Czech Republic
Yay! We have a rebound from the Czech Republic. This is Becca from culture shock. I just want to thank her from filling this out for everyone to read. Enjoy!
1. Single most memorable moment while on exchange?
It is incredibly difficult to pick the most memorable moment from my exchange. I had so many different experiences. When I think back to exchange, there are tens of memories that immediately come to mind. The ones I remember best are probably those involving orientations and other exchange students.
2. What is the three things an outbound can not live without on exchange?
1. An open mind
2. Confidence
3. A journal
3. In the country you were in, were people generally warm toward outsiders or cold?
I think people were kind of indifferent. There would always be a couple of people who were interested, but it took a lot of work to keep people interested, especially with the language barrier. A lot of Czechs are scared to speak English, which is a good thing from a language learning perspective, but it does make it harder to make friends. In general I would say that Czechs don’t look outside of their country very much, so having an exchange student isn’t always the most exciting thing. Czechs are very nice people though.
4. Do you think you have changed from exchanging? How?
Exchange has influenced me in almost every way imaginable. I don’t know what my life would have been like had I not gone. My whole life people have been telling me how mature I am, but I look back on my exchange and see how much I grew while I was there, and how much I have grown since then, and I sometimes wonder what people think mature is. I learned how to be independent, how to survive, how to deal with very stressful situations. My exchange was hard; I had a lot of host family problems, but I learned so much from having to deal with it, far more than the students who had “the perfect exchange”.
Having gone on exchange changed how I viewed my country, how I view and understand people, and most importantly, how I view myself. I learned what is important to me, who is important to me and learned about what I want out of life. By no means did I have my life figured out when I got back, but I think it jump started the process that has continued in college.
5. Do you think exchanging at a different age would have changed things for you? (such as college)
I was incredibly young when I went, sometimes too young to fully comprehend everything. But for me, it was the perfect age. I was at a point in school where if I had 4 years to complete high school, one year would have only been college courses. I have always been academically driven, but I think the year I spent abroad was way more important than an extra year of advanced coursework. I could have gone later in high school, my senior year or a gap year, but I found out about the program my sophomore year and wanted to go the year after. I’m not sure I would have been that much wiser, or more prepared had I gone when I was 16 versus when I was 15.
As far as going in college, I am currently abroad working, and the experience is incredibly different. When you go on a high school exchange, you are expected to act like a high schooler. This means going to high school, immersing yourself in the language, living with natives and most importantly, having guidance of some kind from a program. The goal of a high school exchange is very different than that of a college exchange. You are there to be immersed, as opposed to continuing in your classes and career path. It doesn’t matter what you take, or how you do in school, because the goal is to be there. In college, those things do matter, and this can have a detrimental effect on the immersion experience. Also, living with a host family as a teenager means that you are more integrated into the family because you are young, and thus need a family. Even if you live with a family on a college exchange, you are older and will likely thus have more freedoms.
The bottom line is that they are incredibly different experiences and you cannot compare them.
6. Are you more aware now of issues around the world?
I have always been aware of the world. Most of that comes from my parents. I think I am more cognisant that events in the world are affecting people I know though, which is different. Now when I hear about the riots in Bangkok, I wonder if the friends I made are being affected.
7. Will you ever exchange again? If so, where?
I am planning on doing a study abroad program at some point in my next two years of schooling, but the programs that I am considering are very different than an AFS program. I have also taken every opportunity I have had to travel since I have come back from exchange. I have since spent time in Holland, England, Uganda, Brazil and Mexico.
I am currently spending the summer doing research at a university in Mexico City.
8. Who are the top three people you will never forget from exchange?
1. Our main AFS volunteer, Eva.
2. Ludmila and Bara who would always talk to me
3. My best exchange friend, Maria (Brazil) who made it all bearable.
9. What program did you use?
AFS
10. Do you see yourself pursuing a career in the future that is related to international things?
I would love to have the opportunity to travel as part of my career. Exchange definitely made me interested in seeing more of the world and learning how people live. I am interested in urban water issues, and so the places where there are problems are places I would love to go.
11. Top music played in your country?
I don’t quite remember, but most of it was American music.
12. Were your parents for exchange, or against it? If they were against it, what made them give in?
My mom was the one who told me about exchange. The daughter of one of her co-workers had just gotten back from Thailand at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, and after she mentioned it, we started looking into programs together. My dad never said no (except for me going to Latvia), but I don’t think he believed that I would actually go until I asked him to sign the form and for the deposit check.
13. If you could describe your country in one word, what would it be?
Moving forward
14. When did you start fully understanding the language?
At about two months in, I could have real (although basic) conversations. I went to the Czech Republic knowing how to count to twenty and say hello, and I was miles ahead of any of the other exchangers. I bought a textbook my first week there, and I would do the exercises while I was in school (because I understood almost nothing).
15. Would you go back? If you are, when?
I would love to go back. I didn’t make any good Czech friends while I was there, and had a lot of tensions with my families, but I would love to go back to the country, which I fell in love with, and go see my AFS volunteer as well as the families of a couple of my exchange friends. I would also go back to Prague, which wasn’t where I lived, but is a beautiful and interesting city.
I am planning on doing a study abroad program at some point in my next two years of schooling, but the programs that I am considering are very different than an AFS program. I have also taken every opportunity I have had to travel since I have come back from exchange. I have since spent time in Holland, England, Uganda, Brazil and Mexico.
I am currently spending the summer doing research at a university in Mexico City.
8. Who are the top three people you will never forget from exchange?
1. Our main AFS volunteer, Eva.
2. Ludmila and Bara who would always talk to me
3. My best exchange friend, Maria (Brazil) who made it all bearable.
9. What program did you use?
AFS
10. Do you see yourself pursuing a career in the future that is related to international things?
I would love to have the opportunity to travel as part of my career. Exchange definitely made me interested in seeing more of the world and learning how people live. I am interested in urban water issues, and so the places where there are problems are places I would love to go.
11. Top music played in your country?
I don’t quite remember, but most of it was American music.
12. Were your parents for exchange, or against it? If they were against it, what made them give in?
My mom was the one who told me about exchange. The daughter of one of her co-workers had just gotten back from Thailand at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, and after she mentioned it, we started looking into programs together. My dad never said no (except for me going to Latvia), but I don’t think he believed that I would actually go until I asked him to sign the form and for the deposit check.
13. If you could describe your country in one word, what would it be?
Moving forward
14. When did you start fully understanding the language?
At about two months in, I could have real (although basic) conversations. I went to the Czech Republic knowing how to count to twenty and say hello, and I was miles ahead of any of the other exchangers. I bought a textbook my first week there, and I would do the exercises while I was in school (because I understood almost nothing).
15. Would you go back? If you are, when?
I would love to go back. I didn’t make any good Czech friends while I was there, and had a lot of tensions with my families, but I would love to go back to the country, which I fell in love with, and go see my AFS volunteer as well as the families of a couple of my exchange friends. I would also go back to Prague, which wasn’t where I lived, but is a beautiful and interesting city.
:D I'm Czech and I've been to the Czech Rep three times. This makes me happy.