Alex's Travels

Bad Start Gets Better

My first few days in Prague were not the best of my life.

I arrived on Wednesday, May 24 with the intention to move here semi-permanently. Before I left, I told people I may stay as little as four months or as much as one year. Not a week later, my plans have changed drastically.

It didn't take me long to realize I do not want to live semi-permanently in Prague. Homesickness hit me as soon as the plane touched down. Having never been outside of the States, with the exception of one or two daytrips to Canada and Mexico, Prague was a bit of a culture shock (although now I see it for what it is: Western culture with a Bohemian twist). I spent my first day walking around this strange city with Debbie, a girl I met at my hostel. I was dazed as hell and confused because I had left Tuesday afternoon and here it was Wednesday and I hadn't slept at all. I didn't even know whether or not to be tired, so my body settled for dazed. That first night I looked at pictures of Baltimore online and of my girlfriend and family. Quite honestly, I wanted to be home.

Homesickness, as it tends to do, slowly subsided. Nearly a week into the trip, the feeling isn't as intense, but I still wouldn't mind seeing a green street sign (as another Marylander staying here said). But homesickness wasn't the only thing that made me change my mind about moving here. I had absolutely no luck arranging a flat. In five days, I saw nearly seven rooms. Some of them were nice, others not. I was adamant about having internet and only two potential flatmates offered to let me use their computers. But the biggest barrier was that I would not commit to more than a three-month contract; nobody would rent out to me for less than a year.

Facing the homesickness, the difficulty in finding housing, and an utter lack of enthusiasm, I decided not to move to Prague. Why put up so much effort to do something I don't want to do? My life in Baltimore was all I could ask for; there was no reason to leave it behind. Of course, had I stuck it out a few more weeks and found a suitable place, maybe I would have never wanted to leave Prague. But that's not what happened and, for now, I have no regrets.

Moving to Prague has been replaced with another goal: experiencing some of Europe. I bought a train ticket, booked some hostels and am scheduled to arrive in Vienna later today. When I return on Thursday, I will stay with a woman who helped me when I was still planning to move here in her village just outside of the city. After my time there, Alyssa will arrive in Prague and we plan to spend ten days in the city. And then to the bulk of the trip: Moldova, where we will volunteer at a senior center a short bus ride out of the capital Chişinău. I'm pleased that we will spend a month at this center. I dreamed of moving to Prague because I didn't just want to passively witness the sights of Europe, I wanted to experience it. I wanted to wake up day after day in the same place, get into a routine and simply live life in another location. The volunteer portion of my travels will give me the chance to do just that and share the experience with Alyssa, without having to worry about finding decent housing. After that, we have some time to travel. Perhaps to my grandfather's down in Greece, but I'll see what the financial situation looks like.

When I settled on this plan, a burden lifted from me. Finally, I could sit back, relax and enjoy Prague. I had already been having quite a good time walking around the city, going out to restaurants and pubs with people I met at the hostel. One of the best aspects of hosteling is the people you meet. I stayed up late into the night having conversations with Americans, Israelis, Aussies, Chinese, Canadians, and what I think was a drunk French person. Last night, I even went out with Tory (who lived in Mount Vernon and other parts of Baltimore for a few years) and Erin (an Aussie) to the movies and saw The Da Vinci Code - in English! Sitting in front of a huge screen in a modern theatre with a beer and some popcorn, I was very much content.

And now off to Vienna...

I will use this blog as my travel log. It serves as a journal for me but others are welcome to read it.

posted by The League: Reassembled @ 1:23 AM