The biggest struggle I have had at work is the language barrier. I only know simple phrases in Czech that would have gotten me by if I was just visiting, but I did not learn enough to be working a job here. Everyone at work knows English, but typically only speaks it when we go out to lunch together or when they speak to me directly. They are super accommodating and I appreciate every time that they speak in English so I can understand. However, I wish I had learned more Czech before arriving so I could assimilate better into the workplace. I wish I could join in on conversations between my coworkers if they’re talking about something interesting, but I can’t because of the language barrier. This made my first few weeks here a little isolating because I couldn’t join in on jokes/conversation being said throughout the Data Team. However, as I have gotten to know my coworkers at lunch everyday, I have gotten more comfortable approaching them throughout the day and striking up conversation to make up for the ones I am missing out on.
I have also had to adjust to the company culture on top of the country’s culture. Since I am working on the Data Team, a lot of the day is spent sitting at a computer working on your own tasks. At first this was very boring and lonely, but as the difficulty of my tasks have increased, I understand why we don’t speak too much throughout the day. I originally thought the silence was because I was new or because the company culture is very strict and focused, but I think it is just because everyone needs time to focus on what they have to do.
Other than that, I have not had a huge culture shock. Everyone I have met so far in the country has been very kind and friendly. There have been little things, like the fact that you seat yourself at restaurants or that you have to pay for water at restaurants. However, these differences are not something I really need to adjust to.
Something that did take some adjusting was traveling to Copenhagen this past weekend. Even though I was getting comfortable in one country, all of that did not help me in a brand new one. The biggest challenge was the currency. One US dollar equals around 22 Czech korunas whereas one US dollar equals around 6 or 7 Danish krones. When I originally got to Denmark, I saw that the prices of items were similar to Prague prices (in the hundreds, for example dinners were around 100-300 Danish krones) However, I was not thinking about how Copenhagen was a lot more expensive than Prague and the conversion differences. So I thought I was spending around $5-15, but in reality I was spending $15-45 on the first day. That will be the last time I forget to use my currency app.
Despite that incident, I absolutely loved Copenhagen. It was a beautiful city with really cool infrastructure. The city is extremely walkable and it is intentionally built so biking is the most popular and accessible form of transportation. Because of this, I did a three hour biking tour of the city and learned all about the history of it. I also spent a lot of time at Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park with a beautiful garden and a concert venue. I actually saw the queen of Denmark twice here. Tivoli Gardens also has a theater that puts on plays and the queen had designed the costumes for the actors and went to see the play. I did not know this but I saw a crowd forming near the stage so I walked over, assuming the actors would come out. I asked the person next to me who we were walking for and she told me the queen. Sure enough she was right, and the queen came out from the side of the stage and got onto a golf cart. I saw that same golf cart driving around later in the evening too. Then the next day I went swimming in the Baltic Sea. It was freezing in the water and out of the water, but I am still glad that I did it. I then spent most of the day at the Danish Architecture Center to learn more about the infrastructure because people-centered (as opposed to car-centered) infrastructure is very interesting to me. Overall, it was a very nice trip and I would love to go back to Copenhagen.
