It goes without
saying that the Czech Republic is very different than Nebraska. We have had the
opportunity to meet multiple Czech students as well as a few foreign exchange students
and it has been a treat. One thing that has shocked me is the way that people hang
out. In Nebraska, my friends and I would often hang out together at coffee
shops or watch movies. My experience here has included meeting people in pubs. It
seems as if there meeting place is always the pub. Just got done with class, let’s
go to the pub. Just finished a movie, let’s go to the pub. It’s a very
different atmosphere and something that I am trying to get used to. Meeting
people in pubs creates a very relaxed atmosphere with less pressure on keeping my
"indoor" voice, something in which I struggle.
Voice level is another
difference I have noticed between locals and our group. We tend to be a
slightly rambunctious and loud group. Most Czechs are soft spoken and blunt. As
Nebraskans, we tend to be polite and smiley, even if we are not feeling the
best. One of our professors used a very good example to express this
difference. In Nebraska, it is very common to ask someone how they are doing
even if you are not extremely interested. It is simply polite to do and could
be considered rude not to ask. If you ask a Czech how they are doing, they will
respond with a detailed answer and they do not hold back. If their day was terrible, they will tell you.
There is definitely a big difference there.
It also shocked me
that you can smoke indoors. In Nebraska, we have laws prohibiting smoking in
public establishments, so this is a hard adjustment. To make matters more
complicated, it seems like everyone smokes here. I do not know if there is actually
a larger percentage of smokers or if it is just more apparent because people
can smoke where ever they please. The pubs, which are the meeting place of
young people, seem to be only found thick beneath a fog of smoke.
A very pleasant change
is how they handle pets. Dogs are found all over the city. People can take
their dogs with them on public transportation and often leave them outside the
store while they run inside. I would love to implement this in Nebraska, but I
feel that it would be very challenging. The dogs here seem so obedient. Many
owners leave their dogs loose to stroll around town and the dogs never stray
from the owners. It is truly amazing. I know personally that my dogs would
never be calm enough to take on public transportation. They would be jumping on
everyone's laps begging to be pet!
The last and probably
the most shocking difference is the enforcement and strictness of liquor laws
in the Czech Republic, more specifically Olomouc. For instance, there is a law
that forbids liquor and open containers in public. This law is almost never
followed. You can go to a bar and order cocktails to go! This is just
completely shocking. They also have much more relaxed laws pertaining to alcohol in
general. For starters the drinking age is 18, but this is rarely verified or
enforced. I have never been asked for my I.D. but in the US it is required to
always check the buyer’s age or you could face prosecution. It was also
shocking that Clubs and bars stay open until the crack of dawn. Since clubs
stay open until five in the morning most people do not even show up until
midnight. Norfolk, Nebraska’s liquor laws are quite strict. Liquor can not be
sold before noon on Sundays and bars close around one in the morning. Bars in Norfolk can not sell liquor after one
and all bottles and liquor most be put away or finished by 1:15 AM. I have yet
to see anything of this level of seriousness here. I feel that the vast
differences in the way each town handles liquor is directly related to its
level of
I still can not believe
that I am really here!
Until next time,
Miranda
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