So, as some of you may have already known, i am studying in Europe,

specifically Nymburk, Czech Republic, for the second semester of my

junior year of high school.   I brought with me everything that i

needed, like computer, all my clothes, skis, music, the usual.  I will

be updating this blog relatively often just documenting what life is

like out here for everyone to see.  This being the first one, it will

have a bunch of pictures and commentary on the trip out here and

whatnot.

I know this is a really stupid picture but i took it so all you guys

could sort of see what i look like, even though i look like an idiot

and im not even looking at the camera.

Anyway, it was a total 24 hour trip to get out here to Europe.  I flew

from Albuquerque to Washington DC.  Then i had a 2 hour layover in DC

where i downed a meatball sub and got some sleep.  Then we proceeded to

fly to Frankfurt Germany.  This portion of the trip was 8 hours in the

air.  We flew on a 747 jet, which by the way is HUGE.  It was by far

the biggest plane ive ever been on and Ive ridden quite a few

airplanes.  As some of you know it has a second level up top which is

really sick.  Here is a picture of just the wing.

This picture doesnt do it any justice as to just how big it is.  Then i

had to be an idiot and take a picture of inside the plane too because

that was giant as well, and by that i mean that you could easily park

three cars side by side in it.  Id go as far to say that it was bigger

than my 3 car garage.

So then in Frankfurt, we only had about 45 minutes to get to our flight

to Prague.  We nearly didnt make it because all the way there i had my

skateboard in my hand and just carried it on the plane but they wouldnt

let me go through because they said i would have to go back and check

it for some reason.   Now i dont speak German so i was pissed but we

got it straighted out that i could check it at the gate.  Then they

wouldnt let me go through because they thought my crochet hooks and

skateboard bearings were weapons so i had to try to explain to them

what they were, again which we managed to get straightened out.  Whats

wierd about Europe is that it can be horrible weather on the ground,

but when you get above the clouds, its amazing.  Check it out/

So from there it was all good, we got picked up from the Prague airport

and off to Nymburk we went.  I had lived in Nymburk for a summer when i

was 13 so it was all coming back to be very familiar.  This is where i

am living for the next 5 months.

The family im staying with is awesome.  They have three kids, one who

is 17 (Filip) who i go to school with, one who is 16 (Matous) who i

also go to school with but is two grades younger (i'll explain) and one

who is 3 and a half, who has the same name as me, Pavel, which he

thinks is awesome so ive made a little friend here too.  He's pimp. 

The older one plays in a funky rock type band.  I am sitting in as

their guitarist for the next couple months.  They are a really good

band, lots of talent and potential.  The pianist is by far the best

pianist i have ever heard in my life.  Here is a picture, you cant see

the kid im staying with or me so its retarded i know.

One other thing that we spend all our time doing is what they call

here, Diabolos.  i dont even know what they are called in America but

its addicting and awesome.  Here Matous is killing it.  He is amazing

at it.

Matous also skateboards which is legit, so we go skate everyday.  Here

there is a huge stereotype against skateboarders and people who look

like myself as in sagged pants, flat brim hat, baggy hoodie.  People

here hate hiphop for the most part so i dont really fit it in but i

dont care, and Matous doesnt either so its legit it to kick it with

him.  There are some little miniramps here that we shredded.  Here are

some pics.

Matous shredding

I got the hang of it eventually.

So then i went into Prague and played tourist for a day.  EVERYONE here

rides the train which is pretty sick.  I figured i would take a picture

for you guys.

Prague is a beautiful city.  There is a ton of history here so you can

see buildings that are upwards of a thousand years old, castles, take a

ride on a boat, you name it.  It does seem a little worn out though. 

Without any exaggeration AT ALL, about every ten feet here the is some

poorly done tag or bad attempt at a piece of graffitti.  Its really sad

that it got to be such a big problem here but you really come to

appreciate the good graff.  Writers like SUGR and EMO put up nice

pieces every now then but crappy tags and random vandalism is mainly

what prevails and really brings down the city.  Here are some pictures

that i have so you all can see.

This is inside one of the museums.

Outside

sorry that this one is sideways

School is something totally different than we have over there in the

USA.  For one, you have to change shoes once you get there to keep it

clean.  It is a totally open campus and by that i mean completely.  You

can leave or come or do anything you want whenever you want, it is ALL

up to you, which is pretty tight and i think works much better than

having a cop and like 5 security guards patrolling at all times like i

had back home. There are also 9 classes and your schedule changes

everyday and repeats weekly, so every day i go to different classes in

different classrooms.  Every week it repeats.  Two days a week i go to

school from 7:45 to 3:45.  Two days a week i go from 7:45 to like

1:30ish.  One day i week i go from 7:45 to about 12:30.  The classes

are very different also.  There is a lot more independence and more

like college im guessing because the teachers dont really care if you

listen or not or even what you do.  They have a schedule that they

follow so they teach the material and expect you to pay attention but

its up to you.  There isnt really homework either, its just up to you

to know the material when the time comes to get tested on it.  Its been

really hard for me because i still cant understand and or speak czech

very well.  I am about at the level of a 12 year old but im going to

school for a 17 year old.  They also have 13 grades here so i am only

16 and an 11th grader but here i am in 12th grade with 17 and 18 year

olds just because we are both 1 year from graduating.  Thats how Matous

can be the same age as me but two grades below me.

so thats all for now is guess, pretty long but i will be updating again

with more adventures and less talk.  This is just the first one so dont

worry.  Tak ze uz mam hlat a mama vola na jidlo tak skoncu.  Mej se

hezky vole!