Last Day in the Beautiful Czech Republic

The day has finally come to say goodbye to the Czech Republic. The country and its capital, Prague, became our home for a month and opened its arms to this bunch of Americans to learn, explore and create friendships. This last day started unassumingly, like any other, with some of us traveling into the city for lunch or to buy last-minute souvenirs. Then, in the late afternoon, the whole OSU class and our Missouri friends gathered together for our farewell dinner and graduation ceremony. We toasted “Na zdravi” with Becherovka after some touching speeches by our faculty and staff, then received diplomas as a commemoration of the hard work accomplished over the last month. During dinner we shared memories of our trip and honored our Czech buddies who helped us along the way, then we headed back to our hotel to prepare for the evening’s boat cruise on the Vltava River.

That night, we dressed up and headed into Prague as a group for the last time, down to the riverbank and onto a massive boat that would be taking us up and down the river as we danced and joked and enjoyed the stunning views of the city. It was the perfect way to end the trip-all of us together with our new Czech friends celebrating our time abroad and our new relationships that will last for years to come.

Na Shledanou Praha! We will miss you!

Another Day in Paradise!

Dobry Den everyone! My name is Maddie Frantz and today I’ll be telling you about our second Thursday here in Prague! The day started early as usual with a typical European breakfast and walk to class, where we learned about economic theory, climate change, the history of the Czech Republic during and after World War II, and the effects of globalization on the Czech countryside. The classes explore the idea that economic growth and development do not have to compromise environmental security and health. It is interesting to learn how the Czech Republic and the members of the European Union implement policy and economic incentives to support the success of rural communities and therefore that of the rest of the country.

After class, a group of my trip mates and I took the tram (with the help of some Czech buddies!) to Petrin Hill in Prague. Petrin Hill is a beautiful park in the diplomatic district of Prague where there is a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower, built for the Jubilee Exhibition of 1891. The view from the top was breathtaking…I think it was worth the leg-burning climb up all those stairs! Following the climb and a stroll through the park, our group met the rest of the students for dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Las Adelitas. We were all very excited to indulge in some favorites like guacamole and salsa while listening to a live, traditional Mexican music trio. After eating massive amounts of chips and tacos, we all decided to burn off some calories by going dancing at a club where one of our Czech program Buddies was DJing for the night! Overall, the day was a big cultural mix that will leave us all with a lot of fun memories!

Na Shledanou from Praha!