Culture Clash

John Lennon Wall (which recently got completely painted over)

By now, I have been abroad in Europe for three months, and have experienced a few different stages of "culture clash." Culture clash goes deeper than just people speaking a different language and having different national foods than you; it also includes dealing with a whole population who may act completely different from you, making you feel at odds. During our orientation programs, our teachers told us that we would experience highs and lows throughout the entire semester abroad. Throughout the first six weeks in the Czech Republic, I did not experience much culture clash; instead, I found myself missing friends and family (and pets!) from home. Eventually, as I started to become more comfortable in Prague, the culture clash really started to hit me. During the following month, I started being bothered by things that never bugged me before. While one of the first things I noticed was the Czech people never make eye contact, I thought that would pertain only to strangers on the street. But no, that happens EVERYWHERE, even in stores and restaurants they will just stare at you. Within the past few weeks I have once again started to go into a "high" and not be as bothered by these things, but overall I think that for me, personally, the hardest part about living here is the language barrier. Even though so many people do speak English, there are still multiple moments everyday where I have to simply point at things or attempt to use my very basic grasp of the Czech language.

"Perunova" is my tram stop; the chart is the tram timetable

I also am not used to always taking the public transport. While the trams and metros run frequently, it does take a long time to get anywhere. It takes me half an hour to get to school, and anytime I take the tram to go somewhere, the journey (and wait time) usually takes at least 20 minutes. The absolute worst part about the trams is that sometimes they are so crowded you have to squeeze in; yes, I have been squashed against the door before. I do have quite a handle on the tram and metro system now, but I have to say that Google Maps is the greatest app ever invented. All you have to do is type in the place you want to go and the app will tell you how to get there using the public transport! This is fantastic because you can load up the app while you still have wifi access, and the app will track your progress even without internet!

Cappuccino from La Bohème Café

Another oddity about the Czech Republic is that they do not use credit cards. Almost everywhere is a cash-only establishment. I was not expecting this when I came abroad, and find it a little surprising, especially since Europe is far more advanced with their credit card technology than the US. When I do use my card, I have to sign a receipt for every purchase, even if I am only buying a $2 coffee. I have to admit that I do get Starbucks sometimes, mostly because it is the coffee shop nearest the metro station, and I know for certain they have regular, drip coffee! While Starbucks is popular here, the English chain Costa Coffee is more prevalent (and I think I like it more). But don’t worry, I have not only been drinking chainstore coffee; I have been exploring around my area and have found quite a few nice cafés in my neighborhood, such as my personal favorite, La Bohème Café.

Successful Prague Thanksgiving

Grocery shopping usually is not too hard, partially because I always buy the same things. It did take me two months to find where they keep the salad dressing. Occasionally, I will go to the fancy Marks & Spencer, which is a British brand and somewhat similar to a Trader Joe’s. The food is more expensive there, but all of the labels are in English so I know exactly what I am buying! One of the weirdest culture differences so far is that there obviously no Thanksgiving here in the Czech Republic (added onto the fact they do not really celebrate Halloween). I basically had no fall holidays! However, I did have a Thanksgiving celebration in one of my friends’ apartments. We all pitched in for a turkey, and then everyone else brought over side dishes. One of the Czech buddies even made pumpkin pie out of a real pumpkin she picked up from the farmers’ market! I brought cranberry sauce and made a green bean casserole; however, I had to used a “funyun” substitute for the fried onion topping (both items I looked through many stores and finally found at my new favorite store, Marks & Spencer). While it was definitely not a traditional Thanksgiving, it was still a fun dinner party. As we went around the table saying what we were thankful for, my contribution was that I am thankful I am lucky enough to spend an entire semester living, studying, and traveling in another country.