It has been a while. And by a while I mean, I am back in Prague and knee deep in ISP work. Unfortunately that means that this blog post is merely another form of procrastination from the 25 page paper that is staring me in the face, so I’ll cut it short: 

I had a fascinating time in Cheb and Decin. I visited two churches in Cheb and talked to a pastor and a priest about the community life there and the ways they work with the Sudeten Germans. They both had really fascinating things to say about the ways the church is viewed in the Czech Republic today and how it is forming lasting German relations. I also went to Ruzova (a tiny town outside Decin) to photograph a church that was renovated in 1990 and then talked with the man responsible for those renovations, and he is quite a character. He is a pastor at a Catholic church in Kamenice, and because he kept being refused a promotion to priest in the Catholic church (there was some sort of power play/ politics going on and they didn’t want him to be a priest) he rebelled by changing his image, and now dresses like an emo rocker. Pretty awesome. He’s such an energetic character, though, and is pretty much personally responsible for restoring 14 churches in the borderland. One man wonder, much? 

My ISP that I am now doing as a result of all of my adventures is a paper on how the churches renovated after 1989 contribute to the relationship with the Sudeten Germans, and Czech German relations as a whole through the church. It has NOTHING to do with my major, and yet I love it, so I am having a slight crisis in what I will do educationally when I return. Hopefully I can find a happy medium. 

Well, I intended this post to be a lot shorter than it actually was, so I’ll end by saying that although I’m glad to be back in Prague, I kind of miss the border cities, because they are much more representative of the real Czech Republic. I especially liked taking the bus trip to Ruzova, since it was in the snow and there was literally nothing surrounding the town but miles and miles of white. 

Perhaps the next time I post, the madness will be over. 

Peace,

Rachel 

It has been a while since I’ve posted, but I have so much to say that it keeps piling up and I don’t what to choose to write down. I can’t include everything that’s happened in the past week, but here are the highlights:

I am in Cheb right now, a town in the Border Zone of the Czech Republic and Germany. I’m here because I had an interview today with a priest at the largest church in the area, because…

I chose a topic for my ISP!! I am looking at the Czech-German conflict and history through the study of churches in the northern Sudetenland. I interviewed H today because he was able to give me personal and historical information on the motivations behind renovating the church in Cheb. 

Yesterday I was in Munich interviewing a man who works at an organization located within the Sudeten German House. Needless to say, I enjoyed my trip very much and I have never felt so confident and independent in my entire life (if you traveled to another country with a train transfer, booked a hostel, and located the site of your interview and arrived on time while still being able to explore, you’d be proud of yourself too). The interview was fantastic and I was able to get a whole other perspective on the Sudeten German conflict, which I was hoping for. 

I’m in Cheb until tomorrow, when I have another interview, and then I leave for Rehlovice (where I spent the regional stay) for a Czech-German cultural brunch. How fitting. I then depart for Decin, where I will hopefully get more interviews and look at more churches. Everything seems to be falling in to place, and I will try to post about the brunch (since I’m sure it will be an experience) but it seems that I have no time to do anything lately. 

To my friends and family at home, Happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully you didn’t spend it like me, which was in an Italian restaurant alone writing about interviews with Czech priests. At least I was able to have hot chocolate :) 

Peace and love, 

Rachel

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while- this week was finals week, and I’ve basically been studying and doing readings that I didn’t do beforehand in order to study for my Czech final exam and my Thematic Seminar final exam. So I’m done with my exams, but I’m a little behind on life. I thought both tests went OK, and I must have written about twelve pages for the Thematic seminar test. There were a bunch of sections, and each had questions about different discussions we had had throughout the semester. Each question got longer and longer until there was a big essay we had to write… basically a test that consisted of four hours of writing. But now it’s over! :) 

But on to other things. Tomorrow I’m meeting with my ISP advisor to talk about logistics of where I’m going, who I’m meeting with, and what I’ll be doing (well, I know what I’ll be doing, but I still need details) and once that’s done I can write my final proposal. I’m actually pretty excited for ISP- I mean, it’s the reason I chose this study abroad program, the classes were important in preparing me for the independent study, but they aren’t the real reason I’m here. 

Last Sunday I went to a Czech puppet show called the Golden Goose. It was run by only two puppeteers, and it was clear that they set up and made everything themselves, as well as voiced all the characters, and although at times the language barrier got in the way, I got the general jist of what was going on (although I had never heard the tale of the Golden Goose before- anyone care to elaborate on what is supposedly a well known fairy tale?) and between the five people who went, we understood different parts and filled in the blanks for one another. I loved that the puppets were kind of “alternative,” and the main character had a mohawk and an earring (OK, maybe only alternative for a kids’ show, but you know that type of thing would never fly in the States). In other words, an interesting mixture of Czech present culture and past tradition. 

Once I know more about my trip, I’ll write a post. 

Ahoj,

Rachel

I guess this week has been one big pile of Mozart. I saw Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre yesterday and it was beautiful. The whole experience was surreal because that was the theatre where it premiered in the 1700s. You could tell that the theatre company was exploiting that fact, using traditional costumes, set pieces, and comedy gimmicks involving the footmen on stage who didn’t have lines, but honestly? Who cares? It was fun, and enjoyable to watch. I was located up in the gallery and could see everything below, including all the expensive box seats where the aristocracy used to sit. You could see all the doors to each box, and it was fun to imagine people sneaking in and out of each box to visit others, as if the opera was one big giant party (yes, I’ve seen Marie Antoinette one too many times, so sue me). 

The singing was fantastic as well, but that was to be expected. The woman who played Donna Anna I think took a while to find her niche, which can sometimes happen in a performance (at the start I really didn’t like her voice but then by the end I was wondering why she didn’t sing like that at the beginning of the opera), but that was really the only thing that bothered me. 

The subtitles went out towards the end of the first act (they were put up again) and I was surprised at how comfortable I was being able to watch without an English translation. It was actually refreshing, since I was able to concentrate entirely on the feeling of the music and what it evoked and not worry about whether my interpretation was right or not.

Na shledanu,

Rachel

Yesterday I went to a choir practice for a performance of Mozart’s Requiem that will be sung tomorrow at the Church of St. Igatius (this beautiful Baroque church in Karlovo Namesti). My friend and I were invited by one of our lecturers to this event (which apparently happens every year and involves multiple choirs along with an orchestra), and I’m super pumped. 

I didn’t know what practicing with a Czech choir was going to be like, and I was petrified that I was going to do something wrong and then wouldn’t be able to understand the director when he told me as such. However, as much as it felt like he was staring right at me, I was able to catch on that he was actually yelling at the men, who were seated behind the Sopranos. I then realized that choir practice is the same no matter where you go: the men lag, there are too many Sopranos, and the altos don’t sing out. At least, that’s what I think I gathered from his hand gestures. 

The text is in Latin, so I had no pronunciation problems, and I was able to sight-read the music fairly easily. It was strange how comfortable I felt throughout the whole rehearsal, almost as if I attended choir practice in the states. I’m convinced it’s because no matter where you are, Mozart is Mozart, and directors are going to ask you to go over the same sections they would anywhere. 

This experience was pretty eye-opening for me, and I’m really excited about being able to sing in the Mass. For the first time since being here I was able to take part in an activity where everyone speaks Czech and not be stressing about what’s happening around me. It was so refreshing, and I’m glad I’m able to take part in this because music really is the universal language. 

Peace,

Rachel