Getting Involved

It's one thing being in a new place, it's another thing to LIVE there. I remember in high school when a group of exchange students came from Hamm, Germany to my school, one of them stayed with my sister and me. Our exchange student, Paulina, was up for anything. We took her site-seeing, to musicals, and anything else happening in Chattanooga. Other host families complained about their exchange students constantly crying and wanting to stay in their rooms due to being homesick. They might have been in America, but they weren't LIVING there. During my time in Europe, I want to be like Paulina and make the most of my experience! Here's a few ways I plan on doing just that:

I plan on getting involved in the community through their festivals. Very specifically, I plan on attending the Prague Quadrennial, one of the largest theatre festivals in the WORLD! It attracts people from all over to visit this eleven-day event. I plan on going to as much of the festivities as I can.

I plan on living like a local by submerging in the food culture of the Czech Republic. Despite being a vegetarian, I want to eat as much of the local cuisine as I can. I've already found popular vegetarian restaurants in the city of Prague. I also want to drink local beers, considering Prague is the beer capital of the world. Personally, I've always hated beer. People tell me, though, that American beer is awful compared to European beers so hopefully I'll find a beer I like in the Czech Republic.

One of the best opportunities I'm going to find through my trip is my internship. Working with a local business is going to help me fully submerge in the culture. I'm going to see how people interact and work together in the Czech Republic. This is going to be a more local experience than the Anglo-American University can give me (since it hosts so many exchange students and have a diverse culture unlike the city around it).

While I have no doubt that I will make friends through my classes and working with people in my internship, I also plan on making friends by visiting as many places as I can. I plan on going to coffee shops, museums, pubs, and interacting with locals everywhere I can (without being creepy).

My day to day life is going to be very rich from going to class to my internship to local restaurants and sites. My weekends will be filled with outings and new experiences. While I'll be pretty busy, I'll get downtime in my transits where I can sit, do homework, and read a book.

By absorbing everything I can and walking into this adventure with open eyes, I plan on getting the most out of my trip. I'm ecstatic to go to a new place with no preconceptions. This is a brand new adventure with a brand new me.