Study Abroad Fall 2013: Midterms Week Round One!

So I left off last week after seeing the Bone Church. This past week in comparison I must say was a wee bit less adventurous. Monday was a gorgeous day. However, I spent the first half of it indoors working on papers for midterms week. When DJ got home however, he persuaded me to go and walk around the city for awhile. I was so glad I did. It was nearly 70 here so DJ put on a pair of shorts and off we went. Being as we are now officially over halfway through this adventure (when did that happen?!?!) we took a well deserved to a classic American place, Starbucks. There we spent an exorbitant amount of money on coffee just so it would taste like home. We then began our trek to the Zizkov TV tower, aka the ugliest building in Prague. But it is covered in sculptures of crawling babies and we couldn't miss the chance to see some nice contemporary art! They were pretty interesting and definitely did not enhance the beauty of the tower, but to each their own! Then we took a tram over to the Petrin tower which I had not been to before. It is like a mini eiffel tower, but since it's up on a hill they are actually the same height away from sea level. Because the sun had almost set we decided to take the funicular. Well, we're either really glad we did or not. As we were sitting and waiting for the ride up, a man came by with his camera flipping everyone off and taking pictures of them. He then entered the compartment behind us where he eventually fell asleep? but definitely fell over and was then escorted away from the vehicle. I'd be nervous, but he was so drunk the picture he took of us is more than definitely blurry. I'd be surprised if the shutter was open all the way! We got to the top after the sun was down and got to see Prague all lit up at night. Then we began our trek down the park "trail" which wasn't lit. Fortunately neither of us fell, but the hill kept on getting steeper and steeper until finally they decided stairs were a better option.
Tuesday through Thursday was just filled with studying and taking midterms. But then Thursday night was Halloween! So I had Lindsey and Rachel over and we watched some Tim Burton movies and ate a bunch of different chocolates and candies before Rachel and I went over to our friends apartment for a Halloween party. It was a really fun time and a lot of people dressed up. We all stayed there for a bit before heading out to a club that was decorated for the occasion. DJ and I left after a little bit there because we had an early day the next morning, but overall it was a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday!
Friday we welcomed DJ's family to the city! They were so excited to see him at the airport and it was great to bring them into Prague and show them a bit of our temporary home. That night I went out to an HC Sparta Praha hockey game with UPCES. It was really cool. There was a section of fans that looked younger and the entire game they just shouted cheers and supported their team led by a man with a megaphone. Luckily, Sparta won so no one was upset that night! Saturday I did some homework and then skyped with Danielle a bit. That was really nice because it's hard for us to make time and she's going to be here in a month so there is always so much to discuss! Then DJ and his family came in the door because we were having them over for dinner. It was such a nice dinner and Grant came too because after we all went to a Sparta Fotbol game. Remember that fan section from Friday that I watched? Well on Saturday we sat right in the middle of it, and it was even rowdier. We stood the entire game and pretended we had an idea of what everyone around us was saying in solidarity. At the beginning of the game everyone pulled out their scarves (which we didn't have) and held them up and sang a song all about Sparta Praha! And it just went from there. Grant and I were only a couple rows away from the man with the megaphone this time so we just pretended the entire game. This includes the half time break and even a little bit after because the cheering does not stop! When Sparta scored a goal someone set off a homemade flare and Grant had to pull me away from the fire. After it dissipated we noticed that the seats around the flare had melted a bit. What a crazy group of fans! It was a great night and now I am headed into midterms week round two! Wish me luck :)

Zizkov TV tower