So this post is primarily for me to try to go through everything I need before I go, what I need to do when I arrive, and maybe some other stuff.
I decided to live in one of the Masaryk University dorms. Chose this because it was affordable and would allow me to meet more people and hopefully learn the language a bit.
I have been busy arranging my finances so I won't go broke. I sold my couch, desk, flight simulator hardware and 2 of my trumpets. I received one of my financial aid refunds and should receive the other soon. This will allow me to pay for my internship credits and have a little extra to live on. I received a generous donation from some very good friends in Kansas who sympathize with living abroad (thank you again!). I closed my bank account and will now only have my money in a credit union. This will avoid fees and allow me to easily bank from my phone. I notified the bank of my status so I don't get locked out of my account. I contacted Verizon to ensure that I could use my phone with a foreign SIM card, and it indeed can.
Tomorrow I leave Daytona Beach and fly to Charlotte. From there I take the 5:30pm Lufthansa flight to Munich, Germany and arrive at 8:20am Sunday. Then the hop to Vienna, arriving at noon local time. I will take a train to Brno Monday morning and a cab to my residence. Later that day I will need to visit the lawyer to start the paperwork for my visa and on Tuesday I should be traveling to Bratislava to file the paperwork with the Czech Embassy there (I don't understand why the lawyer recommended doing it this way, but it sounds more expedient).
Upon arrival I will need to arrange for a Czech bank account, a SIM card, buy a bus pass (and learn the routes), find a grocery store, learn how to get to work, and find a decent pub.
2x power converters
1 package of moleskin
Passport
60 Euros
10,000czk
$100 USD
5x Pair jeans
8x Sweaters
1 Pair black dress shoes
2x pair walking shoes
1 Pair khaki
1 Pair grey slacks
1 Cell phone
1 Spare cell phone battery
1 External USB pocket charger
1 Digital watch
Sunglasses
1 WSU beanie winter cap
1 WSU beer hoodie
Credit cards
Canon 50D with extended battery pack
10-22mm Lens
60mm Lens
USB Cable for camera
Portable hard drive
Laptop and charger
iPod and earbuds
Copies of passport, itinerary
Lists of addresses for my residence, Honeywell, visa lawyer
Toothbrush
Small tube of toothpaste (for the plane)
Large tube of toothpaste (so I don't have to immediately learn the difference between brine cream and toothpaste)
Small mouthwash (for the plane)
Comb
Razers
Beard trimmer
Fingernail clippers
Deodorant
Cologne
Melatonin
Ibproofin
My wits about me
I might think of more.
Last 24 hours.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Well I can't sleep, sooo.....
What a final week in Daytona before I leave for Brno! Last weekend I was finally provided the opportunity to evangelize people into the world of sports car endurance racing at the Rolex 24 hour race. It appears to have been a success. I attended with my friends Sarah, Mike, Alina and Angelina.
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Yesterday afternoon I was more or less abducted from my desk in the Human Factors department to celebrate my departure in St. Augustine, FL. Wine tasting, museum going, dining and general mulling about were on the agenda; about as good as it gets for a drizzly "winter" day in Florida.
I feel so fortunate to have built these friendships during my time in graduate school. Through all the stress and chaos, we have taken on the roles of: Friday night party sponsor, a sounding board to air grievances, spotter for conducting feats of strength, Greek chorus, gourmet chef, boat captain, meme generator, lunch partner, bullshit police officer, experiment subject and many more I can't think of at the moment (I think at some point we studied). Though we've all contributed to our collective friendship, I can't help but feel that I've "cashed in" more than I've "deposited." It makes me wonder what I'm doing right.
Next post I'll talk about my prep for the trip I swear.
Somewhere around midnight at the Rolex 24.
Panoz LMP900 Spyder. I know more people who like this stuff now!
Yesterday afternoon I was more or less abducted from my desk in the Human Factors department to celebrate my departure in St. Augustine, FL. Wine tasting, museum going, dining and general mulling about were on the agenda; about as good as it gets for a drizzly "winter" day in Florida.
This says it all. Great photo.
Next post I'll talk about my prep for the trip I swear.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
OK I Lied
I know I said my next post would talk about my preparations for Europe, but I had an interesting thought that I would've probably forgotten if I hadn't written it down. I have avoided writing regularly in a blog/journal for a while; I used to do it quite often but somewhere along the lines I lost a taste for it. The reasons probably being a combination of being too busy, the loss of anonymity on the web (ah, the days when the internet was safe), and becoming aware of the fact that no one really wants to read every minuscule/intimate detail of my life (what? but I thought I was the most interesting person on earth!).
So how do I avoid becoming burned out on blogging again?
I'll try to write something useful. Surely I won't be the last person to be in this position (I won't be, and don't call me Shirley), so why not contribute to the collective knowledge bank otherwise referred to as the internet (also referred to as the oracle). My experience can provide excellent qualitative information for travelers and internship-goers that other sources can not. Searching for information about living abroad and specifically Brno I have found some great sources that provide pieces to the puzzle, but I haven't found anything that provides a comprehensive picture. So as I talk about my experiences, I will try to "tag" useful tips, resources, and hotspots as I encounter them.
Experience passes through us. An infinite amount of information enters our perceptual system at any one time, but we recall only a small proportion of what happens to us. Our brains are information filters; everything reaches it, but only significant bits stick (was going to go with a plumbing metaphor here, but somehow it just wasn't as poetic). Too much of our lives just pass by without retrospection. How do we know we have progressed unless we look back? More importantly, how do we know what has influenced us without looking back? I would like to have a finer life filter then see what gets stuck in it. I won't even have to look for these influential experiences; chances are they will just happen to me. If I find it interesting there is likely something about it which strikes a subconscious chord; writing it down will allow for inspection.
I'll use pictures and music. I've been neglecting my photography hobby entirely too much recently. What better way to enrich this blog than to link the events which influence me during this experience to actual photons. Photos have a special ability to elicit ideas over repeated viewings (smell is a more powerful sense, but don't smell my blog). Looking at a photo I snapped of a fly-in I attended several years ago brings back the smell of burnt oil, propwash and grass (also: pancakes). I can feel the humidity in the air, the sun on my skin, and the aches from waking up too early. All of these details return despite the fact that they occurred several years ago (airplanes are my Madeleine). Music serves as a way to gracefully express ideas and add "color" to my posts.
So there you go - one spurious thought expanded upon 'till I got sick of it.
So how do I avoid becoming burned out on blogging again?
I'll try to write something useful. Surely I won't be the last person to be in this position (I won't be, and don't call me Shirley), so why not contribute to the collective knowledge bank otherwise referred to as the internet (also referred to as the oracle). My experience can provide excellent qualitative information for travelers and internship-goers that other sources can not. Searching for information about living abroad and specifically Brno I have found some great sources that provide pieces to the puzzle, but I haven't found anything that provides a comprehensive picture. So as I talk about my experiences, I will try to "tag" useful tips, resources, and hotspots as I encounter them.
Experience passes through us. An infinite amount of information enters our perceptual system at any one time, but we recall only a small proportion of what happens to us. Our brains are information filters; everything reaches it, but only significant bits stick (was going to go with a plumbing metaphor here, but somehow it just wasn't as poetic). Too much of our lives just pass by without retrospection. How do we know we have progressed unless we look back? More importantly, how do we know what has influenced us without looking back? I would like to have a finer life filter then see what gets stuck in it. I won't even have to look for these influential experiences; chances are they will just happen to me. If I find it interesting there is likely something about it which strikes a subconscious chord; writing it down will allow for inspection.
I'll use pictures and music. I've been neglecting my photography hobby entirely too much recently. What better way to enrich this blog than to link the events which influence me during this experience to actual photons. Photos have a special ability to elicit ideas over repeated viewings (smell is a more powerful sense, but don't smell my blog). Looking at a photo I snapped of a fly-in I attended several years ago brings back the smell of burnt oil, propwash and grass (also: pancakes). I can feel the humidity in the air, the sun on my skin, and the aches from waking up too early. All of these details return despite the fact that they occurred several years ago (airplanes are my Madeleine). Music serves as a way to gracefully express ideas and add "color" to my posts.
So there you go - one spurious thought expanded upon 'till I got sick of it.
Hello! Ahoj!
I have decided to start a blog to document my time as a human factors intern at Honeywell in Brno, Czech Republic. Hopefully this blog will be something I can use to look back fondly on my time in Brno, as well as a way to digest my experiences as they happen.
It seems like everything is still up in the air and not set in stone right now, but I will try to list everything that I DO know. I am due to depart Florida February 1st and arrive in Vienna on February 2nd where I intend to spend at least 1 night with my friend and "brother from another mother", Tobias. I plan to take the bus into Brno the next day and begin paperwork for my visa. On Tuesday I will travel to Bratislava, Slovakia to file the visa with the lawyer hired by Honeywell to navigate the bureaucracy. About a week later I expect to have the visa completed at which point I will start work. As a graduate intern I am expected to log 600 work hours to earn 3 credits, putting my stay in the Czech republic at 3 months and 3 weeks.
Right now I am trying to decide where to live. My options are a dorm room near the center of town, or a flat within walking distance to work. The dorm is about $200USD cheaper than the flat and includes internet, something I could use for the distance class I am taking and skyping with home. The flat is nice but does not include internet. I think my hesitation with the dorm is figuring out the public transport system. I'll probably make the decision tomorrow.
Overall this seems daunting; I've traveled abroad before, and I've traveled abroad alone before, but I've never done anything like this. I will need to manage life as an expat while simultaneously proving I have the chops to work professionally as a human factors practitioner. I'd like to think I am a resourceful person, but I think its what I don't know about what I am about to do that keeps me humble.
My next entry will detail some of my preparations, but for now how about some tunes to convey my state of mind?
I have decided to start a blog to document my time as a human factors intern at Honeywell in Brno, Czech Republic. Hopefully this blog will be something I can use to look back fondly on my time in Brno, as well as a way to digest my experiences as they happen.
It seems like everything is still up in the air and not set in stone right now, but I will try to list everything that I DO know. I am due to depart Florida February 1st and arrive in Vienna on February 2nd where I intend to spend at least 1 night with my friend and "brother from another mother", Tobias. I plan to take the bus into Brno the next day and begin paperwork for my visa. On Tuesday I will travel to Bratislava, Slovakia to file the visa with the lawyer hired by Honeywell to navigate the bureaucracy. About a week later I expect to have the visa completed at which point I will start work. As a graduate intern I am expected to log 600 work hours to earn 3 credits, putting my stay in the Czech republic at 3 months and 3 weeks.
Right now I am trying to decide where to live. My options are a dorm room near the center of town, or a flat within walking distance to work. The dorm is about $200USD cheaper than the flat and includes internet, something I could use for the distance class I am taking and skyping with home. The flat is nice but does not include internet. I think my hesitation with the dorm is figuring out the public transport system. I'll probably make the decision tomorrow.
Overall this seems daunting; I've traveled abroad before, and I've traveled abroad alone before, but I've never done anything like this. I will need to manage life as an expat while simultaneously proving I have the chops to work professionally as a human factors practitioner. I'd like to think I am a resourceful person, but I think its what I don't know about what I am about to do that keeps me humble.
My next entry will detail some of my preparations, but for now how about some tunes to convey my state of mind?
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