Roots

Moving to New Orleans after graduation was one of the best decisions I ever made. In just a few months I was exposed to so many different cultural activities, and for the first time, I was required to make very adult choices. From budgeting to cooking (nutritionally), it seemed like every day was a new experience in the real world. Living with one of my best friends made the transition from college life to working life one of the most exciting adventures yet. We tried to do everything New Orleans had to offer, and we had the absolute best time while we were at it.

A couple of times on walks through Audubon Park, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of the Brees family, we discussed the odd sensation of living in a place and actively not putting down “roots.” We knew that there was a timeline on Nola life, so we didn’t try to find “our coffee shop,” or “our bar” or even “our friends,” really. We went to festivals, theatres, and Red Beans and Rice and Monday Night Blues, but we didn’t establish any sort of permanence in the city.

We decided that Prague would be a little different. Even though we’re only staying for a year (our parents have drilled that into our heads), we want to have “our” places and people here. We’re already succeeding! We are currently sitting in our favorite café, and the owner knows exactly what we want. It probably helps that “can I have a latte, please” was one of the first Czech phrases I committed to memory.

We’ve also made some great friends in our course. Everyone here is from very different backgrounds, so there’s never a dull moment when we talk about our hometowns, upbringing, and lives up to this point. Our school has a tradition that at the end of the first week, alums from the course take the new kids out on the town. Hearing about their experiences, successes and complete enamor of the city made us even more excited than we thought possible.

We took their advice on some exploration and spent Saturday walking from end to end of this beautiful town. Letna Park follows the river bend and affords the most beautiful view of the city. We found ourselves here, at the top, in a former discotheque patronized by the most affluent communist leaders. There was a couple taking engagement pics, so we snapped a couple too…between the snow and the view, it was just too perfect.

Doesn’t even look real, does it?

Today I navigated the metro and tram for the first time by myself to celebrate mass across the river near the castle. I had read that this is the only Catholic church that offers an English mass. What I expected to be Our Lady of the Snow turned out to be Notre Mere du Neige, but the church was so pleasant and beautiful, and there were so many charming French children running around that I might find myself there in the future if (as it seems) there is no mass in English.

Anyway, my apologies for such a long post! I'll try to keep them shorter from now on. Thanks for reading :) love y’all!