Final Reflection

 So it has been almost two weeks since I’ve been home and time here is flying by just as fast as it did abroad. I’m very lucky to get a little summer break before classes start up again, and I’m trying to use my time wisely. Being home, however, I’m noticing a few changes in my daily life that I need to adjust back to American ways. It’s funny because when you travel abroad you expect to encounter changes in daily life but after staying abroad for a while you don’t realize how routine these changes become. A big area that has cultural differences is when dinning out.

To start, when you walk into a restaurant in Prague, nine times out of ten you are expected to seat yourself. In the U.S. it is customary to wait to be seated. This is a small habit that I have to stop myself from following through on. Another difference is the normality of tap water here at home. We never think twice about asking for a glass of water, or even in some places having a glass ready for us, but in Europe, tap water is not so common. And with water comes ice, something that they rarely use. (This difference was a nice one for me because I do not like ice.)

Being abroad, I found myself often taking pictures of my food, anticipating the question from family and friends, “How was the food!?” Now that I’m home, I’ve found myself reaching for my camera a few times when a delicious looking meal is set down in front of me.

There are two dining differences that I miss the most. First being the rules for tipping. As we all know, here in the states most people tip 15-20%. Well, in Prague you just round up. This means you probably are leaving a small amount, somewhere in the range of ten cents to a dollar (USD). Their waiters and waitresses make a good wage so tips are not seen as completely necessary. The second difference that I miss is the tendency to get ice cream after a meal. I think it was more of a “We are sort of on vacation” justification as opposed to a cultural difference, but either way, I miss my daily serving of zmrzlina (ice cream).

Overall, I enjoyed my trip and I’m also happy to be home. I hope everyone had great experiences, as well. Thanks for following along! See you all this fall! :)