March

Oh what a month March was, I actually have no idea where it went. So lets start at the beginning. On the 10th was my first big event of the month. My host mom, her friend, and I went and saw a ballet titled "Giselle" . It was preformed by the Prague National Ballet but had travelled to Hradec. It was a very beautiful story line and the dancing was fantastic. After the ballet I went to the city with some friends.

The next day (11th) my friend Emily came for a visit untill the 12th. During the day we went to coffee with a girl who I met in Hradec who last year travelled to the USA for one year. It was a really nice time where we just drank coffee and talked. After coffee Emily and I hit the mall in search of spring clothing, Which we never found. After dinner that night we headed to the city to meet with Fernanda, Alex and Jennings, who are all other exchange studnets. We went to a small pub and just hung out, though it may not sound fun we had a great time just being together.

Just Chilln'

The next weekend on friday night (16th) was my friend Tereza's 18th birthday party. Just like in Alberta 18 is the legal age and is also the year teens in the Czech can get there drivers. So we had a big party to celebrate. The party started at 9 and I headed home at 1 (a little early) but I had a great time with everyone.

Some of the people at the party



The rest of the weekend was great as well. It was the first really nice weekend of spring in the Czech. On Saturday we hit a high of 22C. Then on Sunday because the weather was great my host mom took me to Prague for the day! We went to some major tourist sites and also did a bit of shopping. That day in Prague the temperture was about 24C,which was rather lovely for the beginning of March.

Me with the Heart for Vaclav Havel (made from the mourning candles)

From the 24th-30th of March I travelled to Slovakia for a week long ski camp organized by rotary. During the week we had instructors who taught us to ski and snowboard and were on the slopes from 9am-3pm. In the afternoons we had free time. At our hotel we had access to a pool, sauna, game room and other things. Durning the week we also visted an ice cave, hot springs and the town Lipkoskey Mikulas. On one of the days rotary also organized a snow carnavil, where we wore masks and just played some games. The last night of ski week we all head to a disco on the ski resort. Though it was a Thursday and was not very busy we still had a grand time dancing and singing together. This week was amazing, it was great to spend such a long time with the other exchange students ( usually only spend a weekend together). I discovered that skiing is definatly not for me but I am really happy I was able to attend this event  :D

The weekend after ski week (31-1st) my host mom and I went a visited her parents in a Czech village called Sity. We mostly just relaxed and in the evening on saturday we baked. I made a pastry and my host mom made a typical sheep shaped cake for easter.



So that pretty much wraps up March! 

February

February was defiantly the month of my exchange that I feel blah about.  It was like boring but not boring. I really do not know how to explain it. It just nothing was really super exciting but nothing was bad. So I will tell you about it.

So the first weekend of the month I went to my last ball. It was a really interesting experience because well my friends and I didn’t even have tickets. We end up going waiting outside for 10 min and then a friend of theirs came outside and gave us cut wrist bands and taped them on our wrists. The ball was a lot of fun and I didn’t get home till around 3:30am. 

On the 5^th of February my host mom left for London for two weeks, leaving me alone with her mother for that time. It was a really interesting  because her mom speaks absolutely no English once so ever. During this time I also started going to the gym regularly. I now go to the gym three or four times and week for 1.5-2 hours.

 On the 11^th of February I went on a huge shopping trip with my exchange friend Emily to the neighbouring city of Pardubice. It was a great day of shopping. We spent 5 hours at the shopping centre and both bought a lot of new clothing items. 

On the 13^th of February my class teacher pulled me out of class and invited me to go on a history project trip to Poland with her and some students from the 14^th-18^th.  As it was a chance to get out of school and meet new people, I decided to go. On the 14^th we left Hradec at 10:30am and arrived in Pszczyna Poland at 4:30pm . While there we stayed with families and spoke English because the kids found it hard to understand each other even though the languages are similar. I stayed with a guy and his family, who were very welcoming and kind. During the day I was super board because I was not expecting to go on this trip so I had not done any research or prepared once so ever for the project. In the afternoons, however, I had a lot of fun. On the 14^th we went just to a pub and met with some of the group but I also meet a lot of polish people eager to speak English with me. On Wednesday a group of us hope a train and went to a neighbouring city to play laser tag. Laser tag was way more fun than I ever imagined it to be. Thursday was the best night of the whole trip. About 95% of the group all meet at a local disco for Karaoke night. We drank a little, sang a lot and it was all around a really good night. Being super tired from the night before Friday was a bad night for me. I really didn’t want to go to the disco but since it was the last night I went. All around I am glad I went on the trip to Poland. I meet some really nice people and it was a good experience. I arrived home on Saturday at 6:30pm.

My host mom came home on Saturday as well. The week after Poland I had my spring break. It was a rather dull holiday for me because my host mom was very sick after coming home from London and so we did nothing special. On the Tuesday however, I went and got my hair cut for the first time ever in the Czech Republic. Now a couple weeks later I really like my new hair but when I first cut it I almost died. The hair dress actually shaved part of the back of my hair... Pictures will be included below.  This week I also went shopping due to the fact I ripped my favourite pair of jeans and needed new ones. My week vacation was relaxing but I do wish I would have done more. 

 Side one

 The back.. it looks wayyy better when I do it myself , but this was right after I got it cut.

 Side two

 Yup that's my new hair cut.

So in to the first week and a bit of March, this month is defiantly looking up. On 3^rd my host mom and I went and saw the Oscar winning film “The Artist”. If you haven’t seen it you should go. It is literally a black and white silent film. I felt so classy and like I lived in the twenties while I watched it. It was a truly refreshing film. On the 6^th we went and saw “The Iron Lady” which was also fantastic. I totally understand why both of these films won the Oscar’s they did. Also (I think) a must see film for movie lovers. 

I cannot believe how quick time is flying. It feels like yesterday that I was terrified/ excited getting on a plane to the Czech Republic. I have around four months left of my exchange and I know they will go by so quickly.

To all those who are missing me just remember,  I will be back before you know it.

Much Love

xoxoxo

Vánoce & Silvestr and January

Christmas and New years

As many exchange students do I was dreading Christmas. For the week leading up to Christmas I was really homesick and sick in general. I ended up being home sick form school for two days right before Christmas. I had a really bad head cold and just really did not feel well enough to go to school and do nothing. So on the second day of being sick I thought it would be a good idea to steam my sinuses. I boiled the kettle and then poured the boiling hot water into a bowl. I then picked the bowl up and tired to carry it to the table. Within three steps I spilt the water all over myself. I ended up with burns and blisters all over my hands and on my stomach, which are now scars. It was a terrible experience. 

I cannot remember the exact date but I think it was the weekend before I was sick. My friend Fernanda came to my house and together we made sugar mint stars (my favourite Christmas cookies)!! I think my host family was happy I brought a little bit of my Christmas to their home.

On the 22^nd my mom and sister went shopping to buy supplies for Christmas dinner. When they returned my younger sister ran to the bathroom and started filling the tube with water. Being curious I went to see what they were doing. Well in true Czech tradition my mom went out and bought a live carp fish for Christmas dinner. Is it defiantly something I will never ever forget! The 23^rd was the start of Christmas holidays so my family and I had a lazy day. During the evening my  dad, sister and I decorated the Christmas tree. The 24^th is the date of the big Christmas celebration in the Czech. So our events started in the afternoon. My family and I started off our Christmas by walking in the gardens of a castle 20km away from Hradec. About two hours later we headed home. When we arrived we all went and put on fancy clothing. Then my host mom cooked dinner, I help a little too. We sat down at around five for dinner. For dinner we had: fried carp, fried chicken steak, white sausage and a huge bowl of potato salad. After dinner my host sister and I were sent up to our rooms. During this time Ježíšek (Baby Jesus) came and delivered our gifts. About ten minutes later a bell was rang which was our queue to go back downstairs. I received many gifts from my host family such as: hair and body stuff, socks, shirts, perfume, and jewellery. Once we finished unwrapping presents my family skyped with their son who is in Florida for the year. So I quietly grabbed all my gifts, went to my room and watched “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” just like I always do in Canada. On the 25^th I woke up early and quickly skyped with my parents while I opened my giant Christmas package. When I finished I went back to sleep for about three hours, then at ten I woke up. Since the celebration is done on the 24^th evening we spent the 25^th day relaxing. At around 3:30pm we went over to my mom’s parent’s house to celebrate Christmas with her side of the family. We returned home and I then went and skyped again with my parents but this time my older sister, her fiancée, my oma and grandparent were there as well. I was really great to see them all on Christmas. 

 Carp in the bathtub!

 Castle we went walking at

 Only snow we had one Christmas!

 The tree

 Christmas dinner

 watching the Grinch in my Christmas PJs!

 The Grinch!

On the 27^th my family and I went to the Czech mountains for three days. Then on the 31^st my dad drove me back to Hradec. At around six I left my house and went to meet my friends. Once we were all together we drove out to a village 20km away to ring in the New Year at a classmate’s house. We arrived at 7pm and I left around 2:30am. It was an interesting night A little bit before midnight we all shuffled outside, and then the countdown begun. At midnight we set off fireworks and sprayed and drank champion.  All in all it was a good night and I was very happy I was able to spend it with my friends.

January

Now on to January. January was a very busy month and flew by very fast. On the 8^th I switched to my second family. Moving was hard, it felt so strange to leave the Klausovi because they were my family and there house was my house. I moved from Palčice to a flat in the centre of Hradec. I now live with Marie. She is a single mom whose only daughter is living in Taiwan for the year. She is very kind and right from the beginning has been very welcoming. She is a foreign language teacher so she is very helpful with the language because she knows how to teach a language. She does not have Wi-Fi so my access to the internet it a little trickier than before. Though at times it is frustrating I am really happy to not have Wi-Fi. Now I spend a lot less time on the computer and feel was less home sick. 

The weekend after I switched family was super busy. On Friday I went with Fernanda and her friends to their school’s prom. We had so much fun. We danced both on the classic and disco sides. We stayed until the very end, which was 2 am. On Saturday in the morning, my very close friend Emily came to Hradec for the day to visit. Her and I went shopping and then just explore Hradec. That evening I went out for dinner with a former exchange student named Petra. It was a very fun evening, she told me tons of funny stories from her exchange and it was an all around good time. Then on Sunday I relaxed a bit. My mom and I cooked cake and went for a walk. Then when we returned I dyed my hair for the first time alone. It was a great learning experience, and had a positive outcome. 

 Fernanda and I ready for prom!

The next weekend 20^th-23^rd my mom and I headed to a village in the mountains called Štíy to visit her parents. Well let me tell you Grandmas can always cook better than anyone else, like this woman is a fabulous cooked it was awesome. Entering a side point but my mom travels a lot so when she is away my grandma will come and stay with me. Well this weekend coming up my mom is leaving for London for two weeks. So grandma will be here and she is going to teach me to cook tradition Czech food. You have no idea how excited I am for this!!!! Woooooooo! Any ways back to the weekend of the 20^th. So on that Sunday my mom and I took a train to the city of Olomouc. It was beautiful. We saw many beautiful churches and old building. Had some of the best cake I have ever eaten in this little cafe and then hit a museum full of artefacts found in Moravia. The day was absolutely lovely and I had a wonderful time. 

This past weekend was also super busy! On Thursday evening I met my friends at 7pm then together we went to GJKT prom (our school)! It was a fun evening of dancing and I had a really good time. I arrived home at about 2:30am and then woke up on Friday at 8:30am. At 10:08am on Friday I and the other exchange students headed to Pisek for the weekend. In Pisek we met with all the exchange students for a Rotary organized weekend. We started the weekend off by going to a punk rock concert.. It was horrible but we still managed to have a good time at the concert. Saturday we spent the morning site seeing , then went to lunch at a typical Czech restaurant. After lunch we went to a Crocodile zoo and then to a Czech brewery. That evening we went out bowling then returned to our hotel for our last rotary language test. On Sunday we spent the day traveling back to Hradec. We hit some problems in Prague and missed our first train to Hradec, but with our quick thinking we made it Hradec on a different time earlier then the train we missed before.  All in all  this weekend was very good, I always really enjoy these Rotary weekends mostly because I get to see all the exchange students.

I am now half way through my exchange. It is crazy how fast time has gone. I still remember stepping on the plane in GP wondering what I had got myself into. My language is way better than before and I really feel like the Czech Republic and Hradec is my home. Over the next few months I have many travels and activities plan one of those being coming home. No matter how much at the moment I don’t want to go home I know in the end that this experience was a one year thing and that I have to go back. I am looking at flights home and do have a few date ideas. I am choosing to not tell anyone but my parents when I am coming home, because I want to settle back in before I see everyone else. So I will see you all again in July sometimes. Probably most of you who read this at Megan’s wedding. I will try my best to keep my blog update but I am not going to promise anything!

Much Love

xoxoxo

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!