By Katie Booms

GVL Study Abroad Columnist

We were assigned a rock concert for homework, but we could not get tickets. Czech politicians had bought them all.

The National Theater is iconic to Prague. It was built to construct national identity, with money raised by average Czechs. Now the theater houses prestigious drama, opera and ballet. This week, it also hosted an old dissident rock band.

The Czech band The Plastic People of the Universe are most famous for being persecuted. During the restrictive era of 1970s Communism, they became a huge symbol of rebellion. Soon the band could only play in borrowed houses in the country. When the police found those houses, they burned them. Most of the band ended up in jail.

Needless to say, it was hard to imagine these old rockers on a stage with velvet curtains and gold neo-Renaissance architecture. Their music is anything but prestigious.

The night became stranger when my professor had to call the band’s drummer and sneak us through the back of the building.

Maybe I should have been less surprised that the Czech government had reserved the National Theater for the short Plastic People concert and the Tom Stoppard play "Rock n roll." In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s collapse this November, it seems as though every event in Central Europe has turned into a celebration of political freedom.

I was not prepared for suits and champagne. In turn, the politicians looked like they were not prepared for straggly beards and amplifiers. Most of them waited in the lobby until the band left and the play started. Several people who sat down put their fingers in their ears.

My classmates lined up in the aisles near the stage. We stood out because of our bookbags. We were also the only ones clapping.

The music was pretty terrible. But, it was loud and full of energy. It also felt like a historical moment. The band was straight out of the documentary we had watched in class. Only, they had more wrinkles and they were not treated as heroes.

Afterward, we met the bassist and saxophonist in the private bar for performers. They went through bad Czech wine and told us they did not want to talk about politics. Then we talked about politics.

I will be home in less than a week. I still do not know how to describe Prague, but this will be one of the stories I tell. Prague is a rare place where history and the present interact. It is a place where I am hardly surprised to find old heroes in the back of a smoky bar.

Ever since I was a mere child, I have always been warned against talking to strangers. This admonition has followed me into adulthood and even today it takes great courage for me to walk up to someone I don’t know and begin a conversation.

Whether one calls this fear or shyness, it is a problem that must be overcome when one studies in a foreign country.

Everyone finds a different solution to this dilemma and each has its own results. They may talk to people that are most like them and, therefore, gain friends that are tourists similar to themselves. They may meet one person and use that friendship to meet more people. Each method has its own drawbacks and benefits.

Many people who live in Florence have told me, "Florence really is a small city," referring to the fact that once you know enough people, you will always run into people you know around the city.

I wanted to find a way to get over my shyness in order to meet enough people that I would feel the “smallness” of the city Florentines feel.

Soon the perfect opportunity presented itself in the one form that I am most comfortable with: art. I am taking Introduction to Digital Photography and our latest assignment: take pictures of strangers. CLOSE UP.

With my little point-and-shoot camera, zooming in isn’t a feasible option so I will need to get close to people. There is no pretending to take a picture of something else while actually taking a picture of the subject.

I begin by learning a key phrase in Italian; “Posso fare una foto per scuola?” (Can I take a picture for school?)

Then the search begins. Wandering the streets of Florence, I scope out potential victims and shyly make my first attempt.

How harmful can it be to ask three little old ladies if I can take their picture?

I approach them and, surprisingly, they say yes. When I begin to move in close, however, the first woman becomes very upset and almost begins to cry!

I am determined not to let this stop me and continue to seek out people. I soon discover that with a few exceptions, most people are completely willing to allow me to take their photo, even if the camera is being held mere inches away from their face. Many even say thank you when I am done.

Since this discovery, I have taken dozens of pictures of people on the street and, consequently, have come to realize how small Florence really is.

I continue to run into several people who I have photographed. Some recognize me and some don’t, but just being able to walk around the city and recognize faces makes it feel less like a tourist attraction and more like home. (And I got some amazing photos!)

Ciao from the American in Italy.