Spending the 4th of July abroad.

 

First off, I want to apologize for not writing for a few days.  I had 3 lovely German girls road trip 8 hours just to spend time with me here in Prague.  (That’s a little scary, as I taught one of them how to drive while she was in America).  But they left this morning. (At 6am my time…that coincidently you all were still up and celebrating since it would have only been midnight back in Nebraska).

I explained to my Singapore friends a few days ago what the 4^th of July was all about in America.  I also told them that it would be a little tough for me, I would be feeling a tad homesick not being able to spend the holiday with my family and friends.  So when I went down for breakfast, my adorable friends all chorused “Happy 4^th of July!” “Happy birthday America!”  They started my day off with a good laugh.  I knew that they didn’t understand the significance, but nonetheless, their genuineness showed in their earnest attempts to wish me a happy day away from the states.  

The 4^th of July means NOTHING outside of the U.S.  Deep down, I knew it would be just another day here, but it still surprised my American naivety that no one here understood!  I went to classes just like normal, and was given probably even more homework than normal since it was the weekend for us. 

After classes ended around 6pm, I met up with my German girlfriends, we had chocolate sundaes on the Vltava riverside near the Charles’ Bridge, and we went to Tesco (a large, and cheap supermarket brand here). 

Sarah and I enjoying treats on the Vltava riverside after classes. 

This is Toffifee!! Whenever it becomes more mainstream
in the U.S. I wholly suggest trying it.  

One small highlight is the German chocolate.  We were in Tesco, and I found a box of my absolute FAVORITE German candy (I fell in love with Toffifee 3 years ago when I  visited Jana in West Germany for a couple weeks.  I haven’t been able to find it since!  But it’s here (which shouldn’t surprise me, since the Czech Republic shares a large border and even larger history with Germany.) Sarah bought me a box, and I was a happy girl. 

 The girls also gave me several pieces of the wonderful wonderful German chocolate that they had brought over from Germany.

We bought the makings for some sort of Italian dish, and ate outside on my balcony.  I went to a liquor store, a little more revived, since Jana (my dear German friend from high school) had been in the U.S. during the 4^th of July once.  They understood more than anyone here that I was a little homesick.  We blasted American music outside, danced, ate, and drank Czech beer (I have yet to be able to drink more than two at a time since the alcohol content is so high, and the beer is sooooo heavy!) The mixed drinks are also fabulous and contain the alcohol of about 4 American drinks combined :) 

This is the balcony outside my room.  The beer is Pilzner beer.
Pilzner is a famous Czech town a couple hours by train in the Southwest of the Czech Republic.
They have their own brewery, so the beer is soo cheap!
The joke here is that beer is cheaper than water (It is, by far!)
So why would you ever drink just water??! 

A smile wouldn't have killed the Germans, but noo!

Reunited with Jana!  I hope to God that its not another
3 years before we can see each other again. 

No caption here. 

This is at the Prague Castle after our supper and drinks, and more drinks. 

Sarah, Me, and Jana - overlooking the city. 

At the Prague Castle at night!  I will have better pictures of the castle soon!  

We finished our night over at the Prague Castle (which is something I travel by daily to go to class) for the view and pictures.  There were no fireworks; there was no lake, swimming, barbeques, concerts, Bud Light, or American flags anywhere! Its even hard to explain to the Czechs just how big of a deal it is, since they don't really celebrate an Independence Day (Which independence day would they choose? Independence from the Hapsburgs in the 1800s, or the 1st Czech Republic after WWI, or maybe the liberation from the Nazis in 1945, but wait, they were liberated from Communism in 1989 too!) I think in most European cases, the history is too full and rich to pick just one independence day. 

I enjoyed the day, however, I promised myself that I would stay in the states next summer at least for this holiday. 

I hope you all had a fun and safe Independence Day! 

Best,

Cass