Ahoy from the Vagabond!

No, I am not trying to extend National Talk Like a Pirate Day! "Ahoy" and "Ano" are my two favorite words in Czech. It's pretty obvious why I think the "ahoy" (ah-hoy--"hello") is so cool--who wouldn't? "Ano" is awesome because, if you are an English speaker, it kind of messes with your head! Ano (pronounced ah-no) means "yes," and the equivalent of "yeah" is "yo" or, even better, "no." I would love to be able to hold a conversation in English with someone who did know what was going on and shake my head in agreement saying "yo, yo" or "no, no." Yo I would!

But I really don't get to say "ahoy" and "ano" that much. We live right in the touristy center of Prague, so everyone in any shop or cafe I have gone into speaks English, so I don't have a chance to horribly mess up trying to use my few Czech words and phrases. Good for integrity of the Czech language, frustrating for me to expand beyond my five word vocabulary. In addition, my host family is hardly around and we don't interact that much, so I can't practice Czech at home. But I think that whenever I am able to practice Czech in my homestay, coupled with my suspicion that Czech may be easier than Polish, contribute to me actually feeling almost comfortable throwing out a prosim (please) or dekuji (thank you). Except when I am ordering food, especially pasta and gelato, because I still automatically use Italian. It wasn't great in Bologna, but it's much better than my Czech! I think part of my problem with using English on this trip and wanting to use and pick up the languages on this trip is because English is my first and only language. I have never been able to use German outside of the classroom, and I don't speak any other languages. So my language complex comes from the fact that this is my one time (at least in the foreseeable future) that I will have the opportunity to communicate in a language other than English. But I have come to understand that English is necessary for many other travelers and Czech people, who also do not speak the same language, but both parties speak English. But I am looking forward to hopefully adding a few more words to my Czech vocabulary, and then testing my German in Berlin at the end of the week!

I really feel I must update on the posting from my the beginning of my second week in Krakow, where I said I was falling apart because my foot was killing me and I thought I was catching cold. First of all, my foot is much better, and only rarely hurts or feels weird; but we are going dancing tonight, so that will be the true test! And, long story short, I have spent most of the first week in Prague sick. I started feeling better throughout the week in Krakow, so I thought it was just allergies; but when I got to Prague, I started going downhill. Again, I though it was my allergies, because everything that I could be allergic to but can usually handle individually--dogs, cigarette smoke, down pillows, dust, really old buildings--are all in the apartment. But when I still had problems in class and going out to eat, I realized that I had a cold. I have felt ten times better each day (it doesn't hurt to breath anymore!), but it has been depriving me of being able to go out and explore the city and eat gelato. I can tap into a wireless signal while laying in my big comfy bed, so that has made my days, which have been split between class and bed, so much more tolerable and fun! But I am feeling better, so expect me to go out and cause trouble and explore Prague!

About that gelato. Yes there are plenty of ice cream stands for all the tourists to flock to while milling around the astrological clock at the top of every hour. But that is ice cream, not gelato. I discriminate--against fake gelato. I just wanted to put that out there.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go out and be even more of a vagabond!