And I've Survived A Week!

Rachel at the Salt Lake airport

Going through security--the lines stretched all the way past baggage claim!

Flying from SLC to Dallas to London to Prague
"This is when I could finally see Europe through the clouds on the way to Prague."

 "I did have to go back through security coming into London. They had to pull me out and swipe my hands and stuff, I don't know why, but the sleepdeprived, stressed out little girl in me just about had a fit. Maybe because my body was saying that it was one in the morning, and I did not want to deal with getting patted down like a girl ahead of me." 

The Prague Airport
"Hi! I'm here, in Prague. Looking for the baggage claim. It's crazy.... And no, I did not sleep on the first flight (to London). I slept about an hour just barely (to Prague). Actually missed lunch.  There was a nice Czech guy that I talked to on the way, though. He actually went to Masaryk (University), so yeah."

"This is the student agency bus stop at the airport that I managed to spot from across two streets."

Taken from the bus from Prague to Brno.

 "Well, I'm about an hour and a half away from Brno. I wanted to look at the country while we traveled, but I have been asleep for the past hour, pretty much as soon as we left Prague. Prague is a neat city, though. As far as cleanliness, it's about like Salt Lake, but it has really neat buildings. One noticeable thing though, is that there is graffiti EVERYWHERE. All over everything. Idk if they just don't clean it up, but it's all over the place. Umm.... Right now it's a lot of trees. Kind of a lot of farmland. I just woke up, so..... 

Everyone is always speaking Czech. Really fast. I have no idea what anyone is saying. It definitely makes one feel a little dumber. 

There was a different student going to a different university in Brno from the airport, but we were both taking the same bus, so we figured out the transfer together. He was pretty nice, from Spain. He looks a lot like drew, Chris's friend. I'll try to send a picture. 

It's nice weather here. Basically like Utah." 

Alvaro, from Spain

When Rachel arrived at the bus stop in Brno, no one was there to pick her up.  After being awake for 32 hours and missing lunch, she had to find a taxi to take her to her dorm, figure out how to pay for the taxi, and get checked into her dorm.  

Sunday, 19 Sept 2015:
Wow! It's crazy to think that I have been here for a week! Crazier to remember that exactly a week ago, tonight, I was bawling my eyes out, swearing that I would be on the next flight headed home. I suppose it's probably good that I didn't immediately book a plane ticket, but believe me, it was close. Culture shock is real, people. 

And I am a firm believer in the power of new friends. I would not still be here if it weren't for some great girls who took me out, showed me around, let me cry, and assured me that they all did the exact same thing.  They are the only reason I thought it might actually get better. Which it did!!!

Carah and Rachel- roomates
First day of Orientation

Lunch 

Grocery shopping

Rachel, Carah, and Charlie

Rachel's dorm room where everyone hangs out.  It's a popular spot because they were able to set up wifi in their room.

This city is beautiful, there are tons of things to see, and the people are generally nice. The food is also super good, and pretty cheap. They use a lot of meat, and everything they make has a lot of fat, which makes it really tasty.... But probably not the healthiest. But we walk everywhere, so.... Also the chocolate is fantastic. 

A typical Czech meal

Monday (14 Sept 2015):  "This is my first lunch here. . .It was a "cheeseburger."  Haha.  It is really pretty here.  We walked a ton today, got a tram pass, exchanged money, all that.  I still have a list of things I need to do, and it's stressing me out, but I'm doing a ton better.  Made some friends, so it's really helpful.  Staying busy is good. I'm still adjusting, but lots better."

View of Brno from the dorm room

My classes start on Tuesday, which could be nice. It might be good to have a routine, get into the swing of things. I am a little worried that I will get bored, because my classes don't take very much time out of the week, so I'll need to find some other things to keep myself occupied. Otherwise I'll just end up all alone at my dorm all the time, and I might as well have just moved to Logan, for all the exciting things I'm doing. Would have been cheaper too. So hopefully I'll find things to do!

Church was great. It was so nice to meet the sister missionaries on the tram, and go to the baptism. It's nice to remember that the church is true no matter where I am, and I have a family and friends wherever I go. Even if I don't speak the language. 

Rachel and the sister missionaries at a baptism on Saturday.

A Book of Mormon in Czech

So anyway, things are looking up! I'm enjoying it here, I have friends, and I'm definitely learning and growing. I'm starting to see a couple of the reasons that I had to leave somewhere I was completely comfortable, in order to grow in ways I didn't know I needed to grow. Pretty amazing. And I'm sure this is only the beginning.