Goodbye Victoria, Ahoj Praha

Oh, Victoria

Bidding adieu was harder that I thought. I was leaving behind the sun and sea of Victoria in favour of an eight-month shenanigan in the very heart of Europe. The traveling went smoothly. 14 hours after leaving Canada, I found myself face-to-face with a Czech immigration officer. My passport was flipped through back and forth a couple of times, the word “visa” then uttered; the officer proceeded to pick up the phone and rattled off to the person at the other end. I was then pointed to the direction of a very stern-looking visa officer. Oh oh. After a summer-filled of visa woes*, I should have known that this would happen.

Stern-Looking Visa Officer turned out to be a nice man who merely asked my purpose of visit, then waved me back to the immigration counter. This other immigration officer looked at my passport, glanced at a piece of paper on his desk, flipped through my passport, and told me to go to the visa counter. Urm… say what?!?!?!? A joke. This is a joke. I cannot be deported. Not when I was this close. I said Stern-Looking Visa Officer had told me to come here. Some muttering went on between this officer and the one beside him. I bit my lip and quietly prayed.

Chop. The stamp of my date of arrival in my passport was the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. Whoooosh. My lungs deflated. I didn’t even know I was holding my breath.

I was literally skipping to the luggage carousel where my bags were rotating for the fourth time. This has never happened before! My bags have always been the last to arrive every other time I’ve traveled! A random cute Czech boy helped steady the suitcase on my cart. Things were looking up. As I made my way out, my buddy, Veronika, called out a cheery “hi” amongst the jostling crowd; we quickly introduced ourselves, distributed my luggage between the both of us and exited the airport.

Taxis in the Czech Republic are known for charging exorbitant prices. I opted for the public transportation. It’s not an easy feat to take the bus, switch to the subway metro and then hop onto the tram when we were each lugging 51lbs bags. After much wheezing and panting, we finally made it – only to check into the wrong dorm. Gritting our teeth, we struggled over a little hill towards the right direction, 300m away. Success!

The dorm flats have the most basic amenities and the worst possible beds ever, but boy did I sleep well that night.

* The initial plan was to study for only one semester; with the bilateral agreement between Malaysia and the Czech Republic, I could get away without needing a visa. Halfway into summer however, I was offered an opportunity to work four months in the Country and hence needed a visa. My visa application was still awaiting approval the day I left for the Czech Republic.