Shit on, but Loving Prague Anyway

Greetings family and friends! Sorry for the excessive delay!

Prague is glorious and I am extremely busy. Completing a semester's worth of credits in one month is pretty demanding. Lots of reading and writing, events, lunches, sightseeing tours, beer drinking, etc... This is probably the best the place we've ever been. Great people, great food, beautiful sights, oh, and did I mention the beer?

Anyway, I'm just making a quick stop in the computer lab before going out for lunch with Shana and Daniel, so I'll have to be brief. We just had a Q & A with Holocaust survivor and author Arnost Lustig. Inspiring. Heartbreaking. Even hilarious, at times. It was truly an important and unique experience. A few days ago we heard a talk by another famous Czech literary figure, Ivan Klima. He was a leading force in the samizdat movement during the Communist regime. This means that, during Communism, he and his friends found loopholes to subvert censorship through self-publishing. He is an amazing, important man.

We've seen a lot of sights, walked the town with Margie and David (so much fun!), and spent some great evenings out with our Czech hosts. My workshop with Stu Dybek is fantastic, by the way. He's an amazing teacher, and tells wonderful stories about his life and connections to the writers' community. I feel very fortunate to be one of the few students participating in his summer class. I'm learning a lot!

About the shit, it came from a bird, and it landed on my head, right in the middle of my ponytail. This was yesterday. I think it was punishment for eating in a very touristy bagel shop at lunch. I couldn't resist the triple decker turkey club. You know how I get about sandwiches. Anyway, this was a pigeon deuce of epic proportions, not your run-of-the-mill, liquid white splatter. This thing had some weight to it. And texture. And aroma. It was so funny that I never got time to be upset. John was quite amused. We took a snapshot of the stinky load for a keepsake. Worse things have happened, and it's hard to be upset in this city. We're having the time of our lives.

Miss all of you! Much love! I have to run. I see beer and fried food in my near future...