First Impressions

Hey everyone! 

Well, here I am in Prague; safe and sound. We got in early this morning, and have been bopping around the city all day (with the exception of a small nap- I'm really not adjusting to the time change well). Nicko happened to find a hotel about 2 blocks from the apartment where I'll be staying, which is awesome. We found my apartment this morning, and although I can't move in until the 27th, it is great to know that I know where it is. 

Prague is amazing! This is easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I get very romantic about it very fast, what with the cobblestone streets and the gothic architecture. Most of the people we've met have been very nice, and patient with my *very* limited Czech. I managed to impress one local today by asking her in Czech whether or not she spoke English before we asked her a question. The language barrier is intimidating and feels overwhelming now, but I'm sure that once I get into classes and talking with Czech people more often I will pick it up rapidly. 

So, I am spending the next day exploring the city with Nicko, and trying to become comfortable with it before I move in. I just wanted everyone to know that as of now, I love it. I can't imagine having chosen a better study-abroad location. A post with pictures is coming, just as soon as I figure out how to get them from my camera to my computer. 

I hope everyone is doing well at home, and I'll see you all in a few short months! 

Christy

PS- A note to my family: My phone is *not* working here yet. So I won't get any texts for a bit until it gets switched over. Just so you know! Loves!!!

Welcome to Europe!

Hey all,

Today I am writing from Dublin, Ireland, during 

my one day break from the traveling. The flights here were long and I barely slept, which made for a tired day today. However, I am learning that I LOVE Dublin (and Ireland in general)!! Almost everyone we've met today has been amazingly nice and a few have gone out o

f their way to help us when we looked a bit lost. The city has a great energy, and it's so much fun to explore, even with our cheap hotel map. 

The most exciting thing we did today (heads up: I'm about to get nerdy) was go and poke around Trinity College, which is a university right in the heart of Dublin. It was one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen; lots of old

 stone buildings and cobbled walkways. In one of their libraries they have an exhibition of The Book of Kells, which are basically extremely old (like 4th and 5th centuries!) bibles and religious texts. They are all done on vellum, with this amazing detailed work and tons of symbolic imagery. Plus, the college did an awesome job putting the exhibit together so that it was easy to understand the significance of each piece. 

What really and truly blew my mind about the whole experience was when we were taken upstairs to the second floor of the library where the exhibition was held. Basically the second floor is what they call the "Long Room"; it's a huge storage place for all the ancient texts they're working with. The students and faculty are involved in a HUGE restoration project and are trying to rescue and preserve all of these medieval books and letters. The amazing thing is that they're working with more than 200,000 texts, all stored in one place! So I gaped and wandered and completely fell in love with this library. The books were so old that some of them didn't even look real on the shelves. 

However, it was apparently too much for me to handle and I promptly fell asleep on the tour bus this afternoon. Oh well, I guess I can only handle so much excitement at once. 

Tomorrow Nicko and I head for Prague! We love and miss everyone back home!

Two Weeks and Counting!

Well, here we are, family and friends. Exactly two weeks from today I will be on a plane headed first to Dublin, then soon after to Prague. Between waves of butterflies, my excitement to be there is growing. I can't wait to start this adventure. I can't wait to meet the other students in my program and learn some amazing things from the people of Prague. No matter how many times I go over it in my head, there is really nothing to be worried about. All that's left is to get packed, get on the plane, and keep my head up for all the cool things that are going to happen. Oh, and to buy a European Adaptor for my electronics. :-) 

Despite my excitement, prayers are still absolutely welcome. Now that I am less freaked out about logistics getting taken care of, I am really starting to pray about what God's going to do with me in Prague. I know He has some amazing things planned for my heart there, and I really can't wait to see what they are. 

That's all for now. I just wanted to make sure you all didn't think I had forgotten about this in all the preparations. God Bless!