Home in America

It's now June 9th, and I have been home for approximately 10 days now.  It's so weird to be back in America!  I never thought that I would experience culture shock going back to my own home country, but the culture shock is hitting me almost as hard as it was when I first got to Europe.  Some things are so nice to be able to come home to, like the restaurants that I love, as well as the little things like free ketchup and free water.  I really do miss Europe though, I really miss the culture there as well as constantly exploring new places and learning new things about the world.  I absolutely cannot wait to go back! I'm going to start saving with my first paycheck so that I can go back again either next summer or the summer after. It's unreal how big of an impact that traveling Europe had on me for only being over there for three months... I feel like a completely different person now than I did before I left. 

For future study abroad students, believe me when I say that you are in for the best three months of your entire life.  You will gain a whole new perspective of the world and yourself, and you will definitely change as a person (for the better) because of the incredible new places that you are about to go and because of the amazing experiences that you are about to go through.  Don't get me wrong, there will definitely be some really rough times, like when the airlines lose your bag for a few days, or when you start to really miss everyone from back home. However, the good times make all of that completely okay, and the few rough times that you go through will make you a stronger and better person.  Have the time of your life! Here are some helpful tips that might make your experience a little bit better.

1.  DO NOT TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE WHILE YOU ARE STUDYING ABROAD!
      I took business stats online while I was abroad, and that was without a doubt one of the worst decisions that I have ever made in my academic career.  You are studying abroad for the experience, while yes school does still matter, don't make it all that matters. Get out and experience everything that you can, after all that is why you decided to study abroad isn't it?

2.  Travel as much as possible!
     There will be plenty of time for you to travel on your own, take advantage of it!  While Olomouc is a fun and cultural place to be, you should try to travel as much as possible on the weekends and on breaks.  Trust me, the travel that you do on your own time will help to make for the experience of a lifetime. 

3.  Say yes!

  When a new opportunity presents itself, don't be nervous or shy, just do it!  While in Croatia we did a lot of activities that some people might get nervous about, like renting a little motor boat and taking it out onto the Adriatic Sea, but those memories will become some of your favorite memories of the entire trip.  I don’t mean to go out and make clearly stupid decisions, but what I do mean is to go out and try something that you probably never have done before.  So go out, have fun, do things that you normally wouldn’t do, and make memories to make it the trip of a lifetime.

Cultural Comparisons (5)

I'm going to be completely honest and say that there is no possible way that I can possibly describe the difference in culture here in the Czech Republic compared to that of the United States.  I will say that it is definitely something that everyone should experience though.  It's a lot like America in some ways, but CRAZY different in others.  An obvious difference is that the people here for the most part don't really speak English, they speak Czech.  Also, the food is completely different here... I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  Some of it is incredibly delicious, the only problem is you have to know what you're ordering, and when you can't read or speak Czech that can be a major problem.  A lot of the restaurants, bars, and cafés have a menu or a description of the items in English, but the description can sometimes be very difficult to understand.  Another cultural difference is that people walk or take public transportation EVERYWHERE. That's a huge difference compared to back home, as I even sometimes drive to my classes that are about two blocks away.  Some people do drive here, but it appears that it is mostly only the wealthy or the upper working class.  To compare the traffic here to back home, my city of Olomouc has a population of roughly 100,000 people; however, the traffic is much better here than in my hometown of North Platte, a town of only about 25,000 people.

Another major cultural difference is that people are much less religious here.  As said by one of the leaders of my program, in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, roughly 80% of the people identify themselves as non-religious. That is a tremendous difference compared to my state of Nebraska, where I would estimate that 60-70% of people are fairly religious.

Lastly, another major difference here is the obvious toll that communism took on this incredible nation.  Although communism rule ended here in 1989 with the Velvet Revolution, its effects can still be seen in many places.  Many of the buildings look like scenes that would appear in a movie about the Soviet Union, and there are many other small things that just make you realize that this country was once ruled under a communist government.  It is obvious that at one time communism had completely devastated this nation, as the effects can still be seen today.  With this being said, I absolutely love this amazing country with its intriguing history and its extraordinary culture.  Although I have only been in this country for a week, I can honestly say that I have learned more in this one week than I have in YEARS back living in America.  It is truly an eye opening experience to travel to and to live in another country and I strongly encourage anyone and everyone to do it at some point in their life.  Not only will you learn so much about the history and culture of the world, but you will learn so much about yourself and gain a much deeper appreciation for so many things that are taken for granted.  

Here are some pictures that I have taken over the last few days of my trip.

 

 

Let the journey begin!

Tess, Emily and I are currently on an airplane from Omaha to Atlanta, where we will then have a connecting flight to Paris and then to Prague.  Thank god for in-flight wifi!  I've never flown from Omaha but it was by far the friendliest airport I've ever been to.  My checked bag was supposed to have a weight limit of 50 pounds, and it weighed 53 pounds and they didn't charge me an extra fee! Also my carry-on bag was WAY to big to fit their requirements, but they still let me take it! I'm not really sure how my carry-on was so much bigger than it was supposed to be, I measured it probably four different times at home and it fit the size requirements perfectly.  I'm just happy everything has went so smoothly so far.  Saying goodbye to everyone back home for so long was super weird, especially for my parents, my brother Sam, my girlfriend Jess, and my best friends Charley and Erik.  I'm so ready to get to Prague, 23 hours of traveling (including time changes) is waaaay too much time for me to be spending in airplanes and at airports.  I am so excited to get there and start this amazing journey!

Travel Plan

On Thursday at this time I will be beginning the experience of a lifetime in Prague in the Czech Republic.  I am so freakin' excited!  I can't even begin to explain how ready I am.  I'm definitely going to be missing my parents, girlfriend, and friends, and its really going to take some time getting used to not being able to see anyone from back home.  Nonetheless, I am still super eager to get started with this awesome chapter of my life that's about to begin.  I'll be traveling with twenty-three other students from Nebraska, with two of them being some of my best friends from Kearney.  I still have a few things that I need to get done before I leave, but for the most part all of the preparation is done already.  I'm so ready to be done with getting everything ready! Some parts of the trip are going to be planned once we get over there, like our spring break and weekend trips.  We do have some of the trips planned out already though, and the places we are going for sure include:

          -Prague, Dresden, and Bohemia in the Czech Republic
          -London, England
          -Budapest, Hungary
          -Venice, Italy
          -Vienna, Austria
          -Auschwitz, Germany
          -Krakow, Poland

Some other trips that we don't have planned out yet but are hoping to be going on include:

          -Dublin, Ireland
          -Amsterdam, Netherlands
          -Berlin, Germany
          -Paris, France
          -Croatia

Hopefully everything will go smoothly and according to plan! 

Three more weeks!

In exactly 23 days and 13 hours my flight leaves for Europe!  I am flying from Omaha's Eppley Airfield and flying to Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague, in the Czech Republic.  I'm getting so excited to go, but in these last three weeks here in the United States I'm realizing just how much I still have to do and its REALLY starting to concern me!  I guess its crunch time and I really need to get to work!  In reality, I think I might just be freaking myself out with what I still need to get done, but nonetheless I'm really starting to stress out!  Lets hope that everything goes smoothly and as stress-free as possible!