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warning: don’t try this at home - this was super spontaneous
aisha came visit me in prague! we went out on friday night, then on saturday, we took the bus to chesky krumlov, a beautiful small town in czech republic! we planned to be a day trip and meet up with leslie & michel, but of course, after seeing how cute that place is, we decided to stay the night. so without ANYTHING (except money), we found a hostel, brought a tshirt & other basic needs and stayed the night! we went rafting in the morning in a dress & high heels!
then after we got back to prauge (3 hrs of bus), aisha was heading back to ostrava, but kidnapped me with her. so i decide to skip work/work virtually for the next two days. i’m heading back to prauge today (5 hrs bus ride!) and ill be back in my normal routine till…friday! last weekend here!
flying out on tuesday morning to romania to visit mihaela! :) so excited! then back to the US of A and Chicago for the Summer National Conference!
later <3
katie
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my lovely darling parents are here this weekend! they save you guys from hearing me rant about everything that happened this week.
- But anyways, everything is okay! i moved for the 3rd time to another apartment. it’s about 40 minutes away from everyone, but at least i have my own room! but it’s not a big deal, i just won’t go out as much/at all. which to me, it’s not the biggest deal.
- I went to Vienna and Budapest this past week! I love being able to travel around Europe for such a cheap price! from prague to vienna, vienna to budapest, and back cost me about 50 euros. less than $100 USD! and super cheap hostel! but vienna is pretty expensive! budapest is beautiful! i like the people so much cause I got lost trying to find my parents. and they are so nice!
- I also got to see emily in Budapest at a ruin bar!
- i love my parents so so much! <3
PS. the number is up to 5! and i haven’t repeat a nationality yet!
that’s a super quick update for now! put more later on! :)
katie
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identity crises
drinking a bottle of coke makes me feel like home.
and by home, i mean america. I have even worst identity crises here.
People told me, “the first time i saw you, i thought you’re from Asia. but as soon as you speak, your attitude and english shows that you’re american”
where is my home? i feel so in between sometimes. I don’t feel completely belong in one race, or culture. But i guess that’s what our world is turning into.
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lesson #2
lesson #2:
“每個人做每件事，總有一個原因，他對你好，未必真的是因為喜歡你，請你必須搞清楚，而不必太快將對方看作真朋友
Never trust anyone too easily, because at the end, you don’t know what their motivation. The more you trust them, the more they can hurt you. Time will tell true friendship, but in the meantime, don’t give yourself out too quickly.
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so.much.beer.
we have been eating out every single day (lunch & dinner), and everywhere we go, the beer is ALWAYS cheaper than water. a beer would be less than $2, but water would be more$5.
I have at least a beer everyday. and apparently i drink “a lot” of beer according to my international friends. representing the US of A!
Thank goodness we’re working on the actual project with companies next week. I’m looking forward to it! I like our interns group, but working, drinking, and living with them is getting a little old, can’t wait to expand our network more!
and countdown to see my parent: 2 weeks! :)
PS. another one last night, so far 4.
lovelovelove,
katie
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challenge
The biggest challenge I have so far is patient. Because for the past 2 yrs in college, I have majority control on my daily life. I know what time to wake up, I know exactly what will I learn in class, I know what my day will be like. But here, I’m doing the complete opposite. With the language barriers, everything takes at least 2 tries. From the beginning, the lost luggage, constant moving/accommodation issue, internet, washing clothes, and others. everything seems so much more difficult. I feel like I have been on the go everyday even tho I haven’t done that much. So, learning to be patient and letting things flow have been my learning point for this week!
PS. Goal for this trip: Dinner with a friend, good conversation, and the beautiful outlook of Prague downtown.
that’s for now!
<3 katie
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greeting from prague!
I finally have stable internet!
this past couple days has been interesting to say the least. got to GSO (greensboro) airport only to find out my connection flight to PHI will be delayed, and i will have to fly through heathrow instead of frankurt to Prague. So I arrived about 5 hours later than i planned with no luggage.
then after jakub picked me up from the airport, we headed to the dorm where we are having the BusinessLabs conference. Since we arrived maybe 20 minutes before the rest of the group, we decided to go get a beer. (first beer after 20 minutes of arrival!) then i went ahead and got to know my group (10 interns that i will be spending my rest of 6 weeks with!)
the next couple days, we had the usual AIESEC conference with waking up early and staying out late policy. we had presentations and workshop all days, including the train the trainer seminars. at night, we also went to the retro club and had a good time. there are a lot that happened during the past few days, i’ll try my best to edit it with more details.
PS. we, a group of 30 students from 20 different countries went to KFC, and as an American, i taught them how to eat a bucket of KFC fried chickens! and they also sold beer at KFC! Pilsner & KFC in Prague? globalization much?
PSS. so far, 3
katie
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tomorrow.
i’m leaving tomorrow.
it still hasn’t hit me yet that i’m going to Prague…
I didn’t do much research on purpose on the Czech Republic because I want that adventurous feeling. I know what I find on the internet would only give me the tourist sites and pretty pictures of Prague, which would lead me to have higher expectation and I don’t want to get disappointed.
the thought of me, myself being in the Frankfurt tomorrow by myself, and arriving to Prague just made me really nervous. The last time I traveled by myself outside of the US & Hong Kong was in Costa Rica. And I went through AFS, and I was 16 then, so not really knowing how to be scared.
Now, I’m 20 and getting nervous to be in Czech Republic by myself? what? ah. I’m nervous. This will be a great learning experience no matter what!
PS. although I’m very excited for Prague, I’m kinda sad to say goodbye to Chapel Hill today. Over the past 6 weeks, I have gotten closer with friends, made new friends, summer fling, and just relaxed & enjoyed life. Definitely something that i wasn’t able to do during the school year. I also didn’t have to put the LCP (local committee president) mask on, so i really enjoyed being silly and getting to know AIESECers on a different levels.
PSS. I just need to let him go.
lovelovelove,
katie
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life.
this entry is not about Prague, nor about my summer. It’s about life.
Recently, i have multiple conversations with different people about life, and they all gave me this feeling i have never felt before - i am growing up. i am no longer a teenage, i’m a 20 years old woman.
I have never been so content about myself as I am right now.
I started elementary school knowing that I need to be in the top. Because the education system in Hong Kong divide the top students into a “grade A” class even from elementary school, so they can focus their resources on them. Since second grade, i have always been in those classes because I know I don’t want to get look down upon. I want to be the “smart” one that everybody likes. I want to be top ranked so my parents would be proud of me and brag about my success in front of the relatives and neighbor.
When I started middle school in the US, I always wanted to fit in and have a lot of friends. I was the odd one out because my english wasn’t good, i was uncomfortable with how I looked (only asian girl in the grade) and don’t want so much attention. All i want is to be like everyone else.
In high school, i wanted everything. I want to be smart, popular and pretty. I want to be visible.
And college changes that, I have never knew myself better. I obviously don’t have everything that i wanted. I am not the smartest kid in class, I don’t make a 4.0 or anything close to that; I’m not the pretty girl that would take your breath away walking around campus; i’m not popular where i have over 1000 friends on facbeook and get asked to go to parties every weekend.
But I am me, and I like who I am.
When I stop comparing myself to people who are better, I see that there’s a lot more out there for me to focus on rather than myself. The world will not stop if I am no longer here tomorrow. everything will keep moving. and if i can’t satisfy the world, why can’t i just satisfy myself? because this is MY life. not anyone’s else. who else is going to care about my happiness more than myself? And i didn’t find true happiness until I start appreciate things in life.
And i have never been happier…
“To experience true happiness, put someone else’s happiness above your own”
I know the world out there is full of people who has a motivation behind everything. And i have encountered some so far, but i refuse to become that person. I know i have been used and lied to before, but they can’t take away happiness from me. I will only let you used me once, but it’s much more rewarding when you see life as a disneyland - the happiest place on earth!
leaving for Prague on tuesday! oh, life!
PS. i can never say enough - but i love my parents. I appreciate everything that they have done for me.
katie
