Arrival to Prague

I’m in Prague! It’s been a stressful journey because Prague does not feel anything like home to me. In the past when I have crossed the Atlantic it has been to go to England to visit my family or to Spain to visit my boyfriend, and in both locations I always feel very comfortable and can speak the language. However, in the Czech Republic, I know no one, do not speak the language, and, well, do I need any more reasons?? However, Prague definitely has its redeeming qualities. Firstly, my boyfriend is also moving to Prague, and he is my main motivation for moving here. Secondly, I have attained a job teaching English, which is something I have always wanted to do after graduating from college. Thirdly, I have heard nothing but wonderful things about Prague. I have talked to a handful of people who have visited, studied, or worked in Prague, and all have told me that they are just so incredibly jealous of me and will just have to come visit me while I’m there. So, I figured I can’t go wrong by moving to a city that all its visitors want to return to. According to them, and I will be confirming or rejecting this in a future entry according to my judgments, it is a beautiful, inexpensive city with incredible architecture, great nightlife, and fabulous public transportation. What can beat that? So making the decision to come here wasn’t much of a difficulty.

The major inconvenience for me in the Czech Republic is the language. I'm going to try not to be blatantly ethnocentric, but everything is in Czech! What is that about? I realize that it is the Czech Republic, and there is English occasionally on signs, like in the subway. But unless the food is an English brand, food in the supermarket is in Czech, so I spend a great deal of time eying food and reading Czech nutritional facts. So far I've learned fiber, calcium, fat, and protein. I'd translate them here but I've forgotten them already.

You knew there'd be a picture of milk in my blog. Notice there is nothing about skim, semi-skimmed, or anything. And the words in Czech on the front are not related to the fat content. I figured out that you need to look on the top of the carton for a percentage, A.K.A. fat content. Duly noted.


And here is the cereal I buy, with clear directions on the complex process of pouring cereal into a bowl, followed by the milk. The words above the picture say "Instructions for Preparation."

Oh, one more important thing to mention about the Czech Republic: the diet. As you’ll know from previous entries, it’s safe to say that I am a relatively picky eater, and do not eat meat or foods loaded with empty calories, generally. According to Lonely Planet’s guide book to Prague, the Czech diet is a “cardiologist’s nightmare.” Meat, dumplings, meat, goulash, fried cheese, wilted lettuce, with a side of meat. I have, however, read up on some vegetarian restaurants that I will be patronizing with frequency. But anyway, maybe this is a sign that I should start sharpening up my culinary skills and actually step foot into the kitchen to do something other than looking for snacks. Looks like it’s going to be a lot of boiled veggies and whole grain rice for a while.