Tonje. She's from Norway and sadly she's only here for the semester. We get along like 2 peas in a pod. She's sarcastic, adventurous, beautiful, happy and kind. She introduced me to Garlic Soup. And H&M and Zara. She makes me get out of my room and off my butt. I don't think she's ever met a stranger. Also, she is one of the most stylish people I have ever met. It must be a Scandinavian thing. She can just throw on a scarf and sunglasses and look better than everyone else. I am her personal dictionary. If she doesn't understand an English phrase, she'll ask me to explain it for her. The other day she was reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac and every other page I had to explain what a beatnik or some other random saying was. That being said, she speaks better English than most Americans. And with that cute accent.
The Americans: Chris and Greg. They will get a combined post because they are like cheese and wine, old and work best together. They are here on a one semester exchange from some college in Missouri, which I didn't know that people in Missouri could spell college so I'm pretty proud of them. Greg spent some time in the South, near Dothan, so he actually knows where Marianna is! He says he'd have to kill me if he told me what he's done. Chris, I don't really know what he's done with his life prior to this. I think he was a frat guy and worked in a bar at one time. Possibly all lies. Actually, knowing these guys, probably all lies. They remind me of my brothers and make great drinking buddies. These boys know how to appreciate Czech beer. They are pretty experienced backpack travelers and made plenty fun of me when I told them I've never ridden on a subway system before Prague.
Princess, my roommate. Princess is from Nigeria, and spent 6 years in the UK for her first degree. She had some trouble with her visa, so she arrived about 3 weeks after school started. She is in her first year of studying Medicine and is in classes all day, every day. It's been very interesting to live with someone from a completely different background than me. She's introduced me to some interesting British phrases and Nigerian food. I'm pretty sure she's trying to heal me of this cough that I have by making spicy soups and insisting I try them. Let me just tell you, our spicy is nothing like her spicy. Pretty sure my throat closed up after one sip.
Nadja, she is Bosnian but she lived in the US for 12 years! The first time I met her, she said "Are you American? Do you like to watch American TV? I'm losing my American accent so we will be friends so I can work on that!" Nadja is in my degree program so she will be here the full 2 years. She is sweet, talkative, studious and open for anything. It's helpful to have someone who knows Eastern European culture and American culture, that way we don't make any social gaffes.
Veronika, my tutor. Honestly, I probably would have gotten right back on the bus I took from Prague if she hadn't of met me at the bus station. She took one look at my jet-lagged face, grabbed a suitcase, checked me into the dorm and took me to get McDonalds. Which was exactly what I needed. Then she continued to be the greatest tutor ever and helped me check in with the Foreign Police (who, contrary to what you would think, don't speak a word of English), open a bank account, get a cell phone, took me to a wine bar and dealt with Chris and Greg when they tried to hit on her friends. This girl is a life saver. Now I consider her a close friend, not just a tutor. She still helps me with my Czech though!
There are many others, such as the Spanish girls; Victoria, (Tonje's roommate) She's a yoga, aerobics and latin dancing teacher who has convinced me to take one of her yoga classes. Andrea, a 4ft10in Spanish spitfire. The Swedish girls, Pamela and Maria, who live in the most awesome apartment in Brno and host amazingly fun dinner parties. The Former Yugoslavian block Group, Jelena, Maja, Dominick, etc.
I can't begin to describe how awesome it is to meet such a wide variety of people. It's so interesting to hear different opinions, backgrounds and ideas.
(I might post photos of my friends later, I'm going to ask for their permission first)
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