C. Lorena Manzanares-Palenzuela

I had never been to the Czech Republic, not even as a tourist in Prague before I moved here. Originally being from Latin America, having lived in Spain for seven years (and in Brazil and Portugal for some time), I experienced culture shock here from the beginning. The most important cultural difference I encountered was the fact that Czechs are not politically correct at all. This can be a bit difficult in the beginning, but eventually, it becomes quite refreshing for its authenticity and realness.

On the negative side, Czech rudeness is a very popular topic of cultural shock among foreigners. However, it is not a pretentious and arrogant culture, so that relieves the pains of being a foreigner greatly because there is no air of superiority constantly being thrown in your face.

At work, I find Czechs to be very helpful, kind, humble, focused, and hardworking, but I was shocked by the fact that they avoid complaining about poor working conditions and I did not expect that, especially after having lived in Spain, where people are much more open in complaining and claiming rights. This was a major shock for me. The control of hours, the bureaucracy, and the strict adherence to some rules (like not letting people out of the building to get a coffee at entrance vending machines without swiping a card) was surprising. However, such rigidity is not extended to laboratory safety measures, for example, and this is very shocking, culturally speaking. It is difficult for me, as a foreigner, to define this culture, due to this strange mixture of rigidity and flexibility, which has both bad and good sides. The lack of information regarding taxes, retirement pay, and so on makes it difficult to integrate and understand how the country works. The language barrier does not help. There seems to be a lack of empathy for being a foreigner, for the most part, so almost no one takes their time to explain how things work or to help you navigate the country’s regulations and ways more easily.

Outside of work, I have many more positive things to say. The beer culture is nice, people have an acidic sense of humor that I enjoy, the city is amazingly beautiful, and there are so many cultural things happening all the time. It is a great city to live in. I was shocked to see how many beers a Czech person can drink without getting slightly drunk, and that they have some type of small sausages (parky) for breakfast. The Easter tradition is one of the strangest traditions existing and it is fun to see. Overall, I would say that the balance of culture shock is weighted toward the positive side. I have learned a lot about being less politically correct and I find that to be a good thing, for the most part. Every time I say something straightforward, my friends tell me I’m becoming Czech.

In sum, the natural nature of people, the lack of pretenses, and the variety of activities in Prague combine to make the city a place where one can definitely stay, without hesitating.