Jessica in Prague

Hey all! I´m hoping to be able to add some pics today, but I have yet to take some of my room and friends. I´m also having fun trying to use computers that aren´t mine and have time limits. So I apologize for not uploading a lot of pics.

Let´s see, random Prague-isms: the language is really tough, and not everyone speaks English. Mostly only business people and some students. Street vendors know only the "important" words. You learn to ignore the people that come up to you at night and ask if you want marijuana or other drugs... it happens, just say ne (no). No means yes here. The people are sometimes seen as rude, but remember, they just came out of communism less than a generation ago when creativity and individualism was frowned upon. They're getting there, but no one smiles at you when you walk down the street and cashiers are sometimes abrupt.

Restaurants charge you for EVERYTHING, so you have to be careful what you order. The bread they put down on the table is not free. If you order hot chocolate, they will automatically put whipped cream on it and then charge you for it. They sometimes have nuts or pretzels in the middle of the table, those ain't free either. Some restaurants charge a cover, but they are supposed to put that on the menu.

The grocery stores in the afternoon are INSANE!! you can seriously be gravely injured. These people are on a mission and they just push you out of the way. Plus, the wheels on the carts all spin freely, or whatever, so pushing your cart around is a blast. I learned to become pretty aggressive quickly. You can't wait for an opening, b/c they won't.

The air is not too bad. There are days where you can definitely feel the smog, but other days are nice. It's rather dry at night, so everyone is getting sick now. I'm kinda popular with my big jar of vitamin C. You can get everything over here, brand wise, food wise, etc. For the most part. They are definitely not a third world country!! Also, everyone, and I mean everyone, has a dog, so they can't be all bad, right? They aren't mean, they are just not overly friendly.

They have a weird sense of humor also. They make a car here called the Skoda. It literally means pity. So when someone asks what kind of car you have, you can say: "it's a pity!" Their movies are the same way, they don't like happy endings or overly emotional plots. By the way, they are supposed to be shooting the next James Bond film somewhere around here, so I'll see if I can crash the set!!!

This is turning out to be a long blog, so I'll let this go for now... hopefully there will be pics soon!