She will be staying in a Czech Technical University dorm with exchange students from around the world. I said don't just hang out with the other Madison students or other U.S. students. She gave me the perfect "dads are so dumb" glance. She is embracing it being different from what she is used to. She is still pursuing an Engineers Without Borders water project in Tanzania. There is a funding problem with the program she was going on over the holidays this year but thinks there is a good chance it will be rescheduled. She says here we take water for granted. There they don't.


>The biggest problem I had in Prague was reading the subway signs. I just counted stops. And yes, the kids her age should speak good enough English that she'll be fine.
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>>Denison, Kenyon, sorry. I seem to have conflated them in my mind.
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>>Emily was here for a quick visit to the Czech embassy downtown. She will be studying abroad in Prague from February through June, plus a couple of weeks of sightseeing. (Based on what I have read about the authentic Slavic weather, I hope she decides to do that in July <g>). Anyway, on the drive into the city she mentioned a classmate at UW who is "really smart even though he's a philosophy major <g>. Spoken like a true engineering major.
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>>I have read a bit about Prague and am envious of her for this opportunity. Such a beautiful city and so much history. It's also cool that English is not the main language, although according to the guide book I picked up for her most Czechs under 40 speak English. She is going to learn as much of it as she can before going and while there. The book says Czechs appreciate you trying to speak their language even if you don't speak it well.
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>>I did manage to stick my foot in my mouth once at the consulate. There were two ladies working behind glass windows, very efficient. I chatted with one of them while the one who was helping Emily was copying some papers I asked if she was from Czechoslovakia and she said yes, well, sort of, but we aren't called that anymore. She said we are now two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. She said we became independent peacefully. A lot nicer than the breakaway movement in 1968, a.k.a. the Prague Spring. (I know you know that). The Soviets tolerated quite a bit and then it went too far and the tanks rolled in.