This article was written by the NYU Prague Now team in collaboration with students from a Czech High school who write for the magazine ALEO.
Americans’ perceptions of Czechs
By Olympia Nelson
I couldn’t have gotten a better introduction to Czechs than eating at restaurants here for the first time. As a study abroad student from America, I’m very used to super friendly waiters who laugh and make conversation and check on the table five times during the meal. But that definitely wasn’t the case in Czechia!
The first time I ate out at a Czech restaurant was during my first week of classes. I went out to lunch with some of my new friends and we stumbled upon a place that seemed like a nice reprieve from the cold.
The food was amazing. The best meal I’d had in the Czech Republic so far. The waiter was polite but clearly annoyed with our loud American voices. We kept wondering why she would walk past us with a dirty look and we laughed about not caring about mean waiters because the food was so good.
After that day I kept wondering if we had said or did something wrong, but the more places I eat at in Prague, the more I realize that is just how Czech waiters are. And I like it! It feels like a break from the superficial attitude of American waiters working so hard to make good tips. And besides, I’m always just grateful for a yummy meal!
By Jane Wrenn
I came to the Czech Republic thinking I had a pretty good understanding of Czech culture. My major revolves around the literature of Germany and Eastern and Central Europe, and furthermore, my grandparents and mother are Slovak. I grew up eating goulash, halupki and pierogi, and sitting through excruciatingly long Russian Orthodox services with my grandparents once a year.
I quickly realized here that Czech and Slovak cultures are actually very different; instead of Russian inspired cuisine, dress and church services, I realized that Prague has mostly Catholic churches and its own rich cuisine and culture. When I ordered Czech dumplings with goulash, I was shocked to find round pieces of boiled bread instead of pierogi! But it was still delicious, and it is wonderful and strange to experience a beautiful culture that is so similar and yet so different from the one my grandmother taught me about.
I’m also painfully aware of my American-ness; I am just a visitor here and I’m doing my best to learn Czech so I can walk into a coffee shop, be respectful, and more fully experience Czech culture. A barista responded to me in Czech for the first time today, and I was able to say “to go please!” so I think I am slowly but surely making progress.
By Hannah Butts
I didn’t know much about Czech culture or the Czech Republic at all prior to coming to Prague. In America, a lot of times we fit the stereotype of being hopelessly useless at global geography. When I told friends and family that I would be studying at NYU Prague, I got responses such as, “Where is that?,” “Is that a country?,” and “Can you visit the beach there?” Clearly, the average American isn’t too familiar with the Czech lands.
Because of this, it’s easy for me to say I’ve learned a lot about Czech people even in just the first few weeks I’ve been living here. Overall, my impressions have been positive. Our native Czech professors at NYU are all very welcoming, and although they’ve warned us that check-out cashiers at the grocery store may not be as affable as we’re used to in the States, I’ve found the service workers here to be perfectly pleasant.
I was also warned that in Europe, it’s not uncommon for people to stare at others who may look different, as the population is more homogeneous in Prague than in NYC. My friends and I have experienced some looks that in the U.S. we wouldn’t expect, but we’ve never been heckled or treated rudely because of it. I think it’s just one of the cultural differences that stems from the vastly different histories of each country.
As I spend more time here, I can’t wait to learn more about the people in this country. The Czech Republic may not be well known in the U.S., but I’m learning firsthand that it’s a place rich with history and culture.
By Andrés Quiroga- Elizondo
When I first arrived in Prague, I had the impression from people I’d spoken to that Czech people were not as friendly to those they could recognize as foreigners or tourists. My older brother’s girlfriend had visited Prague a few weeks prior to my study abroad, and when she heard I was going, she told me with a grimace, “Be careful. The people there are not the nicest to tourists.” However, after having spent a full month here, much more than she had, I can say that is far from the truth. While I’ve had my share of annoyed waiters and bartenders, the pleasant experiences overshadow the negative ones by a landslide.
Since I’ve taken Elementary Czech from the first day of classes, I’ve gotten plenty of opportunities to practice Czech in person. Most of the time, it is met with a laugh and a friendly smile. And with these reactions, I’ve come to realize that not all Czech people dislike outsiders, and most of them really appreciate when you attempt to integrate yourself into the customs and culture of the city. Not all Czech people are the same, obviously, but with an open mind and a willingness to try, most will display a genuine appreciation.
By Chloe Hum
Coming to Prague, my previous knowledge about the city was pretty much a blank slate. I had no notion of the environment, history or culture that makes up the Czech Republic. So, when I arrived I was shocked to find that this city has a rich and unique past ridden with intricacies that affect and tie into the lives of every individual living in Prague to this day.
Whether it’s the steps in front of the national museum where protesting brought about Czech’s freedom from communism or the Old Town hall which displays Prague’s ingenuity through the Astronomical Clock, chances are, many places you pass on the streets of Prague have a rich background. The architecture is not only beautiful but rare, and the stories that come with it are even more special.
In the beginning, I struggled to take in all of the history. I found it difficult and even annoying how I had to first understand Prague’s past before I could learn about its present. However, as I come to comprehend Prague and its history, I also come to comprehend how it is not a nuisance to understand events that have long since passed, but completely the opposite.
Seeing my professors take pride in teaching how every previous historical event has come to shape Prague today has made me view the city in a prideful way myself. Although I did not grow up here, it is nice to feel a sense of unity and honor in being a part of this community today.
By Alessia Diez
The last few days before heading to Prague for study abroad were spent, for the most part, in my kitchen. From the little I had heard about Prague, I had convinced myself that the only foods I’d be able to find there were potatoes, sausages and fried cheese. As a vegetable lover, I was slightly concerned. While I was excited to embrace Czech culture and appreciate a new cuisine, I was also going to miss the diversity of the New York dining scene and my homemade vegetable stews. The realization was bittersweet.
On my flight to Prague, I was served boiled potatoes with a meager side of steamed green peas and roasted carrots. I picked up my fork, and accepted my new reality. My meals for the next few months would probably be variations of this.
However, after spending a few hours in Prague, I realized I couldn’t have been more wrong. The neighborhood where my dorm was located was lined with Vietnamese, Italian and Mediterranean fare. The nearby grocery stores were fully stocked with white carrots, orange tomatoes and mini bell peppers — produce I always buy back home.
It turns out Prague’s food scene isn’t as dull as I had pegged it to be. I came in with low expectations, but Prague has fully exceeded them.
By Joanna Yip
Before I arrived in the Czech Republic, I had a vague idea of what to expect because my older brother had studied abroad in Prague with NYU back in 2015. He had informed me of how to spend my money wisely on travels, what it’s like to make friends when we’re so far from home, and how different the Czech Republic is from the comforts of New York.
Despite how prepared I felt for most things however, nothing could have prepared me for the culture shock I felt. The first few days when we were walking around campus, which is a tourist hotspot, my friends and I encountered some locals who were a bit rude to us. I equated it to us being the stereotypical obnoxious New Yorkers and Czech locals being tired of the tourists.
Around campus, in Old Town Square, many people speak English, which is helpful in allowing foreigners to navigate a new country. Even so, I’m glad I enrolled in an Elementary Czech class at NYU.
My friends and I visited Cesky Krumlov, which is in the outskirts of the Czech Republic. We were desperately trying to call a taxi to bring us to our hostel. While on the phone we’d start with, “taxi prosim!” “taxi please!,” but the moment they heard us speak English after that, they would hang up. Contrarily, people at restaurants and cafes there would smile, laugh and seem to appreciate us trying to communicate in their language.
Overall, positive experiences where natives are happy to hear us try Czech have been much more prominent than the very few instances where people were rude. Thus my initial perceptions were changed entirely.
Czechs’ perceptions of Americans
By Tereza Podpierová
Different generations perceive Americans in different ways.
The older generation is affected by the decade when the Communist Party was ruling the Czech Republic. At that time, there was no freedom of speech or liberty of the press – life was not easy, so many people emigrated to the United States for freedom. Therefore, I think that some elderly people still connect America with freedom and see it as a land of unlimited opportunities.
On the other hand, the younger generation either perceive Americans in the same way as they perceive other nations, or view them as the trendsetters. In the era of social media, the world is interconnected and Czech people can see what Americans do in their everyday lives. America is often the country that coins what is trendy and fashionable – maybe that is why some younger people admire America.
Of course, there are also stereotypes that are linked to Americans. For example, I have encountered many times when people believe that Americans do not care about the world except their own country. Even though it may be somebody’s perception, I would not generalize this idea – it certainly is not true that all Americans do not care about what is going on in the world.
The way Americans are perceived by the Czech population differs from age to age and also between people of different backgrounds. Nonetheless I would say that the Czech people are becoming more tolerant and open-minded to Americans and to other nations.
By Anna Drhovská
How do Czechs perceive Americans? If you asked various people walking down the streets of Czech cities, you would get all sorts of answers. But most times, their replies would be heavily influenced by current news and online media. We’re not talking about controversial Facebook posts or Twitter discussions. Let’s talk about official and licensed sources popular among people living in the Czech Republic, such as iDNES and Aktuálně. If I had never been to the United States and only drew information from such websites, my perception of America could look somewhat like this:
A few days ago, I read about a girl from the U.S. who was kidnapped by her biological parents since they didn’t like the foster ones. The police couldn’t find her for two whole years. America must be such a dangerous country. And I have also heard that the U.S. is the biggest producer of plastic waste. Not only that, but most of it ends up in South America and Mexico. It is awful that such countries have to bear the burden of recycling it all. America must be such an irresponsible country. And even the weather is turning against Americans. This January, the eastern parts of the U.S. were struck by a heavy snowstorm. There was an extended power outage, and some even lost their lives. Could you believe it? America must be such a problematic country.
This is a version of America created solely by information from Czech newspapers. It tells us what America must be. But it is up to us to find out the better truth. To find out what America is.