blue

So I haven’t written on here in over one month. So where to begin, I guess I will start at the end of October. In the Czech Republic at the end of October there is a week of holidays known as Fall Holidays. During this break my host family and I loaded up there camping car and headed to Sumova National Park for three days. It about a three hour drive from our house but we travelled later so it was dark for most of the trip. On the first day there we went hiking all day, in total we walked 20km, 7 of those straight up a mountain. By the end of the day my legs were very sore and I was extremely tired. On day two we went for a “short” bike ride according to my host family. The bike ride was 40km and you had to pedal about 35km of the trip. Being sore from the day before made this trip even harder for me then it would have been if I wasn’t. In my host family they are very use to doing this long of bike trips and couldn’t understand why it was so hard for me. Although it was one of the hardest sport activities I have ever done in my life, and though I did it super slowly I am very proud of myself for finishing the ride.  On the last day of our trip we went to the city of Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov is an old city in Moravia; the city is marked as a UNESCO site and is very well persevered. We spent most of the day just walking around the old town taking pictures.

November was an extremely hard month for me. I am not too sure why but the entire month I was homesick and was super blue. I barely did anything all month. I do have a couple highlights of the month but I don’t even think that they were even that exciting or big. Well anyways I will still write about them From November 11-13^th I spent the weekend with the other exchange students in Trebic. This was the first time that we just had a weekend with only the students from the Czech. There were tons of new faces due to delayed arrivals because of visa issues. It was great to meet the other students and most of the weekend we spent just bonding with one another and touring around Trebic. From the 17^th-23^rd I had no school. This was because my school moved buildings to another one across the city because the other building needed repair. Over these holidays I was alone at home but I didn’t mind. On the 19^th in the morning I went to a film with my host family called “The Art of Flight” a documentary about snowboarding. It was a really cool film that took you into the life of professional extreme snowboarders. It was kind of funny because the movie was completely in English without Czech subtitles so I was the only one who could understand what was going on. That night I went to my second prom. This time it was “Black and white” so everyone was either dressed in Black or white clothing. It was a fun night. The last event that took place was my friend and I went to Breaking Dawn Part 1 in English with Czech subtitles. I was actually surprised with the movie. All the Twilight movies in my opinion are terrible. The acting sucks and they are all around bad movies. Entertaining but horrible. I was surprised because though this one was bad it was horrible like I was expecting it to be. I almost forgot I also have kind of taking up rock climbing. Every Thursday after my Czech lessons my host dad, Alejandro and I go rock climbing. I actually really enjoy it though it is challenge.

December is defiantly looking up, the first part of the month has been really fun and I hope it just keeps getting better. The first Friday of December my host family and I went to Prague for Christmas shopping. We never actually went into the city just an outlet mall on the outside but it was still a good day of shopping.  That night I came home from Prague and went to my host aunt’s birthday party till 7pm and after I went out with my friends and celebrated one of my friends birthday. That Saturday I relaxed in morning but in the afternoon I went with my host family and their friends to a rock-climbing wall 20mins outside of Hradec.  On Sunday I went to one of my host Babicka’s house and there we celebrated my host dad’s brother’s 40^th birthday and my Babicka name day. It was a good beginning weekend to December. The following weekend (9-11^th) I travelled to Prague for a Christmas inbound weekend. I can’t even sum up in words how awesome the weekend was. We arrived in Prague Friday afternoon at 3pm. after we made a quick stop at our hotel we headed to a shopping mall for dinner and a little bit of shopping. At around 6 we walked over to the O2 arena for a hockey game. It was tons of fun. The fans of the teams were great. Both sides had a section of the arena strictly for hardcore fans. They had jerseys, scarfs, drums, nose makers and tons of different cheers for their teams. They were truly devoted fans, it was crazy. After the game they had riot police everywhere just in case there were any problems. We headed back to the hotel after the game and then had a language test and after went to bed. The next day we got up bright and early for breakfast. At 9 am we head out in to Prague for some sight-seeing. We went all around Prague the two main highlights being Prague castle and St Charles Bridge. Later that day we did some shopping and then at 5pm we headed to the Prague Christmas markets. The markets were in one of the many old squares in Prague. There were tons of vendors of souvenirs, classic Czech Christmas ordiaments and also a lot of traditional food. The square had tons of Christmas lights, decorations and Europe’s largest Christmas tree.  Once we finished at the markets we all went to a restaurant and had the traditional Czech Christmas meal (Carp and Potato Salad). After dinner we went back to our hotel and had a Christmas night. There was a gift exchange, Christmas treats and we sang Christmas carols in 3 different Languages. On Sunday we all said goodbye and then me and the other exchange students from Hradec jumped on a train and headed back to the city. It was a super awesome weekend.

Being on an exchange is an emotional roller coaster, you have your good days but you also have really bad days. You are challenged everyday emotionally and mentally. You are constantly studying a language that you may never use again. You pretty much have to force yourself into the peoples around you lives. Though before you leave for an exchange they tell you it’s not always going to be easy you are never fully prepared for how hard it actually can be. You literally are disconnected from everything back home. Sure you have facebook, skype , email etc but it is not the same.  You are unable to participate in your friend’s everyday life anymore the most you can do is like the status most days. You are still a part of your family no matter the distant but it is not the same. It’s hard to explain because though you know they love you and they probably think about you all the time you feel as though you are being left behind. Not only are you changing while being in your country, your family and friends in your home country are changing to. I am not saying I regret coming on an exchange. I truly love this experience I have already learned so much not only about this country and culture but also a ton about myself. I just am saying that you cannot come into this experience thinking that it is going to be a huge party or a vacation. I think youth exchange is one of the most eye opening experience out there. I think anyone would be crazy to pass up this experience, I just want them also to know its not always tons of fun.
Since I won't be writing again till after Christmas. To all those who read my blog Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
To all the fam jam that reads this i love and miss you guys so much.
xoxoxox

October

October so far has been pretty exciting and eventful.

On October 5th I head to Bratislava Slovakia with my counselor and a fellow exchange student to apply for our visas. When we got to the embassy I was told that my criminal record check translation into Czech was no good, and that it was a bit out dated. Then I was told I had to translate my other documents into Czech which I was unaware of. Being seventeen and applying for a visa pretty much alone is a very stressful process. I am very thankful though for my wonderful counselor you talked to the lady for me and worked out a deal with her. So the embassy stamped my passport saying I had applied  though my application wasn't complete. After we left Bratislava both me and my fellow exchange student were upset. on the way home  we stop in a small Czech town where my counselor had a meeting. Here me and my other exchange student went shopping and felt a lot better afterwards.
My visa application is now complete. My counselor got everything organized for me and and now I am just waiting for them to approve my visa. Again I am very grateful for my counselor and all the work he put into my visa.

Thanksgiving weekend was the next big event that took place. I decided that I would share Thanksgiving with my host family. So starting on Friday I began preparing for the dinner. Friday night I successfully made my grandmothers pie dough. On Saturday I prepared pumpkin pies (I even made my own pumpkin puree.), onion soup, boiled eggs , and started cooking the turkey and stuffing. I had to start cooking the turkey on Saturday because it was 25lbs and I was making thanksgiving lunch instead of dinner. On Sunday I woke up early. I made devilled eggs, a giant pot of mashed potatoes, a large bowel of salad and finished cooking the turkey. I set the table with decorations sent from home and with a Canadian table cloth my aunt had made for my host mom. My dinner turned out great. In total there were eleven people there for lunch and they all said they enjoyed it.

On the 15th I attended my first prom. Classic dancing courses are something a lot of people here in the Czech take part in. So they have a bunch of balls or proms to show off there dance moves. So I went with some friends to this prom. It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to the next one.

The next day me and my family took a day trip to a little town 50km away called Kuks. It is a small town that has many sculptures made by the artist M. B. Braun. This is the website for the building we visited. http://www.hospital-kuks.cz/history/

 

This is the front of the hospital.

On Thursday of this week I was lucky enough to get to go to Vienna for the day. One of the exchanges students living in Hradec Kralove as well was having her birthday this weekend. As a present her host mom bought her a trip to Vienna and they asked me to join them. It was a lovely day. When we first got to Vienna we went to Palace and Garden Of Schonbrunn. It was crazy beautiful. http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/ . After we headed to Vienna's old square and looked around. We saw a giant Gothic church, the winter residence of the Schonburnn's, the Parliament building, city hall and the opera house. It was a great day, a little cold but still a lot of fun.

I am still struggling with the language. I know a lot more , but for some odd reason I am embarrassed to speak in Czech. I think it is because I do not want to be laughed at. I guess it is just a thing that I need to get over or else i will make no process. The honeymoon stage of my exchange is definitely over. I have my good days but I do also have some bad ones. Some days I wonder why I wanted to do this and others I think I never want to go home. I guess it is all apart of this experience.

Untill next time

xoxo

Morganne

September

So I am sorry that I really fail at this whole blogging thing. Every week I am like " I should go write a blog" but I never end up writing one.

Anyways it feels strange to already be here a little over one month, time is already going by so quickly. Everyone always told me that a year is a long time to be away, but if it keeps going this fast it will be over before I know it. Czech is a very difficult language and most days I feel as though I am making absolutely no progress. It is very frustrating because I feel like such a burden to my friends, host family and classmates by making them have to speak English for me to understand. I know that learning a language doesn't just happen over night it takes time and practice but it would be alot easier if it  did just happen over night. I have been setting goals for myself most of them personal and I would rather not say on the Internet but the biggest goal that I have set for my self is by the end of November to not speak in English at all anymore. This goal is definitely going to be a challenge but I am sure if I work hard enough I will be able to accomplish it.

On to the month of September. September was rather uneventful in a way but was still a good month. On the first I started school. In school I am in the second year, the kids are all my age. I am very happy that I was put into this year and not in to the younger one. My school is called Gymnazium J.K. Tyl , it is a historical landmark in Hradec Kralove and is very old. That being said in November we will have to move the school to another location so that the building can be repaired.  My school days start everyday at 8 am goes till 1:30pm on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. On Thursday and Tuesday I go to school till 4:15pm. Being an exchange student school is pointless. I go to classes and pretty mush just sit there and study Czech Language, because I have absolutely no idea what is going on. School is mandatory so I attend ever day every lesson.

During September I attend a historical festival in my city. It was rather interesting I guess. It was to celebrate the birthday I think of the queen who fonded Hradec Kralove. The old square was set up like a medieval market place and there were people dressed up everywhere are jesters, peasants, knights and so on. The first night there was a parade displaying people in these costumes and the second night there was a beautiful firework display over top of White tower and the Church in the old square.

I attended my first inbound orientation weekend in Strecno Slovakia. Me and two other exchange students travelled together by train. This was very cool because we got to see the country side of both Czech Republic and Slovakia . Orientation is not all that fun because you mostly just get alot of lectures. The only fun parts about this one were: meeting all the exchange students in the district, visiting Strenco castle and the dance we had one night.  I meet some great people during this weekend, but was very surprised with the lack of countries that are in my district. There are mostly people only from north and south America and I think only four girls from Asia.  I am very much looking forward to our next meeting which is in November.

The last big highlight of September was for one week my host family and I went on a holiday to the Croatian Islands. It was a twelve hour drive to Croatia so we left Hradec at 4 am on Saturday the 24Th and arrived in Croatia a little after 3pm. We spent our week on a yacht cruising around the islands in total we travelled 300km on the sea. It was a very beautiful trip and I am very happy my host family took me on this holiday. I find it unreal though that I travelled for only 12 hours and during this time I was in four different countries.

This trip concluded the month of September, this month I will try my best to update my blog every two weeks, if all goes well.

 Lots of love

What a week!!

On Sunday I left Grande Prairie and my family at 9:00am. I arrived in Calgary where I ended up getting lost in the airport for about an hour. When I finally figured out where I had to go it turned out that I had to go through security again. From Calgary I flew to Frankfurt which is a rather long flight. I did not sleep at all on this flight instead I watched 3 movies trying to pass the time.  When I arrived in Frankfurt I became very confused and again got lost in the airport. After going through security for a third time I made it to my gate just in time to catch my plane to Prague. In Prague I was greeted by my host family with a sign that said “Welcome Morganne”. Once we finally got to Hradec Kralove after getting lost in Prague for a bit,  my familyand I went out for lunch. Lunch here is the biggest meal of the day which I am not use to but hey not going to complain. After lunch we drove through Hradec Kralove which by the way is BEAUTIFUL! Then finally headed home. My family’s house is rather big and is a little bit outside of town. They have a basketball hoop,  trampoline, a small pool and a sitting area all in their yard.
On Tuesday my host family including a host cousin took me to a beach, which was clothing optional. This really was not a big deal except for the fact the only people walking around naked were old men, so it was kind of awkward lol.That night we biked into the city going past my school then into the old square for pizza. There and back it was probably a 10km bike ride. 
Wednesday my host mom and sister took me to an aqua park in a neighbouring village. It was very busy and there were too many people. To put into prospective it was like the entire town of Wembley all going to one small swimming pool.
Thursday my host family took me on a canoeing trip down one of the rivers in Hradec Kralove which was a lot of fun. Picnic lunch, lots of swimming and soaking up the sun was how we spent our day.
On Friday we did the exact same thing but without my host mom and with family friends. They were two very fun days!
Saturday morning we packed up some food and clothes and headed out to the family cottage which is in the mountains. The mountains in the Czech Republic are more like hills compared to the Rockies but still it was a very nice trip.
Today we came home from the mountains and just relaxed. Later on Alejandro, who is one of the other inbounds in Hradec Kralove came over and visited.
I already feel at home here in the Czech Republic, the language is difficult but I am trying and I am sure once I go to school it will be easier.
Naschledanou!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

So tomorrow is the big day! I will be leaving GP at 9am and will arrive Monday at 9:10am in Prague. I am so excited and ready for this amazing adventure!  Not to sound to conceited but I am pretty proud of myself for getting involved in this excellent program, it will be the most amazing year of my life. I feel as though this isn't really happening. I do not think that it will hit me till I am actually on the plane to Frankfurt. Well I know this post is short but I do not know how to put everything I am feeling together in words.
Well until next time
Morganne

A few bumps in the road.

As of today I am 44 days away from my departure date (August 21st).  Right now you would think I would be worried about what to pack, how to get through airports, and such but that's not exactly what I am thinking/worried about.  As of today I have still not applied for my long term Czech Visa. It is not like I am putting off the process, it's that the papers from the Czech that I need to apply got lost during the mail strike of Canada Post. The even worst part of this whole situation is the fact that it takes 60 days for a long term Czech Visa to be approved. Since I have no way of knowing where these papers are, this problem could push my departure date as late as the middle of September.

Not only would I not be in the Czech for the first day of school but that would mean I would be in Canada when all my friends start Grade 12. Though I knew not graduating with my friends was part of this program, and I totally believe it is worth it, I just think it would make it that much harder being here when they start school.

Another thing that I realllllllly do not want to miss is the first inbound weekend in Slovakia. This is where all of the inbounds in district 2240 get together and pretty much just bond.  I am hoping that I can make it to this event!  I am super excited to meet everyone and though there will be other weekends I do not want to miss this one.

I am hoping that there is a way for me still to leave on my scheduled date.

A little more information

The Czech Republic, not a common place you would think of visiting but that's exactly where I will be spending my year as an Rotary Exchange Student. I will be living in a city called Hradec Králové, which is only an hour away from Prague!!  My Rotary district in the Czech is actually a combined district with Slovakia. So I will most likely be spending quite a bit of time in Slovakia as well! Between the two countries there will be fifty RYE students from all over the world. Out of those fifty only fifteen of us are in the Czech. Luckily for me there will be two other RYE students living in the same city as me. I am not sure the exact date that I am leaving for the Czech; the only thing I know is I have to arrive between August 20th-30th.

Right now I have around 3.5 months left in Canada which is rather terrify, since it only feels like yesterday that I received the phone call that I was accepted into the RYE program. When people ask me if I am nervous about spending my year abroad I say no. I have never been more excited for something in my entire life. I have dream of become an exchange student ever since I was little and for it to finally become a reality is breathtaking! I know my year away is going to change my life forever; I am extremely lucky and blessed to have been given such an amazing opportunity.  I am so grateful and thankful to the people who have given me this gift.