Nate Dracon
AIFS Charles University
Praque, Czech Republic
Spring 2018

Can’t believe that it is already that time for me to come back to the states!

I went to Vienna with another friend of mine from Hampden-Sydney. Vienna was one of the greatest cities that I have been to thus far. It was amazing to see the power of the Hapsburg monarchy. It seemed that every direction that I turned, there was another fantastic building. When I arrived back from Vienna, there were only three weeks left in the semester! I had to focus and complete my finals for Charles University because the next week I was going to Barcelona. It was not the sunny beach experience I hoped it would be, but I still had a great time. I rained every day, which was a bummer. The cheapest place that we could find to stay was a boat. This was not the yacht that I was hoping for but rather a small sailing boat. It was defiantly not good for someone who is 6’4, but I still enjoyed myself. The food was great, and I liked their Old Gothic Quarter. I enjoyed using the six years of Spanish while there even though I could not understand a word they were saying. I made an effort. Coming back, I knew time was running out, so I made sure to do anything else that I had not done yet. I bought plenty of gifts for my friends and prayed they would all fit in my bag.

For my last trip, I visited my friends from Hampden-Sydney Blake, Brendan and Zach in Dublin. Dublin was pretty, and it felt like America with an accent. The highlight of my trip there was going out into the Irish countryside, which is impressive.

Coming back, I had one week left to go, and everyone in my program was feeling nostalgic. I can affirmatively say that I am ready to get back to the States. I already know that my first meal back is going to be Chipotle and I can not wait to sleep in my bed. I am going to miss plenty things about Europe such as the excellent public transportation system in Prague. I am not excited about the long plane ride back, as I will have to leave my dorm at 4:00 am, but I am excited to experience summer in Charlotte again.