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)