Pictures are up.

The Charles Bridge

Okay, I finally was able to put some pictures online. http://www.whitmcb.shutterfly.com.

I'm here

View of Castle from Charles Bridge


Well, I'm finally here in Prague. I've actually been here since Saturday evening, but this is the first chance I've had to use the internet. Getting here wasn't so much fun. I had a really long lay-over in Houston, a rocky flight to Paris, a really long lay-over in the worst terminal of CDG airport, and an even rockier flight from Paris to Prague. In addition to that, they left my luggage in Paris. Only mine. I guess it's good that it happened to me, though, because I think I was the only who packed for a situation like that. We're here, though, and I finally have my suitcase, so it's all better.

They delivered my suitcase to Jeff's (the College of Business Administration's International Business guy who traveled over here with us) hotel at 2 am. He was supposed to bring it to our apartment at 11 am before we met him to walk around the city at 12 pm; however, the cell phones that we got here were all set to the wrong time, so when we woke up to get ready to meet him, we were really an hour late and it was 11:50.

It didn't matter, though, because he didn't bring my bag to the apartment. I was getting really frustrated and planned to just try to find my bag and then do my own thing with Lorelei after getting ready. I told the group they were supposed to meet Jeff at Wenceslas Square. Well, they all went to Old Town square, which is a block away from our apartment. I saw them going that direction, and ran down to catch them. I needed to ask Jeff about my bag anyway. I told them they were in the wrong spot, but we couldn't get to Wenceslas Square because the maps we were given were in Czech, and we didn't know what "Wenceslas Square" was in Czech. We tried calling Jeff, but he didn't answer. We finally got a hold of the one guy who someone how had arrived at the correct meeting spot and were able to get in touch with Jeff through him. Jeff said he'd come meet us after he waited a few minutes to see if anyone else showed up. It was like 12:40 by then anyway, so no one else was going to show up, especially since we were all in Old Town Square.

Jeff finally arrived at OTS and told me he had my bag at his hotel. He asked me if I wanted to take the tour and then go get it. I told him that I really just wanted my bag so I could relax knowing that I had it, choose the clothes I wanted to wear, and get all of the things I needed for that day. Then he pretty much asked me the same question again, so I gave him the same answer, only a little more assertively. I wanted my suitcase, dang it! He decided to find a place for the rest of the group to eat lunch while we went to get the bag. He looked at several places on the square, and the group told him they were too expensive. I finally said to him, "You've got to get off of the square to find the cheaper food. This is a tourist trap!" So then he called the group together and said, "Guys, like you've noticed, the food here is a little expensive. That's because this is a tourist trap. Blah blah blah." Good job. That's when I realized he probably didn't know any more than I did in this situation and that I should do my own thing. Sure, he was going to show us the city, but he hasn't been here since 1991. Give me a map, and I'm good to go. I like Jeff and appreciate him helping me with my bag, but I just prefer to do things on my own...but not all on my own--just not with the entire group--so don't worry, grandparents. I'm just an introvert.

I finally got my bag and had to drag it about 15 minutes across town back to the apartment and up to the fifth floor. But I HAD my bag! Lorelei went out and walked around Old Town, crossed the Charles Bridge, then we walked over to the area where our school is to make sure we knew where to go for our orientation at 6 pm. The school is about five minutes from Wenceslas Square, so it's about a twenty minute walk from our apartment. You can take the metro, but you've to to walk about five to seven minutes to the metro stop, so I think I'll just walk it. I've got to get in shape to climb those stairs anyway.

We had an orientation that evening then went to a club that Dr. Masselli had reserved for us to have dinner. When we were finished, Lorelei and I left and went back to OTS to see the astronomical clock do its little routine at 9 pm. The Czech hockey team played Sweden last night so there was a HUGE party in the OTS. They played a concert and the game on these huge screens, and there were about five thousand drunk Czechs there. We watched the clock and then left as soon as possible. It was a good thing, too, because they lost. Then there were five thousand drunk and angry Czechs. We walked through part of the Jewish Quarter to another bridge for a nice view of the river and castle. The nice thing here is that it's pretty light outside until about 9:00 or 9:30. The not so nice thing is that the sun starts coming up at about 3:30 in the morning, and it comes right through our window.

Our apartment is really nice. It's very big and has a TV, DVD player, and stereo. All seven girls are staying in one flat (three doubles and one single). There are some downsides, though. For example, it's on the fourth floor, but since we're in Europe, it's really the fifth floor. Also, the hall lights are on a sensor that doesn't work very well, so the lights will go off and it will be completely dark while you're climbing the stairs, then the sensor doesn't sense you and you've got to feel along the wall on the landing for the switch. There are also these huge metal doors to every apartment, so anytime anyone comes in at night, they clank and bang and wake everyone up. And this is Prague, so people are coming in at all hours of the night. Not me, though, so don't worry, grandparents! Also, you've got to turn the keys about twenty times to unlock the doors. Maybe not quite twenty times, but if feels like it. Also, the bedding is just a duvet, so it's that or nothing, which means it's really hot because I have to have a cover. The last bad thing that I can think of is that the shower will turn scorching hot immediately and then freezing cold immediately. I burned my arm last night as a result, but the icy water was right there to cool it off.

I'm not complaining! It's an experience, and I learned from my time in Grenoble that these are the things on which you look back and laugh...and at least there aren't any bed bugs.

Class starts today. We're in the computer lab at the school right now. These are the oldest computers I think I've ever seen, and the control panel is locked, so, unfortunately, I can't upload my pictures from my digital camera. One of the guys brought a laptop, though, so I'll see if I can borrow it to put my pictures up tonight or tomorrow.

Okay, goodbye until next time!

Strange dreams

I'm at work. I've run out of things to do, the phone won't ring, and I'm waiting for my lunch break, so I'm going to post about something has been puzzling me lately. I don't often remember my dreams, but there are a few recurring dreams that have had me confused for a while. Now they are even more puzzling because, you see, my brother has the very SAME dreams!

Okay, so let me describe these dreams:

1) I'm driving my car, and at the four-way stop that is a couple of blocks away from my house, I try to apply the breaks, but they won't work. Not only that, I'm going pretty fast down a residential street. Luckily, no one else is at the stop so I just speed on through (freaking out, though). There's one more residential intersection coming up, then there's one of the very busy streets. I panic because I don't know what to do, then I usually wake up.

2) I'm usually in my house (well, my old house...which had stairs), and I wake up to go get a drink of water or something. The problem is, I can't really see where I'm going. It feels like I can't open my eyes past about a squint, so I see a lot of black and a lot of blur. No matter what I do, I can't open my eyes. It's terrible, really. Recently, I've started having dreams where I'm elsewhere during the day, and I can't see. I have to shuffle along, feeling my way as I go.

3) I can fly. Sort of. More like I can run in the air. Most of the time, I'm being chased by someone, so I just build up my speed enough that I life up off of the ground. I can get pretty high, though...like two or three stories up in the air. What's strange is that it's not quite flying, and it's not quite running in the air. It's more like one of those Nintendo Super Mario jumps or something where the character jumps across a fiery pit or a pool or piranhas, but it feels like it's in slow motion. When I jump, I can probably stay up in the air for about fifty yards or so...until my legs get tired.

Okay, so those are the three dreams. In the past couple of weeks, they've come up a few times and Bryant and I have discovered that they are common to both of us. Is that weird? Because Bryant and I are nothing alike, really.

What I want to know is, do other siblings have the same dreams? Or has anyone else had these dreams? Are they just common dreams? And if so, what's their meaning? I can see how the malfunctioning breaks could be a common dream among young drivers, but the other two seem a little strange. Help me out because it's driving me crazy!

While we're on the subject of dreams and Bryant, I'll share another dream that I used to have frequently. We are at our cabin in Cloudcroft (we were young...I was like 8 and Bryant was 5), and there is an old lady who lived a little ways down the mountain. Strangely, she looks like the character, Strega Nona, in the book by Tomie DePaola that I used to read where Strega Nona was making spaghetti and she made so much that it filled up her entire house and started to pour out of the windows. Also, strangely, she has a very large cauldron the size of a swimming pool in her cabin. One day I wander down there and befriend the lady. I tell her of my annoying little brother and how I am the only girl, stuck in a cabin and surrounded by boys. She feels sorry for me and tells me that if I bring my brother with me next time, she'll boil him in the cauldron for me; however, she couldn't boil my cousins because I could not give consent on their behalf.

I can't remember if I ever actually reached the point in my dream where I took my brother down there to be boiled. It was a dream that I had at least twice a year for about 5 years, though.

Countdown to Prague...

So things are really starting to come together for my summer in Prague. I'm getting very excited. I had been a little nervous because we hadn't had any group meetings, and I didn't know which other students would be going on the trip. Also, in case you weren't aware, accounting majors aren't the most social students. Sure, they're a pretty social group outside of class, but there's something about sitting in a classroom early in the morning and listening to a professor lecture about debits and credits and GAAP that pretty much sucks all of the life out of us.

Now I'm an accounting major, so that stuff does interest me, but it's just strange how it affects the classroom atmosphere. I'm not complaining. I'm extremely introverted and prefer to go to class, listen to the professor, not say a word, and then leave...however, the point I was getting at was that I don't really know any of these other people going anyway. There are accounting majors, finance majors, grad students, and then some who just want to go to Prague, I think (I'm not sure what they do). But the funny thing is that I found out a couple of weeks ago that my mom's best friend's (from jr. high) daughter is going on the trip, too! We've gotten together and talked about some of the things we want to do. My mom hadn't seen or talked to her friend in forever, but somehow, a friend mentioned my mom's friend, and my mom decided to contact her. Of course, they started talking about their kids like all moms do and eventually discovered we'd both be going to Prague.

Anyway, to wrap it up, we're going to be roommates and travel buddies. We've mapped out a general itinerary for our breaks (two 5 day, one 10 day) that includes some combination of Poland (Krakow and maybe Warsaw) Austria (Salzburg, Vienna), Italy (Rome, Venice, maybe Florence), Hungary (Budapest) and Germany (Berlin). We're trying to figure out the best way to travel...maybe using the Eurail Selectpass. I'm so excited because, although I've been to Europe many times, of the places listed above, I've only been to Italy (but I LOVE Italy). So, if anyone has been to those places and has any suggestions of things to see and do, please pass that info along.

Yeah, maybe that all sounds scary, but I'm pretty ambitious when it comes to traveling. I've been to Europe like nine times; wandered out in London, Paris, and Rome alone; lived in NYC all by myself. I've been on overnight trains, hauled massive pieces of lugguge through city transit systems, chased trams in the rain (still have the bruise to prove it), navigated crazy airports, dealt with flight attendants who insist I'm German even after I've told them I'm not, and experienced all kinds of other crazy situations. I love all of that excitement, which is weird if you know me because I'm so incredibly reserved, cautious, and laid-back (just ask my AIMS guy). I like plans and organization and assurance...but when I'm in big cities or in Europe, I get a huge adrenaline boost. I'm much more adventurous. I guess I figure I never know when I'll be here again, so the experience is worth the risks. So, scary? Maybe so. But exciting, too. Many people do it with less experience and knowledge than I have, so how hard can it be? Besides, I know how to say, "Go away, pumpkin head!" in Italian so I think I'm all set.

Caedmon's Call and "Share the Well" info.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2006/caedmonscall-0306.html

Here's a great interview with Cliff Young of Caedmon's Call (my favorite band for as long as I can remember and unlike any other band out there) about a sequel that they are working on to their album "Share the Well." StW is a FANTASTIC album that deals with international missions, poverty and oppression in third world countries.

The entire album was recorded in India, Equador, and Brazil, and those foreign influences are very strong throughout the album. It's not a new album (it came out in 2004), but it's probably my favorite album (of all that I own), and it's one that I feel the need to promote every once in a while because I feel everyone should know about it and the causes it supports and issues it addresses (such as Compassion International, the Dalit Freedom Network, the oppression of the Dalits in India, and poverty and hunger in South America). This interview just brought the album back to mind, so I thought I'd mention it here.

I know several of my friends are familiar with CC, and the majority of people who own StW are long-time CC fans. It didn't sell very well due to poor marketing and lack of promotion, but that's another topic for another time. If any album deserved great promotion, it was this one. As a result, I believe the album actually lost money (apart from the proceeds that went directly to Compassion and DFN), but it's never been about money with Caedmon's Call. The members of the band actually hold "real" jobs in addition to being in the band, and the band is about to put their lives and jobs on hold and go out and do this all again because they believe in it so much. Hopefully, if we can do our part to let others know about Caedmon's Call and StW, the second StW will be able to do even more good than the first.

Anyway, there are a lot of people out there who would really appreciate this album but may not know about it, so check it out of you're one of them. If you like world missions, world music, or international travel, StW deserves your attention.

Here are some clips from and comments about the album:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00049QLZK/104-0335357-2019143?

And here are some links to the Dalit Freedom Network and Compassion International.

http://www.dalitnetwork.org

http://www.compassion.com/Default

80 Things You Might Not Know About Me.

Stole this from Lorna....

80 things you might not know about me. Erase my answers, fill in your own, and re-post.

1. What is your middle name? Gail

2. How big is your bed? Full-sized

3. What are you listening to right now? The Fray.

4. What are the last four digits in your cell number? If you know me, you know the last four digits of my number.

5. What was the last thing you ate? A tangelo.

6. Last person you hugged? My grandmother.

7. How is the weather right now? This is one of the three or so days here that make me want to leave and never come back. 50 mph + winds and blowing dust; however, the wind did result in one of my professors getting smacked in the face by the lid of a trash can this morning, so that makes it all worth it. I don't really like him.

8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My mom.

9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Height. The first thing I notice about anyone is height. I'm still a little bitter that I ended up being short.

10. Favorite type of Food? Tex-Mex, Italian.....definitely NOT fish.

11. Do you want children? According to Allye, I'm going to have four of them and name them all after characters on Nickelodeon shows.

12. Do you get high? No, I'm afraid of heights.

13. Ever get so drunk you don't remember the entire night? Not a drinker.

14. Hair color? Dirty blond. Someone needs to come up with another name for that hair color, because I wash my hair A LOT.

15. Eye color? Blue/Green. Depends on what I'm wearing.

16. Do you wear eye contacts? I have some. Wear them occasionally, but I prefer glasses. Don't really like things in my eyes.

17. Favorite holiday? Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July.

18. Favorite Season? Depends on where I am.

19. Have you ever cried over a girl/boy? No.

20. Last Movie you Watched? High Fidelity.

21. What books are you reading? Intermediate Accounting. Operations Management. Accounting Information Systems. Just finished a book and haven't chosen a new one yet.

(Where'd 22-29 go?)

30. Piercings? Just the ears.

31. Favorite Movie? Hoosiers, Mystic Pizza, About a Boy, Gone With the Wind, The Little Mermaid, A League of Their Own, Rudy, The Last Metro, Cinema Paradiso, Harry Potter, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Love Actually, The Princess Bride, French Kiss, Almost Famous, Braveheart, Die Hard 3. Oh, and the Pippi Longstocking movies. Seriously.

32. Favorite college football Team? Tech (because Mike Leach's offense is REALLY fun to watch...not because I like Tech) and anyone playing against UT.

33. What were you doing before filling this out? Checking my email.

34. Any pets? My grandmother's dog, Holly, but I love her like she's my own.

35. AIM? Once again, if you know me, you know my sn.

36. Dogs or cats? Dogs...no contest.

38. Favorite Flower? Tulips...and several flowers that I saw in Scotland and Ireland but don't know what they're called.

40. Have you ever loved someone? I love lots of people.

41. Who would you like to see right now? My grandfather. :( And I could say Lorna, but I ran into her once today already, and once is enough for me. ;) No...Lorna, you can see me anytime.

43. Have you ever fired a gun? No...Guns are scary, but I support the right to carry them, and I hope to learn how to use one someday. My host sister in France never believed that I didn't own a gun. She thinks all Texans do...and that we have gunfights in the streets at noon.

44. Do you like to travel by plane? YES! Once again...scary, but fun. I love when the takeoff slams you back into the seat!

45. Right-handed or Left-handed? Right-handed. But I shoot the basketball with both. It's strange.

46. If you could go to any place right now where would you go? The French Riviera, Tuscany, or Scotland. I'll go anywhere if you just give me a ticket. I'm going to Prague this summer and can't wait.

48. Are you missing someone? Yes.

49. Do you have a tattoo? No. I used to get fake flamingo ones in the summer when I was little, though.

50. Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings? No, but every once in a while, I'll find one I want to watch. Does "The Simpsons" count? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

51. Are you hiding something from someone? I'm sure I am. I used to hide things from my brother, and it's very likely that something is still hidden and I've forgotten about it.

52. Are you 18? No.

53. What is the wallpaper on your cellphone? A picture of my grandfather so I am reminded of him everytime I use my phone.

54. Did you get enough sleep last night? Yes, surprisingly.

55. First thing you thought about this morning? Why was it so freaking hot in my room?

56. What do you have handy at your bedside? Water, books, alarm clock.

57. Grilled or fried? Depends....mostly grilled.

59. What makes you unique? I don't know. You tell me. I'm not good at those kinds of questions. My jaw subluxates each time I open my mouth past a certain point. Not so much something unique as it is something really painful and annoying. And I can make my kneecaps dance. I guess I've seen more of the world than most people my age have.

60. Are you afraid of the dark? It depends. What's the setting?

61. Favorite hangout? My room.

62. 3 things you can't live without? Faith, family, friends.

63. First thing you would buy if you were given $1,000? I'd use it to go somewhere fun.

64. Favorite song? Too many. If you're want to know my favorite current hits, I really like "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter (although it's being way overplayed, so I expect to start disliking it pretty soon), "How to Save a Life" and "Heaven Forbid" by The Fray or "X&Y" by Coldplay.

65. What are you afraid of? Heights (especially "small" ones), sharks, those floor-to-ceiling windows freak me out, snakes, bad guys, my brother.

66. Are you a giver or a taker? Both.

67. What are your nicknames? Whit, Whitter, Whit-Whit, Sha Whit Whit (thanks, Powells), Oh But.

68. What is your dad's middle name? Whitney.

69. What's your mother's middle name? Gail.

70. What if you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring one thing? A fully-functioning airplane (that comes with a pilot). Then I wouldn't really be stuck. But it's an unrealistic question so I can give an unrealistic answer. Okay, maybe it's not so unrealistic since my parents just told me they were once almost stranded on an island.

71. Favorite TV commercial? Definitely NOT that Harley one that played during every commercial break of March Madness. I really like the light beer one right now where the guy tackles the girl on the football field and then she tackles him in the bar. Or the one with John Lovitz (for Subway, I think) where he says, "She makes me anxious! And now, dinner!" in that funny voice. Sure, the commercial's pretty stupid, but that makes it worth it.

72. Who's your cellphone provider? Cellular One. No, wait...it's Alltel, now.

73. First thing you'll save in a fire? Myself, it I'm the only one there. Wait....what's at risk in this fire?

74. Favorite color? Blue, green.

76. What did you wanna be when you were a kid? First, a whale trainer at Sea World. Then, a doctor.

77. What do you usually do when the clock goes off? hit "Snooze" about 8 times.

78. Color of your bedsheet? White with reddish flowers.

79. Who do you want to meet? Joan of Arc, Tim Duncan, Donald Trump (I'd have so much fun!)

80. What do you think about before you go to bed? What I have to do tomorrow.

Getting Ready for Prague

Most of you probably know that I'll be spending six weeks in Prague, Czech Republic, this summer with Tech's Accounting department. I'll be keeping a journal here like I did for New York last summer, although, hopefully, I'll do a better job this time.

Anyway, I'm just trying to get this site ready for all of that since I haven't used it in about seven or eight months.

Here's a picture of Prague (borrowed from www.aifs.com):