#4 Language Issues

            Wow…language barrier, where do I begin? There is so much I can say about anything and everything that it renders me almost speechless. I have decided to do my first post on the language issues that have presented themselves in this first week. 

            Upon arrival, in the airports, I was immediately surprised at how little English everyone knew. Now, I like to think I have traveled a lot (Europe twice, Mexico, Dominican, Jamaica...) but it never ceases to catch me by surprise at how much I depend on other people knowing English! Especially here, in the Czech Republic, where tourism may not be as high as it is in other larger countries, the English is hard to communicate with. Everything is written in Czech, and there are no translations to English (think museum information, tram time postings, signs, GROCERIES!, menus, push/pull doors, etc.). 

            The next eye-opening moment I had about the language barrier was going to the supermarket, called Globus, with my roommate. We were trying to get the basic parts of a college-budget grocery list. Our list included some peanut butter, ranch, fruit, ramen, mac-and-cheese, sandwich stuff, milk, and cereal. Here’s what we actually got: ramen, sandwich stuff, milk, and cereal. There is no ranch (a staple in my diet), macaroni and cheese, granola bars, and peanut butter (PS- thanks mom for sending the package of food!). Additionally, when we got here, we couldn’t read anything. We basically have had to guess on what we are getting both at the grocery store and on a menu at a restaurant! While it was exciting, it was also a little scary! 

            Finally, I personally believe the language barrier and issues have caused a rift between the Czech people and Americans, specifically our yearly study abroad group. We have no idea what they're saying, even basic words and phrases, and they get frustrated I'm sure. I bet that I would get angry trying to communicate to a new batch of Americans every single year! I have heard some Czech people speaking about Americans in the Czech language and I'm not so sure it was a good thing! While we are taking an intro to the Czech language class, it is very difficult and we will not learn everything necessary to live completely comfortably here.

            Despite the language issues so far in the Czech, we are making great strides to learn more and more Czech words, and are learning how to fend for ourselves! Also, we have met so many great fellow Czech students, and they have opened our eyes so much! I can tell we are going to come out with some great friendships. We have had some fantastic Czech helpers, along with our supervisor/professor/advisor Dr. Larson. So far, this has been a fantastic learning experience, already, and I can’t wait to see what the next two months will hold! 

Below, is the ONLY translation into English that was at the basilica Svaty Kopecek (Holy Hill) in our town Olomouc. There were hundreds of informative boards and pieces of information, but, this was the only piece of information in the whole place I could understand.