So many things to talk about...
First, my trip to Italy and Greece. Two weeks of backpacking through Europe was great!

In Venice, Italy we visited the Frari church, the Salute church, Saint Mark's Basilica and Square, the Rialto market, and the Venetian Galleria Accademia. My favorite part of Venice were the gorgeous canal streets.




In Florence, Italy we went so many places that I don't think I can remember them all. We went to the Florentian Galleria Accademia, the Uffizi Gallery, the Duomo Cathedral, and a few other churches and squares. I bought a leather jacket there!



In Rome, Italy we visited the morbid (yet cool) Cimitero dei Cappuccini, the Spanish Steps, the Coloseum, the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican City, and the Cistine Chapel. The amount of original artwork we saw in Italy was overwhelming. By the end of the Italy part of our trip, I was sick of triptyches.



Next, we flew to Athens, Greece. We went to the Areopolis, the Acropolis, the Monastiraki Street Market, the Agora, and a restaurant on top of the Lykavittos Hill overlooking the city. We saw the changing of the guards, which was funny! They stomp really loudly on their right feet.



In Corinth, we saw the ruins where Paul preached to the Corinthians. I also went bungee jumping in the Corinthian Canal! I was the first to go out of our group. After my feet left the platform, I felt no fear at all - my mind went completely blank. The first thing I remember is my face touching the water in the canal!




In Sounion, we went to the temple of Poseidon, and went down to the beach to swim in the Aegan Sea. We swam out to a cave in the side of the cliffs of the Poseidon temple. There were tons of sea urchins, so we had to swim with flip flops.


In Delphi, we saw the Delphic ruins, including the Athenian Treasury and Stadium, and the temple of Apollo. Delphi is considered the center of the Earth in Greek myth because of the beautiful mountain the city is situated on.


I now have rock-hard muscles in my legs from all the walking.

New Blog!

I created a new blog here at blogspot because LiveJournal wouldn't let me post pictures without paying. So sorry for the switch, but thank you for following me here! :) Hopefully you will enjoy the reward of photos!

My trip to Italy and Greece was amazing! We went to each country for about a week. We visited Venice, Florence, and Rome in Italy, and Athens, Corinth, and Delphi in Greece. I have so many stories and adventures to tell you about, but right now I am in the middle of writing a paper and must stop procrastinating! When I finish my rough draft, I'll come back and add more here. But for now, ciao!

Italy and Greece Travel Plans

I am leaving for Italy tomorrow morning! YAY!!!
I just finished packing, and am finishing up my presentation on the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, Italy.
Tonight, my friend, Elise, and I are going to see Coldplay perform at the O2 Arena in downtown Prague! I'm so excited, because the evening we decided to go buy tickets, I received a package in the mail from my mom with the new Coldplay CD, Viva la Vida! Coincidence? Sign from God? I think so :)
We will be spending 6 days in Italy and 8 days in Greece. The weather should be lovely, closer to US weather than this cold Czech weather! I will take tons of pictures and upload them as soon as I get back!
So much to tell, yet so much to do before leaving...
Love you all! Keep me in your prayers!
Tricia

More Prague Love!

Prague is so amazing - the Baroque architecture everywhere I look, the beer that is cheaper than water, the great public transportation system they have here, Dr. Redick's classes (which include many hikes! :), the cool European culture, and the attractive Czech boys...

We've found some cool places in Prague that we love to go; there's this cafe on top of a Cubism Museum (random, isn't it?) that's the perfect place for coffee and studying on Sunday afternoon. Dr. Redick assigns us pretty dense reading, but with class three days a week and four free days a week, we've managed to trudge through it so far. For one of the hardest readings, Martin Buber, Lauren and I read aloud, discussed, and debated until we understood it. Also, the night life is really rich here. You can always find a night club spewing jazz music in Old Town Square. There's a big mall at Namesti Republiky, a metro stop near us. Mustek, another close metro stop, has lots of cafes, restaurants, and shopping. They have a European equivalent to Walmart here, called Tesco, that's great for getting fairly cheap stuff. I just got a backpack there for our next excursion.

I love Prague! I am so glad I came!! In a week, we're leaving for a two week trip to Italy and Greece! We're all very excited about it. Dr. Redick is teaching our lessons in Greece, and he left the Italian lessons to us. We split up into groups and each of us got a city; Lauren, Amanda, and I chose Venice :) So we'll be taking the class to various sites in Venice, going over some background information and prompting class discussions, etc.

In Italy, we're visiting Venice, Florence, and Rome; in Greece, we're visiting Athens, Delphi, and Corinth. We're staying at various hostels along the way, and taking as much as we can carry on our backs! This trip should be fun and interesting, an experience like only Dr. Redick would be able to produce :D

Also, my brother is coming to visit me over fall break, which I can't wait for! We're doing a mini tour of Europe, visiting Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. If Lauren's mother doesn't visit her during fall break, she'll be joining us.

I love Prague. I wish I could move here. Maybe after graduation? :D

Finally in Prague!

Hi all! I am in Prague now and have fallen in love with this gorgeous city.

I really don't think I could have picked a better place to study abroad in. I am overwhelmed each day by the breath-taking view out my window, the friendliness of the people here in Jeneralka, and the prospects of how to spend my free time!

I am exhausted with the time zone changes and am going to bed now. I'll type more later (because I have so much to say about my new favorite city... :)

Tricia

I <3 Prague

Dobry den! I am here in Prague, safe and sound, and have had a blast the last few days... I can't even describe how much I love Praha (Prague) already. It is simply amazing.

We had our first official classes in Prague today, and Dr. Redick is a great teacher. He told us what to expect and we took care of some logistical things. Dr. Kabat is also pretty great, and is the epitome of
a jolly, beer-drinking Czech man! He is really funny and is allowing us to shape the aspects of the courses he's teaching us, depending on what we'd like to learn. Pretty cool.

I have the biggest (and best!) room in our suite, which is freaking amazing! I'd say that it's better than the CNU dorms I've stayed in the past two years, and probably on the same level as the CNU apartments I'll be staying in next semester. In other words, I love it.

Also, I actually really enjoy the food we've had here so far! I actually ate veiner schnitzel the first night we got here, and loved it. The food here is really rich and comes in smaller portions, which I like, but the richness is still a bit overwhelming. Last night we went out to a restaurant in downtown Praha and ordered pizza, which was a nice taste of home J Also, the gelato here is so tasty—definitely my favorite treat!

On Sunday afternoon, my roommates Lauren, Jenna, and I went to walk around Prague, and we visited a mall that was uubber cool. The clothing, jewelry, other goods, etc. are all really expensive... but the food is actually pretty similarly priced to the US. The exchange rate just jumped up from 15.5 CZK for every US dollar to 17.9 CZK since the time we arrived, and will hopefully be getting better still. On Saturday night, my roommates and I made toast, scrambled eggs, and berries for dinner. It was great. Also, beer is cheaper than water here... very odd. Haha! I've already found my favorite beer here: Gambrinus. They even sell it in half pints (for all the girls in the group!)

Also, the group has gotten along amazingly well so far. Yay! The girls are all starting to get chummy with one another, and the boys sometimes accompany to dinner and trips into downtown. All in all, we've got a great group chemistry, which I hope time will improve on even more. I am ecstatic with my experience so far, and am thinking that it will only get better from here!

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think! Na shledanou!

More Changes

CNU International Programs have changed our plans yet again. Here's what we recently received:

We’re having our first two class sessions in DC before we fly out!

On August 27^th, we’re meeting at 2:45pm at the Best Western Georgetown Hotel and Suites located at 1121 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20037 (202-457-0565). We will check into the hotel and have our initial class immediately after check in. Dinner in Georgetown afterwards.

On August 28^th, the hotel will provide breakfast. We will take the metro to the National Gallery and have our second class, walking through the art gallery and discussing art and religion. After class we will return to the hotel, gather our bags and catch a shuttle to the airport.

Arriving:

8/28/08 British Airways 264, Washington depart 11:00 p.m., arrive London 11:25 a.m.
8/29/08 Czech Airlines 651, London depart 2:40 p.m., arrive Prague 5:45 p.m.
Leaving:

12/18/08 Czech Airlines 650, Prague depart 12:35 p.m., arrive London 1:45 p.m.
12/18/08 British Airways 293, London depart 5:00 p.m., arrive Washington 8:10 p.m.

It's cool to spend some time in DC, but at the same time, I just want get to Prague and be done with all this nonsense!!!

Delayed Departure

So, my fears were confirmed - we are indeed leaving a week late. The CNU Office of International Program told us: "First, the bad news – the visas will not be back from the embassy in time for your departure on Thursday. Because of this, your new departure date for Prague will be either August 28^th or the 29^th. The not so bad news – so that you have the same amount of time in Prague, we would like to change the return date from December 12^th to December 18^th."

At least now I have more packing time... :-/

Packing for Prague!

So, the summer has been really busy for me, working 40 hours a week at Starbucks and trying to get ready for Prague! I went on a week long backpacking trip at the beginning of August, which was tons of fun! :) Also, I got my wisdom teeth removed about a week ago. I am healing and on my way back to eating solid foods. Hopefully I'll be fully healed soon so that I can enjoy all the culinary wonder that Prague has to offer!

Right now, I am in the process of packing. My friend Lauren and I have been debating on what to bring, including clothing, toiletries, electronics, and everything else... It's a hard decision! We will end up living in Prague without a lot of the things we're normally accustomed to, but then again, my backpacking has prepared me well for this challenge :-D

About a month ago, we were given the official flights that were booked for us:
Arriving: 8/21/08 British Airways D264, Washington depart 11:00 p.m., arrive London 11:25 a.m.
8/22/08 Czech Airlines 0851, London depart 2:40 p.m., arrive Prague 5:45 p.m.
Leaving: 12/10/08 Czech Airlines 0650, Prague depart 12:35 p.m., arrive London 1:45 p.m.
12/10/08 British Airways 0293, London depart 5:00 p.m., arrive Washington 8:05 p.m.

However, we recently received this message from our project coordinator: "Owing to delays the Czech consulate is experiencing with the immigration authorities in Prague, there is a strong possibility we will have to delay our group departure to Prague by one week. We were scheduled to depart next Thursday, August 21 - we would postpone departure to August 28. Nothing is confirmed yet, and we will not know until early next week, after we hear from the Czech Embassy/consular office in D.C. Until then, sit tight, and we'll keep you apprised of developments as we have them."

So we may be leaving a week later! This is nerve raking for me because I want to leave now. On the other hand, leaving a week later would give my mouth more time to heal from the wisdom teeth surgery, and I am nervous that flying on an airplane will somehow affect my teeth. I don't really know. I suppose I just have to go with the flow! ^_^

I'll keep you posted on any more updates as they come in!

Getting Started!

One of my friends suggested that a good way to keep in touch with my friends and family while in studying abroad in Prague next semester and let them know about my travels is to create an online blog. I thought it was a great idea, so I started a blog!
As you have obviously heard since you are reading my blog, I have been accepted into the Study Abroad Program at CNU, and I will be studying at the CNU Center in the International Baptist Theology Seminary (we refer to it as IBTS) in the trade capital of Europe, Prague! IBTS is the place that the CNU Center is housed in, and more info about IBTS can be found here! http://www.ibts.eu/
The address at which I may be reached in Prague is as follows:
Ms. Tricia Ernst
CNU Center in Prague
Nad Habrovkou 3
164 00 Prague 6
Czech Republic
I'm taking a regular semester course load (15 credits) while in Prague. The theme of the classes we're studying this semester is religious studies (what a surprise!) and the courses I'm taking are:
RSTD 232: Visions of Christianity
RSTD 236: Sacred Communication
RSTD 312: Religion and the Arts
IDST 395: European Development and European Thinking
IDST 395: Psychology of Culture and Art
I am so excited about this amazing opportunity! I wish that next semester would get here faster! :)

Tricia