prague. I don't have the list of projects that I'll be working on yet, but I start this coming Tuesday the 16th!

I've been making a couple of like-minded friends in each of my classes so far and really enjoyed getting to know them and hearing of all the other places people have traveled. Now, when I say like-minded, I mean: cares about school and doesn't party every single night. I have been really irritated with some of the large groups of American students that have come to AAU (my school) and don't care about anything beyond drinking. I know that it's cheap to drink in Prague, but c'mon people, dropping down to 9 credits and taking classes that you don't care about just so that your schedule is really easy? My favorite quote so far-I overheard this while I was getting my student ID in the registration office-has been this: "No, no, I'm totally dropping that class. Yeah, totally. Because, there's like, reading and homework and this paper we'd have to do. Seriously, I didn't decide to study abroad so that I'd spend my time at school and studying and stuff. Ughhh..." That made me laugh so hard, but I also found it incredibly pathetic. Of course, study abroad is about so much more than just the courses, but I don't think you're getting any cultural experience by going out with all of your American friends every night and blowing off your classes. Am I crazy for thinking this way? I don't want to judge people, but it's so expensive to come over here, it'd be cheaper to party back home.... :) Most of the friends I've made so far also came to Prague alone, as I did, and those that didn't try to dissociate themselves from the huge group they came with.

So far, I think I'm getting just as much of the French culture as I am the Czech! My roommate Catherine is from southern France, and I've had a blast going to art exhibits at the French Institute with her, eating the French meals she cooks (and, true to form, spending at least 2 hours at dinner eating one course at a time!), and just learning about the culture. I love to hear what the Czech and French think of Americans (we love hamburgers and are much too busy and fast-paced, what a surprise to hear, I know), and they like to hear about the different things Americans do. Catherine made chili a few nights ago, and anxiously waited to hear my opinion on it, as she felt nervous making American food. It tasted delicious-and very American!-which she felt quite proud of!

Thanks again for reading, everyone! :)