Afghan restaurant

At Afghan restaurant - it isn't actually 'afghan' food per se; it's Arabian, Lebanese and Indian (L-R: Jordan, Maggie, Ginny and me)

Asli and I in HR

Hey people!

I'm at the infamous 'Afghan restaurant' that we have called our new home. I want to take the chef home with me. The food is ridiculously good here and never disappoints. I shall accompany this post with a picture of the people I am with.

Today was my last day of class - it was bittersweet. I'm so glad classes are over, but I'm sad that the program is ending and I have to go home soon :(

This program was seriously one of the best experiences of my life. I am serious people - not even lying. You need to do this program NAO! I'm going to apply as the student coordinator next year (probably along with the 60 others on the program this year) so I can go back to Prague!!! It's definitely a must.

Also pictured is Asli and I in human rights today. We were bored during the 'debate' (read: cacophony of argument) and she decided she wanted to feature on my blog. Therefore Australia, introducing Asli.

All right. Have to go do my paper now. It's due in literally 4 hours. FML.

sitting at Globe

Maggie missed our group meeting. She was late by over 1.5 hours. She is a horrible person.

L-R: Jordan, Letita, random, Nadejda. These people are all cool.

L-R: Batman, Kabindra (who is drunk in this photo) and Emily

Kabi and Emily in the corner and Ezgi being a chimer. She was also on the phone at the time (note the earphones)

Ginny (and the twins), Ezgi and someone on crack.

Hey folks,

I know I haven't really blogged in forever. But it's because the internet is really bad at the dorms and I haven't had internet access for about a week. I'm at this cafe called 'Globe' which is run by a tonne of ex-pats who apparently set up shop in Prague.

Anyhoo, I was here to do an assignment except the music is too loud, and it's really warm and I don't seem to be getting any work done. So I decided to blog you guys. It's really bad because I need to do about 4 assignments that are due next week. I figure I'll just go to sleep early tonight, wake up early tomorrow and just get them all done. I don't have my camera with me, but I guess I could take a picture with my laptop and upload it. You're going to have to be content with that.

Here is your questions folks:
Who was the first president of the Czech Republic?

And for a bonus point:
Name a piece of literature that he wrote and explain its significance.

Bwahahahah. Good luck with that.

Day Old chinese food

How creepy is it?

Introducing Maria. Yes she's tiny.

This is me next to the same motorbike. I'm exasperated because Maria wouldn't tell me when she was taking them or how many she was doing.

One of the most recognisable names in all of communism. I watched a video in the room this was above about Communism in Czechoslovakia (note: it is now the Czech Republic)

Picture from bedroom window. I think it's another block of apartments from what I can tell.

So, I'm sitting in my room with day-old chinese food from last night and my clothes in the corner on the floor. I think it's time for another load of laundry. Oh how I loathe it. Next time I travel, I want to stay somewhere with the laundry room RIGHT THERE.

I went op-shopping yesterday. It was pretty cool. Not very many in Prague because apparently women here don't like old-clothes... but they're not exactly the trendiest people I've ever seen either. They all kind of look old and frumpy. I haven't exactly seen the next Coco Chanel out here. Though I have noticed that they dress a bit more long-skirts and blouses-ish than t-shirts and jeans or whatnot. Meh. I'll try and get you a picture one day.

Not feeling very inspired right now. Above are pictures of what I see outside my bedroom window, accompanied by a few other shots from random events.

Chilling

Hey guys,

Today was a fairly quiet day. Had uni in the morning, then went out to lunch with a couple of people. We went to a Russian/Czech restaurant where we probably made the waitress feel really uncomfortable by not speaking Czech. I'd post pictures but they didn't turn out good - you can find them on Facebook at a later date. I'm tired now but I'm going to force myself to do some readings first before napping. Then waking up and doing more readings. Woot.

On a happier note, I found that I kind of know the city a little now. I did laundry yesterday which was a nightmare from start to finish. At first we consulted a map (and by 'we' I mean Ginny) and then discovered we needed to go to IP Pavlova. We first decided that we would take the metro but then realised it didn't go to our stop. Then we decided to take a tram. That went well because we waited about 15 mins and it arrived. Got on the tram, 3 stops later, IP Pavlova. Then we got to the laundromat. All good. But then, we decided to be 'clever' and divided our laundry up which cost us about 70CZK extra. Never doing this again. And drying our clothes was a nightmare because you can only dry for 40 mins at a time and our clothes were still damp. The lady was giving us death stares because we must have looked really indecisive, wanting to dry it again and again. But I didn't want to go home with wet clothes!

Moral of story: never taking washer/dryer for granted ever again.

I'll post later with my quiz question - none of you have answered my first one thus far!!

Quiz-mania

PS-

For those of you who want to participate in my Prague quiz, here are the details. I will be asking a question as often as I can about where I am staying (ie: Czech Republic) and the first person to give me the correct answer via the comment box will win a point. You keep a tally of your points and the person who has the most points by the time I return will win themselves some Prague-bought item of coolness*.

So here is the first question:

Q. If you are caught without a metro pass on a tram in Prague, how much will it set you back?



Stay tuned for the answer in the next post!

* may or may not be a bottle of Absinthe if I'm feeling uncreative.

(more pictures) Casino Night at Chateau

L-R: Nathan, Emily, Ryan, Humberto, Gustavo, Byron

L-R: Ayensur, Ezgi, Ezgi, Asla

Big group - can't be bothered with names.

L-R: Maria, Abby, Crazy wet-haired person

My favourite picture, so glad I caputred it: (from top right): Galya, Julia, Zach, Devon, Giovanni, Gamar

(just pictures)

The living area in my room at the Chateau

Sitting area in my room at Chateau

One of the views from my window

My bed - claimed by Country Road bag.

Table area where we piled all our stuff - behind the fireplace and out of view haha.

I'm alive!!!

Chateau Vilemov - built in like... 1100s?

On the way to the Chateau (on bus) - pictured with Dainia. Yes the lighting is appalling. Perhaps it is better this way.

Funny kid on a tricycle. I thought it was precious.

At lunch before our Scavenger Hunt. As usual, I look like a crazy woman. L-R: Emily, Ginny, Me, Carla, Maggie, Jerry.

The group getting metro passes - this is not all of us. It is about 1/10 of us. Back L-R: Kabi, Ezgi, Asla, Ezgi, Gamar, Ginny; Front L-R: Nathan and Carla.

Hello people!!!

Do not fret, I am still alive. I have been in the Czech countryside for the past few days staying in a lovely chateau (refer to pictures for full effect of awesome). We were meant to stay a little longer and do community service at a monastery, but about 30 people in the program contracted a stomach bug/virus/food poisoning (they're still debating about what it was). Personally, I feel pretty good. I've just gotten over the flu so I consider myself very lucky. Hopefully it doesn't come back to get me. One guy in the program just got ill after everyone got better and missed class today.

Speaking of class, we had our first one today. I had Human Rights and Leadership and they were both really great. We had to draw pictures of caves relating to Plato's Allegory of the Cave and let's just say it's a good thing I'm not an artist or I would seriously be a starving artist. Ooh, and Prague is awesomely beautiful as you all know. Right now, I'm writing from my own laptop at 'Globe' which is a coffee house/book store/cafe that GLPers frequent during their stay because it's located conveniently between our campus and our dorms. We travel to the uni via tram - for that we had to get metro passes made. They're kind of cool because you don't need to pay for each journey or get it out and zap anything. They just assume that you carry one around and sometimes there are plain clothes officers who patrol the trams and ask to see them. If you're unlucky enough to not have a metro pass on you, they will fine you good. I believe it is something crazy like 700CZK which I cannot afford at the moment.

Funny story: Guy called Ryan on the trip was asked yesterday by one of these plain clothed officers for his metro pass. But all he saw was this guy coming up to him with some metally thing in his hand. He thought he was trying to sell it to him, so he was like 'no thanks'. Then the police officer got really angry and was like 'NO! You... Pass!' Great english I know.

Anyhoo... I can't really think of anything else to say. So farewell readers and I hope you are having a lovely winter holiday. I myself am boiling hot in the Prague heat.

Ahoj!

in transit

What double chin?

I WILL murder your family...

Naww... everyone is happy. And by happy, I mean caffeinated.

Caffeinated.

Nicole hearts cake

Hey people!

I'm waiting for my flight to Prague at the moment. Just thought I'd upload some pictures from my camera for your viewing pleasure. These pics are mostly from my last night in Australia with Annette (the asian), Laura, Aimee and Nicole. And the illustrious me. But you already knew that.

There's some Korean drama thing going on on a TV in front of me. I don't really understand it, but they are dressed in some sort of olden-day Imperial armour and the music is intense and orchestral. Ooh! Bloody death scene, showing the fallen. And there are birds flying around. BIRDS OF DEATH!!! Now they are circling the sky ominously... Ooh now cut to wide shot of battle ground death. :O THAT ONE'S A WOMAN!!! AND SHE'S TRYING TO CONVINCE THE RAVEN NOT TO EAT HER.

Fade to black.

..intense Korean drama much?

In Korea

Despite a disgustingly early start to the day where I was picked up by the transfer at 3:30AM by the very punctual driver (shout out to Michael for keeping me company 'til then), I am now rested and fed and using the overpriced internet provided by the Hyatt Incheon. So, I'm totally writing this from my hotel room which is an hour away from Seoul and costs USD80 to catch a cab into the city, so we're staying in tonight and getting a good night's rest before the flight tomorrow. Checked out some seedy looking bar and the casino (within the hotel) which I was denied entry into because they don't accept foreign forms of ID despite it being a 'foreigners only' venue. They made me get my passport which was slightly annoying just because we didn't stay in there very long.

The flight was pretty non-eventful, read a few books (finished Book Thief and I maintain my non-impressedness) and watched some Korean movie that was kind of hilariously bad. The flight crew were overly nice and they all looked the same - porcelain dollesque but adorable. I didn't get any pictures, but I can tomorrow! That is, if I want to look like the crazy, snap-happy Asian tourist.

And can I just take this moment to point out, this time tomorrow, I will be in PRAGUE!! Therefore, I shall be blogging from my dorm room/internet cafe (wherever the internet is available).

Oh and news: I may actually be starting to be accepted by my own people. Several people have addressed me in Korean today as opposed to my last trip here when I was about 12 and everyone assumed I didn't speak Korean. Though, I kind of feel bad that I can't participate in said Koreanisation. And, why didn't anyone warn me it was mosquito season in Korea? I was subjected to an aerial assault by an entire squadron whilst checking into the hotel. Rude.

No pictures today. Couldn't be bothered and not much to take pictures of. Besides, I'm not even in Prague yet. Be patient.

I'm leaving on a jet plane.. in less than 13 hours!!!

Well that's not entirely true. I booked my airport transfer to take me to the airport yesterday and it's coming to pick me up at 3:30am. No joke people. This is how they roll. I'm probably getting to the airport at around 4:30 or so and my flight apparently leaves at 8:25AM. Clearly, they've changed the flight time because I was positive it said 6:30AM. I would not joke about something like that.

And I thought I'd also share that for the first time in, well, EVER, I have packed my stuff earlier than just before I leave for the airport. Usually it's a last minute dash around picking up stuff I might think I need and always forgetting my phone charger (it's happened 4 times) or my toothbrush (this happened once, but still it was rather inconvenient). However, I have packed these items in my luggage and they are ready to go! I can't believe this time tomorrow I'll be halfway between here and Seoul. Ah, for those of you who don't know, I have a one night layover in Seoul, Korea where I plan to explore the city for that one night. If you have any suggestions about what I could/should do for that one night, feel free to leave me a comment.

I got everything in there good! The suitcase has most of my stuff, the CR bag was for stuff I couldn't fit in the suitcase and then the SG bag was for stuff I forgot to put in the CR bag. I have a system going, people.

Random thought: Have you ever seen Honey, I Shrunk the Kids? You know how the dad had that machine that shrunk all their stuff when they moved house and re-biggelated later? That's what we need. It was an epic struggle to pick and then fit everything I wanted to take with me. And then after I closed the suitcase, I kept finding things that I know I needed to take with me, like shoes for the 'banquet'. I'd give you a picture of them, but I'd rather they be a surprise for the night :)

Later, chickens!

3 days!!

Yesterday I got my final pieces of admin done - ISIC card and cash passport. As usual, my photograph was appalling, but at least they're done. Now I'm pretty much ready to go. Just have to pack the suitcase, which (not gonna lie) will probably take a while. I don't really have any idea what kind of clothes to pack. I've done a little research about the weather in July but apparently it ranges from cold to hot and it also rains in summer. Oh and apparently we need to pack clothes suitable for 'activities'. Sounds ominous. And the old 20kg rule still applies so I have no idea how I'm going to get everything back from Prague. I'll probably end up buying another suitcase and mailing it back home.

We also celebrated end of exams last night with a night out on the town. Was good fun to say the least but when I got home, I realised the tip of my heel was broken. Really bummed just because it was one of my favourite pairs of shoes. You know, the black Steve Madden oxford-style slingbacks? It's really sad that they didn't get to see Prague with me. Goodbye dear friend. You will be sorely missed :(

Now I'd like to be alone please. Time heals all wounds. *sob

RIP

PS: Michael Jackson died today. And apparently the world is mourning Farah Fawcett also. This truly is a horrible, horrible day for everyone.

ZOMGSOHAPPYAHHHHHHHHHHHH

Aerial view of Charles University - I heart old buildings

Hello everyone! You may be wondering the reason behind the rather bold exclamation in the region of the title area expressing my not not-sadness today. If you guessed 'because I finished my exams today' you would be right. If you guessed 'because I am allowed to sleep normal hours once again' you would not be wrong. And if you guessed 'because I'm going to Prague on Monday' you would also not be wrong. Well done. Full marks for you.

Yes children, the day that Charlotte leaves the country (for the first time in 3 years!!!) is drawing ever nearer! I shall be leaving the country at 6:30AM EST from Brisbane Airport this Monday. Too early to see me off? You are again, not incorrect (Well done, Watson!). However, in my magnanimous generosity, I will find it in my heart to forgive you for this grave indiscretion on your part if you agree to join me during my stay in Prague-land via this very blog. For those of you who don't know, I am doing a summer school-like program at Charles University in Human Rights. There will be around 50ish other students there with me studying various subjects (Human Rights, like yours truly; Comparative Politics; or International Business, I think). Shout out to AIM Overseas for organising the program, Charles University for hosting the program and Mum and Dad for funding the program. You guys are pretty not uncool.

THUS, stay tuned folks and come back regularly for updates. I'll be updating as often as I can with fascinating tid-bits and vignettes about my time over there and uploading pictures and maybe even video footage if technology so allows (oh, and thanks again Mum and Dad for the new laptop. It's kind of really cool) because this will kind of be my online travel diary. Technology these days - what with the 'interwebs', and the 'lap-tops' and 'the Google'... what will they think of next?

Oh and one more thing before I sign off. I may or may not be running mini-competitions while I run this thing. Each day I shall ask you question three to determine whether you are indeed, pure of heart. And by question three, I really mean one. And by pure of heart, I may or may not mean 'prize-winner of cool Prague-bought item'. I shall explain the rules to you laterly.

So yeah. Do it. FOLLOW THE BLOG!!! You know you want to.

PS: Genevieve Woods is responsible for the title of this blog. If you have a problem, you can take it up with her. She may or may not be making regular contributions of her wit/lameness to this blog. It's all up to you. REPRESENTATIVE READERSHIP!!! (sup homie law ladies? wow i'm lame.)