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Showing posts from February, 2019

Origins of My Host Culture

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List some interesting historical facts about your host destination that you have learned since your arrival. How does the history of your destination impact daily life today? Do you have the opportunity to witness any historical monuments or sites associated with these facts? Why might it be beneficial to learn about your destination’s past before arriving? What may be the part of Czech history that is most relevant to my experience here is its communist past. Czechoslovakia was communist for 40 years, beginning with a coup d'état by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1948 and ending in the bloodless Velvet Revolution in 1989. This period of time is marked notably by the Prague Spring on August 20, 1968, when Soviet powers invaded Czechoslovakia after one of their major political party leaders, Alexander Dubček, made a number of liberal reforms (i.e. lifting a censorship on media) ( Wikipedia ). Refusing to accept the presence of these invaders as a new normal, Charles

Do Like the Locals

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Find out what local people do for entertainment, relaxation, or fun and take part in it. What does the choice of activity say about the people? What do you appreciate about it? Do you have any concerns? Could you foresee yourself engaging in this part of your host country’s culture on a regular basis? It appears as though... Board games (along with other indoor games such as foosball and pool) are a part of the culture here. This was unknown to me when I signed up to go to a program-organized trip the board game club the very first day that I got here, but I am glad that I signed up, nonetheless. Apart from it being a good opportunity to meet other people in the program, I played new, fun social games and saw a bit of what Czech people like to do for enjoyment. The preference for indoor games, especially this time of year, is now obvious to me given the weather conditions. Though this one aspect is not representative of the whole culture, I think it does relate to the quieted