Alive and Kickin

Cus family and friends! Life in the Czech is truly great! I spent two weeks at language camp with sixteen other exchange students. I made great friends there and I am planning a few weekend travels to visit them in different parts of the Czech Republic. As far as my Czech speaking skills go, I am learning rather quickly. I've found a course at a language school in Prague where I attend a weekly lesson for two hours every Wednesday. The class is taught completely in Czech!! ...needless to say, I am learning fast! I have another website that I would like to introduce you to. It is http://www.nathaninczech.ic.cz/ ....it has about a thousand photos and a video clip of my performance of "Like a Rolling Stone" at a family party here. I will continue to update the picture website throughout the year, and also perhaps more frequently than my blog. I am actually happy to say that I havent made the time to post my blog because there are just so many things to do here. My average day consists of waking up at 7:05, shower, walk to the tram, metro, school for 5 hours(I usually just read a paperback during class and learn about the culture here from magazines and the kids), then I either go to a coffee shop after school with my friends or take the metro to a new part of Prague that I havent seen. School is pretty easy going...kids can eat and drink throughout class, and there's a ten minute break between classes...not bad...ohh and Im kind of the star of English class...haha...I am writing a lot of music and currently working on a new album. I am quite pleased with the school that I was placed in because there are many other musicians and a few groups. About six groups from school are playing at a club tonight, and I am quite excited to check it out. Tomorrow I am going golfing for the second time since I have been here! My counsellor's son and I are playing a course just outside of Prague. He is about 28 and loves to play...not a bad ehh?

25 Bucks for the Ride

(copy of an old German fighter from WWII) hmmm ;)

I hope you are all doing well...on my other website you can send me a brief message that gets posted right on the page...my host brother is great with the site, and likes helping me out with it!

Here I am at language camp...after our morning lesson we usually took a day trip. On this particular day I took a tour of the area with three of my other friends in this plane for a half hour tour around the area of Jindrichuv Hradec ...below is an arial view...this is a beautiful castle called the Cervena Hlota ...I toured it with my host family...It was quite place!! The architecture and design of these place is just unbelievable considering this one is from the 12 century :)

Here I am in Tabor...Its about a two hour train ride from Jindrichuv Hradec and there was medieval festival going on for the weekend. What a place that was!! There were catacombs beneath the city extending for kilometers...I wont go into detail of the historic uses of these catacombs ;)!!

Off And Running

So Here I am, yours truly, arrived and established here in great form. I arrived six days ago today and fell into a fragrant sea of culture. A basket of roses and a handful of people awaited me in Prague's airport. Sink or swim...I am swimming with much confusion all around, but needless to say life is good. The first night consisted of a short tour of Prague and a dinner cruise on the Vltava, which is the river that runs through the city. My host family and friends are great historical references for the city's very prominent past. As you can see in this photo the skyline is quite beautiful. The second night was nothing short of fantastic as my host brother Pavel and I cruised Vaclavske Namesti (Wenceslas Square) with his friends and cousin Dalibor. Dalibor took us to a great music bar where we danced the night away to some classic Gbos tunes from the 80s. Those Czechs can really grove ;). The third day seemed to be the icing on the cake, for it was none other than a free ticket to a beautiful wedding of a Czech bride and an Irish groom. I was hansomly embraced by the Czechs and Irish people and their remarkable ceremony and celebration in the foothills of Prague. The reception included a well endowed buffet and bar (for the ADults) furnished by the stars and lights of the Czech civilization, which lay gleaming below.

School started monday in the beautiful square of Namesti Miru, which means peace square. School is 40 minutes away travelling by foot, then tram, then metro, needless to say I am staying in shape. Life is fast here, like the rude morning that awakes with the lights of the ticker tape and your stock that is all out of sorts plumetting through your stomach like black coffee through freshly pressed Docker pants. Atleast this is my observation =). We began monday with mass in St. Ludmila church. The church appears below and stands with great dignity as it serves as a beautiful view from my classroom window. The students in my class are very supportive of my stay here in Prague, and they have been very helpful with finding the nooks and crannies of this dense city. I have made friends with many good people, and I am daily defining the definition of "going with the flow." English class is great! Czech class is less exciting, but lets be honest, school without grades is simlpy sweet. Thanks Estalyn!