Day Five/Six: Hejcin & Memorial Day Celebrations (5-26/27-14)

Yesterday morning started at 9:00 a.m. with a walk to Hejcin Grammar School. Hejcin has a special relationship with the Owensboro Sister Cities Program and every year students are exchanged for 3 weeks from America and the Czech.

From the outside, Hejcin looks like a boarding school and in fact it kind of is. Students from all around the Czech Republic can apply to attend Hejcin, and if you live to far away from the school, you can board in one of the buildings or in a youth hostel nearby. We were taken to a classroom and given a presentation by 4 Czech students about the educational system in the country. Of course, being the education majors that we are, D'Arcy and I listened attentively and even compared our educational systems at the end. I was very surprised at how well the students could speak English. I would be quite nervous if I were told to give a presentation in another language to a room full of native speakers, but without much hesitation they stood at the front of the room and spoke to all of us wonderfully.

(Hejcin Grammar School)

The education system in the Czech is much different from America. Starting early on, children are taught basic skills at home or in day care facilities. It is mandatory for children to attend a primary school/basic school at the age of 6. They are graded on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the best), and if a child obtains a 5 they must attend summer school and must past a test at the end, or be required to attend that failed grade again. The Czech law does not require students to attend a secondary school/high school but nearly every child does. There are 2 types of secondary schools: vocational and grammar. Hejcin is a grammar school, where most students prepare for a university. At the end of grammar schooling, each child is required to take and pass a test to enter a university. English is taught and most students master the English language early on.

I loved the tour of the school, and I was able to quickly pick up on the differences in our education institutions. After our presentation, we ate lunch in the cafeteria and I have never had a school lunch that tasted as good. Healthier options were available and the students filed in and ate their lunch rather quickly. We then were able to go into a few classrooms to interact with the students.

(The green stuff is cucumber)

I went into a younger classroom and older classroom, but enjoyed talking to the older students more. In both rooms there was a list of prepared questions, however I liked the casual conversations better and soon the students were asking about differences in America - shopping, malls, proms, restaurants, music, school life, home life and boys! I shared my passion of traveling with a student and learned that she was coming to Owensboro in September. I really enjoyed talking to the students on a more personal level.

After our Hejcin tour we were free for the rest of the day. Our group decided to go shopping for some groceries to keep in our room to try and save some money. We stopped at the Billa (much like a small Kroger) and picked up peanut butter, Nutella, bread and chips. We came back to our hotel and quickly passed out for a long afternoon nap.

Since we all couldn't enjoy going to the lake on Memorial Day, our student leaders decided to host a small pub crawl for us to enjoy. After getting ready with my roommates and pictures with an American flag out front, we made our way back into town and to a few of their favorite pubs. It was really nice to hang out with all of my new friends, look around a see 3 tables fully engaged in some competitive card games and come back with some hilarious memories! Overall, Monday was rather fun!

Today started with a tour of the City Hall in Olomouc. We pass this beautiful building everyday in the upper square on the way to various shops. Our tour guide led us through the chapel, a room where weddings and baby introductions happen and the mayor's private office. We then ventured up the steps of the clock tower and got some amazing 360 degree views of the city. We had a free afternoon and decided to eat in a small cafe we had previously noticed before venturing to the new 4 story mall at the opposite end of town.

Tomorrow starts the historical portion of this trip, and I am rather excited to learn more about Olomouc. As a self proclaimed historical buff, the walking tour will interesting for me! I am also getting excited to go to Vienna, Austria this weekend.                                                                                              

Day Four: The Ride of the Kings (05-15-14)

Today started really early…6:30 a.m. early. I got up, showered and went to breakfast, a win in my book. We loaded the bus at 7:30 a.m. and headed towards the town of Vlcnov for the "Ride of the Kings". This is a traditional Czech festival that has been happening for the past 200 years!

Basically, long ago a Hungarian king fled from a Czech king dressed as a girl, veiled himself and held a rose in his mouth. Now, a young boy in the village is chosen to dress up as this king. He has quite a few other male teenagers that ride along with him, dressed in traditional clothing, that yell insults (in Czech so it was quite humorous not knowing what was being said) at men in the crowd and they expect money in return. It is all fun and games and with no hard feelings! The festival had many booths set up and men and women singing at various stages throughout the town.

My favorite part was when we stumbled on a carnival towards the back of the festival. We all acted like kids again, and we all had to ride a few rides! The funniest part was that in the Czech (and in many other places in Europe) they listen to modern day American pop music. As we were riding the rides, "Whip My Hair" blared from the carnival speakers.

After the "Ride of the Kings", we took a short bus ride over to the city of Velehrab to see a BEAUTIFUL cathedral, the first of the hundreds I suppose we will see. We didn't stay long because mass was starting, but it was still beautiful to see.

We made in back just in time to see the local professional soccer team, the Sigma Olomouc, play a game against Znojmo. Our hotel is actually located in the lower part of the stadium so we didn't have to go far. Apparently Olomouc HAD to win this game to avoid being regulated (I'm still learning my soccer lingo) and the pulled out a 2-0 win!

We ventured to a traditional Czech style restaurant tonight for dinner, and I tried goulash for the first time. It was rather tasty! After dinner a few of us came back to the hotel and sat out front and played "SPOONS" with candy. We enjoyed many laughs while basically tackling each other for our candy pieces (spoons)!

Day Three: Olomouc (05-24-14)

Dobry den de Olomouce!

(Good day from Olomouc)

I could not fall asleep last night until about 4:30 a.m., and the birds had already begun chirping. Naturally I skipped breakfast (along with D'Arcy) and slept in a few extra minutes. We didn't start our day until 11:00 a.m., but jet lag was still wearing off and I enjoyed the extra sleep. 

It rained all morning, but that did not stop Dr. Murphy from taking us out for an introduction on Olomouc. 

1. Prague (capital of Czech Republic) is closer to London than Rome and closer to Dublin than Moscow.

2. Czech's think of themselves as Central Europeans, not Eastern Europeans.

3. Czechoslovakia peacefully broke into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

4. There are roughly 10 million people living in the Czech Republic.

5. It is a member of the European Union and NATO.

After our brief introduction to the city we went to lunch at "Caesars". I had garlic soup (yes it was REALLY garically) and potatoes croquette. Trying new food is my favorite part about traveling because you really get to experience the culture of a new place this way. Even if it seems like American food! 

We wandered around the town square and finally went shopping for some essentials - shampoo, conditioner and body wash. 

There was a wine festival (with traditional music) in one of the squares and we ventured over to find almost half of our group tasting some delicious wines. I am not a wine drinker normally, so I just had a sip or two of everyone else's wine that they would buy. Dr. Murphy eventually spotted a wine that he thought I might like. Turns out it was Black Currant, a favorite of mine while I lived in England. I purchased a bottle and plan to bring it back to the US to celebrate of my friend's (who also lived with me in England) 21st birthday!

Tonight we went to a outdoor park with a stage to listen to live Czech bluegrass music. Apparently the Czech is second to America for bluegrass music. Although it was mostly in the Czech language, we recognized a few songs, Johnny Cash and my favorite "Rocky Top"!! 

Day Two: Cesky Krumlov 05-23-14

Cesky Krumlov 

05/23/14

After dinner last night, D’Arcy, Jenna, Bri, Gabbi, Zach and I went to a bar called “The Travelers”, and I tried my first cider in the Czech. It was rather delicious, and it still beats the taste of beer! It was an early night and I fell asleep last night almost as soon as my head hit the pillow in our hotel.

We woke up this morning at 8:00 a.m., and after a breakfast of bread and plain cereal we headed to the castle. Cesky Krumlov, the town that we stayed in, is a World Heritage Site. All of the frescos on the outside of the castle are original works and are surprisingly beautiful. The castle is surrounded by a moat that still has live bears “protecting” it. The bears symbolize/d strength for the Schwarzenberg family. The castle tour was rather interesting, and our tour guide was a cute German fellow. Dr. Murphy read mostly from a paper that stated facts about each room, but our guide would add random and interesting tid bits here and there to make it seem customized.  Any sense of personal space in Europe is lost, and I got an up-close and personal lecture about a stove that mimicked a microwave because the kitchen was far away.

We also climbed a clock tower in the castle grounds and were able to see a beautiful view of Cesky Krumlov.

After our castle tour, Dr. Murphy let us go for lunch and we ventured to a pizza restaurant. I am still getting used to the exchange rate in the Czech. There are roughly 20 Czech crowns for every 1 U.S. dollar. I feel rather rich, even if 500 CZ is roughly $25.00. An eclectic art museum followed lunch, and I learned that I really need to pick up an appreciation for art before the end of our trip!

Our time in Cesky Krumlov was short lived and by 3:30 p.m. we were back on the bus and headed for the Schwarzenberg family’s summer chateau in Trebon.

The bus ride to Olomouc took about 5 hours all together and everyone on the trip seemed to catch up on sleep. I forgot how much sleep is treasured when you go all day looking at sites and scenes. Our hotel is rather nice. D'Arcy, Jenna and I are sharing a room that is broken into two separate rooms (one with a double bed and one with twin beds) and we have our own bathroom. 

We ventured into the town of Olomouc late last night and down to a bar named "Crack". It was nice to sit around a further meet everyone on the trip before we all turned in for bed.

Day One: Travel (05-22-14)

            My travel day started at 7:30 a.m. with my alarm blaring in my ear. Between telling my friends and family “see you later” and the pre-travel jitters, I only slept about 6 hours. Mom and Dad dropped me off at the airport at 9:00 a.m. after an easy drive down 31W and missing the early morning interstate traffic in Nashville. Our group of about 20 students made it through security with no issues and we boarded our first flight to Newark, New Jersey without delay.

            On the flight from Newark to Frankfurt, Germany I sat between two older women who did not speak English. In fact, they spoke a different language from each other. It was apparent when they pointed and fussed over their boarding cards and one being in the wrong seat. After watching nearly half of Monuments Men, we were in the air and headed across the Atlantic on our 7-hour flight!

            The Frankfurt, Germany airport was the most commuter friendly airport that I have ever been in. The seats were cushioned with no armrests to jab into your side, outlets were everywhere to charge personal electronics and there was even an area with reclining seats for people to nap. Fortunately our layover was short and we boarded our last flight for Prague, Czech Republic at 10:00 a.m.

            It is now 12:00 p.m. and I am typing from the bus that will taxi us around throughout our trip. There are plenty of seats and most of us are sitting alone, and many are trying to catch an hour or so of sleep. I am going to try and stay up as long as I can this afternoon without napping because I do not want jet lag to hit me hard tomorrow.

            There is not much on our agenda today except to stop and eat before we make our way to Cesky Krumlov.

The Travel Bug Bites Again

You could have definitely described me as a home body when I started WKU in the Fall of 2011. I grew up in this college town, the only school I applied to was WKU and I chose to live at parent's home my freshman year so I could save money. My comfort zone was rather small and my sense of adventure did not exist. However, a campus wide email advertising a winter term study abroad opportunity with Dr. Coffey in Ecuador caught my attention freshman year, and a few months later I found myself boarding a plane for the first time.

In a few short days I will be attending my third study abroad opportunity through WKU.

Destination: Central Europe. 

This trip will be led by Dr. Roger Murphy, a political science professor at WKU. It is a pretty unique program because we will be staying in Olomouc, Czech Republic, the sister city of Owensboro, Kentucky. If you are unaware of what a sister city program is you should check out their website - http://www.sister-cities.org. 

Although I have now been to more nations in the world than states in my own country, I have never been to Central Europe. I am anxious for the adventures that await! I was awarded the DELO Scholarship at WKU and will be sharing all of my experiences through this blog, so keep checking in with me!

Next stop, the Czech Republic!