My first true weekend in Prague (that is, not in the midst of moving and before I met anyone) was a blast. After my last post, I headed to a cool spot, The Globe, to see one of my co-workers play a show (she plays guitar and sings). The Globe is an english bookstore and cafe so it's largely an expats hangout. I was a bit nervous to go because I wasn't sure how many people from the school (a.k.a. that I know) would be there, but one of the things I promised myself when I moved here was that I would be outgoing and really throw myself into being involved so I forced myself out. When I got there I had worried for nothing, I immediately spotted a huge group of co-workers/friends and some of their friends. As I headed over, in typical me fashion, I tripped and almost fell ON to the table where everyone was sitting. So smooth.
Even though there was a large group of people I knew there, I ended up on the end of the table with mostly people I hadn't met (2 teachers from the school who weren't able to come on the trip, 2 past teachers from the school who took higher administrative positions at other schools but still hang out with a lot of my co-workers, some boyfriends, a few Czech friends, etc). It was actually really nice because I got to know another whole set of people. One of the things that I am quickly learning, and loving, about my experience abroad is that age really doesn't matter in the expat community. One of the couples who teaches at the school is from Texas and they are my parents age. Another lady who I really hit it off with is 40. Another girl who I really like is my age. There is a mix, but it's a different dynamic than I feel back home... even the people significantly older than me feel like friends in a way that isn't the case back home.
After a night of talking, laughing, and great music, I headed back home to get some sleep. On Saturday I spent most of the day finishing up visa paperwork and exploring more of Prague. I also decided that it's been too long since I've had good Mexican food so I asked around and found out that a place called "Las Adelitas" has the best Mexican in Prague. I organized a dinner and was pleasantly surprised by the turnout- 10 people showed up. We shared pitchers of margaritas and ate too much food (I had chicken tacos which really were delicious) and just had a blast. The space was small and cramped and the food was as authentic as anywhere I'd imagine you'd find (it's owned my 2 mexican men) and in a way, it almost reminded me of being back at don memos (but classier). I hadn't really planned anything else for the evening, but a group of 5 of us decided that we really needed to explore more of Prague so we decided to go clubbing.
First, we headed to a place called Radost, which is just a few blocks from where I live. It was early (only about 10PM) but we were the ONLY people in the place so we decided to head to a different spot to start the night. We ended up at a place called Retro. It has a big dance floor in the center of the room that is a step down from the edges of the room where the tables and such are and there was a strobe light and bad music playing... it reminded me and the other American girl of a skating rink. We settled in and talked and laughed, made fun of the security guys who were wearing rhinestoned shirts labeling them as such, and once the place started to fill up, we finally started dancing. The music was terrible though, so we decided to head out and see if things at Radost had picked up.
On our way back we passed a potraviny, which is like a little corner store, and we stopped for ice cream. One of the girls with us has lived in Prague for a few years and she recommended the "ruska" (aka "Russian") bar. It's like an ice cream sandwich only instead of the chocolate/cookie part, it's between flat ice cream cone stuff. It's brilliant.
Anyway, after ice cream we headed back to Radost where we made friends with the bartender (Mario), a professional basketball team from Nuremberg, 2 professional basketball players from Prague, and a few other Czech girls and guys. We also danced and talked and it was a great time. Around 3:30 I finally decided to call it quits and headed home but it was definitely an amazing Saturday night and I really got to know Tamela, Jena, Lauren and Katy much better... I feel like co-workers will also be good friends.
Today has been much quieter. I bought a bus ticket to Munich for Oktoberfest (also my birthday weekend!) and picked up a few more items for the apartment (a hand towel for the bathroom, a drying rack for clothes, etc). Other than that, I read in the park for a bit, and got organized for my first day of teacher training tomorrow. I'll let you all know how school goes!
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