"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." -St. Augustine

Meditation on Matthew Kwasiborski

2008-07-31T04:07:00.000-07:00

Matthew Kwasiborski is the director of the AIPES program. I would like to take a cyber moment to reflect upon his greatness. He is more than an inspirational leader. When he utters mortal words and phrases such as "dreams" or "program announcements", those in attendance are left in awe of his eloquence and wisdom.

He is more than a director. He is a friend, a comrade, a brother, a father, a man who does not like it when you write on his papers. When he stands at the front of the room, you know that it is time to hang upon his every word. Every utterance is a lesson in leadership and life.

Why is Matthew important? It is not his regal demeanor or his passionate speeches. He is important because he gives us medication when we have Prague related colds, he tells us when we are sprained, but above all else he loves us very much.

On a more serious note, Matt is a fantastic director. He keeps us motivated and comfortable, and he listens to us. He has helped make this program a great experience for me.

2008-07-29T02:45:00.000-07:00

Where have you heard this before:
"I don't want to leave"

Sometimes you only have the stillframes in your mind.

2008-07-24T05:49:00.001-07:00

Alright, so I thought I should point out that I do not have my laptop here. Despite my possesion of a camera, I cannot upload them. I promise I have some GREAT photographs coming! :)

So we had to write a bill about abortion. My committee elected me the floor manager, so I am sort of nervous. It will be interesting, but I am pretty impressed with what we came out with.

I have been disappointed with politics, but I had a wonderful TA, and so that really helped balance it out. Professor Pilon is a really nice guy, but I think that I felt more indoctrinated than educated at the end of it. Hopefully, I'll still do well on the final exam.

Now we've started economics. Humanities are more of my strength, but our instructors for economics are really great.

We started doing country presentations, and I learned A LOT about different countries that I just didn't know anything about. I have had some really great conversations thus far. I talked to some kids from Kazakhstan, and I asked them about Borat. It was pretty neat to actually hear their perspective. One kid said that it is a popular belief that the Kazakh government paid Sacha Cohen to involve Kazakhstan in the film, since it ultimately brought attention to the region. I think that coming here further proved my ignorance, because I never thought of how the Kazakh people look. I knew it was in Central Asia, but I think that the Eastern European image was in my head. It just proved to me how much I didn't know about the different cultures in the world.

Anyways, when we were doing the bill discussions, I was leading a meeting. Now I thought this would be really easy for me, since I have lead plenty of meetings. It is interesting how the dynamics change when you have people from very different cultures than you. Especially as a former student senator, I think that I am conditioned to expect a certain level of decorum.

In health news, I sprained my toe. Not a big deal or anything, but I went to the hospital to make sure it was not broken. All the guy said to me was to ice it and get new shoes. They charged me 700 crowns to tell me THAT. Then, I had to buy new shoes. It was pretty ridiculous. However, the cobblestones are pretty wicked.

I am starting to really get used to it here, although random things just put me off. Today we were going to try to go somewhere to eat, and the people were incredibly rude. I just left. I couldn't stand to stay there.

I can't believe that I only have a week left, and this is much more intense than my experience in Manchester. I am becoming incredibly close with a lot of people, and I just feel like I don't have enough time at all.

:)

First Update

2008-07-15T06:53:00.001-07:00

So I won't be updating as much as I would like, because I have to kind of scramble about to find a computer. We finally started classes. I really love the program so far...I just had a bumpy start.

I got to Prague and my luggage was lost. Then I could not get into the dorm. The language is far different than English, but I think I have adjusted quite well. The people are really nice, and I really am surprised about the number of people that have randomly spoken to me.

My roommate is Russian, and she is really great. I have met people from a bunch of countries that I have read about. I have met people from Moldova, Macedonia, Estonia, Georgia, Poland, and Kosovo. That doesn't even begin to cover the different kinds of countries. There are about 140 students from 28 countries, mainly in Eastern Europe. I love hearing the different languages and perspectives.

We have started the politics part of the class, and it is interesting hearing the perspectives of the students that I am with. Not only about the issues in their countries, but just how they perceive things. During discussion, we debate the sides to the issues that are brought up during the lecture.

The politics lecture is really challenging for me. The lecturer is a man named Roger Pilon. He is a part of the Cato Institute. He is really smart, and I know that I am very lucky to have him as an instructor. My problem with him is not that he is Conservative, but that he is very aggressive about his opinions. I have had plenty of professors from both sides of the political spectrum, but it is a bit intimidating. I was really frustrated towards the end of the first lecture, because students were arguing points, and he was very caustic in his responses to those points. I felt like I could handle his response to my argument. However, English is my first language. I worry that the way in which he reacts would discourage the other students from speaking their mind.

Today's lecture was a bit better. He definitely knows what he is talking about, and he is an engaging professor. I just wish that he would veil his own views a bit better. I think that my favorite classes have been those in which I felt like the professor was doing more than disagreeing with me, but getting me to come to realizations on my own. It is ironic, because today we were speaking about Socrates. So even though he was prodding at us today, trying to get us to reach a certain point, he was still doing it in a patronizing manner.

I like the seminar a LOT more than the actual lecture. I get to hear more about the views of others, and about what is going on in places that I really did not give a lot of though to.

I think I was wondering if this was a good program or not for me, but as time goes on, I am so glad that I am attending it. I really love the people I have met thus far, and I wish it could last longer. It is also really great to start understanding the basics of democracy. I know we have learned a lot about history, but understanding the fundamentals of democracy is a challenging and wonderful experience.

Now let me get to the city. I love it. Prague is so beautiful. I thought that Paris was my favorite city, but Prague has definitely topped it out. I could walk on the Charles Bridge over and over again, and I will never tire of it. There is no better feeling than the feeling I got when I first arrived at the old part of town. Hearing classical music everywhere just makes it even more perfect.

I will update soon, even though it is hard.

Note to self

2008-07-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

Do not forget your toothbrush this time.

I leave soon!!

Leaving again

2008-07-06T16:10:00.001-07:00

So I fly out to Prague on Thursday, and I am pretty excited. I started reviewing economics, and it is pretty weird, because I haven't taken it in ages.

The syllabus is jam-packed. This is expected, since I am finishing three credit hours in three weeks. I'll be with people from all over the world.

Can't wait!