Saturday, March 21, 2015

5 Cultural Comparisons

           I still cannot believe that we have already been here for a week, but I have already noticed so many things that are different here than back in the United States. So I thought I would condense that list down to five bigger things that really stuck out to me the most.

1. People are allowed to smoke indoors here. This one probably confused me the most, because that is just not allowed anywhere in the U.S. There are some places that we have been where there has been a room specifically for smoking, but that is definitely not the case at most places. It definitely surprises me that this is allowed, given the dangers of second-hand smoke, but I guess this is a different place than back home, so anything is possible.

2. There is not that much take away or fast food. I know this seems like something kind of ridiculous, but it makes it very hard when you are on a limited time schedule but you still need to eat something. When we went to the movie the other day, we had around forty minutes to eat supper. That might seem like a lot, but when most places are sit down, there is no possible way to eat and get out that quickly. Thankfully though, we have found a few places that could be considered "fast food" that we can go to if that ever happens again.

3. When you do get a meal, it most likely will be a multiple course meal. I cannot count the number of places that we have been to that served us a soup, a main dish, and a dessert, and for all under $6. I know back in the states, you get your main course, and that is it. But I have tried so many different soups and desserts because of this, so I have not been complaining too much!

4. Everyone here (in Olomouc) parties during the week and then goes home on the weekend. Maybe this is just something that I notice here at the university because there have been so many different cultural nights that we have gone to. However, when we had our pub crawl on Friday, there was almost no one out and about, and we were told that it is because everyone goes home to their hometowns on the weekends, which leaves the town pretty dead. Whereas I know in Nebraska, everyone is so busy during the week, that there is no time to go out with friends every night, so fun activities tend to get pushed to the weekend.

5. My favorite cultural difference so far is that everyone can bring their dog with them anywhere they go. We have seen dogs at restaurants, on the tram, on the bus, and even at the zoo. It is kind of weird seeing all of the dogs everywhere, but they are so cute, that it is hard to even care about it. And not all of the dogs are always on leashes, and that is a strange thing as well. However, when a puppy walks over to you and wants to be petted, it is hard to turn it away and not just love it. It definitely makes it hard to not miss my pets back at home though!

           Although I have loved my stay here so far, there are a few things that have made me realize that not everywhere is the same as Kearney, Nebraska. However, I would not change being here for anything, and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to experience these cultural differences, even if they do seem a bit strange.

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