Across the Pond

5) Cultural Comparisons

Many cultural differences can be seen between a native Nebraskan like myself and the Czech people that I have come into contact with.  On our first day of orientation, we had a teacher from Palacky University come speak to us as he was born in the United States, but had been living in the Czech Republic for the greater part of two decades.  He warned us of a few major differences between Americans and Czechs to take note of.  The first was that Czech people think Americans are loud.  I would agree that Americans and Czechs have different opinions of what loud is, as personally the locals I have conversed with seem soft spoken.  When our teachers are lecturing I sometimes have a hard time hearing what they are saying.  Nevertheless, it was good to know as I am more cautious of my volume in public.

Our speaker also said that Czechs only ask if they care.  He used the example that when Americans ask each other how they are doing we always reply the same way no matter the situation.  I can’t disagree as when people ask me how I am doing I always reply “Great, how about you?”  I believe this is because Americans view this sort of interaction as casual conversation, but the Czech people only ask how you are doing if they are actually interested in the response.  Some people took this as the Czech people being grumpy, but I chose to infer that they are just honest. 

People in Olomouc also heavily rely on public transportation.  I find it interesting because I am from Omaha, a town of around 500,000 people and have used public transportation only a handful of times.  I have been living in Olomouc, a town of around 100,000 people, for about two weeks and have used public transportation every day. 

Another huge cultural difference that I have noticed is restaurant service.  The first few times I went out to eat in Olomouc I thought I did something wrong because the waiters seemed rude.  However, I was told that it is nothing to take offensively as most waiters and waitresses don’t see the importance of customer service.  This may be because the tipping system in the Czech Republic is very different than it is in the United States.  Some people informed us that it wasn’t necessary to tip, some people told us to simply round the ticket up, and some told us to leave 10%.  For the most part I was told to only leave 10% if you were incredibly impressed with the service. 

At first I thought that eating out wasn’t as pleasant when the waiters and waitresses weren’t as upbeat, but I have started to get used to it.  I even spoke with some Croatians that think eating in America is very annoying because the waiter stops by their table every five minutes and interrupts their conversation by asking if they need anything else.  The opportunity to speak with different people about their views on random topics has been enlightening. 

Ordering water in the Czech Republic is also very different than in America because you have to pay for it here!  Granted it’s not tap water, it is actually bottled and very fancy.  Indulging in a beer is about the same price as ordering water.  Personally I just keep a water bottle in my purse and drink that, but many people seem to think beer is the better option.  Restaurants here also don’t seem to be open as late as in the United States.  The fast food is basically just McDonalds, but you can stop at some quick corner shops that have good pizza or burgers.  Shopping malls and stores also close early.  I tried to go shopping after class one day at 7:00, but H&M was already closed.  I also had a few friends that said most of the clothing stores close at noon on the weekends. 

These variances are what I have picked up on within the first two and a half weeks of being in Olomouc.  Traveling has allowed me to view life from a different perspective, and I’m excited to continue to learn about the cultural differences in the upcoming months.