Culture Shock--the real story =)

So, I have been in the Czech Republic for almost four months, and I believe I have a few words to say about the phenomenon called Culture Shock...

The first thing I have to say is that it came as a total surprise. I had heard and read about it, but I NEVER thought in a million years that any of it would REALLY affect ME.

I love leaving my home, have done it many times, plan to continue doing so, and despite missing certain people and things, I never really get homesick. In fact, I travel with the idea that I can really live anywhere--happily (with certain pre-conditions met, of course). I explore new places with questions in the back of my mind: does this place suit me as well has my home town? Better? Could I relocate here? How would I like living here?

So how could I possibly experience culture shock? Thatś not for me, right? Wrong!

I first want to say that culture shock has nothing to do with liking or disliking a place. It has to do with feeling like an idiot. It has to do with not knowing how to do things--simple things--that one can do with his/her eyes closed at home. It has to do with feeling that the things that should be easy are now difficult again. It has to do with feeling like a child, with feeling the loss of hard-earned independence (terrible for an American). It has to do with sometimes feeling that "simple" things are too difficult to even try.

Some of this is just perception, not reality, but it is felt nonetheless. And it makes me tired sometimes. Cranky sometimes. More emotional. There is a constant stress that I am usually not even aware of until the crankiness comes, or the listlessness, or the tears---seemingly out of the blue at times. It seems crazy to have stress and not be aware of it. But it is true. I have some feelings I cannot articulate, feelings I am not able to talk about or describe...These things can also happen at home, but it feels different when in another place.

I like being in the Czech Republic. I am happy to be here. There are so many wonderful, wonderful people who do a lot to help me and make things easier for me every day. I feel glad to know them and lucky too. Even when things are difficult, I wouldn't trade this year for anything. And, let me be clear--MOST of the time, it is fantastic, and I am fine. I am really enjoying my time here. I love my town, and I know I will want to return to it many times after this year is over.

I have to think about this some more. I don't know if I am making any sense or being specific enough.

I will be going home in two days. Spur of the Moment decision (a few weeks ago). I am glad I am going, and I look forward to it, but I still say I am not homesick. A part of me really wants to stay here at the same time that I am happy to go to LA. I already feel that this is sort of my home too, and I feel myself being pulled in two directions at once. It's not a bad thing though.

As, I said above, I have to think about this topic some more. I will revisit it in a later blog entry. I am already getting some ideas, but my bed is calling me now. Keep reading.

--KM

Thanksgiving--Prague

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, some of the Fulbrighters got together for a Thanksgiving meal. We met in Revnice, at the home of Hanka Ripkova. It was about a 40-minute ride on the train to the outer regions of Prague. The area was really pretty. It reminded me of some small mountain/country towns in the US. Unfortunately I didn't take photos outside. =( I was too cold or something. =) I wasn't cooperating with myself.


View from Andrea's. I stayed with Andrea for the weekend, and THIS is a view from her enormous terrace!


Snowy view. It snowed off and on during the time in Prague. I liked it better when it snowed. I was warmer, and it was pretty.


Cute boys! A wonderful family with four great kids, two of them born right here in Prague--one seven years ago, and one five weeks ago. Amazing!


Admiring the wine! Totally unaware of me =)






Darling girl. Five year olds are the best!

It was a good time, overall. The people were smart and interesting. Doing interesting things, leading interesting lives--lots of good travel stories. Some of these people have spent so much time abroad. Many have spent SIGNIFICANT amounts of time in several countries. And they aren't done yet. It was amazing and admirable. No better way to learn about the world than getting out there in it--and I am not talking about a vacation.

Thanksgiving--Zatec

My students had their first Thanksgiving party ever. I didn't really know what to expect, but I thought it was worth a try. The food was good, and I think they enjoyed it. They told me they had never had a party with so much food. And it was a lot, more than the pictures show. These are the classes that will finish Gymnazium this year. They said a little about what they were Thankful for--also a new experince, I think.




Year 4






Oktava. Vojta was so much nicer when he had two broken arms!






I really like this picture! The light and the bread...

Znojmo

I had a looong weekend (4 days) beginning after school on November 16th, so I took the opportunity to visit Beth, Pamela, and Gina in Znojmo. Znojmo is in the southern part of the Czech Republic, near the Austrian border. I hear it's only about a 90 minute bus-ride away from Vienna. I was happy to see the girls, as usual, and to see another part of the country.

The bus trip to Znojmo was from Hell!!!! [So was the trip home, btw. To keep a long story short: I tried to be smart and buy a return ticket early, but was trumped by snow, a bus no-show, and hours' delay, but there--again--was Ondra to save me=)] I have been used to getting on the bus and buying my ticket from the driver. But while I was waiting at the station in Prague, I noticed that many people already had a ticket in hand. I figured I should buy one, but I was told that the bus was already full. No tickets, and NO further explanation. But I was determined to get there on the Wednesday night. It was Beth's birthday, AND I didn't want to have to go back to Zatec and start over the next day. I found out (NOT from a station EMPLOYEE!) that I could buy a ticket to stand up on the bus. Yikes, but anything to get me there. It was supposed to be a three-hour trip. It was a four and a half hour trip. In the end, I couldn't take it anymore. I sat on the floor. Not fun, but I made it. Yay for me! Although I was starving, I was actually glad that I didn't eat or drink before I left because the one saving grace of the bus ride was that I didn't have to go to the restroom! =)

It's not knowing how to complete simple transactions like buying a bus ticket that creates personal stress for someone in a new environment. It's an easy thing that makes one feel foolish for not knowing to do it--or HOW to do it. It hadn't occurred to me to even try because as I said, on the bus trips I had taken before, I always bought the ticket from the driver, which I did this time as well--eventually. This strategy worked fine getting me from Zatec to Prague, but afterward...

Part of the problem, I realize is that it was a holiday, and a lot of people were going home from Prague to be with their families. (Many people here work in Prague and commute to their home towns on either a daily or weekly basis.) However, I still wouldn't know how to buy a ticket from Prague to another city in CZ (or out of it) from here in Zatec! The only bus stops I have seen here are unmanned. These are the things I must figure out I guess. Perhaps I can buy it online and pick it up at the station in Prague?? Who knows?

Anyway, the actual visit was grand! The day after I arrived, we all went on a wine tasting tour in the Znojmo area. Apparently this area is known for its wines. And there were some pretty good ones too! If I could remember what they are! =) I have a paper that lists them, but I thought we were in one winery when we were really in another, so some of the ratings are a bit mixed up!


Tree carving at our first winery. I don't really know what it is, but I liked the way it looked. Kind of like a mushroom.


Me and Gina on the bus. The bus took us from winery to winery, as they are in pretty close proximity, but not centrally located.


Wine and cheese. This was the best! We got to sit down here, AND we had cheese! Lots of cheese!


In a cellar. Every time I entered a cellar, I was thinking "Cask of Amontillado," minus the dead bodies, of course.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MONTRESSOR!"
"Yes, for the love of God."

OK, random literary quote, unless you know Poe, are one of my former students, or are a current Kvarta student. =) No walled up niches here that I could see!


Chink! Na zdravi


Znojmo tower


First snow! These pictures are not bad considering I took them through the bus window while we were moving. =)


Snow too! We were on our way to Brno, the second largest city in CZ, for some shopping...


A GOOOOD day of shopping!! Hmmm, all I saw of Brno was the bus station, the mall across the street, and the bus station again. I was so excited to find clothes I liked that actually fit me--even pants! I will just say that the pants I normally see here are not cut for women who have more to them than skin and bones. (And I am noticing more and more that not all the Czech people are so skinny, so what's up?) Normally no accommodations for things like...hips. thighs, bottoms--the things that women are made of! So I was very happy to be able to buy--not one, but--THREE pairs of pants! And they weren't the biggest ones in the store!!

Now, I am not anywhere near fat, so it's a little disheartening when I spend hours shopping and can fit only the biggest pants in the store (Levi's store in Prague) or none at all (every other store I went to in Prague and in Brno until I struck gold). Now I LOVE Peek & Cloppenburg (the goldmine). I could even buy JEANS there! Some Euro jeans with the big cuff that I never even liked until I found a pair and could fit them. I tried them on only because they came in my size, and now I think they're cute!


Demokracie! It was interesting to see this graffiti on the wall in Znojmo. Now I have seen a lot of graffiti in CZ--A LOT, but when I arrived in Znojmo, I was told by a Czech man with excellent English that Znojmo was the seat of Communism in CZ. A real stronghold. Many people there, I hear, still think it would be preferable to current government/politics/ economy in CZ. He was explaining the poor condition of some of the buildings, which are slowly being privatized and then renovated. If you know me, you know I was fascinated because I LOVE renovation!! OK, maybe I don't do it myself (since I don't OWN anything), but I love to see things being improved. =)

Znojmo is 2-3 times bigger than my town, and something that I found very interesting when we were tasting the wines was that underneath Znojmo, there are a network of tunnels!! Many wine cellars connect to these tunnels, and they go all the way to Austria--or maybe just to the border??? They (the winery people) said people used them for some kind of escape...from Nazis?? Communists?? Both?? Could one escape Nazis by going to Austria??? Probably not. Hmmm. I was "tasting" a LOT of wine--so sorry for the sketchy details. Use your imagination. HAHA.

ANYWAY, the cool thing was that in the warmer seasons, there are some kind of walking tours we can take through these tunnels. I am SO up for that! I just hope there is nothing that will be crawling on me! That could be a deal-breaker.

=) KM

Fulbright Commission Visit--A very good day!

On November, 11th, three representatives of the Fulbright Commission in Prague came to visit me in Zatec. It was a Friday, and I teach only 90 minutes on Fridays. So the group visited the end of my lesson, and then we spent some time talking at school while Jakub talked to the students. Then we all went to the town hall to meet the Mayor of Zatec, Jiri Farkota. He talked about the different projects going on around the town and various town government relationships. Very Interesting. After he asked where I lived, he also said they would repave my street--eventually. =)


Pictured here are Gymnazium Assistant Principal, Alena Zimmermanova; Director of the Prague Fulbright Commission, Hanka Ripkova; Gymnazium Principal, Miroslav Rebicek; Me=); Gymnazium English Teacher and Former Fulbrighter, Alena Brozovska; and Andrea Semancova, of the Fulbright Commission. Jakub Tesar (of the Fulbright Commission) was also in Zatec on this day, but at the time of this photo, he was busy giving a presentation to the Gymnazium students about opportunities to study in the United States.

This photo made it into the local newspaper. The article was in Czech, of course, so I couldn't read it for myself, but it was nice anyway. =) And I have a copy of the article (thanks Irena), which I may be able to translate one day. But don't hold your breath!