Tag: Jake

By jfbarszcz

Hey there! I was pretty sick last weekend, so I didn't write an entry last week. But I'm back now! So while this might be the fourth week of blogs, it's only my third post, but I'm going to call this Week 3 (because the first one was Week 0, remember?). Don't bother looking for Week 2. It doesn't exist.

When I saw the prompts for this week's entry, one jumped out at me immediately. "Tell us how to get around your city! (Describe how to take the bus, ride a bike in the city, etc.)" This is because one of the most wonderful things about Prague is how easy it is to get around! While I love DC, its public transportation, by comparison, is honestly crap. The only American city I've been to with a comparably extensive mass transit system is New York, and if you've ever been there you know that besides its extent the NYC Subway lacks in pretty much everything else... besides character, of course. It has loads of that. But really, if Prague is any indication, Europeans have the public transportation thing WAY better figured-out than us Americans.

...continue reading "Week 3: In Which Jake Espouses The Virtues Of The Systems Of Rapid Transit In The City Of Prague"

By jfbarszcz

logorrhea, n. An excessive and often uncontrollable flow of words.

Wow. Where to even begin?

So I've been in Prague for about a week now, and I feel like I already have enough to write about for an entire semester. I've been so busy all week meeting people, seeing the sights and generally immersing myself in the local culture (or attempting to as best I can, at least) that the question is less what to write about than it is what not to write about. I guess the least I can do is an overview of what I've done each day. So, let's get started.

...continue reading "Week 1: Logorrhea"

By jfbarszcz

Greetings to you, Dear Reader. Unfortunately, I don't really have much to say this week about Prague, because I'm not there yet! (Hence the "Week 0" title.) However, it turns out that there's a good deal to say about NOT being abroad, because of how absurdly involved getting ready to leave is.

Obviously, there's a lot to do to prepare for spending a semester a continent away from home. First of all, there's all the paperwork, most notably my Czech visa. While the Czech Republic is part of the European Union and the Schengen Area, as an American I still need a visa for an extended stay in the country. Of course, the process of acquiring a visa, no matter what country, is only slightly more pleasant than waiting at the DMV. Actually, it might be even worse, because of all the time you need to spend on prep. I had to compile, let's see... ...continue reading "Prague: Week 0"