Adventures in Prague!

I have almost been in Prague for a week now and have seen a lot of the city. One interesting fact about Prague that I did not know prior to coming here was that this is considered the "most romantic city" in all of Europe. At first this information shocked me because I have always heard as Paris or Venice being quite romantic, and never Prague. But after talking to different people and hearing other tourists talk, I have learned this to be true. It make senses while people would say this. Prague is absolutely gorgeous and has amazing architecture. What makes Prague so unique is its architecture diversity-- everything from castles to ancient Catholic Churches to even more modern forms. The style of buildings are totally diverse as well. Prague has often been dubbed the "textbook of architecture" because the city has captured architectural structures from the 10th century onwards to the present. The different styles that I have seen within this city have been romanesque style, Gothic style, Renaissance, Baroque, Classic style, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Functionalism and contemporary architecture. I have thoroughly enjoyed walking around this city and checking it's magnificent buildings and structures.

Yesterday I went to the Franz Kaftka museum. He was and still is one of the Czech Republic's biggest and most influential writers of all time. Kafta lived a dark life and often wrote about all the darkness in his novels, letters, and short stories. What makes Kafta so amazing is his ability to use dark and depressing words and turn them into beautiful sentences. He can capture so much within one sentence to the point that you almost forget how dark and depressed he found his life to be. I found the exhibit to be quite interesting and I really was able to read a lot of his passages, and sentences. I ended buying one of his books which is titled America. After learning a lot about each book he wrote, I was intrigued by this story. To finish off my day yesterday, Jake and I walked around his school (Charles University.) We walked through the cementary, by the gorgeous Catholic Church and we walked up to the beautiful view of the city. The university is up on a hill so you can really get a great sky view of the city. Jake told me everything he knew about King Charles the IV and the time that he ruled.

One other fasinating thing about Prague that I did no know until I got here, was that 94% of the city is athiest. That was shocking to me because there are so many churches and synagogues here.

I experienced my first gay bar in Europe called Friends. It was a fun place to go and meet cool people. My brother and I met up with an friend from high school who also studied aboard in Prague as well. We had a blast getting back together and having fun. It is a Karoke bar and there is nothing better than seeing gay Czech guys trying to sing to American pop songs! I also went to a Herda bar, which is a 24 hour bar and casino. The casinos are so funny and so small here. Lastly, I experienced my first Lesbian bar as well. I danced the night away while we were there. Overall it was an interesting and very cultural experience. Tonight we are going to a couple new bars, hopefully one can be a straight bar for myself (not that I did not enjoy both the gay and the lesbian bars) because I did. It would just be nice to mix it up a bit.

I am headed to the Jewish Quarter today to explore that section of town, and eat and drink some delicious Czech food and beer! I am also hoping to explore a few more musuems before we depart on Sunday.

Love and miss you all,
JENNA

Officially I leave for Europe well Prague, Vienna, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy to be exact in six days! In that six days span I also complete my job at Salt Lake Community College in the athletic department as well. With budget cuts, my job was getting cut after this year and I just decided I would end sooner.  I am thankful to know that it is all almost over.  While this work year has been an excellent learning adventure-- it wouldn't be an adventure that I would sign up for again. I feel like a new chapter of my life is emerging with the start of my trip to Europe, writing a book with my father and starting graduate school all in the next three months. 

Europe is phrase one of this new start.  I haven't more excited to go on an adventure, than I have been with this trip. It is a much needed vacation and a much needed rebuild on my life. I started to feel as if I was drowning in my own emotions, thoughts and ideas. I have needed to capture a clear head and I think going to Europe is going to help achieve this desire. At first I stressed do to the fact that I didn't know how I was going to pay for this trip. That stress went away when my mom told me that I should use some of the saving bonds I received when I was little, so I am. What is even more crazy about this, is that I have way more money accumulated from these bonds then I ever would have imaged.  So some of the money is for Europe and some of it is going towards my car/school fund. I feel pretty content knowing that my savings bonds have gone a long way.

For all of you worried I wouldn't keep an active blog while I travel, I have great news that I will be keeping an active blog. I will update you all with my wonderful trip with my brother and our crazy times. I also will be adding numerous pictures (which I am bad at, but I will get better,) and adding my absolute expressions!

So in six days I am off...off to a month of adventures, fun and overly zealous times. It will help me to become refreshed, renewed and totally relaxed again. HOORAY! 

Getting handed the friend card

   If I get "I just want to be friends" card one more time by a guy, after we became more than friends I am going to scream.  Seriously, I am so tired of this sequence which seems to happen to me time after time. Is it me, or is it the type of guys that I choose to date? 

   What is worse than getting the friend card is seeing the guys that I used to date or my so-called friend find another girl to date right afterwards. That too has happened to me.  

   So I told myself I wouldn't vent about this new encounter of my recent friend card drawing, but it did just happen and I am a bit frailed and bit sadden by this new encounter. I knew the inevitable would be coming in the future, but I wasn't ready this soon. I am not ready to accept this new outcome, not yet at least.  I guess it is good that I am going to Europe in a week because I definitely need a new scene at the moment. 

   Europe is going to be a blast, five countries in three and a half weeks with my brother who is Mr. Social and Mr. Popular it can't get much better than that. I'll be traveling and able to flirt with Italian men, Croatian men, Czech me, Austrian men, and Slovanian men all I want and not feel guility! 

   I know that someday some guy will really want to be with me, love me and just want to be with me.  He won't hand me the friend card after we have dated for a month and a half, instead we'll continue to date and continue to grow in our relationship. 

   To put a positive spin, things like this only make me stronger and more of an awesome woman. 

Much Love,

Jenna 

Yoga Mania!

    This year I have really started to embrace yoga.  I absolutely love participating in the practices. Yoga is more than exercise for me, it's a release, my zen and a chance for me to engage in mind and body development and challenges. I also love it because I have met so many wonderful, open-minded and fun people in my classes.  Yoga also attracts good looking men, so that is the icing on the cake.  

    I have been doing yoga on a regular base since January, twice a week in a classroom setting and twice on my own in the morning. I do a form of yoga called "Sola Yoga."  With this form everyone uses a stick to help enhance poses that might be difficult for some and it helps to further extend the pose. This is the first Yoga class in which I really love and using a stick has helped that love. 

    There are so benefits for Yoga like flexibility, an improved physical and mentally state of mind, openness, energy and it helps to improve your brain memory. I have noticed how much Yoga has helped my snowboarding.  After boarding all day I realized this. I was exhausted after a day of boarding in fresh powder and usually that means I have to stop, but today nothing could stop me! My body somehow continued and continued with ease and with confident. I got better the more tired I got.  It was awesome! Yoga has given me so much more endurance, confidence and flexibility. 

     It has absolutely helped to change my life.  Nothing beats doing some Yoga overseeing a gorgeous mountain! 

     If anyone is interested in incorporating Yoga into their daily lives, then check out www.freeyoga.com, it'll change your life!

      

So I applied to graduate school at Westminster College in Salt Lake for my Masters in the Art of Teaching. I am also hoping to either get a certificate in Special Education or English as a Second Language. I would love to teach aboard for a summer, or perhaps even a year. The one great thing about this year was that I started to figure out exactly what I want to do with my life. I am engaged in the Sport's world as a profession right now and I realize how much it stresses me out. I want to be in a profession, and a job that I love and that I can truly be creative and be myself in.

Westminster is such a perfect fit for me. I did the big University for my under-graduate degree and I think going smaller for my graduate degree is a good idea. The class size ratio is 11 to 1 and I like the way the program is run and set up. I love Liberal Art Schools!

All I have to do now is get in! Hopefully I'll find out in one week whether my dream will come true or not. I have confidence that it will.

I'll keep you all updated.