Sunday, March 13th, our group met at the airport to make our final leg of the journey to Olomouc. It was great to finally see the individuals I will be spending this trip with. After a four-hour bus trip we finally arrived in Olomouc to see where we would be living for the next three months.
It was a bit of a shock when I left Nebraska and we were having temperatures almost up to 70 degrees. Daily temperatures have been around 40 degrees with gusty winds here in the Czech Republic. This makes for some brisk days walking around Olomouc.
The Holy Trinity in the Upper Town Square in Olomouc.
At the center of Czech culture is amazing foods and drinks. The first word I learned in the Czech language was "pivo" and rightfully so. Pivo means beer and is possibly the most essential Czech word to know. Here in Olomouc, beer is cheaper than water. Not a day has gone by in Europe without drinking a beer, which is just following the Czech culture. Czech citizens and others around the world would fight to say that the Czech Republic has the best beer in the world. Czech food is to die for (my mouth is watering as I'm thinking about some of my favorite dishes thus far). I've done my best to stray away from American food and try some of the traditional Czech dishes. I have been nothing but impressed with the food here. I could go on for days about each meal and how delicious it has been. Some of my favorite foods have been the schnitzel, broccoli soup, kebobs, and the tartare. And of course everyone of these meals and been accompanied by a pivo!
Ordered a 3 liter beer on our pub crawl!
One of the most stressful parts of preparing for this trip was what to pack. As you can imagine, packing for three months is very difficult. I was also concerned about where I would be living and the amount of space my roommate and I would have. When I walked into our room at Neredin and began to unpack I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of space I had for my clothes and belongings. Its taken a few days of getting use to and settling into my new living arrangements, but now I feel more at home.
Mural of the Selfie King
All of the UNK students here are living in the same building and primarily close to one another. Throughout the rest of the building are other international students here to study at Palackeho University. In our flat there are 5 other students whom with we share two bathrooms and a kitchen spaces. There are two young women from China working on their PhD, one undergraduate female from Latvia, and two female students from UNK. They are fairly social and nice, but aren't around to hangout or talk ever. I'm positive by the end of the trip I will have made some great relationships with other students here.
Money really hasn't been a problem and I'm getting more and more use to paying in Korunas. The conversion is getting easier and easier each day. Approximately one U.S. dollar is equal to 25 Czech Korunas. One problem I have ran into is paying separately. Most waiters will give you one bill for everyone at the table and when you ask to pay separate they will either roll their eyes or say no. I've had fairly good luck thus far and am becoming smarter about forewarning waiters that we want split checks. Food is very, very cheap here! I was have a beer and a large lunch for around $4 at some restaurants. Even better is that your average beer costs just a little over $1. This isn't just your normal cheap beer, but tasty good beers for $1.
I'm finally living out my dreams of traveling the world and could not think of a better place to start than here in the Czech Republic. I'm adjusting more and more every day to live more like the locals here. Their way of life is something I envy and hope to be able to take back with me to the states (if I come back). This first week has been wild with tours during the day and nightlife following. I can't wait to get into a rhythm and really experience all this great country has to offer.
Out with some friends at our welcome party
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