Nashledanou, kamarades and kamaradkas!!

fun fact: Nashlednaou means goodbye. and i AM in eastern europe, and what would eastern europe be without the continued use of "komerade"?

Hey everyone

This is my last email from Prague. Or Europe, for that matter. The past few months have been like something out of a fairy tale. Minus the Prince Charming, that is (unless you count the random beautiful foreign men who text me on a semi-regular basis that I use to get discounts on pashmina and cashmere scarves).

At first it was weird being in a completely different world, with this crazy language and even crazier currency. But after awhile (and an intensive Czech language class), I've mastered this city. Prague is a beautiful city, with cobblestones and castles and communism, that has been so untouched by the Western world.

A nice little tradition has come about with some of the girls on the trip. We all gather in our friends Kristel and Angela's room a few nights a week, and sit around and talk and bum around for hours. The other night, my friend Sarah made an observation. To go to Prague, you've got to be a little quirky. Then we thought about it-weird Eastern European city that's just begining to peek out from behind the Iron Curtain, a city that isn't even on the Euro, full of unfriendly and unattractive Czech people (just the men, the women are beautiful). You've got to be a weird one to come here. And really, aren't I the weird one? In whatever circle of friends I am in with you, aren't I the one who is a little quirky? Well, that's just how everyone is here-a little weird.

My time in Prague has been incredible. I've visited every country that borders the Czech Republic, even if only for an afternoon. Some of the more memorable excursions included Salzberg, Oktoberfest, Auschwitz, Bratislava (very different from the way it looked in Eurotrip), the spa town of Karlovy Vary (very similar to the way it looked in that box office smash Last Holiday, starring Queen Latifah). Fall Break in Greece with the girls was a wonderful vacation from my 4 month long vacation. I ventured into the world of Couchsurfing, and didn't end up dead. I learned that the Czechs idea of vegatarian just means that there are vegetables in the meal, that even though I don't like beer, its better here than anywhere else in the world, and nothing says nice Czech dinner quite like a plate of goulash and dumplings.

I thank you all for reading these emails (or only half-reading them, whatever). Hurricane Melissa will be making landfall early Tuesday afternoon, and I should be back in Kingston by the evening (if you're in town, we're going to the diner). Its gonna be a low-key winter break, with a few trips here and there, but I'll be back in College Park in mid-January to move into my Commons apartment (Commons 2301, get pumped). I appreciate all of the emails you guys have sent me in response to my obnoxious updates, and will return the favor when you all go abroad (which you all better fucking do).

I hope that the holidays treat you well, and I'll see you all when I get back to America!

Oh, AND, my flight back to America, though on Chanukah, will not be as awesome as my last Christmastime transatlantic flight, because I don't think I'll be lighting candles in the middle of the airport waiting to board my plane. Though I highly recommend it.

Take care everyone!!

Love, goulash, pivo, and everything amazing and Czech,
Melissa