I started feeling the anxiety in my chest in the weeks leading up to my first ever trip to Europe. Not the bad kind of anxiety where you can’t get anything done, but the kind that feels like a million butterflies in your chest. My mother could tell I was anxious and tried her best to calm me down only to be met with an “I know Mom, I got this”. I was too proud to admit being nervous, especially about getting through the airport and to my hotel. As soon as I made my trip official by paying my deposit fee, I told everybody my plans for the summer. I was constantly greeted with “oh’s and ah’s”, “You’re going to have so much fun”, and “I’ve heard Prague is great”. But I still couldn’t help worrying. Fast forward to now, 12:30pm Prague time and 6:30am Eastern US/Canadian time on Sunday May 21, the butterflies have subsided because I have finally made it to my destination. I knew my mom was right to comfort me in those weeks but I still couldn’t help the butterflies about traveling, now I just need to learn how to navigate the city.

Fast forward five days and it is now 12pm Prague time and I just got back from my meet and greet with my internship supervisor. My commute is thirty-five minutes which I am excited to experience considering last summer my internship was only a five-minute walk from my house and much to my surprise commuting on the tram was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Me and the other Pitt students on the program, Billy, Jenna, Jackson, Carter, Joe and Emily have been exploring as much as we can. Even venturing into Old Town on foot to reach a famous BBQ joint we heard of (yes, the BBQ in Prague is incredible), we decided walking there would be best because we didn’t have metro cards at that moment and wanted to see the city. Much to our surprise walking an hour to your destination in city you don’t know where you are going is going to take you much longer. We got lost, had to ask directions, and had to turn back only a few times but it was a great way to start our trip and we all got to know each other a little better from the experience. It is only the first week but this city and the people already have my heart.