Anyone I talked to before this trip that had been to/knew something about Prague told me to be prepared for a change in communication. “They aren’t very friendly”, “They don’t like small talk”, I heard these multiple times. As a Midwesterner, the overly friendly section of the US (sorry East Coast), I was scared by these comments. I love saying hi, smiling at people, and engaging in small talk. Now, all of the sudden, I was supposed to not do this anymore.

KPMG turned the tables. And frankly, it caught me off guard. Everyone is constantly saying hello, asking you about your weekend, etc. It took me some time to get used to, even one time getting yelled at for not saying hello, but once I adjusted, I realized that my coworkers were quite talkative and friendly. My desk mate, Petra, and I have started to talk more and more on a day to day basis, a nice relief from work. In two weeks, my boss is talking me and the fellow interns for a night out. They throw birthday parties for people, play each other in ping pong, and just generally have a very loose and relaxed atmosphere that would rival any Silicon Valley start-up (besides the required business attire of course). I can almost guarantee that once I am back in the states I will still be saying “ahoj” and “ciao” because at this point, it is engraved in my head.