Olvidando las caras y volviendo a ver sólo las formas…

If these three simple things are true, and I drew a palm,
I knew how I’d see soon how palms sat, and I dreamt
I knew the palm, how it was far from the signs,
how I was far from Christ where I would spend those palms,
where I would lose where I was pedaling to…

all that’d left were visible scores on open roads up dirt
that animal marks for future, garments cut on rushes,
candy with bread, oil lamps, states of Jesus in an
ancient olive farm.

After that, all I’d been left were clothes.
All that’d left was spread large cloths along the route.

Our once blessed and passing priest created a ball with a very short time.
Later that lot of other things could be created. I wanted to learn how
to do it myself. All those trees open in a lot behind our houses, specific
functions for specific occasions. Young coconuts in the open lot in front
of our house. A bird may figure, a lovely grasshopper is served, sight and
smell and fresh wave young nuts. Flowers is cut into the church patio for
the choir. They could be cut or plaited to form patterns.

Repeating fields, almost magical tops of voices, a creator to claim. And just
no matter how intricate the palaspas, it has basically just two parts: sing
their hosannas, and angles, or temporary altars, tops of doors, windowsills,
fine houses.

But my palaspas. Priests burn. But my palaspas…Never reveal what it reveals.
Like the ash on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Palm Sunday, reminds with a
cross, from its soot. Like a heart, like a tree frog, like palm-leaf drawn pendants,
gas pains, skin disease, toothache and tropical ulcers. Denounce or ignore or
become folk belief. Cancel dwelling. Protect the home. Protect the home.
Protect the home.

Source: Palm branches, called palaspas, are taken home after the Mass and are hung beside, on or above doorways and windows.

Buying an amplifier for an acoustic guitar is not as simple as I had imagined.

Let me share with you how it all began …
This week I am off from work in what is supposed to be my vacation time.
I decided to don’t go anywhere because of various reasons one of them maybe the most important one is that I don’t particularly enjoy traveling alone, other reasons are that I am always out and about , I don’t really spend quality time at my place fixing the stuff that has been there pending,  always in a rush from one place to another . Economic reasons played an important factor in my decision to stay at home etc.
I decided to make the most of my holiday  time and make it a time for self discovery and maybe try to find once and for all what is that I am suppose dot do with my life .
This is the first time in many years I am all alone, for 10 days no husband , no friends no nothing well  internet and food yeah  but not social gatherings or couples time only time for me  and my projects .
I have been reading many sites in this quest for my inner discovery and meditating etc , I am trying really hard but nothing so far , I am not the kind of person who can focus for too much time in one thing so I read about the things I can do to help me but I get bored and start to do something else . So I learnt that with me the best is to do it by cycles of time my make time I can be focused is about 2 hours , after that my mind waders and is pointless to keep trying until I can get back to be focused , in any case in one of those breaks from been focused while browsing the net it hit me  like a thunder light, wouldn’t it be such a good surprise if I buy the amplifier my husband always wanted while he is away so when he comes back he can use it ?
My husband is a very skilled self learner guitar player , he plays on the weekends in our housie although he doesn’t play as much and with the regularity he would like to , I suppose that work , chores wife take a lot of his time and even when he enjoys very much playing , as the years goes by I can see that been a married man is not easy , the responsibilities man carry over their shoulder can be overwhelming .
When we go out to walk around the city if we pass by a music instrument store he would ask me to stop and he will stand and contemplate the instruments like a kind in front of a candy store.
When this happens I try to push him to go inside ask for prices or buy the amplifier, but he never does he would just t look and he would just deeply sigh  and then will continue our walk , sometimes breaks my heart to see how he contains himself of buying something he really wants because he will put always the needs of the house , or practical stuff we need first . An amplifier isn’t really a necessity so why to buy it.
Is admirable how can be so dedicated and always put in second place his needs, I think I am very lucky to be married with such an exceptional man and although I consider that is good to have financial plans I also think life is about enjoying and  that is why I decided to surprise him buying the amplifier.
When the idea  stroke me I was excited and right away I started the research about amps, I didn’t know what was the best and which one I should get so I started google best amps for acoustic guitars , oh boy amps for electric guitars are everywhere but reviews for acoustic guitars is not so simple all the sites I visited had recommendations for electric and the ones that were for acoustic were more professional not for a practice at home in your bedroom .
I don’t know how many hours I spent reading and trying to find suggestions but from the time invested something was clear for me THERE ARE NOT MANY SITES WITH REVIEWS OF AMPS FOR ACOUSTIC GUITARS almost all are for ELECTRIC guitars.
My requirements are simple: an affordable amp (around 250 bucks) that is for acoustic guitar, compact but with enough power that fits in our bedroom.
After visiting many sistes and learning more about the different types of amps I learned in a very helpful site Ehow that actually what could be closer to my needs is something called Combo-Amp , a combo amp is a more versatile product than just the amp, it’s equipped  with more functions plus the amp integrated all in once !
Combo-amp sounded like exactly what I was looking for , so I ventured myself again in the enterprise of finding what could be a good combo-amp  , affordable , compact size but with fair sound volume .But once again the same challenge , al the sites recommend combo-amps that are more suitable for electric not for acoustic guitar…
After hours of what it seemed endless futile research I wrote down a bunch of potential suggestions that met my requirements and decided to try my luck at the shop.
Before hitting the fist music store I made sure I copied all the necessary info, prices, and translated the names and key words I needed to explain the shop attendant what I was looking for etc;  also tried to research for more music stores here besides of the ones I know ,  but  it seems that  the ones I know are quite famous and after them there are not so many in town .
At this point you might be guessing 1.Where I am located that are not many music stores around ? and 2  why do I need to translate combo amplifier  for acoustic guitar to kombo zesilovač pro akustickou kytaru?  Well I happen to be in a country that was part of the ex communist bloc, to be more precise I am in Czech Republic, in Prague city.
Prague is a vibrant city located in the central Europe . the city is gaining rapidly a international status with more foreign investment and foreigners coming for vacation or to live here , although for the day to day stuff if you don’t speak Czech well let’s say that it can be challenging .
I was a bit disappointed of not being able to locate more shops to visit besides the 2 I knew, although I found many online the sites are in cestina only, I was unable to manage to find out if they were only e shops or also regular stores.
Armed with my list of kombo-zesilovač suggestions, I decided to finally hit the 2 shops I knew. Both shops are located close by my house so is the perfect excuse to get some fresh air and stretch my legs that after sitting all day they really needed it.
On my way to the fisrt shop I came across a third one a new shop that happened to be only 2  blocks from my house , the shop is very well hidden and the sign of hudba stroe  doesn’t ring a bell! Just now after all my research I know that it means music store! Otherwise you can easily dismiss the little sign.
The entrance is quite dark and the store as I mentioned well hidden in the back of a parking lot , I wasn’t sure if I should follow the sign and go in to the back of the building and find the store , usually I am very cautious coming from a dangerous city I try to avoid places that seem dark/dangerous and isolated .
The difference is that I am not in a big city Prague is super safe and after living 4 years here with not even one dangerous experience I am becoming a little bit more trustful and relaxed . after a bit of thinking I deced to go in, there was a bald guy smoking a cigarette close to the entrance of the building I passed by giving the classic dobry den ( good day ) expression and walked towards the end of the corridor and to the parking lot followed the sign and finanly found a black door with hudba stroe and some flyers etc , I opened the door the store was empty only the shop attendant that greeted me with the classic dobry den .
I walked around the shop with the list I written before in my hand trying to identify familiar names and looking at the price tags I recognized some combos form what I saw online , for example the Vox Pathfinder or the Peavey Rage 258 were among my price range;  the Fender Frontman 212R way out of my budget , there were others like Ibanez and Crate also a bit out my budget .
The shop attendant asked me if I was looking for something in particular I showed him the list not sure if he would speak English , luckily for me he did speak English and he told me that the lsit I had of potential combos were more suitable for a electric guitar , Vox, or Peavey Rage are more for an electric guitar as they have something like a hole in the back of the amp to create a different kind of sounds more heavy metal kind of style , not very recommendable for an acoustic guitar clear sound .
The only combos he had in stock for acoustic guitar  were not known for me, couldn’t recall them from my previous research and way out fo my budget around of 7000 Czech crowns  around of 420 buck the cheapest .
With mixed emotions I left the store, for one side I was grateful to be so lucky to meet such a nice shop attendant that spoke English and explained me in a more detailed way the differences between combos the bad part is that I realized that this purchase wasn’t going to be so easy as I thought, and that I needed to realize that maybe I wouldn’t be able to find one that would meet my price range expectations.
I walked towards the second shop, this shop I knew and is in a passage close to the centre.
The shop is very very small , a few guitars and some amps and some accessories but nothing else , I came inside and showed my list to the attendant , he didn’t speak English and he started to talk to me in Czech and I think he was trying to tell me they didn’t have those form my list , he pointed out the amps they had and from what I could see that they were more for electric and not for akustická kytara .
The visit was very brief and decided to leave and  go directly  to what I thought would be the one the store that would have what I needed .
The last shop is in the center of the city, this hudební obchod is quite a big shop, with signs outside etc; plus  I have been there before and remember seeing  various amps of many kind . Once inside , is always kind of weird to go these kind of places , what I mean is that the people in music shops (at least here in Europe) is not common to see women alone going to see guitars and stuff  that is more for man.. you know what I mean ,is more like a man sanctuary rather than a girls shopping spot , anyway I walked around the store pretending that I knew a bit of what I was looking for I mean I kind of knew.. or at least had an idea.
After looking at all the amps I asked one of the shop attendants if he had amps for acoustic guitars, he pointed his finger to the part of the room where the acoustic guitars were close by and behind them were a few combos for acoustic , I recognized there the Crate , Ibanez and some others none of them were among my price range  the rest all electric only 5  acoustic guitar amps and all seemed to be more for professionals rather than for home practice .I asked him if he knew any other shops and he tld me only the other 2 I have just been and besides of them one that is quite faraway , so nothing helpful really .
At this point I am bummed, couldn’t find any amp that I could afford and my surprise is ruined! what is worst is that when my husband called me, a day before I assumed that will be so easy to get an amp, with this wrong assumption I told him I had a surprise for him , of course he asked me what and couldn’t resist to tell him that I had bought him already the amp , he sounded super happy and I was excited for the idea of getting it the following day as I was sure that after  all the time and work I spent investigating and learning about amps ,it would be easy , I definitely was not expecting  this setback of not finding one.
That afternoon after my unsuccessful visit to the shops I came back home to try to do some research there must be a combo for acoustic guitar affordable and ok of quality, I just needed to figure out the name , once again futile search in the guitar sites as all are for electric so I went directly to a site I know they would have some user reviews Amazon.com of course !
I typed acoustic combo and one interesting prospect came up : the Behringer AT108 it had 1135 user ratings , 4 and half star punctuation , the comments were great plus the price is perfect .
Excited with the new prospect I searched for it in the local sites and found that they actually have it too ! only in the e shops but is at least a progress , that evening I decided that the following day I would go again to the first shop I visited  because the shop attendant was very friendly and he told me that in their shop there is a possibility to order any amp I wanted and that they would get it for me .
So today I went to the shop, he initially advice that I should get the Roland Micro Cube, they had it in the shop for a super price and is listed as one of the top 5 amps for electric , unsure of what to do  I told him about the Behringer AT108 and he said why don’t we try the amps right here and now so you can listen to the sound and make your decision I think this act of actually listening to the different types of amps was more educative that all the research I could have made .
Personally, I didn’t understand why the fuzz of getting one combo-amp that is designed for acoustic guitar only ,  I figured that is a top 5 best amps even if is for electric should work fine in the acoustic no ?
Well , NO after we tried the Peavey , and the Roland and then he plugged the guitar in one amp that was desinged for acoustic WOW big difference!
The combo-amp for acoustic guitar is focused more in the clarity and quality of the sound , electric combo guitar are not so clear and the quality for the sound from an acoustic guitar can be greatly diminished , listening to the sound of the guitar with the different amp types made a big difference even for someone not experienced  like me .
At this point I told him I really wanted to get the Behringer AT108, is a good price amp , has very good reviews and is made for acoustic guitar only! They didn’t have it on stock but he checked and he can order it and have it for me in 3 days,  so I can have it at home before my husband is back ! Plus I get it for a cheaper price than what I found online and super close home !
I am excited to see how good it will work , I haven’t heard it yet, but after all seems to be the best option.

I will update you after hubby tries it, wish me good luck .
What an adventure!
Love
X.

“Make Love Not War!”

Prague, Czech Republic

June 11, 2006

Taken by Adam Groffman

(flickr/agroffman/all rights reserved)

10am: The alarm on my phone goes off. Seconds later, I realise that last beer was a mistake, fumble for painkillers and go back to sleep in the foetal position.

11am: I attempt to sit up, and wonder why everything is staying sideways. Flashbacks to a night of beer and wine and long discussions about sex and politics with two Germans and a guy from Barcelona do nothing to alleviate the throbbing in my brain and the strange movements in my belly. More painkillers.

12pm: I eat stale, cold toast with nothing on it, and can’t even keep that down. Coffee is out of the question. I resolve to make it to my Czech class at 2pm.

1pm: I revise my arrival date to 3pm, and text Shira to ask her to tell our teacher. I sit on the floor in the shower and moan softly. I get half-dressed and have to lie down again. Painkillers aren’t working.

2pm: I manage to dress myself, and as soon as I go to leave for Czech I have to be sick. The state of our toilet floor breaks my resolve—Czech is not going to happen. Back to bed.

3pm: 30 Rock, Damages and cheese on toast dull the pain.

5pm: I get my shit together enough to leave the house to go and meet Emma in the Old Town Square. John Darnielle’s nasal tones on The Life of the World to Come are a soothing distraction from the traffic halting the tram’s progress.

6pm: I meet Emma, everything starts to feel better. We remark on how un-strange it is to meet Australian friends so far from home. The restaurant I’ve been wanting to try for ages has an amazing menu—she orders deer with goulash and dumplings, I go for the roast pheasant. I’ll go back.

8pm: We talk about friends back home, and take the cable car up the hill at Mala Strana to check out some real Czech student bars, where I attempt a beer. It’s a mistake.

9pm: We trek down the hill in the dark, and stop along the way at a tiny, beautiful, wooden Orthodox church, hidden in the trees. Emma teaches me about architecture.

11pm: We meet Ewa for a drink. They get wine mixed with water, I take peppermint tea. It’s a good decision. Ewa mentions that a story I told her about a mutual friend of Emma and I in Melbourne made her giggle all the way through a class presentation she was giving. The world is a strange place.

12am: Home again, I swear never to drink so much again, and then remember my Irish friend Mark is visiting tomorrow. I will survive the weekend.

Most of the time I sit here wondering about where is the best place for a photo shoot? what could give me those WOW photos? and how to mix it up with some FUN.. well not some but lots of fun….

Prague stunning locations for urberx photo shoots

So in order to mix things up add some spice and a good helping of FUN and SUN.. would you like to join me on a trash the dress photo shoot in Prague?

a Simple arrangement will be made by myself so that we can meet up flight to Prague for the weekend or a few days, taking in the city on one day and shoot the next.
it’s a nice little mix of holiday some sun, fun and great photos as if you were a professional model on a photo shoot in the historic city.
While the theme is trashing the dress, I would like to get a good range of fashion photos as well. I think it would be a good Idea to invite your hubby or boyfriend along as well or he may think something strange is going on.
May mix in a little bridal boudoir into the mix as a little present for your partner as a little surprise for them..

I would be thinking of going around early May 2010 and as long as you dont work me too hard, then it should be a low cost shoot and album package.

Night life in Prague its not all work on this photo shoot.

Brush up on a few phrases

Visit our trash the dress photography website.

At last, the long-awaited Prague bike polo trading cards have arrived. There are a few of you missing still, but here’s what I got so far. Collect them all. No chewing gum, because everyone always hated that shit. A few details are also missing:

1. Nobody knows what gearing Dan’s riding

2. If you don’t like your nickname, you’d better make one up fast

3. There are no women

Aren’t there any bike-loving girls out there in Prague who want to play? We aren’t all alpha-male aggressive about it or anything… Well, Rob chills out after a couple beers, anyway

Here are some shots of the mallet building and games on Saturday. We had 8 players on the court, so picked teams and then 2 players rotated out and took turns playing ref. It was our first game on a proper, enclosed court, even though it’s a little bit small for “regulation play”…

Today The World Court has crossed many lines against Humanity, being linked to the U.N, the World Health Organization, which loves to use it Origin of Species, an Set the Rich to be the Stronger to Rule Over the Weak & Poor, On Top Of That you have the IMF:International Monetary Fund, being a Burden Upon Many Nations, giving out Loans to fulfill its Lustful Desires of the Flesh.

These Organizations,Courts,Banks Should be Put on Trial for there Tresspasses on mankind, Setting Selfish Goals which will never happen in there lifetime or the Next, they say they love mankind yet set stumbling blocks for mankind to Tresspass against Each Other, and to Tresspass against the Lord God Of Israel.

Just a quick one; I’m heading out for my first proper night out in a good week or so. (At least, as far as I can remember…) It seems that there is a mass exodus of my friends to Europe. This morning I received a Facebook message from my good friend Emma (formerly of Melbourne, now of Sydney) who is in Prague. We’re going to dinner tomorrow night, hopefully. Of course, one friend does not constitute an exodus, however Emma is just the most recent in a wave of discoveries of trans-global travel among my friends. If you’re not in or on your way to Europe, you’re apparently missing out.

Christmas is just around the corner. By now, you must be thinking of Christmas presents for your family and friends.

Timeshare Relief Christmas Shopping in Prague

Most of us can cut down on our other expenses in order to give the best present to our loved ones. However, if you are a timeshare owner seeking timeshare relief, you can get away with the dilemma by actually maximizing your timeshare privileges.

You can bring your family to Prague. It is said that Prague is the cheapest European destination for Christmas shopping. Is it not perfect? You can find the best buy for your money plus you get to enjoy Prague with your family. They have so much to offer there. Those plenty of top shopping opportunities attract timeshare owners to Prague.

According to Post Office Travel Services research, the price of a basket of eight typical Christmas gifts are nine per cent cheaper in Prague compared to Paris for the same items. On the other hand, the Czech Republic as the capital is indeed the cheapest Christmas shopping destination. With that, the Czech Tourist Authority recommends that visitors must make their way to the fashion designers boutiques in Prague, including Hana Stocklassovab and Tatiana Kovarikova. In addition, the most famous shopping street in the city is Parizska, where luxury goods can be found and timeshare owners must visit.

Now, let us mark your Christmas checklist. Great shopping experience, checked. Priceless gifts for your loved ones, checked. Great holiday vacations, checked. Quality time spent with your family, checked. So before your get rid of your timeshare, be aware that there are lots of options for you to choose from. You can check online for possible options for you to take the chance for this great Christmas break.

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There are thousands collections of Live internet TV hosting sites and video feeds. You can Watch Live streaming TV Stations or channels from many source. But to search and point your intended channels sometimes is very difficult since one site can offer thousand of free TV sport channel in just one day.  So Here, we provide summary of links that will provide free live streaming TV sports. In this site We focus on the  Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, soccer and other more spesific segment. Most watch free TV stations we cover for  Sport here are from, USA & Canada and some other popular sports in Europe and arround the world. Check out our featured free tv sport online live stream today 24 November 2009 (11/24) for HC Slavia Prague vs HC Ocelari Trinec.  We will find the links from ustream, justin tv, p2p, sopcast, tvu, tvants, uusee, etc. So don’t need to worry about miss one of our favorite TV sport game match, we can now catch them online, usually just 24 hours later it will be stored in the hosting site, it depends on their policy. You can easily select and click to watch HC Slavia Prague vs HC Ocelari Trinec and others sport channel online stream here.

watch HC Vitkovice Steel vs HC Sparta Prague online live stream TV sport 11/24, 24 Nov 2009. This Sport Games Starting time will be at 11:40 ET(US) or 17:40 CET (Europe). We will update the link several hours/minutes before the scheduled starting time. The live stream feed provided from free video tv hosting sites like ustream, justin tv, p2p, sopcast, tvu, tvants, uusee, etc. You can watch online Sport Live TV stream channel on November, 24 2009. The sport tv we cover here is NHL, NBA, KHL, NFL, AHL, NCAA, MLB, AHL, MLS, Soccer, EPL, Champion, UEFA, FIFA, U20, U17,  Football, Hockey, Basketball, SERIE A, NASCAR, F1, GP and others. If there is any of free tv hosting that airs these sport tv channel, we will update the link for you. Dont Miss to watch live sport tv between HC Vitkovice Steel vs HC Sparta Prague online . Please click on below link to watch, online, free, live, stream, sport, tv, at 11/24 2009, HC Vitkovice Steel vs HC Sparta Prague.

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Free live internet TV by online streaming is the best way to enjoy your sports shows on internet. Especially with the arrival of high-speed Internet today. It allows you to live stream and watch your favourite Live football, live basketball, Live soccer, Baseball and Hockey league matches via online streaming. Today there is game match between HC Vitkovice Steel vs HC Sparta Prague. Other famous game in these categories that we coverhere are NBA, NCAA, NFL, MLB, AHL, KHL, NHL, MLS, UEFA, Champion League, FIFA, U20, U21, U17, Uropean Cup, Serie A (Italy), EPL (England), NPL (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany),  NASCAR, F1, GP and others.

There are thousands collections of Live internet TV hosting sites and video feeds. You can Watch Live streaming TV Stations or channels from many source. But to search and point your intended channels sometimes is very difficult since one site can offer thousand of free TV sport channel in just one day.  So Here, we provide summary of links that will provide free live streaming TV sports. In this site We focus on the  Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, soccer and other more spesific segment. Most watch free TV stations we cover for  Sport here are from, USA & Canada and some other popular sports in Europe and arround the world. Check out our featured free tv sport online live stream today 24 November 2009 (11/24) for HC Vitkovice Steel vs HC Sparta Prague.  We will find the links from ustream, justin tv, p2p, sopcast, tvu, tvants, uusee, etc. So don’t need to worry about miss one of our favorite TV sport game match, we can now catch them online, usually just 24 hours later it will be stored in the hosting site, it depends on their policy. You can easily select and click to watch HC Vitkovice Steel vs HC Sparta Prague and others sport channel online stream here.

off to Prague.

Once again I’m leaving Denmark to explore the great vastness that is Europe.  This is the last of any major travel breaks for me.  I am leaving this evening for a hour’s flight to the capital city of the Czech Republic.  I arrive back to Copenhagen Monday afternoon, a few hours before my Monday history class.

I am pumped and totally excited for this mini, yet somewhat long travel break in Prague.  Five full days exploring, what I’ve hear, one of Europe’s most picturesque cities.  This trip comes at the perfect time as well, since the Christmas season begins this weekend in Prague.  The Christmas markets open up and the city is filled with lights, a large Christmas tree, and supposedly lots of carolers.  Should be really pretty and lots of fun.  The added bonus is that Prague is one of Europe’s cheapest cities (our hostel cost $9 a night!), always a plus for college students.

So long for now, I’ll be back in less than a week!

I sent in my short story to the Glimmertrain New Writers fiction contest. If I were to  win the grand prize is $1,200.00. After I clicked the submit button, and sat for a moment my mind went straight into fantasy mode, and of course I won, and I even had an acceptance speech, then I started thinking about the money and what practical things I would do with it, and so on, but than I had this thought, I should look at writing like investing into my own personal business. If I make money writing, I put the money back into writing (this is hard to do of course when you never have money to pay rent, but this is fantasy land here). So, if I did win first place and get published and get money, I would buy a round trip ticket to Prague. Prague? How is that investing? How is that putting money back into writing? Well, my fine friends, let me elaborate. Of course, I just want to go and see a couple of my friends that are living there, and travel, and all that, but my novel takes place in Prague and the main character is based off of a real friend of mine who just happens to still be living in Prague. It has been ten years since I have lived there or seen my friend. Ten years. I kept up a very good journal while I was there, but after so much time has passed it would be nice to go back and to make sure I captured the feel of the place, and the person who was the inspiration for the story. I think it makes sense. I think it would be an investment. So, if I were to win and get published, I would go to Prague. I would do research and I would say hello to an old and wonderful friend- plus look up an poet friend of mine. How frickin Bohemian would that be?

 Oh hello, didn’t see you there. Anyway, this is my first video:) Whooooo mee:) Prague, Czech Republic and a neighbouring city, Pardubice. I was there this past August with my dear friend, and photographer Christine Novak. Some of the photography is done by her, and some by your’s truly. It’s a bit blurry at first but the ending is perfect so if you have any tips of how to fix it, I WILL GLADLY ACCEPT THEM. Otherwise, not saying this video is very informative, but if you wanted to get to know me a little bit better, to understand the beautiful culture of the Czech Republic, and to get a small taste of what I would say is perhaps one of the craziest party cities in Europe… Then this video is for you:) Enjoy!

P.S. BEWARE OF OBSCENE BRITISH BOYS… Ladies you will enjoy this more than the men:)

I will answer any questions regarding the touristic attractions, the history, the nightlife- touristy and locally, as well as where to find the best beer:) Even Toronto Star agree’s on that one!

Happy Travels

I’ve been spending far too much time at the computer over the past week. It’s not as though I haven’t had my reasons: a three-thousand-word essay, organising for Amsterdam, my manifesto, the copious taking of lecture notes… But at what point does this really become a problem? When you’re walking down the street and wondering what graphics card they’re using to get the resolution so high? When you chant “ctrl+z” under your breath after telling an inappropriate Holocaust joke in front of your Polish and German friends? When you start hovering near power points instead of looking for somewhere that sells a decent cappuccino? (Trust me—you’re not going to find one. It’s Prague.) No, it’s when you lie down to go to sleep, and feeling something rough against your cheek, realise you have keyboard calluses. Plural. This morning I noticed calluses on the outside of my little fingers that I can only assume is from the ridiculous amount of typing I’ve been doing. I already had a mouse callus on the bottom-left of the palm of my right hand, first acquired after months in the Farrago office spent clicking my way around YouTube and startrek.com while pretending to effectively use Student Union money; now I seem to be going for a full set.

That’s not to say that sitting at the computer is all I’m doing—in a doomed, last-ditch effort to learn more Czech before I leave, I placed an advertisement on an expat website in Prague, stating that I would offer my services as a native speaker of English in exchange for someone who could help me with my Czech. This endeavour has taught me two things: one, that I should have done this two months ago, and that now it’s just depressing that I can barely make myself understood trying to order fried cheese at the local post-Communist Czech-trough that occasionally masquerades as an eatery of some kind; and two, that only crazy people respond to (and post) personal ads of any kind online. I went for a coffee with someone who responded to the ad last week, and had I the foresight to create some kind of crazy-person bingo card, I’m sure I would have filled it in the first ten minutes. Or at least gotten three in a row. Several concerns: he reserved us a table in a cafe. He had very long fingernails. (On both hands, so he’s not just a classical guitarist.) He stirred his latte at regular intervals for an hour before he even took a sip. By this stage the froth was brown and stagnant, and he would only taste it with his teaspoon if I looked away for a sufficient length of time. And he wore a bad shirt. Trust me, a bad shirt.

Until this morning I felt okay with the thought of not responding to his emails, but now, calluses and so forth, I may have to resign myself to a life with the freaks. At least bad shirts are always on sale.

I don’t think I am alone in saying  it can sometimes feel impossible not to long for a certain place, many years after living or visiting. It holds memories and feelings we crave.  Experiences that may be painful to remember so far away.

My place would have to be the beautiful city of the Czech Republic: Prague.

The winding cobblestone streets still weave through my dreams every once in a while. As do flashes of the castle I’d glimpse on the tram ride to school. Or my favorite secret park, tucked away behind towering walls, which tourists would unknowingly stroll right past. My favorite activity in Prague was to simply wander, with no specific destination in mind. To get lost, and find something amazing and new.

Living somewhere for three months really allows you to become an insider. I learned important Czech words, great places to eat, and different customs. For example, sniffling is considered extremely rude and aggravating to Czechs and it is rare to get a smile from a local on the tram (though once you get to know them, the people are very warm and inviting).

I was also excited as an artist to discover a new favorite: David Cerny. He has some very cool sculptures tucked away in different parts of the city, which I’d highly recommend seeing.    

Prague is a beautiful city, with an amazing collection of art, architecture, and culture.

I can’t wait to go back, and wander the beautiful streets again.

Please share any of your own travel yearnings, places you can’t wait to go back to, memories you never want to forget.

It is designed by Adam Turecek / Aaad Academy Of Art Architecture And Design Prague. This project was from Prague. I am interested in industrial design but not much. I really found itself creative and elegant. Also, the splash have a different tune in a good way.

Dear Prague:

I am so madly in love with you I cannot contain myself.
Please, don’t tell my husband.

Love love love,
Sezin