Czech!

Well well well! I made it to the Czech Republic!

So, on Monday, after my father left for London at 4 AM, my mother, brother, and I went to the airport at about 10:30 AM to catch a 2:00 flight. (My mom wanted to be safe). We arrived at the airport, and looked for our SmartWings flight, which we couldn't find. So, we go to the information desk and ask them where SmartWings check-in is. We find out it's at counter 134. We get to counter 134, and nobody is there. So, we figure, since we're so early for the flight, there isn't going to be a check in area until then. (It was just a generic check in booth, not a certain airline). Anyways, we looked on the TV's for the flights and find our flight number, but it's for a different airline! Feeling puzzled by this quandary, we stayed in line. Then, about half an hour later, the airline for the flight on the TV's changed to SmartWings. All was good, and we checked in fine, however our flight was delayed 45 minutes, so we waited. When we finally got on board, we waited another 45 minutes until we took off. In total, we spent 6 hours at the airport. 6 HOURS! It was thoroughly aggravating.

Anyways, when we got to Prague, I got my bags, said goodbye to my family, and headed off by myself into the wide world. That was exciting!

When finding that the transportation office was closed, I went to the information desk to ask where I could find a ticket. She didn't really help, so I went to the bus stop, got onto bus 119 to the city center, and just paid the driver. I got off at a metro station, looking for a way to purchase a ticket for the tram to get to the hotel. So, after stumbling around a lot around the station, I finally tried to ask a guy if he spoke English, but he ran away, but a nice young woman overheard me and helped me get a ticket to the tram. I got on and made it to Hotel Krysal ahead of my team. I hung out and then found out that the team came two hours earlier than previously known, so I was reunited with them earlier than usual. It was quite a happy time. Two people lost their luggage though! It was sucky, but they got them back today.

Anyways, that night we all went out to eat in Prague. It is a very beautiful city! For some reason, it appeals to me more than most of the Spanish cities. Probably because it's a lot greener and more open. So, we went to a restaurant called "U Prince". I had some veal and then some raspberry cake. mm. It was really cheap too! Only about 8 bucks for a whole veal piece or whatever.

We were pressed for time because it was almost midnight and the subway stops at 12. So, our dessert was taking a while, so me and the three people from the team at our table decided to take a taxi, instead of go on the Metro with the rest of the group. But then one of the people with me changed her mind, so she and I ran all through Prague trying to catch up with them, but when we couldn't, we got onto the last subway to the hotel. When we got out of the station, we miraculously saw the rest of the group! haha, so we went to a gas station and bought water, which sadly turned out to be bubbly.

Anyways, the two other people from our table, it turns out, tried to catch up to us, but missed the last train, so they took a taxi home. haha

Then, the next morning (yesterday), we got onto a chartered bus and headed to Malonvice, where the camp is. It took 5 hours, but it was fun and I rebonded with my team. When we arrived, we realized that there were too many people, so the SBC group (us) had to move to a hotel, for the training period for two days. (On Friday, all the other people are leaving for other camps in Czech, and we move into this one.) We hung out in the hotel and had dinner at the camp, along with a meeting.

Suffice to say that I am uber excited about the next two and a half weeks, although I do know that I'll probably be pushed out of my comfort zone, and it will be hard, but it will be a great time for growth and improving myself. So, ya, that's what's been happening. Today was a day of training and stuff. Tomorrow is more training and then everyone leaves. AAHH!! So exciting!

Well, I hope that you guys are all doing very well! Thanks for reading and for any comments!