¿Culture Shock?

Throughout our 3rd week here in the Czech Republic, we spent most of our time traveling. We took our first field trip this previous weekend with the entire class and two of our professors to Prague, Czech Republic and Dresden, Germany. We left via train to Prague on Thursday morning (aka no classes--WOOHOO!), spent a day in Dresden on Saturday, and returned home Sunday night feeling utterly exhausted, but oh, so blessed.

Easter Market -- Olomouc

In Prague, we explored places such as the Prague Castle and the Palace, the Charles Bridge, the city's never ending Easter markets, and a Jewish Cemetery. My favorite part of this trip however was being guided by two of our Czech Republic professors who are FULL of knowledge on just about anything and everything. I learned so much more about culture this weekend from our "tour guides", but especially from visiting Dresden. In Dresden, we were yet again faced with the language barrier, as we first had when we arrived in the Czech Republic, and were yet again presented with new cuisine, new people, and new surroundings as well. I really enjoyed this part of our weekend, however, because we saw our first Lutheran Church of the trip and it just so happened to be one of the most important churches in the religion's history! Altogether, I really enjoyed the opportunity for new experiences with new friends and would strongly suggest that both destinations be added to your travel Bucket List!

Martin Luther statue and Lutheran Church -- Dresden

    

The view from our hike -- Prague

While we were away, we noticed many differences between the life we've started to get used to in Olomouc, the hustle and bustle of Prague, and the different all-around feel of Dresden. Many of the culture differences I've noticed since I've arrived in Europe fall under the categories of language and communication, however, in the Czech Republic thus far, we've also had to become accustomed to simpler tasks such as paying for water, paying for the restroom, and asking for common American things like salt and pepper and ketchup. In addition to having to learn to communicate with the people in Europe we have also been faced with the challenge of navigating ourselves through a foreign land each time we travel or decide to try something new. Though we have become somewhat used to life here in the Czech Republic, Dresden was a reminder of how huge the language barrier between countries and cultures truly is and how little we actually know about this massive world we live in. We found, though, that even knowing the simplest of phrases in the Czech language in Olomouc and Prague help us tremendously and make communicating significantly easier. However, starting the process all over again in a new culture with an unknown language, like Dresden, was a very interesting experience and made me feel incredibly lucky to have the knowledge I currently have about Olomouc and the rest of the Czech Republic.

DELICIOUS desert -- Dresden 

In the midst of figuring out all of the cultural differences, I have found a few positive cultural differences that I favor over the way it is in the States. First and foremost, the cost of EVERYTHING in Olomouc and most of the Czech Republic is at the very top of my list. Prices for most things including meals, traveling, clothes, etc. are significantly cheaper here. For example, a meal that I typically labeled as expensive in the United States was anything over about $10. In the Czech, however, 10 American dollars converts to an entire meal at a fairly nice restaurant, desert and usually a beer or glass of wine as well. In most of our opinions, splurging on a meal here typically ends up being around 200 Czech Korunas or about $8 or $9. To go along with the inexpensiveness of the country, the ease involved in traveling throughout the Czech Republic, and even the rest of Europe is mind boggling. Moral of the story: TRAVEL THE WORLD AND COME SEE EUROPE! <3