From the archives

While I love living in Prague, every so often I get a touch of homesickness. This week I found myself missing this past summer which I spent between DC and NYC, trying to make sense of the time I had left before moving abroad.

Photos from the bike

It's getting cold out but I'm making sure I get on my bike plenty. There's a certain masochistic joy to riding a bike through the winter.

No promises

Okay, okay I'm back... in many senses of the word. Monday marks two months of being in Prague (part II: real life edition) and I figure I should start sharing my photos again. However, I'm working as an English teacher and in all honestly, I'm totally swamped. Lesson planning takes up the majority of my time and the rest of it I'm usually at school doing the actual teaching. I hopefully will get the hang of it soon but, until then, I'm keeping my head down and powering through it.

The first month of living in Prague was spent getting my teaching certificate. It was an intensive 4-week program with some of the most amazing people I've ever met. Many have left since the end of the program but many have stayed - truly wonderful people to have known and worked with. It was a demanding course but a total blast.

Also, this round of Prague has a very important component: a bike! I found a lovely shop (Hot Dog Cycles) which built me an incredible bike. This isn't an easy biking city between cobblestone, tram tracks, and Czech drivers but that's not enough to stop me. No matter the city, country, or continent, biking seems to keeps me sane.

Adjusting to life in Prague is constantly challenging, frustrating, and discouraging but I'm so happy to be here and I know it will be worth it.

























Hi Mom!

Lying Low

Lying low is a pretty good description of what I've been doing since I got back from Prague way back in December. Between the brutal winter and the stress of school, I haven't been feeling the most creative.

However things are quickly changing: I'm graduating from NYU in three weeks, finishing out my lease in Bushwick, going back to DC for a month, and then finally, on September 7th I make the big move. I have a one way ticket to Prague.

Aside from occasional bouts of anxiety about cutting college short by a year and picking up and moving to another continent, I'm ecstatic about my plans.

All this planning and studying has not provided me with the most exciting few months. Not to mention I have become increasingly frustrated with my surroundings (both college and New York City.) Graduation, though, means free time which I hope to spend diving back into photography and trying to see this city in new ways, while I still can.

Readjusting to NYC

So, I'm back stateside and trying to figure out how I will spend the rest of my time in New York City. I'm subletting from a friend in Bushwick until the lease is up in August, at which point I will hopefully be ready to move to Prague indefinitely.

Until then, I've been trying to get back on my bike as much as possible and catch up with friends.

Bělehrad, Srbsko

In December I took a long journey to visit my friend Nora who lives in Belgrade, Serbia. Prague and Belgrade are just close enough that direct flights are insanely expensive but just far enough that taking a train or a bus would take forever. Ultimately, I took a train to Vienna where I took a bus to the airport on the outskirts of town and got on a very short commuter flight to Belgrade. It was a long trip but definitely worth it to finally see Nora and where she lives. Also, train rides through the Czech Republic are unspeakably beautiful.

Snow covered Prague

After a large snowstorm, I broke out my Yashica to try to capture Prague while the snow was still fresh- before it got too slushy and brown.

Stýská se mi po Praze

Well, the second half of the semester clearly left me quite busy enjoying my time in the Czech Republic. Sadly, I am back in the U.S. now and trying to make sense of life again. Currently, I am planning to graduate this summer and then move back to Prague to teach English. I cannot wait.

The last 6 weeks of the semester were as busy as the preceding 8: Berlin, Belgrade, concerts, flea markets, American Thanksgiving in Prague, massive snow storms, meeting new people, and ultimately- saying goodbye. It wasn't easy but I know it is not the last I'll see of Prague.