Monday, February 28, 2011

Weekend in Vienna!


            My travelling has begun! Spending this weekend in Vienna was amazing. I’ve wanted to go there for so long, and seeing my friends from MSU was incredible! Marliz was such an amazing host and I am so happy I could meet the friends she has made since she has been in Vienna. We were very busy the whole time I was there, but it was fantastic.
            I left very early on Friday morning to catch my bus at 6:35. The bus line I took was so fantastic! It is called Student Agency and goes from the Czech Republic all over Europe, even to London! It was only about $25 round trip and the busses had free hot drinks and movies to watch. I had to change busses in Brno, but had to wait for around three hours. I sat in the waiting area a bit and walked around the center of the city too. I got into Vienna at 12:15… and was a bit nervous about finding Marliz! I didn’t have her phone number, and the bus dropped me off on the side of the street near the train station… so I wandered around and tried to be logical and luckily found her and her friends quickly! I just listened for English! From there we got on the subway and I got a great tour of the city.
            That night we ate wonderful lasagna made by her roommate and went out on the town. The nightlife starts really late there, so we decided to be culturally aware and follow the rules. We went to an Irish bar and met some more of the people Marliz goes to school with… I should mention that they are all American! They are in a music exchange program and they go to school with only students from American Universities. It’s definitely a different experience than what I’m having where there is only me and one boy from Iowa as Americans at Palacky! From there we went salsa dancing which was fabulous. Definitely a great night in Vienna!
            The next day we dragged ourselves out of bed early to go to the Naschmarkt, which is a huge out door market and flee market. There was so much wonderful food to see and smell… We only bought falafel and some desserts, but it was hard to resist buying anything else! I really wanted cheese… but I didn’t want to be the stinky traveler on the bus! We then rested a bit at their apartment and walked around in the beautiful weather before getting in line for the Opera. It was definitely an experience… In Vienna you can wait in line and pay 4 Euros to see any of the operas, but you have stand the whole time. So, it’s really cool because it’s so cheap, but standing proved to be quite difficult! I was really excited to see my first opera, but I was exhausted from so much sigh seeing and little sleep that I didn’t make it through the first half. It was very hot in the standing section, and a woman behind us even fainted. Still, I was so impressed with the amount of people, young and old, who do stand to watch the opera. I really wish I would have felt better, but I really didn’t want to faint and knew I could handle standing for 3 hours.
            Today Marliz, Matt, and I planned our spring break trip to Croatia! We’re so excited… and trying to do it as cheap as possible. We’ll be going mid-April… so look out for that! And I’m now back in my room in Olomouc… This weekend was fabulous and it was wonderful to see my friends, but I will admit that I am a bit jealous of how they are living. Vienna is huge and cosmopolitan, and they live in an absolutely beautiful apartment with everything they could possibly need. They go to school with all American students, so it is easy for them to connect. It is definitely a different experience from living in Olomouc, and seemed a lot easier to me. I have only been here a week and I don’t feel very settled yet. My dorm is so small and I am not used to living with other people any more, and I still haven’t met many international students. So, I am going to refuse to be jealous of my friends in Vienna and work really hard this week to make Olomouc my home. I need to make my room feel homey, and put myself out there to meet people. And I need to explore the city and quit being embarrassed about not knowing Czech! It’s so different being on exchange this time without a family to take care of me, but I am definitely ready to take on the challenge now.
            I still won’t have much school this week because a couple of professors of mine are out of the country, so I still don’t have much to tell in that department. Tomorrow I need to do laundry, go shopping for food, and start my reading for school… It’s time to get to work!

Soooo good to see Marliz!! She goes to MSU... we play in orchestra together!



And Joepa! He goes to MSU too :)

Opera House

Yummm Naschmakt

Too delicious I think.



   

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Finally a post - I'm in Olomouc!

Well, hello everyone! I do apologize for not posting in so long… but it has been a bit of a whirlwind since I arrived in Olomouc! Not to mention I haven’t been able to connect my computer to the internet until just yesterday… I could borrow my roommate’s computer, but she is French and the keyboard was confusing!
I am excited and happy to report that traveling here went very smoothly! I didn’t have anyone sitting right next to me on any of my three flights, so I was quite comfortable. The flight from Chicago to Frankfurt was so empty I could have stretched out on four seats if I had wanted to! I didn’t because there was a girl in my row headed to study in the Czech Republic! So it was a nice coincidence and we chatted a bit. It was a bit scary coming into Frankfurt alone and not knowing the language. I got through security ok and had a little trouble finding my gate, but it ended up ok.
Once I flew into Prague I was very impressed with myself! I got both my bags, exchanged some money, and got on the correct bus to the train station. It was a nice bus ride through Prague, and I can’t wait to spend some time there! When I got to the train station I was a bit overwhelmed… it was big and so unfamiliar. I called my friend right away and told here I was there, and she explained how to buy tickets. I waited for about two hours and lugged my bags onto a Pendolino train to Olomouc… Wow was I excited to be done carrying my bags around!
My friend was waiting at the train station for me and she helped me get on the tram to go to the dorms. There she helped me check in and find my room, and then left me to unpack and rest. I met my roommate and my flat mates… and I was exhausted and surprised to see how the dorms are set up. It is like an apartment in that there are 4 rooms with one or two people in each and a tiny kitchen and two bathrooms connect them. There is a Czech girl, a Malaysian girl, and a Polish guy in my flat. The Polish guy is a bit annoying at night right now… I hope that will stop when school gets into gear.
On Friday my friends Radka and Ivana picked me up at the dorms and showed me Palacky University! I filled out some paper work and got my student card, my tram pass, a Czech SIM card for the phone I used in Finland, and food from the grocery store. We also had some food in a great café called Café 87 that is right across from the school. After all that, I went back to my room and had something to eat and later took a walk to the city. It is about a 30 minute walk from the dorms to the upper square of the city, but only about a 10 minute tram ride.
The next day I had lunch with Radka and Kristyna at a local restaurant and tried Czech cola called Kofola. It was pretty good! After eating we got some wine at one of the city’s fine wineries… Olomouc is in the region of Moravia, and they are known for their wine here. There were many different wines to choose from, and it comes out of a spout in the wall into a new bottle! I thought it was really cool. We took the wine to Kristyna’s apartment and chatted about lots of things. I have so much in common with these girls since they study political science and have traveled and been on exchange like I have.
The weekends in Olomouc are very different from the US… all of the Czech students go home every weekend! Because of that, the city is absolutely deserted. It has been hard to wrap my mind around it because the weekends at MSU are the only time the students have free time to hang out! But here, the students hang out and go to parties and bars during the week when they are in Olomouc, and still go home to their families every weekend. My friends have invited me to come home with them some weekend, and I am excited to do that! That way I will be able to see a Czech home and family.
So now school has started and I am finally meeting people. Today I had to go to the police station with some Turkish girls and a Korean girl to have our visas checked. They all had problems like me! And it didn’t end so well for some of them. Two of the girls will have to go back to Turkey to get their long-term visa because they only ended up being approved for a short-term visa. So I am very happy that I annoyed as many people as I did! When we got back to the school we went to have kebab with the Turkish girls. It was so delicious! I have a class with them this evening, and after they have invited me to their room for dinner. Yay for meeting so many international students!
Overall I would say I am having a good time J. I have really connected with my Czech friends, and I am having a bit of a hard time fitting into Erasmus life. (Erasmus is the exchange network in Europe and the program through which most of the international students are here.) It is almost expected that I party and drink a lot, and stay out and up really late during the week with the other students. I will see how much I like that though, because I really feel like I am here to study. I am very happy to have met the girls I did this afternoon, though! I think I will have a fun evening tonight.
Sorry this is so long and detailed! And I am sure I am missing a lot of things, but I will comment on them later – especially about my first week of school! I will leave you with some photos I took of Olomouc. And, I will be in Vienna this weekend with my friend from MSU! So that will be a very exciting trip to tell about.

Part of the school - The library is on the right (it's so nice, I'm there now!)

The door to my department: Department of Political Science and European Studies

I'm not sure the name of this church, but I think it's beautiful.

Walking to the Upper Square

Astronomical clock - My friends don't like it much because it is really reminiscent of Communist times

Holy Trinity Column - Tallest Plague Statue in Europe - Also on UNESCO World Heritage list

Lower Square


I love narrow streets... :)

This is where I walk or ride the tram toward school - I love seeing the Church in the distance!

The old city of Olomouc

Univerzita Palackého! (Palacky University)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tomorrow's the day!

Well, tonight is officially my last night in the States for a few months! I'm happy this day has come... it's been a roller coaster ride for sure. I'm just hanging out with my mom at home after having a nice dinner with my dad, step brother, and future (step?) sister in law! I've been packed for a few days, so now I am just double checking that I have everything and charging all my electronics. It's nice not having to run around packing tonight, so I'm really happy I did most of my packing on Sunday. Really though, it didn't take long to pack at all.

I'm pretty excited about how I've packed everything! I have all my clothes in Space Bags that you roll out all the air from, so that has made things easy. I have a lot of my clothes in a duffle bag I got for Christmas, and some of my clothes and all my shoes in my big suitcase. This way I will only be rolling around one thing, and will only have 3 bags total. Most of all, I'm really excited to only have my backpack with me while I'm in the airports! It will be nice only worrying about one bag while I'm waiting in Chicago for 4 hours... hehe.

So I guess this will be my last post until I'm in Olomouc! Here's how the next two days are going to go:

  • Arrive at Muskegon Airport a little after 8:00 tomorrow morning and check in for flight.
  • Fly out at 9:58, arrive in Chicago at 9:53 (back in time! :-P)
  • Hang out at O'Hare in Chicago, and fly out at 2:37. Fly for 8 hours to Frankfurt, Germany.
  • In Frankfurt for about 3 hours, then fly to Prague at 8:40 am. Arrive at 9:40.
  • Once in Prague, take bus to main train station to buy a train ticket to Olomouc.
  • Arrive in Olomouc around 2.5 hours after leaving Prague, on whichever train I buy a ticket for.
It will be a very long day... almost 2 days! I am hoping I'm in Olomouc by 3:00 pm... and I'm confident I can do that if my flights are all on schedule and customs and baggage claim go quickly. I am thankful I have long layovers both in Chicago and Frankfurt. That way I won't have to rush at all.

And this is it! I'll write when I'm in Olomouc! "See" you then! :-)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The squeaky wheel really does get the grease!

After a week and a half of worrying and sending out distressed emails, I received the most wonderful phone call and email: My visa has been APPROVED! This was only after many emails, phone calls, and even an article written in the most important daily Czech newspaper... quite a roller coaster if I do say so myself! So let me explain a bit...

Yesterday morning I woke up to an email from my contact at Palacky University that immediately put me at ease. She told me that she and the university coordinator were working really hard to get all the foreign students' visas approved, and even if they weren't they would make sure I could leave as planned on the 16th. This made me incredibly happy because I hadn't heard from Palacky in a few days and I was really worrying if I should even fly there without my visa (if that had happened). She also mentioned that the university gave this story to the press hoping that would get the foreign police to move faster with our visas. Twenty minutes later, she emailed me asking for my picture because a reporter from the newspaper Hospodarske noviny (the most important daily newspaper in the Czech Republic) wanted to tell my story! This was so exciting - being in the newspaper even before I get there is cool, but knowing that I could help speed up the approval of the other students visas, as well as mine, was awesome.

This morning I woke up to an email at 6:20 with the news that I was in the newspaper! It turns out the other two biggest universities in the Czech Republic had also reported problems with foreign students and their visas. The article discussed the whole issue, but it focused on me! There were almost exact quotes from some of the emails I had written to the university. The most striking part of the article for me is where someone from a major university (I can't tell which one they refer to in my translated article) says that this essentially presents a poor image of the Czech Republic to students around the world. If the Czech Republic makes it difficult for them to study there, they are discouraged and chose to study elsewhere in Europe. I think this was the real stinger for the people who finally approved my visa...

Four hours later I looked at my phone while I was at work, and to my surprise and relief, the consulate in Chicago had called informing me my visa had been approved! That's all it took - an article in the news paper (and, they tell me, a story on the radio too!) and my visa was instantly approved. The Ministry of the Interior is quoted in the article saying that it is difficult with their transition and having to take over thousands of visas, but that is really the only mention of them. It's focused on the students and the image of the Czech Republic. And that is a really exciting and impressive thing to read.

I found the article on the newspaper's website. I use Google Chrome as my browser and can have web pages translated to English automatically. Here's a link to the article: click here for the article in Czech!    And I've pasted it her quickly translated by Google. Forgive grammar and language problems, it's just a quick translation. And not to mention the fact they spelled my name in an interesting way... either way, it's still me!

Also - THANK YOU everyone who kept me in your thoughts and prayers the last week and a half! I'm sure it helped and my family and I greatly appreciate your support through this stressful time!


Study in the Czech Republic runs them through his fingers. Foreign students hinder John's amendment

For all the complicated handover agenda of the Foreign Ministry of Interior police.

Twenty years American Kellice Clocková had last week to land in the Czech Republic and preparing for the start of the semester at the University of Palacky in Olomouc. Instead, it is still at home in the U.S. Michigan, writes in Olomouc desperate e-mails and calls to the Interior Ministry.
Clocková is doing as well as dozens of other students who want to come to the Czech Republic to study, but to no avail for weeks waiting for a visa.
Since last January, is the work of immigration police, who had cared for a visa, took over the Interior Ministry officials. He orders the Foreigners Act, enforced by the Minister Radek John (VV). But forwarding the agenda accompanying difficulties.
Some of the application is still lying on the desks of officials, although it should be long settled. "All foreign students who had come to us for the summer semester and needed a visa, they have a problem with it. Either get it or they abstained. And even though he asked the time, some in October or November. It's about twenty students , mainly from U.S., Korea and Turkey, "says Jakub Dürr, Vice-Rector for International Relations University in Olomouc. It is about a third of all foreign students.

Cluttered Offices student was $ 400

Problems reported by two other major universities, Charles University and Masaryk. The Charles University, also waiting in vain for a visa about one third of the invited students.
"Two students withdrew from the program, giving it a few days before departure. One ticket is forfeited, and several others had přebookovat extra ticket," says the director of international programs of Faculty of Arts, Judith Stepnickova.
It eventually did and Kellice Clocková. "Moving to a later date tickets cost me $ 400. Pay no more I can not afford it. It still do not know what my vision is and if I get it. I called the Ministry of Interior, but spoke only Czech," writes from Michigan Clocková.
The University says it is a problem at all to attract students to the Czech Republic. "The term applies to over a hundred thousand. When this discourage them, going instead to study elsewhere in Europe," says Dürr.
The Ministry admits that in 40 cases of delayed processing of visas. They say it can be chaos when picking files. "We took over the agenda of thousands of visas," prevents the Director of the Asylum and Migration Policy Tomas Haisman. Now a team of national officials dealing with the application, enhances the ten officers.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Lost in Transition

So it's Monday, and I guess it's back to badgering any one I can about my visa. I emailed the consulate this afternoon and heard back once again that my "visa application is still in the process". I never want to see or hear those words again after this whole experience.

I did learn something on Friday, though, that can help to explain why it is taking so long to process my visa. Apparently the Czech Republic has changed which department handles visa applications and residency requests. Until this January, the Foreign Police were responsible for processing visa applications. The Ministry of the Interior is now in charge of them, which actually makes more sense. However, since they are dealing with this transition, it seems as though my visa application has been caught somewhere. Learning about this helps me to understand why the process is taking so long, but it doesn't necessarily make me feel a whole lot better about the situation I'm in. I'm still really worried about whether I'll get my visa in time, and if I will be able to go at all. Everyone keeps telling me that it will be ready in time, but I can't help but be nervous about it because no one but the Foreign Police know when my visa will be approved.

I'm choosing to look at things like this: I am now apart of the transition in the Czech Republic that I have been so interested in. What my professors at MSU have said is that this is an example of big bureaucracy and little attention paid to the people and processes that get caught in the middle. I haven't learned a whole lot about the Czechs and Central Europeans as a people yet; that is what this semester is for. But I know that they are transitioning into a successful and strong new democracy and the change in visa processing is a part of it all. A professor at Palacky University told me that there was some sort of election or voting and my application got caught in the transitional period after it all. What I'd like to know is: Why did no one inform me of this transition? It makes a little more sense, now that I know about the voting, why no one (MSU, Palacky University, the consulate, the US embassy) seemed to know about the change. But I would have liked to have had this explained to me so I could prepare for it. I do plan on asking about it all when I get there - I would really like to understand why my visa, as well as those of other students trying to get to Palacky, got caught up in the transition and prevented us from leaving and starting school on time.

I'm still waiting and worrying about my visa. Hopefully I'll have good news soon.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

The end of a tough week

Hi everyone. Tonight should have been my last in the United States for 4 months, but it's not. Instead, I'm hoping Tuesday the 15th will be... until then I continue to email and call anyone I can think of to ask for help with getting my visa. So far, the only answer we can get from anyone is that, according to the Czech immigration police, my application is "still in the process". I've been really stressed out and losing faith and I wrote the following as an account of what I've done for this study abroad program. I emailed a condensed version to people in the Office of Study Abroad and to some of my professors. It's lengthy and detailed, but it's all the truth.
At this point I just really want to be in Central Europe - the place that intrigues me and inspires me when learning about their recent history. I'm so hungry for the classes I'm to take this semester and to meet the people that have been comforting me this week. I'm getting very nervous about getting my visa in time to leave on the 16th. If you have any suggestions for me at all - people to contact, words of encouragement, advice on what to say to people I contact - I really appreciate it. Hopefully soon my posts will be full of more excitement than stress.

            This week was supposed to be one of preparation and excitement for me. I have been looking forward to tomorrow, February 4, since September as the day I would leave for a semester in the Czech Republic. I believe that I completed and have done everything for this study abroad on time and in an exemplary fashion, yet I will not be leaving tomorrow because my visa has yet to be approved by the Czech Immigration Police. Let me tell you how I came to this point…
            I decided I would go to the Czech Republic this spring at the beginning of my sophomore year (Fall 2009), but could not apply until this past fall. I submitted my application on September 10, 2010, well before the deadline, which was, I believe, October 20. I began having meetings with my coordinator on October 14 to which I brought my completed application for Palacky University as well as the resume and other documents they required. It was around that time I also renewed my passport and paid to have it expedited so I could begin the visa application process as soon as possible because I was told it could be quite slow. From that day, I filled out my visa application and waited to receive the letters required from Palacky University. I did not receive these letters until November 23, and the very next day I mailed my application and necessary documents to the Czech consulate in Chicago. Again, I waited to hear about my visa. The instructions were that it would take about 60 days to process my application, and this made me worry since I had only been able to allow around 70 days. I would have loved to have sent in my application earlier than this, but I was prevented from doing so because I was waiting for the necessary letters from Palacky University.
            On January 10, 2011 I emailed the Czech Consulate in Chicago to check on the status of my visa. At that time I was told that my application began the process on November 27 and that it would take up to 60 days to be completed. Hearing this news, I didn’t worry too much because 60 days was the week before I was set to leave on February 4, and I trusted the consulate would give me accurate information. As my departure date approached I began to get nervous, and on Monday, January 31, my passport with my visa still had not arrived. I called the consulate and was told my application had yet to be approved. I was devastated at this news and began to contact everyone I could think of who could help.
            My first reaction was to call the Office of Study Abroad and talk to my coordinator. She suggested I get in contact with Palacky University. I did this by talking with a student I have been in contact with on Facebook. She called her teacher, who then emailed me. The consulate told me I could have my passport back so I could fly to the Czech Republic, but I would have to mail it back to the US to get my passport. This, they told me, would leave me in the country illegally. Palacky University did not want me to do this, so they suggested I change my flight. Either way, I was at a huge disadvantage. I had no idea what to do after the consulate could not even give me a date to expect my visa, so my mom and I began calling and emailing Senator Levin, who directed us to the Czech desk at the State Department. They told us there was little they could do, but it was worth a try. I emailed my coordinator in the OSA, but didn’t hear from her again. Tuesday we learned that not even Palacky University could get an answer from the Czech immigration police for when my visa would be approved, and that there was nothing they could do to speed up the process. So, I sat and waited again, losing hope every minute.
            We kept hoping that my visa would be approved and printed at the consulate by this morning so maybe we could drive to Chicago to get my passport and I could leave as planned tomorrow morning. However, there was a miniscule chance of that happening and we began speaking with our travel agent to change my flight. This is even risky because I still have no idea when my visa will be approved, but school starts at Palacky on February 14th and I do not want to miss more school than I have to. I’ve picked February 16th as my new departure date hoping two weeks is enough time to have my visa approved.  I did not choose to reschedule my flight, I was forced to because my visa has not been approved. However, I will have to pay $373 for this, which is not money I have lying around.
            I came into this program with full faith in the Office of Study Abroad, Palacky University, and the American and Czech governments to send me on an incredible study abroad experience. I have lost a little of that faith this week. I knew I would be going on this trip alone, and I did not apply for any scholarships, but I thought I would have a great experience nonetheless. It has been incredibly stressful each day this week not knowing what I could do to insure my departure for the Czech Republic. I am not sure exactly what I am asking for now, because as each person I have spoken this week has said, there is nothing that can be done to help at this point. I just have to continue hoping that I will be able to leave on February 16th.
            I guess what I can say now is that I ask you to please encourage or require that any students looking to do this program in the Czech Republic apply incredibly early – both to the program and for their visa. Like I said, I believe I did everything in time according to the information I was given and with waiting for the documents I needed. Again, there is nothing I can do now but wait; but I hope future students will not have to experience what I have this week.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Snowpocalypse and some movement with my visa

Good morning all. I hope those of you in the midwest survived the colossal storm we had yesterday! I really don't think it was as bad as they were saying, but there is plenty of snow here anyway. And, I hope those of you in school (college and high school!) are enjoying your snow day! You're most likely still in bed... I do wish I was at MSU to enjoy this almost historic snow day, but alas I am home still working on making sure I leave on Friday.

I just wanted to do a quick update if any of you are watching my story closely... I don't want to be too much of a news reporter! After writing to the US Embassy in Prague yesterday, they replied early this morning also giving the option of FedExing my passport back to the US once I am in the Czech Republic. That is, of course, in the case my visa doesn't come - but I still have faith! I have even more faith because then I got an email from my coordinator at Palacky University telling me she got word from the university coordinator that they have urged the immigration police to rush their student's visas. So hopefully this gets a move on things! The embassy, immigration police, and Palacky don't really want me to send my passport home after I get there, but they all tell me to follow the instructions of the Consulate in Chicago. So, I emailed them and will call them in a few hours - they aren't open yet, and who knows what it's like after that blizzard! :) Either way, I think I will be driving to Chicago to get my passport tomorrow and fly out on Friday!

Keep your fingers crossed... I'll update as I get more info!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Tweet tweet!

Tweet by tweet progress on my visa... I will make my Twitter public so you can follow what's happening! We're calling an emailing everyone we know...

Keeping fingers crossed!