Speed of Sound

I'm due for an update, big time.  It's been approximately a week since I last blogged, and much has happened here in Prague since.

To give you an overview, I had my first full week of classes last week. My schedule follows along the lines of:

Monday 9:30-2:30
Tuesday 9:30-2:30
Wednesday 12:30-4:30
Thursday 9:30-2:30
Friday 9:30-4:30 (the longest day)

As for my classes, they are going very well.  All of them are interesting and Czech-based, giving me the opportunity to learn the historical part about society, art, theatre, government, politics, literature, and film.  I've visited some more museums, low-key galleries, film locations, and events in Prague.

This past weekend, I saw some interesting pieces of artwork at the National Gallery Museum as apart of my art history lecture. Below are some of the pictures I took:

 Me standing in front of a giant painting.

 Florescent light artwork.

Camouflage painting.

Saturday I visited a festival held on a psychiatric campus, where I toured the facilities that the patients use for leisure activities and assistance.  There was a wide variety of buildings and booths with things to purchase.  My reasoning for attending was to understand the festivals purpose of being held on a psychiatric campus.  It is in order to eliminate the social stigma that comes with those who have mental illnesses. I think I contributed to that stigma, but my view has changed since the tour:

My "I'm at a psychiatric facility" pose.

Saturday night, I attended my first Czech wedding.  That's right, a wedding. It was Jana and Petr's cousin's son who was getting married.  I wanted to see if there was a difference in traditional Czech weddings, and American weddings.  Although there isn't anything too different about the weddings, there are very interesting social interactions that take place during the course of the reception (games, raffle prizes, outdoor grilling, and American rock music dancing). Below is a picture of JANA & PETR with the bride and groom.  I put their names in all caps because I haven't posted a picture of what my host parents look like:

Petr, the groom, the bride, and Jana at the wedding.

A huge display of desserts made by Jana. She can bake. Someone needs to get her a cooking show.

Lastly, I'll end with Sunday. COLDPLAY. I went to the concert in an outdoor soccer stadium, and it was AMAZING. The stage was beautiful, the lights were awesome, and the crowd was packed and excited.  Coldplay came on around 8:30 and put on a firework show with light up radio activated bracelets that flashed to the stream of the music.  It was incredible.  One of the best concerts I've been to because they were so amazing live (both entertaining and vocally). Below is the link to a video that I recorded in the opening of the concert setlist. Enjoy! I'll have much more to post tomorrow about some exciting upcoming plans!

Coldplay in Prague Performance