Ahoj United States, Ahoj Praha!

Ahoj: the equivalent of aloha meaning hello and goodbye, pronounced as you would say "Ahoy matey!" Also the only Czech word I can actually say correctly.

Where to begin... I have already learned so much in the past two days that I have been in Prague. One of the things that I've learned is that the Czech language is very difficult to pronounce. Almost none of the words I have learned are pronounced the way one would expect. Being in Prague has been an eye-opening experience since I literally have no idea what anything says. Next week I will begin an intensive Czech language class and I am excited to actually understand some stuff!

To back track a little... Cody and I left Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. on Friday evening at 7. We both had two bags, and I was planning on having one checked bag and one overhead bag along with my backpack. As it turns out, AirFrance has different policies than other international flights so there was a $100 charge on the second bag and nothing we could do about it. So before I walked 20 feet in the airport I had my first lesson to always check your flights bag policies before departing. I'm hoping that I can save anyone reading this from making the same mistake. Here is a picture of Cody and I before we left!

After that we were able to get on the plane (which was massive!). We were seated next to a kind French gentleman named Matthieu. He lives a half a mile from the Eiffel Tower and he gave us many good suggestions for things to see and do and places to eat. As we were nearing Paris he pointed out the Eiffel tower from afar and the fact that I was in Europe really started to hit me. By the time we got off our plane at 9:10 am (3:10 am our time) we had to make it onto our next flight to Prague that was departing at 9:45. Basically Cody and I had to sprint through the entire France airport which is extremely unorganized. We had to go on a tram ride, shuttle ride, 3 security checks, multiple flights of stairs, and sprinting in between all of those. Talk about an early morning workout! Miraculously we somehow made it on time, yet our luggage did not. So we have been without anything for the past day and a half and hoping it will arrive soon.

Sunrise above France

Our program guide picked us up from the airport and brought us to our apartment which is very nice and in a great location. We were able to explore a little and go to the grocery store (quite an experience in itself) and have our first Czech meal and beer with some other students.

Today was a sunny day so Cody and I went exploring the park right by our apartments and got a great view of the city. We then walked around more parts of the city including the famous Charles Bridge, Lenin wall, Love Lock Bridge, and got to see other cool statues and buildings. Prague is beautiful, I am excited to do more exploring!! More to come.

Cody and I at the Lenin Wall

Love Lock Bridge

Example of some of the elaborate architecture

Charles Bridge