July 4th--no thoughts of fireworks today!

Well--a very busy day!
After trying to sleep, to no real avail, I read for awhile. Then, a thunderstorm came in--and all I could think about was--no more rain! Just like we've been having in the northeast for like the past month! The thunderstorm subsided, and then we met outside for what I thought would be a short orientation tour. Try three hours! It was very interesting--it was just funny trying to absorb everything in my semi-conscious state!

We went on a tour of the city with this really cool dude--he has long affiliations with the program--although I can't tell if he's a teacher in the program or if he's just their resident tour guide! Anyway--he led us all around--through a lot of places that I hadn't seen before--off the beaten track. He's really passionate about architecture, etc--and knows all sorts of random minutiae about what we are seeing--makes us pay attention to details! The best parts are when he goes of on tangents about music (rock and roll and classical)--and talks about his opinions. He brought us to this living memorial to John Lennon--basically this huge spray painted wall--pretty funky--good for pictures! He says he can't overestimate how important rock music was to a certain segment of the population, especially during communism.

He pointed out places where executions and trials were held, where Obama spoke earlier this year, where Frank Gehry contributed his dancing house, where another artist made this beautiful tunnel through the hills in 2000 that looks like a basket weave on the interior only it's made out of brick--really modern, funky photos there for sure.

I have met some interesting people--there's a real mix of ages. At first it's hard to tell if people are in college or in a graduate program. But, a lot of people are getting their MFAs--which makes for very interesting conversation as I can pump them for details on what they're doing.

One girl I met is a photographer--she has had some shows and isn't even taking the photography course. She's just here for non-fiction.

Anyway, so, an interesting group.

Prague is so nice in that it is very laid back. No pushiness. Everyone--the people and the atmosphere--both seem very chill.

Tomorrow the tour guide guy is taking us on another big tour of a different section of the city. Most of us were going to skip it thinking we had already gotten our tour today--but then realizing that he is a font of information and passion for Prague--we're going on that one too. It should be fun.

Happy Fourth of July! Hope the fireworks are awesome!