Starting is the Hardest Part

Hey, so here I am in Prague and the first semester of third year has started. Unfortunately I am having a confidence crisis in my project. Is the idea good enough? I am also feeling overloaded with possible things to include. The city is fascinating and I need to narrow down a lot and focus on a defined path. I'm waiting to hear back from my tutor on an email I sent asking advice, but as they didn't reply to four that I sent in August I'm not holding my breath. Ah well, I'm sure I'll figure it out. I can't say it's worth the £9000 per year tuition fees though, as we're practically being left alone and receiving little to no actual tuition for half of the academic year.

Anyway, on to more interesting things. As some of you know, yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of Christos dying. I decided that it wouldn't be good to stay in and think about things. He would not have approved of that! Yesterday also happened to be St Wenceslas Day and Day of Czech Statehood. I decided to go into Wenceslas Square. The autumn street markets have been in swing for the past couple of weeks, decorated with pumpkins and leaves:

Earlier this week there was a Czech folk band playing there, The Bohemian Bards, complete in traditional dress and almost traditional instruments. I never knew there was a Czech version of bagpipes. Lots of leather was also in evidence, including a leather kilt!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be there just before a live show about Wenceslas. Unfortunately, due to my legs, I was unable to stay there for the whole thing (it was standing room only) but I did get some photos from the beginning of the show:

On a side note, I'm disappointed that I got a 24 hour ban from Facebook for posting my photos from the Prague Sex Machines Museum. I wonder if Blogger's policy is so strict...

All Change

Well, year three of university has officially started. First module being the independent, work away project. As I said in a past blog, my original intention was to do it in Crete doing a creative writing project based on the sensory  and mythogeographic elements of the island. After a summer facing harsh and unwelcome truths I knew I had to change things and so I find myself back in Prague. I have more than enough material and memories to stick with my Crete project but it seems such a shame to be in this beautiful, fascinating city without using any of it. But where do I start? There is enough material from the two places to keep going forever! I have just under three months and it is all to be condensed down into a 20 minute presentation. How joyous. Not.

To be honest I don't know where to start, ad there is very little in the way of support and advice from university. Correction, there seems to be none. Apart from one reply from my tutor to my first email saying that my project could possibly change, saying that they are always there for advice, there have been no replies to further emails for around a month. No advice or opinions on the alternative ideas I put forward. No replies to concerns I have. Nothing. Nada. Nought.

When it was time to submit our final update forms, I decided to do a creative writing project based on the similarities and contrasts of the two places. A country girl in a city world. I assume it has been okayed, I haven't had confirmation but then again I haven't had refusal. Hey-ho, who knows? I might as well make a start. Along with the 20 minute presentation I am going to create a book of photos, poetry and prose. I am also going to create a separate blog which will deal purely with the project. I must remember to keep my university rants to this one!

Wish me luck because I'm not sure I have a clue what I'm doing any more! Luckily I'm lost and confused in a fascinating city with plenty to explore.

Summer of Rolling Stones

Ok, so I haven't done a blog post since finishing my second year at university, and here I am about to go into my third and final year. Many things have happened, both good and not so good. I finished my second year with a 2.1 overall grade, which was good and I was very pleased with it. Really hope I can keep in the 2.1 area over my third year. We have fewer modules in the last year three modules instead of six, but they are worth more of our final grade so I can't afford to mess up. Unfortunately one of the modules is the dissertation, which is my weak area. I am fine with creative writing and fiction, but when it comes to factual things and essays I fall apart a bit.

After finishing my second year I came to Crete to spend the summer and also the first module of the third year which is our self led work abroad module. Usually coming to Crete revives me and sets me back on track to cope with everything. Unfortunately it didn't work out this year. From my second week here I was beset with a recurrence of kidney stones and IBS. These have been under control for a while, and this was unexpected. Aside from the pain they made me feel rough overall so I haven't been out much at all over the past two months and have barely seen anyone.

Being back for the longest period since starting university has also made me see just how much everything has changed and how bad the situation here is now. I have had to face the hard fact that unless a miracle happens I can not come back to live here after university, which was always my plan. This is the only place that's ever really felt like home to me so it hit me really hard and I got bogged down in depression from this and my health issues. It feels like I've lost a possible future and that I'm adrift, hoping I can find my place in the world. Not feeling well enough to see my friends much hasn't helped, but one of them said the nicest thing a couple of days ago. He said "You might not always see us but we will always be your friends." That made me feel emotional and teary but in a good way. So if any of my friends are reading this, whatever country they're in, I want you to know how much I appreciate you all.

There have been good things over the summer too. We have been to some fascinating historical and scenic places. One of which was the Roman amphitheatre at Aptera. It has been partially excavated, and I can just imagine performances being put on there. The acoustics were amazing, and the backstage area has awoken my imagination, I can see plots and intrigue happening there. A basis for a play is working in my mind!

I also had a week in Prague. It is an absolutely fascinating place and I loved it, despite being a country girl who gets overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of cities. It is a place of contrast, ornate baroque architecture alongside elegant art deco and art nouveau, interspersed with communist brutalism and ultra modern. It is also crazy and bizarre, from David Cerny sculptures to the playwright who won Czech personality of the year despite not actually existing! They re-ran the vote, and he won again! A week only permitted me to scratch the surface. I will have more time to explore though, as I have changed my third year project and will be spending the next three months there instead of Crete. My original project was going to be a photographic and creative writing work based on a sensory feel of Crete. I am still going to keep elements of Crete in it, but will be contrasting them with Prague and the Czech Republic.

So here I am, into my last week in Crete, in temperatures up in the 40s wondering what to pack for three months in a place where the temperature can be anything from 20c to -20c. In one case! I have never experienced such cold temperatures before, so if it goes down that low it will certainly be an experience! I've been told that one year it was sunny and around 22c most days up until Christmas, another year it started snowing in September and didn't stop all winter. So I don't know what to expect! Hope it goes well!