Okay, so I’m writing this on my second day, but it is still about the first. Hopefully this isn’t confusing to anyone. Also, I’ve never written a blog before so please be kind with judgments! Now, on to the story!
Reasons why I had to wait to start writing: 1) Jet lag from the flights, 2) (and the real reason) Our room’s fuse was blown pretty early on the day. This may or may not have been because of my alarm clock. I don’t really know what happened (I swear I used a converter…) but it did.
After checking in and going through security, it was pretty easy sailing. The plane was good (despite not being able to sleep) with movies and food that were awesome. Both flights (with a layover in France) were easy and the Paris Airport is really impressive, including pink escalators and the most efficient security I’ve ever been through.
So, Sarah (roommate) and I arrived in Prague around 1PM, about two hours late, totally jet lagged and confused. Our driver was late and we were so tired from the plane that we waited for twenty minutes hoping he’d show up, rather than trying to figure out how to get to our dorms. Luckily, waiting paid off and we were on our way to our dorms pretty quickly.
The dorms were definitely made in Communist times. They are square, big, angular, and gray. Really nice. But, the room itself (though plain and small) isn’t too bad. One complaint though: the shower and toilet are in separate rooms across our suit, and the toilet is super sketchy. Example. Its flusher is hung from the ceiling that you have to pull down. But, the room has a bed, and our suit-mates are really nice, so that’s a win in my book.
After getting there and unpacking, a group of the Prague group went out to explore/get dinner. We walked around for a while and learned there are a lot of beer gardens, casinos, and pizza places. We tried reading Czech menus and got so overwhelmed, so we ended up eating Pizza for our first meal. And we had Pilsner Beer. Clearly that was the correct choice. The waiter was hilarious, and joked with us when one of us tried mimicking getting the check (NONE of us knew any Czech. Totally safe). I’m guessing we aren’t the first foreigners he has had at the restaurant.
Then we went back to the dorm to freshen-up. This is when disaster struck. I was trying to figure out my alarm-clock that I had bought back home. I plugged it into a converter then into the wall, and started setting the time. As I was putting in the minutes the clock made a noise and the lights shut off. Fuse blown. The entire suit was dark and I was not pleased. Sarah and I went downstairs to ask the woman at the desk to fix it, but it didn’t really happen. The woman didn’t speak English. At all. First, she gave me a Czech to English dictionary…which was not helpful. Finally, with hand signals and a English to Czech dictionary, we communicated the issue. She went upstairs and tried to help, but it didn’t happen. She told us (she used a Czech student for a translator) that we had to wait till morning so we could ask someone else. Darkness.
I’d like to say that we went out afterward and explored Czech night life, but we decided we were exhausted and needed to shower before it became too dark to see. After we all showered and got ready for bed, with help from a windup flashlight, it was time to sleep.
Fell asleep at 9PM (3PM in New York) and slept until 9AM the next morning. Awesome.