Week 3 in Prague is coming to an end, and as cliché as it is to say, time is flying by! Over the weekend, my group took a trip to Salzburg, Austria. We spent Friday exploring the city: we toured the castle, walked along the river, stopped by an outdoor market, and enjoyed local restaurants. On Saturday, we took a bus to a beautiful spot outside the city and walked a stunning 7 mile loop around the bluest body of water any of us had ever seen.
After three weeks in Prague, I feel relatively adjusted; but for the sake of this post, I’ve come up with a few aspects of Czech living that have forced me to adapt.
One very specific custom to which I have still not adjusted is the post-meal etiquette at restaurants. In the United States, waiters are usually very attentive: they check in several times throughout the meal and are typically quick to bring the check as soon as you’re done eating. At restaurants back home, I’ve found that it’s rare to have to wave down the server to get a refill or pay the bill. But from my dining experiences here, I always find myself waiting to get the check a while after I’ve finished my meal. Even after a few weeks, my friends and I are still not entirely sure what the proper custom is: we usually wait about twenty minutes, then either wave an employee down (if we can spot one) or send someone from our group to go looking for our server. It is nice, though, to not be rushed to leave right after the meal. It seems like the culture here views dining out as an important time for social connection, so this fosters more conversation and a slow, relaxed atmosphere.
Speaking of restaurants and dining related matters, I am also getting to know the food scene here. Prague has a wide variety of restaurants, so it’s possible to find nearly any cuisine. My peers and I have been making it a point to find restaurants with traditional Czech food. Many of these dishes revolve around meat–often chicken, pork, or duck–and are usually served with some form of potatoes and a small portion of roasted vegetables. It’s delicious food, especially if the dish features some sort of flavorful gravy (which is often the case). Other delectable Czech staples we’ve been enjoying include bread dumplings, fried cheese, and beef broth soups. I’ve found that it is harder to find restaurants that serve fresh fruits and vegetables, but the grocery stores have a good selection of produce.
On that note, grocery stores are another aspect of life in Prague that has been an adjustment. Unlike most grocery stores in the United States, the ones here are usually smaller and carry a smaller selection of products. Surprisingly, this has been a nice change because, with fewer options, it is easier to decide what to buy. There are a few so-called ‘hypermarkets’ that would be comparable to the standard grocery stores in the States, but it seems that people buy fewer groceries more often, rather than doing large hauls only a few times per month. In a similar vein, I’ve noticed that a lot of people buy their bread from independent bakeries: I often see people walking down the street holding plastic bags with fresh loaves of bread. I really like this approach to grocery shopping–I get the sense that it’s healthier and more sustainable.
Another difference in culture I’ve recognized is the more reserved nature of the locals here. People are less likely to smile at you in passing, and, in my experience, are less outwardly friendly. One area that this is clearly manifested is the social expectations on public transport: people are typically very quiet. The mentor who guides our group tours is a native Czech, and she informed us early on that we should be mindful of the fact that locals do not like when others speak loudly on public transportation, so my peers and I do our best to follow this unwritten rule.
Well, those are the things that come to mind when I think about the cultural differences I’ve encountered. It’s hard to believe that my next post will be my concluding thoughts just after the program ends! At times, I have found myself feeling overstimulated by the beauty and novelty of the city in a way that prevents me from processing the things I see. For my last week here, I am making it my goal to be very mindful of my surroundings, absorb everything, enjoy the company of my amazing group, and of course to appreciate some more traditional Czech food!