I have a few minutes to blog before having to get ready
because tonight I’m going to the Opera! I haven’t posted in a few days, but
that doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing anything or seeing the sights.
On Wednesday, after purchasing my bus ticket for Budapest
(did I mention that we leave at 7:30 AM on Friday? Awesome), I had dinner at
Meghan’s. Edita, Meghan’s Czech buddy and roommate, made dinner with her
boyfriend, Michal, another Czech buddy, and they offered me a plate. Never one
to turn down food, I happily accepted and enjoyed a nice Mexican dinner.
After dinner we went to the strangest bar I’ve ever
encountered. The bar is called the Big Lebowski and is modeled off of the
movie: underachievers who don’t work hard but drink a lot of white Russians (if
there are any Big Lebowski fans out there I mean no offense – I just don’t get
the movie and never understood its appeal). The bar, which is a cross between a
loft and a tree-house, is open Monday through Friday from 6-11 and on Saturdays
from 6-10. Not only are the hours strange (who ever heard of a bar closing at
11?) but also they’re not fixed. Just like their prices, hours are subject to
change “depending on the current mood” and the customer determines prices. That
means that if you order a drink, on the way out, you pay what you think it was
worth. Crazy.
The bar is fun even if you’re not drinking; they have a big
screen television for sports fans, games like Chess, Checkers and Scrabble, a
hookah and some awesome stuffed animals. What’s not to like?
--Thursday--
After class ended, I stayed around a little at CIEE to try
and get a head start on some studying for my exam Friday morning before
realizing that there were some students going to the farmer’s market at 4. When
I looked at my watch I realized I had just enough time to go home, grab my
camera, and meet the group at the tram stop. Just before I was about to leave I
got a text message from Meghan asking me if Red was swapping rooms with a guy
named Drew from the dorms. I hadn’t heard anything about it and told her as
much. On my way out of the building however, Drew walked in and I asked him
about it. Apparently Red had emailed him asking him if he would be okay with
switching rooms. Just in case you’re wondering, no, Red hadn’t mentioned anything
to me. Anyway, figuring that I might as well be helpful, I offered to show Drew
the flat before going to the farmer’s market. Drew accepted the invitation and
off we went.
I felt like I was showing a house to a potential buyer. I
was talking about all of the conveniences and amenities that the flat provided
from the quick and easy commute to class to the real shower in the bathroom. I
even put cookies out and offered them like a true agent (thanks Dad). Red was
in the apartment when we got back, so Drew and he talked a bit about what
exactly was going on – apparently Red had come to Prague thinking that he was
going to live with his friend Matt (they had tried to find their own apartment)
and when that didn’t happen they were disappointed. Not one to give up though,
they talked with CIEE about switching rooms and initially CIEE was resistant
but after a call from Red’s father they became more accommodating and decided
to permit the transfer.
After the house showing, we went to the farmer’s market. A
couple of notes about Prague’s farmer’s market: 1) it does not compare to
Madison’s – at all, 2) they sell this “Young Wine” which tastes more like cider
than wine and it’s awesome, and 3) they have really good baked goods, just not
cheesy bread or apple pies.
I bought a ton of vegetables at the farmer’s market for five
or six dollars US, so when I got back home, I knew I had to cook. Meghan came
over and we crafted a five-course (almost) feast. The first course was the
simple but delicious, Caprese, which we followed by a combination of two
courses, salad and a baked chicken. The salad had a few vegetables in it as
well as a diced up avocado and we dressed it in French dressing – fun fact:
French dressing in Prague isn’t red but yellow-ish. For the chicken we cracked
an egg, dipped the breasts in it before putting in the flower and spices and
then again quickly into the egg before putting it into the oven. I’d never
cooked chicken like that before, so I’m glad to know how to do so, because it
was quite good. I hope I get to keep experimenting with chicken and other
dishes this semester, because one day I’d like to be as good as my dad (wishful
thinking I know, but you have to start somewhere right?). Following the chicken
we had gnocchi and roasted vegetables. We dressed the gnocchi in a red sauce I
made with tomato sauce, sautéed mushrooms, onions and cucumbers and threw in
some diced peppers for good measure. I probably included too many peppers, but
the sauce was still good, you just had to eat around them. We wrapped up the
meal with our fifth course, my delicious home-baked cookies.
After dinner we studied a bit for our Czech final which was
the following day, but Meghan was tired and nodded off for a bit, so we called
it a night. I studied for about another hour after she left, but was tired
myself so I went to sleep as well.
I’m going to end this post here and get to Friday as soon as
I can. Also, I hope to get some pictures up soon.
For all those out there fasting, I wish you all the best.
G’mar chatimah tovah.
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