My body felt like jello, yet here I was again, lugging my monstrous suitcase through yet another airport. For the first time in my life, the language being spoken around me sounded like jibberish. The posters on the walls were occupying my eyes. One just happened to be a large pitcher of beer. The ironic part was that my uncle, the liquor salesmen from New Jersey, mentioned to me right before I left for my journey that the beer in Prague was the greatest beer around. Although the drinking age was eighteen, the beer didn’t look appetizing. However, the only thing appetizing to me at that moment in time would have been a bed with a few fluffy pillows. My thoughts were suddenly interrupted, by a thick accent and a cheerful voice. There she was in front a large Mercedes bus, waving to us. “Ahoja, Ahoja," she kept saying. The greatest part was that none of us knew who the woman was or what she was saying, we just wanted to sleep.
Martina, I later found out, would be our tour guide while we ventured throughout the Czech Republic for a week and “Ahoja”, meant hello. Our first stop would be the hotel. When I heard this news, I couldn’t have been more ecstatic, I could finally ditch my monstrous suitcase and take a much-needed nap. As the bus ventured through the Czech countryside, Martina decided to introduce herself. It's safe to say that about fifty percent of my classmates were asleep as she talked, but I was ecstatic to be in a new country and see all the new views.
In the beginning, I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a fan of Martina. She talked entirely too much, but yet again she was a tour guide. Her piercing voice rang through the speakers on the bus, “ Ahoja, welcome to the beautiful land of the Czech Republic. As we make our way to downtown Prague and the city square, I would just like to take the time to say that the journey you are embarking on is one that many will never experience. The Holocaust is a subject that many tend to stray away from and avoid, but yet we must realize that it happened and it could happen again. Throughout the next two emotional weeks, we will come to many beautiful and heartbreaking places. The second week you will make memories with your Polish host that will last a lifetime. But yet you must remember that the things we encounter may be hard to comprehend, but I promise that this journey will indeed be life changing. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask, but for now please enjoy the views of my beautiful country”.
The bus traveled throughout the countryside and then boom, we were riding over a bridge entering the city. The views were breathtaking and the whole city could be seen from this bridge. Right away it became evident that no two buildings were the same. There were so many rich colors, from yellows to pinks to whites to blues. The buildings were all extraordinary crafted and the castle looked like it came right out of the movie "Cinderella". There was something just magnificent about this place and I couldn’t wait to explore it.
Our first stop was lunch and at that moment in time I could have eaten for a family of four. My first meal out of the country was duck… Yes, the kind you see in children's books, the kind that swim in ponds. There the dead animal was, sitting right in front of me with a side of potatoes. That moment I realized one thing was for certain; that I was going to go back to the United States a few pounds lighter.
After lunch our educational journey began. We came to Europe to study the Holocaust as well as dive into European culture by staying with a Polish student and their family. So there we were in the most beautiful synagogue I’d ever seen in my life. They told us not to take pictures, but that was nearly impossible due to the beauty. I was able to snap a few. Next, our journey took us The Old Jewish Cemetery, which contains 20,000 tombstones. The part that intrigued me the most was the location, which happened to be in the center of town.That afternoon we were able to tour the extraordinary city of Prague. Then for dinner we had another lovely animal, salmon. If it wasn’t for the bread at lunch and dinner, I would have lost about ten pounds that day.
Some photos from this part of my trip, taken by myself and my friend Hannah D'Amico
Hi Shannon, great post! Your imagery in the beginning immediately grabbed my attention. I like the detail and description you used throughout as well as your funny reaction to the duck. I think it would be cool if you dispersed your pictures throughout the text when you talk about each thing. For example, the beer commercial could have been when you were talking about your uncle. It's really interesting to hear about your experiences.
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