Well, I have four days left in Praha and I'm not happy about it. Right now I'm sitting in KFC because they have free wifi (and I like fried chicken), faced with the prospect of next going to the darkroom and spending hours printing ugly pictures I took in Geneva. Not exactly how I wanted to spend the end of my semester but what choice do I have?
I've been thinking about whether there's anything I regret doing or not doing here and I really don't. I think I experienced the country extremely well and there's only a few things left I wish I'd seen - the Bone Church in Kutna Hora being the main thing. It would also have been kind of cool to see the John Lennon wall but since I'm not much of a fan I'm not heartbroken about it.
Anyway, I am now going to take this opportunity to post a
ridiculous list I made a few nights ago when I couldn't sleep. It is inspired by one Samantha Kramer, who made a similar list on her Facebook and I read because I like to stalk my dear ex-roommate.
101 Things I Did This Semester!!!1!!1! LOLZ1. Boarded a plane and flew from Philadelphia to Frankfurt to Barcelona, my first stop
2. Got wasted, smoked a joint with random French kids outside the metro, went to a club where we couldn’t find the exit, and somehow made it back to the hostel in one piece
3. Was terrified by the squeaking cat-man street performer on Las Ramblas
4. Earned applause for peeing in the street in Barcelona
5. Had my camera stolen from my hostel in Barcelona
6. Ate at a restaurant on my first night in Prague where they really did keep bringing you beer until you put the mat on your mug
7. Went to an empty Czech hospital on my first Friday night with a 104 degree temperature
8. Discovered the wonders of Becherovka
9. Discovered the wonders of Staropramen, Gambrinus, Pilsner, Budvar, and basically every other Czech beer that is miles better than American brews
10. Got free shots from a non-English-speaking Hungarian at Kross Klub, and then enlisted the help of some guys from NYU to get home when I somehow lost every single person I knew
11. Got lost in the middle of Prague at 5 am after getting off a tram on the way home from Kross Klub with Brandon and Clay
12. Danced drunkenly to a gypsy band in Česky Krumlov
13. Danced sober(!) to awesome 70s, 80s and 90s music at Futurum, all the while surrounded by broken glass
14. Lost the tan that I somehow managed to achieve this summer
15. Translated some Rolling Stones lyrics into Czech in Czech class, and then sang them, a lot
16. Took a tour of Karlštejn castle after it turned out the castle wine festival was the NEXT weekend
17. Almost died of heart/lung/body failure in the Czech mountains
18. Learned that „di doprdele“ means „fuck you“ in Czech
19. Explored the Jewish quarter, Josefov, with my parents
20. Partied with international students at a club on the Vltava
21. Fell asleep in a pub on Italska after one (or two or three) too many
22. Drank beer fresh from the barrel at the Plzen factory
23. Fell in love with garlic soup
24. Chatted with a fairly cute Australian guy who sucked at dancing and hated pop music, „except for Justin“
25. Went to a tiny photo exhibition opening for my photo professor where everyone spoke Czech and I awkwardly ate lots of food
26. Was thisclose to being homeless in Rome when I visited Katherine
27. Ate tons of delicious gelato in Rome, and also got it all over my clothes
28. Saw the tomb of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican, but more importantly saw the guard of his tomb, who was really hot
29. Missed Prague so much in Rome that I ordered Pilsner at a beer bar
30. Went to a performance by the Black Sufis of Gujarat India at Akropolis
31. Finally reached the point where I can inhale when I smoke cigarettes
32. Saw the church where the Czechs who assassinated Heydrich were killed
33. Saw the destroyed town of Lidice, where the entire population was killed by Nazis in retaliation for the assassination of Heydrich
34. Checked out marionettes with moveable boobs with Cristen
35. Took the greatest picture in the universe of midget-size Brandon
36. Had my mind blown by black light theater
37. Was miserable when Cristen had to leave Prague
38. Saw Alfonse Mucha’s amazing Slav Epic
39. Received a tour of Křomeřiž castle from a drunk, opera-singing tour guide
40. Went clubbing in Brno, where everyone GOT CRAZY to Summer of 69
41. Drank tons of wine at our wine-tasting dinner in Mikulov
42. Suffered through a miserable rainy day in Bratislava, and bought new Tesco rainboots as a result
43. Ate a delicious cake, Mohr im Hemd, in a Viennese coffee house
44. Ate a delicious burger, the Double Whopper, in a Viennese Burger King
45. Discussed the merits of “Flavor of Love” with Wolfgang, our Austrian tour guide
46. Found the entire minority population of Austria at a club in Vienna
47. Learned far, far more about World War II and Communism than I ever learned in the states
48. Ate fried cheese from a street vendor on Wenceslas Square and absolutely loved it
49. Stayed out clubbing in Old Town all night until the metro reopened at 5:30 am
50. Cheered the HC Praha Slavia hockey team to victory
51. Witnessed Mike get his tooth knocked out by a drunk douchebag, all for defending a homeless guy
52. Saw a temporary memorial to the Czech victims of Communism on Wenceslas Square
53. Thought about the fact that less than twenty years ago, this entire country was still under Communist control, and that they’ve made such progress since that time that you’d hardly know it otherwise
54. Played the most intense game of Jenga ever
55. Spent an entire day eating mac & cheese, sitting in an internet café, and playing Diner Dash 2
56. Co-wrote and performed “Vinečko Techno“ with Anna using GarageBand
57. Downloaded every single episode of Gossip Girl and became obsessed with the clothes
58. Witnessed a drunk/high 15-year-old Slovak pass out and puke on the kitchen floor at Lublanska
59. Witnessed Marek draw a penis on his face, because it was his cousin
60. Introduced Amanda to the wonders of beer that costs less than €7
61. Introduced Amanda to the wonders of Zanzibar and its yummy crepes
62. Stayed in the world’s absolute cutest hostel in Dresden
63. Ate ox meat in Dresden, which tasted a lot like my mom’s beef stew
64. Changed my major for the billionth yet final time, to Communication Studies with a concentration in International Media
65. Saw a pretty terrible American movie, “Itty Bitty Titty Committee,” at the first night of the Prague Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
66. Gazed in awe at the restaurant level of the Palladium, Prague’s brand-new mall
67. Gazed in disgust at the creepy baby statues crawling up the TV Tower in Žižkov
68. Ate at Boulevard Bageterie so often that I recognize every single employee, and vice-versa
69. Gave Katherine and Lauren a one-day whirlwind tour of Prague
70. Saw a bearded lady on a crucifix at the Loreta
71. Saw a shriveled human arm hanging from the wall at St. James Cathedral
72. Saw Katherine and Lauren become impregnated with Czech food babies
73. Went to the first competition of the Prague Short Film Festival
74. Ate amazing pancakes at Bohemia Bagel
75. Smoked hash in Christiania, the part of Copenhagen where crazy hippies refuse to pay taxes and forbid photography
76. Paid $12 for a single ride at Tivoli, which was still the most badass amusement park I’ve seen in my life
77. Drank Danish Christmas beer and then kicked ass at playing pool
78. Had my awesome new hat from Tivoli stolen by Rachel, but luckily recovered it
79. Successfully completed a power hour for the first time
80. Ate trout with the head still there, multiple times, and wasn’t really bothered by it
81. Bought leather boots from Bata, one of the only Czech-owned businesses in Prague, and looked 40% more Czech as a result
82. Had a Hungarian-style Thanksgiving dinner in Budapest
83. Earned the title “the Carmen Sandiego of making out”
84. Went to a gay bar with swings instead of barstools and a garage bar with a giant whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling in Budapest
85. Ate a literally homemade Hungarian dinner where the entire menu consisted of “meat” or “no meat”
86. Was highly amused when it turned out the “no meat” option had tuna in it
87. Lost miserably at foosball to Jiři and Brandon
88. Visited Radio Free Europe in Prague and decided I might like to work there one day
89. Received a tour of the UN from a Swiss man who obviously hated his job, and us
90. Ate my best meal of the semester in Geneva, as well as lots of delicious Swiss chocolate and desserts
91. Went to the Olympics Museum in Lausanne and saw beautiful views of the Swiss Alps
92. Was almost killed by hordes of children at the outdoor ice skating rink in Geneva
93. Celebrated Hannukah for the first time with three-and-a-half Jews and a tinfoil menorah
94. Celebrated Mikulaš for the first time on Old Town Square with a pair of flashing devil horns
95. Watched Anna be accosted by a fully-dressed, chain-shaking devil in Old Town
96. Learned four noun cases in the Czech language, was satisfied, and then realized that there are three freakin‘ more of them
97. Realized that I pretty much know everything in our Prague guide book by heart at this point
98. Drank more beer in four months than I’ve drunk in my entire life
99. Made a few really awesome friends
100. Decided I definitely want to live in Europe after I graduate for at least part of my life
101. Overall had the best! semester! EVER!
A few of us also had a CRAZY dinner that night at a tiny restaurant where we were the only customers, a gypsy band played for us, the menu consisted of "meat or no-meat", and the food was LITERALLY homemade. It was incredibly weird.
Our dinner that night was probably the best one I had all semester...and also the most expensive. Geneva was every bit as expensive as Copenhagen, and I bought so damn much that I spent over $400. Oops. 
