Blog 9: All the locals eat ice cream

So Ash and I got the biggest compliment the other day. TWICE people stopped us and asked for directions. To me, that is the biggest compliment because it means that you no longer look like a struggling tourist with your map out, but you look like a local that would actually know where things in this city are. Ash chalks it up to the fact that we were speaking English (and we are always blabbering about something, so it’s hard not to hear us…) but I’m sure it’s because we look like we know what we’re doing. After all, we ARE locals now. We have upgraded from KFC (sad, I know) to a café where the locals on our block hang out. They all rush in a kiss each other on the cheeks and start conversing as if it’s been years since they’ve seen each other. They each bring their dogs and let them run around while the smoke their cigarettes and drink their kafe. It is a very homey café with homemade art working hanging and walls overflowing with shelved books. Plus, I guess it’s a step up from KFC ;)
Another reason Im sure I look like a local walking around is I eat ice cream. There are little gelato and ice creams shoppes all over. They serve those tiny ice cream cones with one baby scoop on top and it’s the perfect snack while walking around the city. Here is my reasoning why I think that makes me look like a local: 1. All the locals know where the good ice cream shoppes are. 2. If you are walking around the city eating your ice cream, you are obviously not flustered looking at your map like you are lost, and 3rd and most importantly Lindsay Duncan, who plays Katherine in Under the Tuscan Sun, would walk around eating ice cream all the time. Her character was an American who had moved to Tuscany and had become a local. She would walk around eating ice cream all the time helping the poor tourists who were lost, thus how she meets the main character Frances. Frances is new to Tuscany and overwhelmed and Katherine just waltzes in with her little ice cream and helps Frances adapt. She is fabulous and im sure as I walk around the downtown streets of Praha I look just like her. Okay well not quite, but as I sit here writing to you all in the café, sipping my cappuccino, I’m sure I am a step closer!
This is another reason why Ash and I are thinking we may stay in Prague after all. We met with our counselor at school the day and she said it will be a million times easier to get a job and secure a nice apartment if we stay in Prague. Since we are loving it here now, getting adapted to the city took some time, but now we love it and will most likely stay here! We have a great group of friends staying here and if we all move close to each other it would be great fun! We are meeting with a realtor this weekend to start looking for our permanent apartment, which is exciting. We most likely won’t have jobs until school starts in the fall, but we have already started applying to some!
I love after we get stopped by other Americans or Brits or Irishmen and they proceed to ask us what hostel we are staying in, we can say, oh we aren’t staying in a hostel, we live here, welcome to our city!!




Love love love from Prague!