Do Like the Locals

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 nature of Czech people. This could be an after effect of a still-recent communist rule (from 1948 to the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Wikipedia), where much of life (and, consequently, expression of self) was regulated, but the country is already quite liberal. I do not know how popular these are with the older Czechs, those that were born during the previous regime and can still viscerally recall its fall, but their ideas of fun are probably truer to a Czech/Slovak national spirit since the country they grew up in was far more closed off from the world.

I appreciated how social these games were without inherently being related to drinking. I am not much of a drinker so I felt like this was just a nice way to meet people while still getting out of the apartment. A lot of the games also took some strategy to win, and a good challenge is always welcomed. I am unsure if I will be doing this much during my time here, but I am glad I had the experience.

Taking the train home my first weekend here
I did not take any photos of my time there, but something that is quite integral to life in Prague is the public transportation system. From what I have been told it is one of the best in the world, and I believe it. Frequent, efficient transportation via tram (like there’s rails in the streets throughout the city), bus, and subway, it is hard to beat. Thankfully CET provided students with passes for the duration of our time here, so I have been taking the tram often and it seems as though I have gotten the hang of it. It is quite the help having Google Maps at my disposal to know which trams will lead where but getting off at the right stop is a little accomplishment within itself.

I will be taking countless trams during my time here (I need it for my commute to class), so I am glad my experience with travel of the sort back at home is coming in handy here. Looking forward to being a tram regular!

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