I haven’t written very much on here and I haven’t even posted many pictures.  Strangely enough, I haven’t kept up with my writing anywhere for that matter.  Whenever I had gone abroad in the past, I always left ample time for isolation so I could document and solidify my experiences in my brain…try to remember every last sight.  Even from the beginning, I knew this trip was going to be gone about in a different way.  In Prague (or while traveling this semester) when the time came to reflect-whether it be later that night or the next day, something new always came up stealing that time I had once always reserved for reflection.  I guess my ferocious hunger for this, for the better, dissipated here and instead of reflecting, I spent it living.  My blog posts have been lackluster, despite the incredible few months I have had; a few short months that would (however cliche-ly) change my life so positively I could not have even imagined it.  To go from literally rock bottom to the happiest I’ve been in my life.  So my time here with my American comrades is almost over.  At the onset of my half birthday (today, I’m 20.5 years old), I am left with fourteen days with these wonderful people I’ve come to know as my family. fourteen days before we are all dispersed all over the country again (mainly on the west/best coast), never to…be together again.  It’s a strange thought knowing that after living in such a magical city together, we will all go back to our respective areas of the United States to probably never meet again…despite having this enormous life experience that will tie us together for the rest of our lives.  Studying abroad is a big deal, but especially for those living in such a personal haven as Prague-this tiny city that allowed us to call it our own.

Old habits die hard and I am caught in a trap of endless reflection on three months of events that feels heavier than all other in my life combined.  My heart aches already.  Luckily, I am staying in Prague for at least a month to help my heart heal and be at peace again.  Though, once I do leave, my heart will forever ache for the city and the people that saved it.

May Day

This year’s May Day unfortunately falls on a Saturday. However, it’s still possible to enjoy some of the traditions associated with it. The official reason for the holiday is Labor Day. Under communism it was an occasion for parades, flag waving and showing solidarity against capitalism – at least officially.  Some political groups and fringe movements still mark the occasion.

Generally, since the Velvet Revolution, the day has been an opportunity for people to enjoy the spring weather. If you or you friends are outside, you may witness one of the oldest and perhaps kitschiest customs: the erection of maypoles (máj or májka in Czech). Czech maypoles are usually made from conifers, especially spruce. Villages compete to see whose maypole is the biggest. Once set aloft, the young people try to bring down the poles from other villages while simultaneously defending their own from similar attacks.

In Prague, there will be a maypole in Střížkov. Otherwise, to truly experience this tradtion, it’s best to head out of the city. Southern Moravia is often recommended as a place where the custom is particularly strong – though that might just be the Bohemian characterization of their neighbors.

A tradition for the more romantically inclined, and one which could be connected with the Czech lands more directly, is the custom of couples visiting the statue of the Czech poet Mácha on Petřin Hill. Karel Hýnek Mácha is among the country’s most celebrated poets. He is usually classified as a Romantic, and his most famous poem Máj (in English) recounts a tragic love affair between a bandit Vilem and a young woman Jarmila, who is raped by Vilem’s father.

Beth is my love date for today and I am off in search of a maypole in prague.

“Witch Burning Night” has two possible origins. The first, Beltane, is a Celtic summer festival dating back from when Celtic tribes inhabited this area. Alternatively, it stems from either a Scandinavian or German summer rite, which later became the night of St Walpurga. This explains the event’s other name in English: Walpurgis Night. In Czech the night is also known as Filipojakubská noc (Philip and James Night), which you may find on some promotional material for the evening.

As Christianity spread, what had once been a pagan festival became more a tradition to keep all that was pagan at bay. The fires were lit to ward off witches and part of this process included burning old broom sticks. Today, the night is more an opportunity to get together with friends to build a fire and enjoy the outdoors, which hopefully are by now warmer and with all the vestiges of winter gone. The origins of the day will give you something to talk about while enjoying a beer and roasting buřty (fat Czech sausages) over an open fire.

From an American standpoint, the festivities were kind of just like the 4th of July with families/friends gathering in big groups to drink, eat, listen to music, and enjoy the night together.  We drank a ton of pivo, ate some sausages, skanked (yes, there was a ska band there), and just chilled in the grass and chatted.  Since I’ll be missing July 4th this year, I guess this was sort of the replacement for it.

is it? is it?

If I don’t figure something out in the next week or so my head is going to explode.

• went to northern CZ to a glass blowing factory to blow some fucking glass
• visited a winery and had enough wine to get me drunk

just my life now-a-days…

Remember last week when my fever peaked at 103 and I thought I was hallucinating and couldn’t move?  Remember this morning when I got out of bed in the middle of the night and fell because I couldn’t walk?  Well, now my fever’s at 102.

Now I guess I should go find that pharmacist who speaks english.

my life in prague?

Better in terms of intimacy and audience-artist dynamics, which are really the only two things that matter since no music venue is going to have shitty sound quality.  This comes as no surprise to me, but every time I go to a new venue this fact is only reiterated and my love for Prague grows.  Now if only the music scene in Prague was as serious as it is in New York/DC… to be honest though, it’s kind of nice to take a break from having to be up on every upcoming artist/new album release.  Now I can REALLY do it out of sheer pleasure and not absolute necessity.  If only more international artists came to Prague, I would have no reason to ever leave this city.