Out of Place

I have now spent over eight weeks abroad and can adequately talk about the cultural differences here in the Czech Republic.

            Here in the Czech we deal with many cultural differences. For example, throughout a normal day here in the Czech Republic no one smiles back at us friendly Midwesterners who are used to smiling at everyone that passes. This was very weird to us at first but we have now gotten fairly use to it and get way too excited when we see someone smile. Kind of playing hand in hand with smiling is customer service. In America we are too use to being waited on hand and foot. As most of us all know we get asked what feels like a billion times if our food is okay. Here is quite the opposite, after you receive your food the waitress or waiter leaves you alone and in some cases may ask once if our food is okay. The server is not particularly friendly and most of the time refuses to smile. Then when it comes time to pay the check you have to ask, whereas in America the waitress or waiter is usually watching so closely that it’s there by the time you are ready or they get it to you even before you are ready.

            On another note the music here is so outdated. If it isn’t in Czech and I can actually understand it, the music is from 90’s to 2000’s pop. If we are lucky we get some electronic dance music (EDM), which honestly isn’t that much better. What this means is no today’s hits, country, R&B, hip hop, rap, etc. The variety of music here is very limited and that makes me sad, because when I think about culture one of the first things that come to mind is music. Music to me can adequately sum up what a places culture is like. I feel like if I could understand their Czech music I would have a lot better understanding, but for now my views are limited just like their music choices.

            Another way I saw the culture here is through their Easter celebration. It is honestly quite odd. First they have vendors set up in the main square of town 2 weeks prior to Easter and they stay there until Easter is over. Then on the day of Easter men will buy a braid of sticks and hit women with them, this is supposed to give the women beauty throughout the rest of the year. However, what is even odder than these silly little traditions that take place is that Easter happens on Monday instead of Sunday. Also here in the Czech Republic they do not have an Easter bunny. Children and adults still decorate eggs, usually by painting them which was a little taste of home that I enjoyed seeing.

            Overall, the Czech Republic is very different from America culturally. They have a lot of traditions that stem from all they have been through with the constant change of regimes and the mish mash of cultures that happened with those changes. I have found it beyond interesting to learn about the Czech Republic and get to experience their culture in person. However I do feel culturally out of place.