it's the final countdown

So I am down to my last three weeks at the Prague Post and in Prague. About two weeks ago, I was really anxious, homesick, ready to call it a day in the Czech Republic. But as with anything, as the time nears to get ready to leave, I am feeling more settled and comfortable.

Right as I was aching for home and friends and English and familiar spaces, I began to make friends at work, go out more and generally feel more at home in Prague. I guess that's always how it happens. It takes a couple months to find your stride, and in this case, a couple months is all I have and now I am uprooting again. I am not sad about leaving the Post, as the reporting and writing experience there has not been just what I expected, but I am beginning to really enjoy some of the people I work with, and feel nostalgic for my neighborhood, the city, even hearing the language buzz around my head all day....

I have made a list of things I want to do before I leave, and besides visit the beer garden and take absinthe shots (I assure you there is more to Prague that drinks), I have a few things I have either seen and need to do again or that I just haven't made it to yet. So far, I have listed and knocked off the Dancing Building (Tancini Dum), designed by Frank Ghery and intended to look something like the moving figures of Fred Estaire and Ginger Rogers. It's one of those buildings that people either love or hate, and for me, I loved it - I thought the curved glass and steel strangely complement the rigid, ornate neighboring buildings.

Also on the list were Petrin hill, which I wandered to last week and climbed the nearly 300 stairs of the mini Eiffel Tower at the top of the hill for some of the most breathtaking views of Prague. I've crossed it off the list, but intend to return.

I also kind of want to go to a puppet show (apparently Prague is the epicenter of European puppetry... whatever that means...), maybe a show and Obecni Dum and the Jewish cemetery (I know, I am embarrassed I have been here so long and still have not gone.) It's going to be a busy few weeks.