Pictures At Last!

People of the World!

We do have pictures posted but they are not on this blog. To see them you must go to Laura's facebook because we haven't been able to have a strong enough internet connection to post pictures here for some reason. We will try again later. Thank you for your patient. Everyday has been different and we never know quite how it is going to turn out. We started out shopping a little downtown because it started to snow today and we wanted to get some boots for the snowy days to come. On our way we picked up some tickets for a classical concert in the Municipal House-a gorgeous theater with architecture that blows your mind away. After a couple hours of unsucessful shopping we came across this amazing architecture that made up for our disappointment. We were able to go into this really really beautiful old church that words can't even begin to describe. We have some pictures to try and give it justice. After wondering around a bit we found ourselves at the Charles Bridge, which was a pleasant surprise because we thought we would have to take the tram or metro to get to it. We ended up at a Starbucks and stayed there messing around on the internet and loading pictures. That was fun. We lost track of time and had to basically run back to the Prudek's house to eat and change before the concert. We made it to the show just in time. It was so gorgeous and the music was amazing! Most of the music we either knew or had played before. We loved it. It was a good day...

Love,
Gracia

Starbucks and $5 jeans

Hey friends!

Well each day sure turns out to be a different adventure! Today we successfully found our apartment and we were excited to discover that it's really close to the Prudek's house! Therefore, we already know the area and how to get where we want to go from it. Speaking of getting where we want to go, we're feeling much more confident on the transportation system. This afternoon we took a trip to the downtown shopping area in search of our new European wardrobe! The atmosphere was so fun as we walked down the cobblestone streets with a mix of old and new buildings on either side. We found some great deals (scarfs, a coat, and later $5 jeans!), which was really exciting. During the shopping excursion we located the Czech version of Wal Mart- Tesco! Here we'll find all the groceries and random items we need. Later in the evening we were going to attend an opera downtown, but we ended up at the wrong place and so missed the show. However, the buildings we saw were beautiful and we found our way to a Starbucks with an English speaking barista (he was even able to take my picky/complicated order with a smile...)! We decided to try for another concert tomorrow night at one of the many music theatres around Prague. 

Hope you are all doing well!

Laura

The Good and the Bad.

Hi! We are so very tired so bear with us as we try and recap on our busy last few days! So yesterday blew our minds away. We began by sleeping for 14 straight hours but when we woke up the adventure began. We attempted our first trip on the public transportation system which proved to be super exciting...haha. But really we are pros at it now! Although we never found our apartment, we never technically got lost. After a bit we gave up and took the Tram to the Old Town. Can I just say AAAAAAMMMAZING! You should come! :) Before seeing the beautiful architecture and rich history we only believed this kind of place existed in fairy tales. Yes it is that amazing! We hope to put of pictures soon but they can't even begin to give it justice. In the process of browsing around the town, we found our school, tried to open a locked cafe (hehe), went inside the Knights of Malta mini-Cathedral, found the US Embassy, and ate at the most delicous cafe ever....well so far. By the way, just so you know, European coffee is the bomb...I mean fantastic! Laura is laughing at my word usage because she is jealous...hehe. Ok, so we made it back safe and sound last night and that is when the jetlag took a hold of our necks and rung them tight. Meaning we didn't get much sleep thus the reason this blog is rambling on and on.

So today was not quite as fulfilling as we expected but why do we expect things in life when it is so unpredictable? We set out to meet with our contact at our school but we ended meeting the wrong contact. Apparently Jana is a very popular name here. hehe. To make this a long story short and wrap things up for those who don't like to read long updates, we eventually got our metro passes that will last for 3 months. It was our first day of truly experiencing the language barrier. Needless to say we never made it to our destination, IKEA by the way, because too we were too tired. But however, we have now not only mastered the Tram system but also the Metro system as well. And we also know a few random words in Czech such as black, bridge, hello, thank you, and street names that are fun to say.

Hope that wasn't too confusing. :) Love you and miss you all!
Gracia.

Czech at last

Ahoj!

Okay for all of those who doubted me when I told them "ahoy" was actually "hello" (thank you Missy), we found out last night I was right!! It's the "hello" you would use with your close friends.
Anyways, we just had our first night in the Czech Republic... we slept 14 hrs! After arriving in the Prague airport we were picked up by our missionary contact here, Fred Prudek. He gave us a little tour of the city as he drove us back to the Prudek's house. It was great to finally get to meet these wonderful people! Today we are hoping to conquer (in Gracia's words, conquer=get lost) the public transportation and see a little more of Prague. We are missing you all tons and hope you are doing well!
Love you!
Laura

London!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello World! Laura and I just arrived in London and by just I mean about an hour ago. The flight was awesome and it didn't seem like 9 hours. We got to watch a movie and some TV and slept some. Laura got a little more than I did. I just couldn't get comfy. hehe. So we are super psyched and stoked to be in London and on our way to Prague-a trip we have been planning and talking about for a year now. Thanks for all your prayers! We are going to need them. It is weird having to think in different currencies and realize you can't get coffee without converting money. :( So here we are sitting across from a Starbucks and missing you all already. Love you!

The reasoning behind it all!

So I guess I forgot to give a good introduction to our trip! For those of you who don't know already, Gracia and I started planning this trip about a year ago when we found out we both wanted to study abroad. From there we settled on Prague, in the Czech Republic, for its central location in Europe and thus easy access to lots of travel! The plan is to take a full 15 credit hour semester at the Anglo-American University of Prague (no worries, the classes are all in English!) while we have the opportunity to see parts of Europe and experience a different culture. The trip will be a full four months, January 26th to May 29th. Once in Prague, we will be staying in an apartment about 30 mins away from the school- we will shortly become very familiar with the public transportation in the city!  Although this will be a stretch out of our comfort zone, we are really excited to start this long-awaited adventure...

There's an overview, many details to come!

Our first entry

Hey there friends,

Welcome to our blog! We are hoping to keep updating you all on how our trip is going with pictures and some travel journaling etc. 

So without further ado...

January 25th, the day before we leave:

I (Laura) said my goodbyes to my family yesterday morning before we (Gracia, Bradley, and I) took off for Dallas to meet up with Gracia's family there. Here in Dallas we've enjoyed spending time with the Johnsons and now Gracia is packing...

So many details, so little time!

Tomorrow we will be taking off around 4:50 p.m. from the DFW airport. We fly from Dallas to London, which will take about 9 hrs, then wait with a 6 hr layover there. From London we will fly 2 hrs to Prague and the plan is to arrive close to 5:40 p.m. on the 27th! Please pray for safe travels, neither Gracia nor I have flown this long of a distance. 

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, we are super excited and can't wait to have more to share with you!

Laura