Packing and Traveling
-What are you glad you packed from home? · I packed just the essentials from the very start. I would recommend packing more clothes than you expect. Sometimes laundry services are hard to come by. -What do you wish you had left at home? · Nothing really. I packed very little. -Do you have any travel tips to pass on (planning advice, safety considerations, guidebooks, train vs. bus, etc.)? · Apps such as Uber, HostelWorld, and Venmo are real game changers. Some apps can only be downloaded in the US so get them before you travel. -What places would you advise future students to see and why? · I would recommend mixing in some natural sights when planning your trips. You will see a lot of European cities on your class trips, so it is good to change things up. Places like Croatia and Switzerland were my personal favorites for exploring nature’s beauty. Social Life -How did you meet students from your host country? · You will meet a lot of students staying in your dorm suites and at the local clubs. That’s where I had 90% of my interactions with other students. -How did you like to spend your free time and why? Is there anything you regret not doing more of in your free time? · Most of my free time was spent hanging out with other students and travel planning. The only regret I have is not exploring some activities in Olomouc such as the zoo and laser tag. -What opportunities for social, recreational, and cultural events that the host university or program offered did you like best? Why? · Palacky offered country showcase nights, where students from a similar country would put on a presentation about their culture. They were a fun and interactive way to learn about other students and their cultures. -What piece of advice would you give future students regarding their non-academic life while abroad? · If an activity or event sounds even remotely interesting to you, do it. Some of my favorite memories stem from events and activities that I was hesitant to try. Only take a break if you’re feeling too ill or falling behind in classes. Otherwise, I would recommend making every day a memorable one. School Work -How did your academic experience abroad differ from your U.S. experiences concerning? · Classes often had many guest speakers that all covered a broad range of topics. Class trips were a fun and different way to explore Europe while being led by our professors. -Relations with professors/classroom instruction? · Every professor we had for class was more than willing to talk at length about their material even after class had ended. They more than willing to answer any question even in a one-on-one environment. This is less common in the states where professors often run off immediately after class. -Grading? · Grading was often weird and inconsistent throughout the trip. It was hard to keep track of what counted for points, how much weight assignments held, and when assignments were due. This is coming from a student who has yet to hand in a late assignment during college. Definitely my least favorite part of the academic experience. -Study habits? · If you take good notes and pay attention, most class periods are memorable enough to retain what was taught for weeks after the class. Czech Language is the only class I would recommend consistent review. The language is tricky, and we cover a lot in class each day. But it is manageable if you practice every day. -Library? · Never used it. -Computer access? · Access to a computer was more difficult than I anticipated. It is difficult to bring a laptop on trips where you are needing to travel light. However, smartphones are a good alternative for when you’re missing a computer even if that means typing out an essay on the touch screen. -What enabled/hindered your successful academic experience? · The toughest part was balance. Participating in a good amount of activities while also having enough energy to study and attend class is tough. But, everyone on our trip did it every day no matter how we stayed up the night previous. Money and Communications -How much money in U.S. currency would you recommend students have at their disposal for their whole time abroad? · This depends on what type of traveler you are. Most people spent around $5,000 on their trip and were able to participate in most activities and travel every weekend. However, if you plan to shop or buy tickets more exclusive experiences, I would recommend taking at least $8,000 so you don’t feel like you’re missing out. -How much money did you have in foreign currency when you left for your program? Was it enough? · I ended the program with what would equate to $20 USD in the local currency. You can use your card almost everywhere, and this amount was just for emergencies. -How did you manage your money (credit cards, traveler’s checks, bank accounts etc.)? How and where did you access your money? · I used my VISA debit card for pretty much everything. Most places take VISA card, and those that don’t will take cash you can withdraw from ATMs. -How much money did you spend on: Books? · $0 School supplies? · Less than $20 Food? · This question will have to be a rough guess. You will be eating out quite a bit, but meals are less expensive in the Czech. I probably spent around $1,200 on food. Entertainment? · Including drinks at bars, I would probably say I spent around $800. Local transportation? · Less than $20. Most transportation in Olomouc is free with your tram pass. Travel? · $1,000 Personal items (toiletries)? · $50 (I am a guy). Postage? · $0 Airfare? · $1,500 including the flight too and from the Czech. Laundry? · $80 -How did you communicate with the U.S.? What would you recommend to future students (e.g. calling card, set up e-mail account and where, etc.)? · We were offered a deal for a phone plan which included a new SIM card. This allowed me to have service almost everywhere I traveled. I took advantage of this to keep in touch via text and FaceTime calls. Other Comments/Tips:
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For my last trip, I chose to visit the beautiful country of Croatia. For those of you switching to a new tab to Google “where is Croatia,” don’t feel too guilty. It’s not a country that most people could point out on a globe or even an unnamed map of Europe. Croatia is mainly a coastal country that borders the Mediterranean Sea. It is close to many much more famous countries such as Italy, Austria, and Greece, which may be the reason it is often overlooked. However, I believe Croatia is a hidden gem and was one of my favorite countries of the entire trip. I flew into Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, with two other students from the study abroad program and a friend who just flew in from the states. I planned this trip as a celebration for passing my classes and as a final hurrah before heading back to states. Therefore, the goal of the trip was just to relax and see whatever the country had to offer. I spent the first night in my hostel catching up on some much-needed sleep. The next morning, we woke up and found out we could use an Uber to get to our next hostel two hours away in the Croatian countryside. When our Uber driver arrived, we got our first impression of just how amazing Croatian people are. The driver was very excited to meet us and was more than willing to make the long drive as enjoyable as possible. We learned he loves talking about TV shows, and he gave us many recommendations to watch as we travel. He was in no rush to get rid of us, so he stopped several times to show us his favorite spots in the countryside. Once we arrived at our destination, he gave us his contact information and offered to come to pick us up when we needed to return to the airport. We all agreed to give him a big tip for being an amazing guy and making such a long drive fun. You might be wondering why we decided to stay so deep in the Croatian countryside? It’s because we wanted to visit the famous Plitvice Lakes National Park. After almost three months of staying in towns and cities, I was ready to enjoy some more natural sights. Traveling to the park was a recommendation from one of our professors, and this was the best advice I received all trip. Plitvice Lakes is the most amazing place I’ve ever seen. It’s a beautiful valley filled with over 16 turquoise blue lakes that all run into each other via huge waterfalls. Narrow wooden trails let you walk so close to the falls that you can feel the spray of water. This also results in beautiful rainbows forming all over the place. It was like walking through some foreign world that is too beautiful to comprehend. I won’t go on forever about the scenery, because the pictures below will give you a better description than I can. After Plitvice, the rest of our mini vacation was spent watching movies at the hostel, cooking with groceries from the local market, and swimming in the pool out back. Our hosts were a middle age couple that were happy to help us with anything and everything. They even told us not to worry when we overslept and missed checkout by an hour. It was about this time that I realized that Croatians are almost as friendly and helpful as good ol’ Nebraskans! It was just another welcome surprise that made my last few days abroad some of the best.
This concludes my final trip on my three-month journey through Europe. These last few days have been full of self-reflection and hard goodbyes, and I’ve decided these have been some of the greatest days of my life. Studying abroad was not an easy choice for me, but sometimes the toughest decisions result in the best rewards. I look forward to returning to my home and people back in Nebraska, but a little part of me will always be yearning to return to Europe. Olomouc really became a second home, and the people there my family. It’s hard knowing that I’m leaving that all behind and will never experience something quite like this again. But that’s why I encourage every student reading this to study abroad. I’d much rather experience heartbreak due to leaving this all this behind than never have experienced it at all. This trip taught me so much, and I will never be able to look at this world or the people in it the same way. Even if you can’t study abroad, I encourage all of you to go out and try something new. It’s always good to get out of your routine and experience a “Reality Czech.” Welcome to Olomouc! Any study abroad student’s home away from home. This small city of a little over 100,000 residents is home to Palacky University and has been my place of study over the last three months. At this point, I know the ins and outs of the city quite well and want to give you a taste of what a day in Olomouc is like. First, I’ll cover the place that gave me a bed and a roof over my head, Neredin Krematorium. Neredin is a campus building that houses students from all over the world that have come to study at Palacky. Our dorm, in particular, was primarily composed of exchange students from other countries. At one point in time, I was living with suitemates from Greece, Turkey, and Italy all at once. It was a great place to meet other students and make quick friends. This made Neredin the perfect place to call home. Next up is transportation. Getting to class, the store, and most dining locations requires quite a walk from Neredin. Luckily, we were able to avoid most long walks by using the tram system. Since I’m from Nebraska, I’ve had very little experience with public transportation as a whole, and I had definitely never taken a tram before. But, Olomouc’s transportation systems and schedules were pretty easy to master, and I had it down to a routine within a couple of weeks. The tram system made exploring the city fun and getting to class a breeze. Speaking of breeze, I was surprised by how cold the weather was in Olomouc. Winter and spring definitely overstayed their welcome, and it wasn’t until my last day that the temperatures finally rose to a comfortable level. This longer cold season was “very odd” according to our professors and many of the locals. Many of us joked that the strange weather patterns we had in Nebraska decided to follow us overseas. Last but not least, I’ll talk about what food is like in Olomouc. First, European food and portions are not that different from what you would find in the United States. Basically everything you can get in the states you can find here in a similarly large portion. Meals like pizza, burgers, and pasta are common all over the Czech. However, there are a couple of traditional Czech dishes that I had never heard of before this trip. Goulash in the Czech Republic is completely different than the standard pasta dish we’re used to in America. Czech goulash is composed of dumplings and beef covered in a salty brown sauce. It was a hearty dish that I would compare to a steak and potato meal in the states. Another standard Czech dish I tried is chicken schnitzel. I think the best comparison to schnitzel would be a chicken fried steak. It consists of breaded chicken that has been fried in oil and is served with a side of lemon. Both of these were my go-to dishes when I was looking to eat traditional Czech cuisine. Olomouc holds a special place in my heart for being the center of the Czech Republic Study Abroad Program. It’s where I learned most of my travel skills and experienced what it’s like to truly live in another culture. Many of my best memories come from exploring all Olomouc had to offer, which is saying a lot considering I traveled to many memorable destinations. From trying new kinds of foods in the lower square to learning how to use the public transportation system, Olomouc really is my home away from home.
If you’ve been reading my blogs, you may be under the impression that studying abroad is just a lot of trips to sunny locations, exotic food, and nights at the bars. However, a good amount of time in Olomouc is actually spent in the classroom. Students from our group are taking at least twelve credits through the program and some brave souls are taking even more online. This blog post will outline what it’s like to be a UNK student studying abroad at Palacky University.
Time in the classroom at Palacky is fairly similar to what it’s like to take a class at Kearney. The classes were on weekdays and usually took anywhere from three to five hours a day. What’s unique about our classes is the number of professors that came to speak on various topics. Almost every day we had a new guest speaker visit and give a condensed presentation on their field of interest. These topics were all focused on some aspect of Europe such as politics, religion, economics, or history. This gives our time in the classroom a special kind of variety that I’ve never had in any class previous. It’s fun to walk into the classroom each day knowing you’ll experience a unique topic and meet a new professor. When we didn’t have a guest speaker for the day, the classes would be taught by the program’s main professors Jan and Martin. Since classes with them recurred throughout the semester, they were able to go into more detail with their topics. Both professors were excellent teachers that incorporated modern issues, videos, and humor into their lectures. My favorite lecture the entire trip was Martin’s class on scapegoats throughout European history. He talked about how throughout history society has always found a way to place blame for unsavory events on a minority. “Witches” were the most common victims of the public's blame for a good chunk of time before hunting them became illegal and blame moved to the Jews. I enjoyed learning from them so much it makes me sad that I won’t get the chance to take more classes with them in the future. Finally, Pavla Polachova, our Czech Language professor, earns her own paragraph for doing an amazing job at attempting to teach a bunch of Americans a foreign language. From day one, everyone loved her teaching style and enthusiasm every time we would figure out a new word or phrase. She also was amazingly patient when something she taught didn’t click with us. Czech is a tough language for native English speakers to learn, so we could be a little difficult to teach sometimes. However, she stuck with it and we all came out of the class knowing a decent amount of the language after just twoish months of classes. The next group from Nebraska would be fortunate if she decides to continue teaching for the program. By now, I hope you have learned that studying abroad is more than just traveling. It is also time spent in the classroom with some of the best professors I’ve ever experienced. You know the classes and professors are quality when a student admits he had fun spending time in a class while in the middle of Europe. That’s all I have for this blog post. As they say in the Czech Republic, na shledanou! The entire class knew this trip was going to be unlike any other we’d experienced thus far. Professor Jan prefaced this trip by saying that most of it was going to be somber and not necessarily enjoyable. This is because this trip marks the end of our European Studies class and means it was finally time to see Schindler’s Factory and Auschwitz. I will start with our tour of Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory. If you don’t know Oskar Schindler's story, I would highly recommend watching Steven Speilberg’s famous film “Schindler’s List.” It actually was responsible for the popularization of the story of Oskar Schindler’s efforts to save over 1,000 Jews during WWII. To summarize, Schindler was a German industrialist who used his influence in the Nazi party to recruit a large labor force of Jews during WWII. He prevented these Jews from being sent away to camps and gave them decent living accommodations. At the end of the war, he disobeyed orders to have the Jews executed and instead set them free. The enamel factory that once housed all his workers is now the site of a museum dedicated to Krakow’s occupation and Oskar Schindler himself. Our tour of the factory started with a quick look at Krakow before the invasion. As you walked further in, the timeline continued by showing the Polish preparing for war and then falling to Hitler’s forces within a few weeks. Krakow is one of the closest Polish cities to Germany, so it was also one of the first to fall. From there, the quality of life for the city's residents deteriorated day by day, especially for the Jewish people. A ghetto was established and Jews were forced to develop a new way of life from within its walls. Life went on and few rebelled because the common belief was that things couldn’t get any worse. They did. My favorite part of the museum was Oskar Schindler’s office. It was the only room on the tour that was solely dedicated to his story and what happened in this factory about 80 years ago. Most of the displays around the room told his story, but in the middle of the room, there was a large square room filled with the enamel pots that his workers created during the war. There is a door to enter the structure and inside you can find the names of all the Jews he saved during the madness of the Shoah. Seeing the sheer amount of names on that wall was humbling. One man with a factory and a whole lot of bravery was able to save a thousand other men, women, and children. Just think of how many more could have been saved or if this whole mess could have been prevented had there been more people like Oskar Schindler. Unfortunately, there were no stories of heroes told at our tour of Auschwitz. The Nazi camp commonly known as Auschwitz is split into several different locations around the small town Oswiecim. Our group was able to tour two parts of the camp, Auschwitz one and Birkenau (Auschwitz two). Auschwitz one is the famous location that I’m sure you all recognize by name. It was home to most German officials in charge of the camp as well as many Jewish prisoners. The camp consists of many barracks that served as Jewish living quarters, German offices, prisons, and whatever else the Nazi party needed for space. The entire place has been transformed into a museum and memorial of the atrocities committed there. It focuses on the numbers and facts because that is enough. Dramatic language or forcefully moving quotes aren’t needed to prove the point. Between all of the Auschwitz camps, over 1.1 million people died in this small area. There are entire rooms full of personal items such as shoes, glasses, and prosthetic limbs that were confiscated by the Nazis. One room even contained thousands of pounds of shaved hair from the people that were unfortunate enough to be sent to the camp. Even writing about it now makes my stomach sick. Every one of those items represents a living person like you or me that was killed. But instead stopping to look just how wrong this all was, Nazi leaders turned a blind eye and instead focused on making these camps even more efficient at murdering innocent people. And no place on Earth was more efficient than Birkenau. Birkenau was the most brutal camp out of them all. From the center of the camp, you can look in any direction and only be able to see hundreds of shelters that once housed the poor souls condemned to live out the rest of their lives in this hell on Earth. Birkenau was unique because it was both a death and concentration camp. You could be fortunate live for a period of time in the field full of shacks that were crammed full of other minorities, or you could be sent immediately from your train car to gas and cremation chambers that continuously spat out human ashes over the entire area. It was actually relieving to see that the chambers are no longer standing. The Nazi’s blew them to bits when making their retreat from Poland to try to cover up what really happened in Birkenau. Luckily, their attempts were not successful, and the world will forever remember the evil that once existed in Auschwitz and Birkenau. I’m writing about this trip having given myself some time to process the events of the day. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a shocking and gut-wrenching moment, and I hope I never will again. Don’t take that as regret for visiting either Auschwitz or Schindler’s factory. These were some of the most impactful and moving days of my life that I won’t ever forget. This sensation is just a reminder that evil is always out there, and that there are unimaginable consequences when people lose their compassion for humanity. For our last class trip, everyone packed up for the last time to explore the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. For those who don’t know, the Czech Republic is split into two primary regions, Bohemia and Moravia. Bohemia is the much bigger region that consists of most of the land in the north, west, and center of the country. This trip focuses on exploring many of the smaller towns all over this region and finishing our look at Czech culture. The first day of the trip was spent exploring a town called Litomysl. We went to the Piarist Church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross which was unique for its pieces of modern art in the middle of the church. My favorite was the giant prism that hung from the ceiling over a big black disc on the floor. This piece represents two different parts of Genesis. The first is the Holy Spirit suspended over the dark waters of Earth during the creation of the planet. The second is when light hits the prism it creates a rainbow that glows over the disc like the waters of Earth during the flood. I thought this was a cool twist on the traditional church scene. After the church, we walked down the street and visited the Litomysl Castle. The tour took us through the main rooms that had been set up as if the castle was still being used today. Every room was a show of wealth sporting massive paintings, detailed furniture, and sparkling chandeliers. My favorite room was the guy’s lounge that sported a billiards table and playing cards. It was a pretty sweet man cave, and I would totally build something similar in my castle. However, the most unique part of the castle was definitely the horse gallery. Nobility’s horses were considered more important than most common peasants at the time. They would paint large portraits of their finest horses and this room was dedicated to that theme. Litomysl was a good start to the trip, and it was pleasant reminder that no matter how many castles and churches I’ve visited, they can still have unique elements that I never would have expected. For our second day of the trip, we got to explore a small town near Prague called Kutna Hora. The first part of the day was spent exploring three of the town’s churches. The first was called the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. While the name has quite a lot to it, the church itself is rather plain compared to most others I’ve seen. The walls and most of the ceiling was a simple mix of tan sections surrounded by white detailing. To either side, there were some exhibits and paintings, but none of them were hung as part of the cathedral. The section that grabbed my interest was a walkway on the second story that ran through the inner part of the church. If you looked carefully, you could make out a crumbling spiral staircase on one side and what looked like an old domed ceiling on the other. It was more like walking through an archeological dig than a passage in a church. Next, we visited the famous Sedlec Ossuary, more commonly known as The Church of Bones. As the name suggests, this church is full of structures made almost entirely out of human bones. It is estimated that more than 40,000 skeletons were used to create the eerie structures that fill the room. Each of the four corners of the room is dedicated to weird bone pyramids that build from an absurd amount of bones and decorated with skulls. But possibly the most disturbing item in the room is the giant bone chandelier. While constructed from way fewer bones than the pyramids, I found the chandelier to be even more creepy. The way the bones and skulls are used to create patterns and designs to form this giant structure is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It looks like it could be straight out of some horror movie or decoration from Dracula’s castle. However, I found this nightmarish place to be fascinating and I appreciated the change in design from your typical church. The final church of the day was Saint Barbara’s Cathedral. This cathedral’s construction started back when Kutna Hora was a booming town due to its rich silver mines. However, when the mines ran out of resources, funding for the cathedral slowed and it was left unfinished. Different additions and attempts to finish construction were spurred for several years, but it wasn’t until 1905 that the cathedral finally received a roof and its final wall. My favorite part of this church was definitely the stained glass windows. They sported a more realistic and clean design that I think makes the whole window look more vibrant. The final activity of the day was visiting the silver mines responsible for the town’s quick boom of wealth. Unlike the salt mines in Krakow, these mines were small, wet, and claustrophobic. Before navigating the mine, we had to put on what looked like lab coats and miner’s hats with lamps. The silver mine had no natural light, so we could only see what our twenty-some lamps illuminated. Although the tunnels were narrow and the ceilings low, navigation didn’t feel too bad in most places. I even liked the more exotic and dangerous nature of the tunnels. It felt more like we were exploring a lost cave system then being led on a tour. The trip to the mines proved to be a surprisingly fun way to learn about the roots of the town and try something new. The third day of the field trip was mainly travel, but we hit a couple of noteworthy stops along the way. For lunch, we stopped in the small town of Trebon which is known for it's fishing and freshwater ponds. To fit with the theme of the town, we sat down at one of the many small fish restaurants in the town square. A couple less adventurous people ordered chicken, but most of us decided to order the trout. When our meals arrived, we were surprised to find that they only remove the main organs and served the fish whole. This didn’t sit well with some of the girls, but I quite enjoyed my meal even though it took a little effort to get the meat.
Our next stop that day was a Budweiser brewery in Ceske Budejovice. It’s important to know that Budweiser in the Czech Republic is much different than the normal American Budweiser. They are two separate companies that have been through several legal disputes over the name/brand of the company. However, our tour of the brewery was more about the Czech beer and its production than any legal disputes. We started by learning all about what ingredients go into their products and how long the beer takes to mature. From there, we got to sample some unfiltered brew that was still in the process of maturing. It tasted much different than a normal beer because the yeast is still active. The best part of the tour for me was the filling and packaging floor. It was fascinating to see the factory alive with all sorts of activity. We watched as thousands of bottles were filled, labeled, and packaged each minute. The final day of our trip was spent in the fairytale esque town of Cesky Krumlov. The entire town is made up of small shops, parks, and churches that look straight out of the middle ages. Our group mainly spent time exploring the main castle that looms over the rest of the town. Pictures weren’t allowed on the tour, so you’ll just have to imagine the grand bedrooms, banquet halls, and ballrooms. One unique feature about this castle was its history with bears. Bears have been used as a status symbol for centuries at Cesky Krumlov Castle, and a couple are kept as pets in the castle moat. When the bear dies from old age, its skin and fur is kept and then used to decorate the castle. After the castle tour, the students were given the chance to spend the afternoon rafting down the river that runs through the town. Despite a dismal forecast, the afternoon turned out to be sunny and perfect for a day on the water. We all arranged into groups of five and set off from the launch point right next to our hostel. The next five hours were spent lazily floating down the river and stopping at an occasional bar that was open along the banks. We even found one with its own hotdogs and bonfire. That afternoon was my favorite experience the entire field trip. It was a simple and relaxing way to spend time with my classmates. It temporarily made me forget that we’ll soon have to go our separate ways as this adventure abroad comes to a close. It’s was bittersweet and has left me longing to spend have just one more adventure with my Czech family. One of the biggest concerns to consider when traveling is will I be able to communicate and navigate without knowing the native language? I’ve come to discover that the answer to that question is absolutely yes. It is polite to learn a few standard phrases to communicate with the locals, but that’s about all you can do to prepare. Europe is full of small countries that speak each speak a variety of languages, and it is unrealistic for you to learn a decent amount of each one.
So the question remains, how do you cross the dreaded language barrier? Fortunately for us, English is a very common second language for most European countries. The number of people that can speak basic English becomes even higher when visiting places with a high tourist density. This included travel essentials such as tours usually having English audio guides and restaurants having English menus. As native speakers, we are very fortunate to speak a language that is so commonplace in modern European countries. Does this mean you should throw caution to the wind and visit a new country with no preparation? Absolutely not. Preparing for your trip by gathering tools such as maps and translators apps can help you avoid messy situations if you run into a situation where you can’t rely on English. Learning simple phrases such as, “no, thank you,” or “I speak English,” can be extremely useful and save you from a confusing conversation. It also makes you less of a target for pesky street vendors or shop owners that will push even harder when they identify you as an English speaking tourist. Most of this advice comes from my time spent adjusting to the language barrier in the Czech Republic. Olomouc is not a very touristy destination, so it is often the most difficult place to find things in English. Luckily, we are learning a base understanding of the local language in our Czech language class. Our professor even put our skills to the test by assigning us homework that involves interacting with locals only using the words and phrases in Czech. Me practicing my broken Czech once led to a couple of guys laughing and telling me in English that they like my accent. It was a funny moment that I would have never experienced had I not been learning the native language. The learning the Czech language and overcoming the language barrier is often a tough task, but I have yet to experience anyone studying abroad with me that hasn’t been able to take on the challenge. You may sometimes cause a little confusion by butchering your order of zmrzlina, Czech for ice-cream, but if the worst consequence is a wrong flavor of ice-cream, I’d say you’re doing just fine. After all, some of these little bumps in the path are all in good fun and are personally part of my “Reality Czech.” Before my trip abroad began, I was most worried about leaving my home in Nebraska and settling into a foreign environment for about three whole months. Questions like, “will I be able to adjust to the Czech way of life, will I struggle with simple daily tasks because of the language barrier, and will I be able to fit in with the other students and local,” all swirled around in my head. As I was boarding the plane in Omaha, the moment almost seemed surreal. My mind hadn’t quite accepted that I was leaving my comfortable life in Nebraska for the unknown environment of the Czech Republic. Upon arriving in Prague, most of my worries were quickly suppressed. I met up with four other students who were also in the Nebraska study abroad program, and we quickly became close friends. Culture shock and jet lag definitely hit us off and on for the first weekend in Prague. The toughest moment was our first time ordering at a Czech restaurant. We spent over thirty minutes using a translator on our phones and trying to communicate to the waitress what we wanted. Eventually, we all got our traditional Czech meals and paid with no real problems. From there, we went out into the city and conquered ordering from a Czech menu, navigating the metro system, and adapting to European cities. All these things were new and different but completely manageable, especially with my new friends. Probably the biggest culture shock moments came from the first week in Olomouc. Simple tasks like getting food from a grocery store proved to be way more difficult than I expected. Being unable to read the signs on the aisles and the names of the products lead to a guessing game of food item you’re actually buying. The pictures on the boxes of most items usually made this task easier, but we still had several people purchase the wrong item. One of the girls even bought what she thought were chips, but it turned out to be some sort of baby food.
Public transportation also was a new experience that took some getting used to. Nebraska has very few (if any) buses, trains, trams, and metros for public use. These four modes of transportation are the main ways to get around Olomouc and Europe. Each one required us to learn how to buy tickets, determine where the location of the station, and then use the time table to find your platform. It became easy after a week or two, but in the beginning, it was definitely a little different, shocking, and overwhelming. Overall, the transition from living in Nebraska to the Czech Republic was a lot easier than I expected. The culture and environment of the Czech are very comparable to that found in Nebraska. We even joked that a Nebraska winter followed us because it was cold here into the beginning of May which is very unnatural for Czech weather. Many of the major things I was worried about were the easiest obstacles to overcome. It’s typical to be worried about culture shock before studying abroad, but I would argue that it’s part of the fun of experiencing a new country and serves as part of any real “Reality Czech!” Going into this program, I was told that Czech people and their attitude towards life was more pessimistic and overall very different than your typical Nebraskan. After about two months of living among Czech people, I can confirm this is primarily true, but I don’t think this is such a negative thing. Most of the older generations spent part of their lives under the control of the Russian communist regime. It was a time of oppression and even smiling could be considered suspicious. This continues to affect most aspects of modern Czech culture. For example, a typical “Czech happy ending” to stories found in their books and movies is often what we would call realistic or depressing. This can also be seen in their humor. Their jokes often are on the darker side of humor and can be rather harsh and self-deprecating. To their credit, it’s only been thirty years since the regime fell and some people still keep a more mellow outlook on life. It’s also hard to compare any people to our American energy and optimism.
While you may not get a smile from every person you pass on the street, that doesn’t mean the Czechs are rude. I’ve met more pleasant people here than any of the other country I’ve visited in Europe. Just like in the states, most people will quickly open up to you if you initiate. We ended up getting to watch Olomouc compete in their regional hockey playoffs just because my roommate became friends with a couple of locals at a pizza restaurant. In most restaurants, the staff will send a waiter that can speak English to serve you. They will often laugh at our attempts at their language. I think they appreciate us at least trying to use the phrases and terms we’ve gathered in our Czech language class. If you do find someone who speaks fluent English, they will often be curious to which state you’re from and what you’re doing in their country. I met a couple of guys at one of the local clubs who were fascinated to learn about Nebraska. They shared many of the misconceptions I’ve experienced from other Americans who live on the coast about us still being a “Wild West” type state. If you can find a way to cross the language barrier, you should have no problem adjusting to the Czech Republic and making friends with the locals. Our next class trip was to Venice, Italy. The trip from Vienna to Venice was around a seven-hour bus ride, however, time seemed to fly as I watched the Alps tower over me from the bus window. It was the first time in about a month I was able to admire something truly breathtaking in nature. European cities are wonderful, but I really was missing having a little bit of natural beauty in my day. By the time we reached Venice, it was already near the end of the day. We finally got to the island via train a little before dinner time and started to make our way to our hostel. As we walked, I got to look around and form my first impressions of the city. Venice is by far the most unique city I’ve ever visited. Most people know all about the narrow walkways and canals for streets, but it’s one of those instances that you have to be there to truly understand the entire picture. Navigating through the winding streets surrounded by hundreds of other people, crossing over bridges as boats cruise beneath your feet, and smelling a mix of the ocean, fish, and Italian restaurants all at once can really overwhelm your stimuli. I was attentive almost the entire walk simply because there was so much to observe. Our first official day in Venice started with a class trip to Saint Mark’s Basilica. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, so I’ll do my best to describe some of the best features. The first thing I noticed upon entering the building was the giant mosaics on the walls and floors. A little bit of research revealed that these mosaics cover over 85,000 square feet of the building's interior. They all serve as beautiful depictions of biblical stories or significant parts of Christian history. The second unique characteristic of Saint Mark’s Basilica was the large variety of architectural styles used throughout the building. I first noticed this in the many multi-colored marbles used sporadically throughout the floor and lower walls. Almost nothing was uniform or symmetrical in the patterns. It was as if the architects designing the basilica used whatever material they had available at the time in any shape they wanted. This is the same with the columns near the front of the building. When it was used as a church, this area was usually the focus of the audience, yet the design is chaotic and even a little hard on the eyes. Each column is a different color and shape with all sorts of different detailings. The basilica is like a huge piece of art that is hard to comprehend but is beautiful despite all its chaos. Next, we headed next door to the Doge’s Palace. A doge was Venice’s head of state back when it was a republic. The Doge of Venice was usually a wealthy aristocrat elected into power by other high-status members of the republic, and his palace certainly attests to that. Every room on the main floor of the building is full of beautiful furniture, fireplaces, and historical artifacts. But, the most jaw-dropping part of every room is the paintings that cover the walls and ceilings. Created by various famous artists that were recruited by rich nobility, these paintings are massive in size yet remain full of details. My favorite pieces depicted historical naval battles around the city. I sat and looked over one work of art (found below in the slideshow) for around fifteen minutes just trying to find everything the artist had hidden around the battlefield. After admiring room after room of art, I moved onto the less visually appealing palace dungeon. A couple of us decided that this dungeon, as far as dungeons go, wasn’t so bad. The rooms were somewhat spacious and they had access to some natural light through barred windows. You could even claim you lived in a palace for the duration of your sentence. After the dungeon, the rest of the palace served more like a museum of Venetian history. There were lots of weapons and suits of armor from different periods of times, and it was fun to see how warfare tactics changed over time. Overall, the Doge’s Palace was one of the most interesting and beautiful buildings I’ve toured during my time abroad and is a must see if you’re in Venice. During our free time in Venice, I took a gondola ride through the canals, experienced my first take on modern art at the Guggenheim, and took pictures of the church used as a set piece in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For my final adventure, I joined a group sailing to the nearby island of Burano. Burano is a tiny island to the north of Venice. It is popular among tourists for its colorful buildings and Venice style canal streets. We spent the entire afternoon there relaxing and enjoying the peaceful setting. Visiting Burano was like experiencing a tiny Venice without all the tourists and claustrophobic streets. It would be my recommendation to those who want to experience an island town but are nervous about the chaotic nature of Venice. This marks the final day of our second class trip to Vienna and Venice. From there, we were released to galavant around Europe for over a week of spring break. If you’re interested, you’ll have to “Czech” back soon when I write about how I venture off with a small group of my peers as we continue to explore Italy.
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