As I hope it is quite obvious to those in the Northeast, winter has come in full force. I have gotten reports from back home about the snow this past week that lasted two or three days! While the cold is no different in Prague, we have yet to have snow. If you can’t tell, I am one of the rare people who actually enjoys snow. In Europe though, with cold weather comes Christmas Markets! I’ve been to the ones in Budapest and London, but I have yet to go to the markets in Prague and Brno (I will update you on these next week!)
Now if you plan on studying abroad in the fall semester, I’ll give you a few packing tips:
- pack as if you were going to Susquehanna for the fall term
- sweaters and jeans are staples!! Europeans tend to dress up whenever they are in public; sadly sweatpants are not as socially acceptable here as they are in the states
- you will need a winter coat! Do not think you are invincible to the cold, it gets down to the 20’s and 30’s.
- bring a light jacket too!
- for your first few weeks in September, you will need some more ‘summer-like’ clothes than you think…emphasis on some, don’t overdo it.
- winter boots or warm socks! If you get stuck waiting for a tram, you will not want to be frozen!
When you first arrive in Prague, with your family and friends back home in the states, the time difference is going to hit hard. Not only will you be exhausted for the first week while your body is adjusting, but you will be ahead of everybody back home. You won’t be able to chat with most of them like you used to, unless your friends are major early birds. Around twelve or one o’clock, people back home start waking up. Even harder is being able to talk on the phone if they aren’t available until after work…leaving you up on the phone very late into the next morning.
Eventually it seems weird that they are behind, rather than you being ahead. It becomes the norm, even though the sun now sets at three or three thirty pm here. I’m personally very interested in how my body will react living in the ‘normal’ time zone again in the states. In a weird and slightly crazy way, Prague has felt like another world. The time difference makes me feel independent and separated from others in a way that makes it feel like I’m not on Earth. Either way, I promise it gets easier after you settle in to call your parents late in the day and being in class while the sun sets.
Just Czech-ing In 