Day 3 found us up and early to make a meeting at Charles University with Martin regarding a tour (and personal tour guide) he had arranged for us in relation to the Czech Senate. One of the CzechMates on the trip (Megan Albright) is a political science major, so I arranged for us to visit the Czech parliament as a way to connect her interests to our trips (I tried to do that with each of the students on the trip, namely have us visit a business or institution that related directly to their field of study; thanks to connections and planning, it worked out — note to instructors: this was a good idea, as each visit allowed particular students to ask poignant and intelligent questions because it was related to their studies — making the trips interesting on the whole and us look like an intelligent and engaged group — all good!). The tour of the Senate was almost too good, as our guide was so educated on the topic that we got more information than we bargained for. Nonetheless, it was an amazing excursion, highlighted by our 10 minute foray into the actual senate to watch the proceedings. Everyone was delighted and having such an intelligent guide made the trip so much more meaningful.

From there, it was on to tour Prague proper. First stop. Food. We found a nice restaurant in the Mala Strana (small side) of the city (very close to where our tour of the Senate ended, and we settled in to lunch and a slight rest. Most of the students continued to sample the different types of food and drink, and all were enjoying the beers as well. From there, it was up the hill to the Prague Castle. Glorious and austere, it is a sight to see, especially the St. Vitus Cathedral which still takes my breath away although I’ve visited it over 20 times. The stained class is enough to keep you in awe for an hour (I know, it has for me).  Most of all, the students seemed to be taken aback by the fact that the castle dated from the 1300s and that people worked for their whole life on it without seeing the finished product. It is, in all meanings of the word, awesome.

From there, a quick trip to the castle walls, to gaze upon splendid views of the city (and the  “bumblebee”) and from there, it was back to U Akatu to prepare to meet our true CzechMates.

Thanks to the help of Todd Nesbitt, the Communication Department Chair at UNYP (University of New York in Prague), an English language University and an extension of the SUNY system , the four PSU CzechMates were able to connect up (via facebook and skype) with four students from his UNYP class. These students (Anička Kvasničkova, Barbora Quastová, Lucie Voriskova, Martina Slozilova), agreed to meet with us a pub near I.P. Pavlova to connect in real time, having gotten to know the students to varying degrees over the previous three months.

In a word, the meeting was incredible; everyone sharing thoughts, ideas, laughs, and information about intercultural perspectives, in ways that were natural and immediate (thanks to their incredible English skills and welcoming personalities). The original plan (i.e. mine) was (if we were lucky) to meet for a few hours once; it went so well we made plans to meet again a few days later. It was so great to see everyone having such a good time and it was definitely a highlight of the trip in that it truly took the PSU Czechmates well beyond the tourist gaze. We (PSU Czechmates) went back to the penzion with such warm feelings for our counterparts. To be honest, I didn’t know how well it would go so I was a bit nervous. Turns out, I had no need to be (and I didn’t have to do any facilitating of the conversations — in fact, I could have been somewhere else and the students would have had as great a time and dialogue).

For instructors (and note to myself): this was a great idea and one that I will develop further in future trips, probably in an even more incorporated manner. In today’s world, it is possible to create connections via Social Media that can (and did, in our case) extremely enhance the experience of the students. Of course, we were lucky to get such great participants (on both sides) but now the groundwork has been put in place (we started two facebook groups, limited to those who participate in the program) and allow for the group to extend by keeping all participants in the loop (so to speak — in other words, this year’s CzechMates will remain part of future group conversations, meetings in they like). Thanks to Todd, we were able to connect the students, but I didn’t push its potential enough in that I didn’t really incorporate it into the requirements; I was lucky this time but its potential can certainly be incentivized and my hope is that I’ll not have to do much, but I now realize that with a bit more organization, this has much potential for enhancing the development of the program for each trip, and more important, for the longterm.

My deepest gratitude to all the students for connecting so closely (i.e. really trying to connect with each other!) and to Todd at UNYP, who let me push him into helping me (I’ll make it up to you!) incorporate this aspect successfully into the program design.  A wonderful day all in all, and the group dynamics were beginning to gel.

Couple closing observations: Small groups are the best — going to keep the limit to 5, as not only did it allow us to do more intimate tours (and engage them more robustly) but it also allowed the individuality of each member’s thoughts and perspectives to shine through. In other words, it became very cool to really begin to get to know more about the students and their thoughts on the trip. What I would call the BCS (Breakfast Club Syndrome). In a word: AMAZING!

Geoblogging, while a wonderful concept, began to interfere with really experiencing the moment (i.e. do we live the moment and then document it or live the moment TO document it — or simply allow our documentation to disrupt our living the moment); Outcome — geoblogging got put off in favor of notes and anecdotal quips to jog the memory for writing the blog at a later time (i.e. like I am doing now). More important to lose yourself in the moment and let it happen to you, rather than being worried about getting it all down

Linking up with our Czechmates allowed us to connect to the local at the student level. It allowed us to explore the everyday culture with interpersonally, granting the students real interaction with the language, customs, and dynamics of each other’s cultural life.

Encourage the student’s to explore their thoughts and perspectives as they move beyond their comfort zone. Their ideas, shared freely rekindled the magic and fear of doing so in me and allowed us to more broadly discuss their reactions in ways that put them at ease and helped them to continue (at least i think) their explorations beyond their cultural box. In a word, we were in it together.

Finally, it was essential for everyone to have downtime, or time to themselves to process it. Can’t say it enough — plan time to recouperate/reconnect to oneself each day.  Made each excursion all the more enjoyable.

Day 3 down and the next would include our first excursion outside of Prague. Was really happy with how it was all exceeding my expectations on every front. Missing my family (in Krnov) but thrilled with the outcomes of the trip so far. On to day 4….

Location: Prague,