Shana Tova!

So I woke up and walked to and from class like 5 times. That right there is like 4 or 5 miles. It gets annoying being sweaty in class, but at least it's not sweaty and smelly. Or at least I hope not.
Anyways, after Czech class, I told my teacher that tomorrow was a Jewish holiday and because of that I wouldn't be in class. She quickly pointed out to me that tomorrow was in fact NOT a holiday, but a regular day of class. I of course tried explaining to her that Rosh HaShana is not a national holiday but a religious holiday, and therefore I was informing her that I will not be coming. No matter what. Her response [gotta love language gaps...]? She takes out the calendar and shows me that we do not have tomorrow off but have a break next month. I realized it wasn't worth my time arguing with the equivalent of a speaker at a McDonald's drive thru, so I just said bye. I later learned that someone else tried getting permission from the head of our program [who speaks perfect English], only to learn that we were more than welcome to go to services, but would still get unexcused absences [we unfortunately have mandatory attendance]. I guess the Iron Curtain hasn't fully fallen, and it still lingers in some people's minds over here.
After a full day of classes, and I mean (with the exception of walking to get meals) 830-1530 (my 1530 class was cancelled today luckily), I headed home to make my holiday feast. My meal, a 4 course spectacle, consisted of the following: apples and honey, a round challah for the holiday, a garden salald with NOLS specialty dressing (random proportions of salt, garlic, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar), grilled chicken breast in hot sauce, pepper, and oregano, honey cake, and red wine. Yummmm. How was I supposed to know that the rabbi would later be serving dinner?
After finishing, I went to meet Aunt Sheri's friend from Oolpan, a Czech guy named Jaroslav. Jaroslav is an active member [or possibly higher up than that] in a synagogue here, but he gave me the schedule for 2 different shuls next door to one another so I'm not exactly sure which. After waiting outside for 15 minutes and realizing I didn't have a passport, I realized I wouldn't be getting into Staranova Synagoga (the oldest active shul in Europe). To elaborate:
The Old-New Synagogue has intense security. I'm not talking about O'hare security, or even Ben Gurion security. I'm talking about ex-Israeli special forces guys who want to know not only why you are there, but that you deserve to be there. In addition to hearing people be quizzed about their stay and purpose in Prague, I heard the following [in response to a woman saying she has worked for the US consolate for a year], "and what is the ambassador's name?... how long has he been stationed in the Czech Republic? ... what exactly is your business relation with him, and would he be able to identify you?" Of course the last question was BS, but the guy actually new the answers to the first 2 somehow. I heard other people asked about their religiosity, their knowledge of their faith, and their last experience with it. I watched old people wait and young people get patted down, goyish looking people interrogated and super Jews become frantic. These guys were sharp.
Since I couldn't find Jaroslav and wasn't going to get in, I went next door to the High Synagogue, a shul on the 2nd floor that had been around since the mid-1500's. This service was led in English by the rabbi affiliated with all of the American exchange programs. It was a nice service, and the herring was fantastic (of course the apples and honey were decent, and the wine was tasty, but the herring really stood out). Knowing that all of the young people there were American, and many were his students, the Rabbi invited all of us to his house for a pot luck. I could only offer myself, but for some reason, my company was desired. Of the 20 or so students, about 15 were on the CET program [not mine, and it only has 15 kids on it], 3 were on my program, 2 were from the business program, and 6 of the students were from Emory. It's unbelievable how you can go 5000 miles from home, and you're still surrounded by Jews from your school.
The potluck was actually just the CET kids didn't have to have class today in exchange for them preparing something. They luckily made enough for the rest of us, and on our walk to the Rabbi's, we all stopped to pick up a gigantic jug of wine. Although it was far from tasty, it wasn't actually 'bad,' and definitely was a nice follow up to my previous dinner's drinks. Combined with a few appetizers, some matzoh ball soup, some couscous and chicken, the meal was quite satisfying and the company was nice. The desserts were surprisingly really tasty for homemade [by students] pareve desserts, and have left me glad that I found this service right next door. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get into the Old-New Synagogue (even though sermons will probably be in Czech), but will join up with the other Americans for Taslich. Shana Tova umetukah to all!