That’s it. The final week. After two months, my time left in the Czech Republic is coming to a close. A whole lot of highs and very little lows, nothing in my life has compared to this trip. It is sad to think that when I fly back to Houston this Saturday, all of these moments, adventures, laughs will all be a memory. Letting time pass is scary to think about as time itself is so precious. However, I know that each day I spent abroad was just as memorable as the day before it, and the time passed was well spent. I have been able to do a lot of thinking this summer, with my communication privilege being more limited due to the language barrier. For being the extroverted person I am, it has been a nice change of pace to escape in my thoughts and not be expected to chat with those around me. Regarding the communication scale from low-context to high-context, there are noticeable communication preferences in the Czech Republic. On a daily basis, local people do not like interaction with people they do not know. Public transportation is the perfect example of this for how quiet subway/tram rides are. The social norm is to not put yourself in a position that converse with a stranger. There is no small talk or even facial acknowledgement towards others. It is not like people are unhappy with their lifestyles but rather find it meaningless to waste time on something that will not matter in the next hour. Today, there was a little baby aboard the tram with his father and an American woman started making silly faces toward the baby that got him engaged. It lasted briefly as she thought the husband would placate toward her antiques but rather, he stared at her until she stopped. It was quite funny as nobody paid attention to it in the first place, but she was obviously not aware of the norm. At work, there is not much as my coworkers speak Czech to one another as I am left alone to fend for myself. There was only one scenario when my coworker told me she was picking up lunch for everyone and asked what I wanted. I informed her I could accompany her after placing my order but she told me there was no need. I was not expecting it to be free but she never explained I needed to pay her back. Upon her return, she sent me a QR code registered with her bank for me to refund her purchase, but obviously my American bank is not partnered with her bank. I ended up having to explain to her that I would bring cash to her the next day as my payment would be unable to go through, and she did not have any apps like Venmo/Zelle. This was a minor miscommunication but was an easy fix to make things right. With this, there has yet to be many other miscommunication scenarios that I have encountered while abroad. If there ever was an issue, it always was explained rather quickly with the help of google translate or simpler explanation. For instance, I think the only troubling situation was when I was trying to exchange cash for coins from a store clerk after purchasing an item and he thought I was trying to short him. He gave my change back but I wanted it in smaller denominations, which obviously did not make sense to him. We got into a heated argument that made no sense to either parties as I was trying to explain by pointing to the coins and he was just yelling at me in Czech. After the small altercation, he realized what I meant and quickly obliged to my wish. It was not difficult to overcome, but definitely an extra hassle I was not expecting to deal with.

This past weekend, we decided to enjoy the last full weekend in Prague. It was a bittersweet moment as we all knew it would be our last time spending these full days off together. We celebrated a friend’s 21st birthday, explored new parts of the city, bought some souvenirs, and attended a house music festival. It was a jam-packed weekend that drained all of my energy, however, no better send off before our departure. I am excited to be back in the United States, spend time with my loved ones, appreciate AC/cold water, and eventually, be back at Pitt soon. The journey was always about collecting memories, not passport stamps!