First post!

Hello all!

Thanks for reading my blog. I'm currently sitting at home in LA counting down the minutes until I can leave for the airport. I wanted to give blogspot a trial run and make sure it works properly before I embark on this adventure.

I'm usually an anxious traveller but I'm surprised by how calm I am. I feel totally ready to leave and can't wait to land in Prague and start this exciting journey!

Here are some things that I am highly anticipating for my first few days:
1. Living in my very own flat! My program has us live in flats owned by Czech landlords. They say that it is one of the best parts of the program because it gives us an additional opportunity to completely immerse ourself in the Czech culture, rather than just live in a dorm with all of our American peers. I'll have a few roommates from my program, and the buildings and landlords have all been pre-approved by our program so everything is incredibly safe and taken care of.

2. My 21st birthday! I turn 21 on September 18 and I can't wait to celebrate in Prague. The program sent out an "Orientation Week" schedule and it appears that I'll be touring the Jewish Quarter of Prague on my 21st. My mom thinks it's very fitting.

3. Wandering around the city without an agenda. This is perhaps what I'm most excited about. I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to just wander about a foreign city with no time constraints. I hear Prague is filled with cobblestone lined streets and charming buildings and I can't wait to just explore. As naive as this may sound, I'm excited to get a little lost and discover parts of the city that I wouldn't discover by reading a tour guide book.

I'm off to the airport now! Thank you for all of your calls wishing me safe travels. I'll miss everyone so much but I'll be back very soon!

Czeching out,

Grace

ps I plan on completely overusing puns having to do with "Czech"...get over it.