The Window Seat: Snapshots of the Czech Republic

Sorry about the backlog of posting. This post is pictures of the last random travels in the Czech Republic. I have finally been back and able to breathe for a little over a week. (exhales loudly....) but now the crazy fun starts again... one of my closest friends is visiting from France. Anna goes to school with me in the states and but is studying abroad as well. For her fall break, she is with me in Prague for FIVE DAYS. We are having one adventure after another. It's been an incredible whirlwind. It's so nice to have family in town. I love playing tour guide and showing off all my favorite places. Prague is the best playground. So before I post pictures of the Incredible Adventures of Anna & Julie, here are pictures from the last week in the Czech Republic.

The photography department took the students on a class retreat to Poněšic, a rural town in CZ where they have cabins. It's beautiful. Here each person (BA, masters, and profs) gave a presentation of their best work from the last year to the entire group. Some where in English, some in Czech. The rest of the time was spent hiking or having classes in the words, boating on the river, and drinking large amounts of Czech liquor at all times (it was basically on the itinerary.) During architecture photography class we traveled to villages built in the 1800s to see the strange houses. That class in itself was the height of my 3 day trip. 2nd was the fuzziest, warmest cat who fell in love with me and wouldn't let me put her down.

The trip was a chance to know the other photo students better. I won't lie, the language barrier is not a problem in class but it is socially. They speak English when they have to, but its hard to get them to speak English instead of their native language. (I understand that, too. I'm just saying it was hard to be included in the group.) Also, as only three Americans in the group there is a strange separation. It really makes a difference that we aren't European. Another obvious division is smoking. A big part of their socializing is centered around cigarettes. As a non-smoker I'm fine sitting outside with them as they smoked but it was definitely considered odd for me to do so. As the weekend went on we all got more comfortable with each other and I found myself even in some lively debates about everything from health care, immigration, heritage, to which country has the best alcohol. Success!