Discovering the World, Discovering Myself

Benjamin Ward is a student at the University of South Carolina and an ISA Featured Blogger. Benjamin is currently studying abroad with ISA in Prague, Czech Republic.

Switzerland

It’s interesting that it’s called study abroad. Yes, of course I am enrolled in classes and studying but I don’t think that the ‘study’ in study abroad applies only to classes. Once the grand adventure has actually begun you quickly realize that every experience, every task you tackle and every person you meet is what is teaching you the most. I’ve learned off-beat facts, discovered unique spots and picked up how to carry one’s self in unknown areas but the most important thing that I’m learning an overwhelming amount things about is myself.

Glimpse into the Past at Prague Castle

Benjamin Ward is a student at the University of South Carolina and an ISA Featured Blogger. Benjamin is currently studying abroad with ISA in Prague, Czech Republic.

St. Vitus Cathedral, home to sanctuaries of many Saints, Kings and Emperors.

There’s one thing you cannot deny about Prague: It is absolutely stunning. With a variety of old architecture ranging from Gothic to Renaissance, Prague has obviously been around for a millennium  (with the exceptions of monuments like the dancing house and the Žižkov TV tower.) But no where can you appreciate the city and feel the history like you can at the Prague Castle.

Lost and Found, Discovering Prague Through Photo

I am very lucky to have arrived in Prague during Carneval e Praha. It is a Bohemian festival that stretches for 12 days dating back to Medieval times and celebrates "human joy and gregariousness".

12 Days of Christmas Wish List – Europe Edition

Allison Body is a student at Rockhurst University and an ISA Classmates Connecting Cultures blogger corresponding with a 3rd grade class in Texas. Allison is currently studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic on an ISA Fall 1 program.

I am trying to collect souvenirs for friends and family as Christmas gifts, but nothing I find is quite as spectacular as what I wish I could bring home.  So here are all of the things I wish I could bring back with me, set to my favorite Christmas song, “The 12 Days of Christmas”

12 Scoops of Gelato – Somehow I don’t think the gelato in the States is going to be as delicious as in Italy.

Eating gelato with my friends in Rome

Vysehrad: My Secret Castle in Prague

Allison Body is a student at Rockhurst University and an ISA Classmates Connecting Cultures blogger corresponding with a 3rd grade class in Texas. Allison is currently studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic on an ISA Fall 1 program.

Me at the top of the cliff overlooking Prague and the Vlatva River

Read any guidebook about Prague and it will tell you all about the Prague Castle.  The Prague Castle is in every major picture of Prague on every postcard.  What no guidebook or postcard will tell you is that Prague has another castle: Vysehrad (pronounced Vish-rad)—my favorite place in Prague.

Color Me Europe

Allison Body is a student at Rockhurst University and an ISA Classmates Connecting Cultures blogger corresponding with a 3rd grade class in Texas. Allison is currently studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic on an ISA Fall 1 program.

I have been trying to figure out what it is about cities in Europe that make them so unique compared to American cities, and while I have come up with several different answers, the most simple one is this: the colors.

I love New York, Chicago, and other major American cities, but the jungle of skyscrapers is just not the same as all of the colors I love in Europe.  So for each color of the rainbow I picked a different sight to see in Europe, so you can get a glimpse of the colors I can’t get enough of.

Red: Prague Rooftops

I know I talk about them all of the time, but I will never get tired of this view of red.

Rooftops of Praha (Prague)

Halloween Abroad: Appreciating the Humble Jack-o-Lantern in Prague

Allison Body is a student at Rockhurst University and an ISA Classmates Connecting Cultures blogger corresponding with a 3rd grade class in Texas. Allison is currently studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic on an ISA Fall 1 program.

Pumpkins and Friends

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I have no problem with the fact that my apartment kitchen is covered in pumpkin guts at the moment.

Home-sick but Prague-well

Allison Body is a student at Rockhurst University and an ISA Featured Blogger. Allison is currently studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic on an ISA Fall 1 program.

Hanging out in Budapest with Monica (left) and Brinda (center)!

The strange thing about studying abroad is that I am occasionally homesick, but at the same time there are things that I am fully enjoying in Prague that I know I will miss when I leave.  So what is the opposite of homesick?  I have decided to call it Prague-well (“well” seems like the best opposite of sick).  So here are 3 things that I am “sick” for at home, and 3 things that are “well” in Prague.

Czech It Out

Allison Body is a student at Rockhurst University and an ISA Featured Blogger. Allison is currently studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic on an ISA Fall 1 program.

Now that I have finally settled into classes, I have had more time to really explore Prague, which I still can’t believe is my home for a few months!  Here is a little look into some sites in Prague:

Czech Folk Festival

Prague: Wake Up, Dorothy, You Are Not In Kansas Anymore

Allison Body is a student at Rockhurst University and an ISA Featured Blogger. Allison is currently studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic on an ISA Fall 1 program.

“Padesat sest!”  “PADESAT SEST!”

If there is one thing we learned in our Czech class, it was numbers.  Our teacher would hold up flashcard after flashcard until we were lightning-quick at rattling off Czech numbers.  So when I woke up at 6:30 am on a train after less than an hour of sleep to a Czech woman urgently saying these words to me, I knew exactly what she was saying: 56.  The number of the seat in which I was curled up.  The same seat in which she was apparently supposed to be curled up (or some more dignified, Czech version of sleeping on a train).  Wake up Dorothy, you are not in Kansas City anymore.

Dinner by the river