Dobry den! I can’t believe this is my last week in Prague. As my two-month internship quickly comes to a close, it is interesting to reflect on my experience and what I have gained from it. This week’s theme is to unpack communication similarities and differences between Prague and the United States. While there are generally some slight differences I have picked up on, it is pretty easy to communicate here or quickly realize how to communicate differently to better connect with locals. In terms of locals, though, Prague is infested with tourists during the summer, so I have had the opportunity to meet people from all around the world. This has been really fun as we are able to open our eyes to more than just Czech culture.
There are many little things I have picked up here. First, I thought it was strictly an American thing to say “bless you” after sneezing, but to my surprise, the entire office promptly says “bless you” when anyone sneezes. My coworker said people like saying that here or saying the Czech phrase for cheers, which is “Na zdraví.” Additionally, people are generally more honest and blunt here. If I were to ask a coworker at home how they are doing, the immediate and expected response would be that they are “good” or “well.” Anything else would be out of the ordinary. Yet here, everyone asks each other how they are when they come into the office, and everyone is very honest. They will say they are stressed or tired and explain why. I have enjoyed this difference because it gives all of us in the office an opportunity to know their mental and physical state, which is crucial to know about when you are working with others. This is in my English-speaking internship, though, and it gets a little more complex at restaurants or customer service stores. I try to keep my conversations short and easy when ordering food and such because people are not comfortable speaking English or they know a limited amount. I also still have no clue if I am supposed to seat myself at a restaurant or wait to be seated – I always hit an awkward stand at the front of the restaurant until a worker or host comes up to me. Overall, though, it is what I expected when I came to a foreign country. Additionally, in America, I think people are a lot more sarcastic or speak in light-hearted jokes. Yet here, there is more of a dry humor, so when integrating multiple cultures into a conversation, not all of them land as well as they might in our home countries.
I definitely experienced some miscommunication during my internship. It was not clear to me what my role was here, and I was given tasks that were very different from my original job description. I work in a small company in a collaborative work environment where everyone is constantly stressed and running around, so it was hard to get any one-on-one time with my supervisor. We finally were able to have an open and honest conversation about what my role was and why my expectations were not fully met, but it gave both of us a lot of clarity about what my goal was for this program and what my supervisor’s goals were for me. Outside of work, I have not had any significant communication issues. The main thing I run into is when written communication is involved. For example, last night, I tried to order McDonalds, but my order didn’t go through. I was waiting and waiting until I asked where my order was, and she looked at my receipt and was easily able to recognize my order didn’t go through. I probably could have figured that out if I read Czech. Also, when reading menus, some restaurants don’t have them in English, so I have to identify keywords and figure out what to order. Yet in general, miscommunications or trouble with workers or coworkers are pretty resolvable and easy to overcome.
Anyway, since it’s my last week, my friends and I decided to stay here. It was a hot but beautiful weekend. We walked around the city more, bought some souvenirs which I hadn’t done yet, and relished Prague’s culture. While I still have four more days here, I will be working for the majority of the daytime, so I wanted to utilize my free time in my host country. We celebrated a friend’s birthday and went to a German house concert, which were both very fun. I honestly can’t believe my traveling summer is coming to an end so soon. I haven’t been in the United States since April, so I don’t really miss it right now as I have gotten used to being abroad. But I know it will feel so nice to experience AC again, see my loved ones, be in my own familiar culture, and eventually head back to Pitt.
