(5) Cultural Comparisons

When it comes to culture shock, coming to Europe is about as big of one as I have ever had! Last summer I lived in Princeton, NJ for an internship, and I thought it was a shock out there. The traffic was faster, to get anywhere I had to drive because public walkways were not very accessible, and having to pay almost double for anything out there was not uncommon. However I have never had quite the shock as I have had in Olomouc, Czech Republic. My first few days in Olomouc were spent getting use to a new area geographically, but now I have come to realize the cultural boundaries, which exist. Instead of discussing the obvious shocks such as language, nonverbal communication, and fashion, I will divulge on three issues, which have affected me most.

Distance in Nebraska is measured in hours, and if you travel more than 5 hours that might get you to one end of the state. In Nebraska Transportation across any sort of distance is usually conducted in a personal vehicle, such as a car. Interestingly distance in the Czech is also measured in hours. However, distance is measured in a couple of different forms. Many times 5 hours seems like an awful long drive, mainly because 5 hours will get you into a completely different country; or distance is measured in how long it will take someone to fly into a new country. Traveling has taught me how relative things can be depending on where you live. In Europe, going to a neighboring country can be easier because you might have some cultural or historical background that is similar. However; flying to further countries can make someone just as much of an alien as I am here in the Czech Republic. Also, While transportation is conducted using cars, the rail system is much more common. Taking trams to get across town, and taking trains to get to cities is much more common than the small town of 2,000 people I come from. I will say I have enjoyed not having to drive everywhere.

Space is relative, and never has that been more apparent to me than when I first got to Europe. Europe has a much more narrow view on space. What I mean by this is that buildings, yards, classrooms, furniture, anything you can think of is much smaller. It seems like, in Nebraska, bigger is better, but here, if it is too big than it will not fit, and therefore does not belong in the culture. When I first opened the door to the suite I would be staying in with 5 other roommates it was not the 5 star accommodations I was expecting. The stove has two burners, which are half as big as the ones at home. The cooking area is very small, in fact there is no room for a table even! The bedroom is much smaller than the campus rooms at UNK. There is barely enough room for two desks, a small fridge and one small closet. Even with all of this it made me realize how life at UNK is almost too good. After living in Europe for one month I am doing perfectly fine with the size of things. I can store all of my belongings that I brought, I can cook great meals in the small kitchen, and the size of the bedroom has not affected how I sleep at all. In fact it is nice not having a lot of room because I do not have to worry about how to fill it with stuff. Stuff that I don’t need.

 Life in Europe seems to be much simpler than I had expected. Even with all of the history and the different things to experience. The necessity for things does not seem to be as high as in the U.S.A. People are not constantly on their phones here, which allows for more human interaction, and if you do not have the brand name items, like in the U.S.A., than that’s okay. I have enjoyed the open-mindedness that Europe is surrounding me with. I am learning how to live with less so that I can do more. If that makes sense, but if not let me explain. I am able to focus less on what I think I need or want, and more about how to live in the moment. Something I think everyone should consider.