First week of ISP (Indepedent Study Project)

So our month-long time of independent research started this past week and the first half was very stressful because nothing I was trying to arrange was working out. I did have a couple random interviews with people from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with individuals with mental illness, but nothing that I could do a whole research project on. Then yesterday I had a meeting with the directors of a cafe that trains people with mental disabilities (as in Down's syndrome, Autism, and generally lower IQ) and works with them for 2 years to get them ready to take a job in a cafe in the "open labor market" (like mainstream society). The cafe is very popular with the locals and you can hardly get a table after like 4:00, so its a really neat atmosphere. Anyways, they agreed to let me come for a couple hours, several times a week, and observe and "work" some for them (correcting the English of some materials about the cafe or maybe working in the kitchen or something--I can't work directly with the mentally disabled clients because I don't speak Czech and I'm not trained). So it's really great opportunity and I'm so excited that it worked out! I'm starting next Tuesday, and will be working there for like 3 weeks.

I went to see the new James Bond movie last Saturday, which was fun (especially since I saw it before it was released in the States) but super violent. Sunday I climbed Petrin Hill with some friends, which is a big hill that overlooks Prague and has beautiful views of the city. It was especially cool because we knew the city well enough to point out major landmarks and recognize buildings. The rest of this week has just been sitting around and waiting for people to get back to me. I've also taken several walks around the city and just tried to enjoy it all before I leave in a month.

On Wednesday I did go to a lecture at Charles University (the major one here in Prague) of an American family therapist. One of the people I interviewed from an NGO invited me to it, and it felt really good to be back in a psychology classroom. It made me excited for graduate school and all that (even though it's still a ways away).

Then this weekend I'm going to go to a small town in the mountains (about an hour north of Prague) with 2 other girls from the program and 2 families (and their kids) that are friends of my academic director. We're going to a castle and we're going hiking and staying a cottage, and I think it should be a lot of fun just to get away for a while.

So basically I'm getting prepared to start my research next week and trying to enjoy my last month here!