Czeching out of Europe

Lot’s to do. Lot’s to tell. Lot’s to be sad/ excited/ nervous/ happy/ reminiscent/ anxious about. I’ll start by attempting to replicate my amazing past weekend in Prague, Czech Republic! One of my best friends, Phil Kiselick, is studying there at Charles University for four months, and I have wanted to go to Prague since I started working in Europe; a straight-shot flight from Sofia to Prague was therefore the perfect opportunity to Czech out the desirable destination that many travelers are now putting on the top of their list. Prague is “the new Amsterdam”, the “gem of Central Europe”, where young and eager students can explore an unfamiliar post-communist country, take in the breath-taking sites that cover literally every square inch of the city, and party until dawn at beer halls and five-story clubs. In the two short days that I was in Prague, Phil and I managed to see and do it all! Friday and Saturday nights consisted of dinners with new friends, Pilsner beers at various bars throughout old town, clubbing and dancing the night away, trying infamous absinthe shots, czeching out “street meat” (my favorite of which was a fried cheese sandwich called Smazny), and having a ridiculous time that made me really miss my party-oriented study abroad days! Saturday was utterly beautiful – clear blue skies and relatively warm temperatures allowed us to explore the enchanting city for hours. We walked through Old Town, and looking up and around me sometimes gave me chills as pretty much every building had an exquisite exterior detail. Walking on Charles bridge and listening to street performers work their magic left me smiling ear to ear. We made our way to the side of Prague castle, stopping to Let it Be at the Lennon Wall, a graffiti-enveloped partition that is covered in Beatle’s lyrics and drawings. Snapping pictures the whole way, Phil and I trudged up to Prague Castle and went inside the St. Vitus cathedral, admiring the gothic décor that eerily resonates throughout the entire city. A Pilsner at a café overlooking all of Prague was the perfect way to reward ourselves for all the walking we had done! To finish off the sight-seeing day we climbed the astronomical clock in Old Town city center that provided (if possible) an even more stunning view of the city! Everything I was able to see and do in Prague left me so incredibly happy to have the opportunity to visit Phil, who shares my zeal for the unfamiliar. Needless to say, Prague lived up to its standards as (what I can imagine) is one of the most majestic places on the planet!

View of Prague Castle from Charles Bridge

Old Town Square from the Astronomical Clock

Phil and I at the Lennon Wall

A short couple of days in Sofia following my weekend trip led up to big news for the Bulgaria team. Wednesday we got word that I would be traveling to Moldova again for some meetings, and Abbie would be moving on to another project in Kosovo the next day. The news was unexpected and shocking, and we had no time to even process it. I hugged Abs goodbye thinking I would see her in a few days, when in reality we have realized it might be a little longer than that…

I spent the entire day Wednesday traveling (Chisinau, Moldova is extremely difficult to get to!) but was lucky enough to have landed first class again! I spent seven hours in the business lounge of the Bucharest, Romania airport; let me tell you, the free snacks, coffee, alcohol, desserts made the wait actually quite delightful. That evening, I had the shocking/amazing call from my coach, who explained that I would be moving to COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA the following week! I will be joining the pre-existing project with Karla, a colleague whom I really love. Adam explained I will be finishing the project there and then possibly moving on to Peru, where my ex-partner Pedro is currently opening another project. The emotions I felt and still feel are indescribable; not until now do I realize just how much I have wanted to get to South America. I cannot stop smiling, dancing, thinking of how to say certain things in Spanish, and imagining my new life in a completely new world.

With this ecstatic joy also comes sadness, at the realization of leaving Europe and all of the friends and memories I have made here. It has been my home for the past nine months and I haven’t had time to truly understand I am leaving the European culture and lifestyle in a matter of days.

I am currently in a café in Chisinau, Moldova, and the past four days in this city have been so eventful that I am taking this Sunday to rest, write, practice some espanol, and prep for my last few meetings in Bulgaria. There are five of us here, so we have had a good time at the meetings, eating Moldavian fare, and going out together. Yesterday we took advantage of the cheap luxury that Eastern Europe has to offer and had a spa day – I got a quite interesting one-hour full body massage for 15 euro (I didn’t expect amazingness but come on, did the masseuse really have to answer her phone during my foot massage?!) We are staying at a hotel named the “Maxim Pasha”, the only five-star hotel in Moldova, and it is also quite interesting. They put me in a room the first night complete with a red-sequined bread spread, an enormous chandelier, complimentary champagne…only to knock on my door five minutes later apologizing that they had accidentally put me in the “sexual room” and that I needed to move. At breakfast Michael and I ordered muesli (granola), and the waiter brought us noodles in a milky cheese sauce - gross! I also had to go to the eye doctor here, which was a whole other adventure; the doctor prescribed me about seven medicines that I didn’t need, which I luckily figured out before making it to the pharmacy. Moral of the anecdotes: Moldova is a small, bizarre little country, but amusing nonetheless, and I will always remember my time here!

Tomorrow I fly out for Bulgaria for my final couple of days with Slavy, and then leave early Wednesday morning for Belgium. I will probably spend one or two days in the office, get vaccinated and organized for COLOMBIA, then fly over to the part of the world I am meant to take on next! Ciao Europa, Hola Sudamérica!