Speak in English!!!!!

So…here’s the recap for this past week, and then I’ll fill you in on the weekend. This past week we had our first week of classes. We had Czech language every day, and we also had a couple of architecture tours. The architecture tours are really great (…there are so many styles in Prague…and sometimes even within one building). St. Vitus Cathedral (which is in the Prague Castle complex) is actually a combination of 3 different styles…Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. Technically, it took around 1000 years to complete! Walking around the city is a relief after sitting in the classroom for so long….but seriously, how do we pick the coldest days EVER to go walk around outside for 3 hours! And then when we come to a cathedral, we’re relieved because we finally get to go inside!! But no…they’re all made of stone!!!! …so it’s colder inside than it is outside! Ridiculous! But I still enjoy it! And I find it funny that our teacher always chooses the busiest street corners to stop and try to tell us something about the architecture surrounding us.

I won’t bore you with much else about classes…but we did see an awesome dance performance last week at Divadlo Ponec. The space was really small so it was very intimate…which was nice. The performance was amazing as well…there were 2 modern pieces with really small casts. We also went to a famous Czech fashion studio last week as well. It was pretty sweet!

Other than that…I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family. I really like talking with Zuzana (my host mom) and hanging out with the kids. And Tomas is just a big jokester, so it’s always lively. I always feel bad because the youngest, Jakub, doesn’t speak a whole lot of English…so the declaration of “Speak in English” is heard often. Apparently getting underwear is a recurring theme for him as well. The first night I was with them, they celebrated his birthday, and Rutka (the middle sister) got him underwear…talk about embarrassing. An 11-year-old boy getting underwear at dinner the first night some American girl is in the house. I thought it was hysterical. But he also got underwear from one of his aunts this past weekend. I find it funny. It’s also been fun to see Rutka become more confident in using her English…and it’s been fun helping her (…at least I hope I am!).

I spent Valentine’s Day with the family…watching Mary Poppins and eating honey cake (…a famous Czech recipe from the Middle Ages). I hope everyone in the states had a wonderful day as well! :D

I think that’s about it! Ahoy!!! :D