…was so quaint and cute and beautiful all at once. I wish I could write more about it, but my time there was mostly spent working, so I had limited time for adventuring. Prague is a pretty decent city to get lost in though (which is not difficult to do).

I must have walked the Charles Bridge 5 times or so in just a handful of days.

Since my mind is still a bit burnt from my days there, I’ll just share via the limited photos I have accessible on my phone. I forgot my camera’s cord in New York.

The first thing you do in Prague, of course, is drink Czech beer. I like mine dark. Oh, and eat fried cheese and potatoes with tartar sauce.

Astronomical Clock.

Like I said, getting lost in Prague can be a great thing.

Prague, how did you know I love fireworks? I also love you now.

An iPhone 4 camera doesn’t even come close to doing the Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle any justice. Even when you try to Instagram it. Clearly.

Absolutely gorgeous IRL.

The food wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, though not aesthetically pleasing.

As bland-looking at that last picture may look, it was actually really delicious. Unfortunately, I had 5 minutes to scarf it down before heading to a meeting. Timely and efficient service is not a high priority in many parts of this city. S’all good though.

Perhaps more photos, if I ever upload them. (It’s been more than a year since India and no one has seen a single photo from that. Shrug.)

My boyfriend jokes that I always “do what I want.” Apparently though, for the first time ever, I’m in a country where I can’t do whatever I want. Not only is my addiction to Twitter getting a cleansing (not going to lie, I’m suffering some minor withdrawal symptoms) but my bigger addiction to Gmail is taking an unexpected and unwelcomed blow as well.

In the two nights I’ve been in China, I’ve gotten exactly 4 minutes of Gmail time. But at least I was somewhat prepared for that (though I didn’t realize it would be this inaccessible); my dad on the other hand is irate. Poor guy.

I won’t rant too much about this and my thoughts on Internet censorship and this government. Who knows who will come knocking on my door, putting me away. But hey, maybe I’ll get a Nobel Peace Prize out of it (I’d link that sentence but I’m pretty sure all articles about the 2010 winner are blocked here).

 

 

In other news: I almost got into a brawl less than 5 minutes into being in China. I have low tolerance for nonsense. And rudeness. And nonsensical rudeness.

Other observations:

• No one says anything when they knock you over in the street. At least in New York, you’ll get an “excuse me” or “sorry” or “move it” or even “f*** you” — but here? Nothing. As Bon Qui Qui would say: “Rude.”
• People love to ride their mopeds on pedestrian walks. I don’t know why. Inefficient.
• Nose-picking is in. The more public and unashamed, the more in it seems to be.
• Peeing in public is also in, among some crowds…
• Chinese people are loud. But I didn’t have to come all the way to China to tell you that one.
• Food is crazy cheap, as all my China-visiting friends have told me. Clothing and entertainment are not cheap.
• The people who are nice are VERY nice. Thumbs up for that.

List to be continued, perhaps.

Hopefully I’ll be updating soon about what I’ve done in China so far. Despite the Internet inaccessibility and the nose-pickers, the direct experience with people has been amazing thus far. I had the chance to meet with families of children with cerebral palsy, and talk with organization heads/founders. Photos, stories, and lessons to come.

 

First meal in China…cheapest thing at Shenzhen airport though.

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Last night on my way home from watching the game at Brian’s, I hopped onto my 6 train going uptown. Somewhere in Midtown, a man got on my car and announced, “Hello, everybody. My name is Howard* and I am homeless. I haven’t had anything to eat in four days so if you could spare some change so I can get food, I would be very thankful…” and went on.

Side note: I tend to take note of whether someone is asking for money (in which case, I am less likely to give) or for food (more likely to give). It’s my quasi-judgmental method. Shoot me. And rarely do I give money to someone who is asking for money, but if have food on me, I almost always give that up.

So last night, I happened to have a packaged chocolate croissant that I had purchased earlier that day (influenced by my friend Jeremy’s croissant purchase) and decided that I could spare it. I saw Howard with a bag of collected food and dropped my pastry in with the bunch.

[img via]

Tonight, again returning from Brian’s place after another [losing] game, I sat on the 6 train only to see Howard get on around Midtown. He stood there and began, “Hello, everybody. My name is Howard and I am homeless. I haven’t had anything to eat in four days…” and went on.

Immediately, I thought, “Come on, Howie, I just gave you food yesterday as did whoever else contributed to that bag. Even if you didn’t eat it or if you lost it, you’re still lying about four days without food.”

He got off at the next stop and I began to think.

Initially, I was disappointed that he was lying. But then, giving him the benefit of the doubt, I thought that perhaps Howard just feels that he needs to lie in order for people to care and give — in which case, that’s sad on our parts (those of us who can spare some change).

I’ve never really felt conflicted on the whole panhandling/homelessness issue or dealt with that “Christian moral” dilemma. I always thought that people should 1) give to an organization that can better allocate and distribute funds and/or 2) just give what they can, namely food products.

But tonight, I felt the tension a bit. People who give to someone like Howard and then find out he’s either lying, or in some other cases, using the money unwisely thus become jaded — which results in those who really need help not receiving it when they ask because those of us sitting pretty on our subway seats start rolling our eyes or turning up our headphone volumes in remembrance of Howard’s misleading speech.

I don’t know. It’s just sad all around.

(This post isn’t very coherent because I’m still processing it.)