From Day 1 : Experience of a life time

You never know what you will experience when you say yes to a once in a life time opportunity. It was my last semester of my undergrad and I only needed one more class in order to graduate. I thought to myself, why stay in Kearney and take an online class, when I can take the same class 5,000 miles away. And so this began the adventure of taking life up on one of its extraordinary opportunities. Don't get me wrong though, I was terrified to move to another country for three months where I did not know the language, didn't really know anyone who was going with me, nor would a 7 hour time difference make anything easier. But man oh man, am I so grateful to have learned and experienced so much in the past 11 weeks. You truly never know who you will meet or how much you will grow until you sit down and think, holy smokes, I just traveled all over Europe and went to seven different countries with 23 other people. It is crazy to try and wrap my head around the past three months, but I know that at the end of today, I will be leaving my home away from home.

Iced coffee with ice cream-
Last day in Olomouc

As I sit at my favorite café and drink iced coffee (made with ice cream of course) I am so very sad to be leaving tomorrow morning. The Czech has provided such a beautiful environment to enjoy and has defiantly caught me off guard more than once. For example, when I first realized how many people in the Czech do not speak English. A group of us were out to dinner and while the restaurant had English menus (a rare commodity) our waiter did not know any English. So thinking outside the box, we used hand gestures and pointed to our desired meal that was located in the same place on the Czech menu. He was very nice about it, as I'm sure we were not the first English speaking students to walk through the doors. However, my favorite part about that exchange was when our waiter asked (with gestures) if we wanted our water sparkling with the sound effect bloooop and fingers simulating how the bubbles rise in the water. Just a little side note, sparking water is not good, and we avoided it at all cost.
We also got "used to" always having as close to exact change as possible. In the Czech currency (crowns), cents do not exist, which has been rather nice. However, when you cannot order gelato because you do not have coins or cash even, it becomes kind of a sad day. But at the end of almost 3 months, we all have really gotten the hang of it. Walking half an hour to get somewhere, cramming the essentials into your backpack for a weekend trip so you don't have to carry two bags, and even walking into the grocery store with a backpack because you have to pay extra for every plastic bag, has become part of my normal life. We are finally comfortable taking the tram by ourselves (public transportation didn't really exist in Nebraska), asking first if they speak English when we get lost, and we are not ashamed to pull out our google translate app in order to communicate. Funny how when it is time to leave, you finally understand how to do more than just get by.
While the Czech has challenged us to adapt to the cultural differences, I am excited to be back in the states where water and toilets are free, cards are accepted everywhere, and I can drive again. I would not trade this experience for the world. It is true when people say that if you can, you should study abroad, because you attain so much more than just going to another class. You get to meet people who make you feel welcome, you get to say you took a weekend trip to another country, and most of all, you leave with so many memories that you never want to forget.