THINGS THAT SHOCKED ME WHEN I MOVED TO CZECHIA (Czech culture shocks that I'm totally used to now)
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- čas přidán 19. 05. 2024
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To celebrate my 9- year anniversary living in this beautiful country, here are some Czech culture shocks that surprised me when I moved to Czechia, but I'm totally used to now. The best thing about being an expat is learning how other people live and adapting to other cultures. If you're interested in learning more about the Czechs and their sometimes strange but always fascinating culture, subscribe to my channel! I make new videos every week. - Zábava
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SLAVIC LANGUAGES ARE SUPERIOR IN GRAMMATICAL SENSE. AS CLOSER TO SANSKRIT THE LANGUAGE BECOMES MORES SOPHISTICATED AND MORE PRECISE COMPARED TO GERMAN OR ENGLISH LANGUAGES. GOOGLE IS MORONINIC CIA TOOL OF COLLECTING INFO...
Your sob story is an absolute load of bollocks.. no idea what a VPN is or what it's used for... in the words of a classic "Kdyby blbost nadnasela, litas u stropu jako holubicka."
Thanks for your advertisement. I have to say that it is mostly very sensible stuff. Might not be stuff I would run buying, but at least mostly stuff I’ve thought about. That speaking service, than the guide for restaurants in Prague and now this. Hmm... you managed to nail me better than CZcams as your advertising target.. impressive. . .
@@krishnahare3638 sniff less of what you are sniffing
@@krakendragonslayer1909 KROXON DIAZ SFO!
Czech here. I've moved to Canada 12 years ago without any knowledge of English at all. So I totally understand your initial language struggles. For me, it felt like losing myself completely. Everyone thought that I was a shy girl. I was not. I was just terrified that someone will speak to me and I won't understand. That leads me to another culture shock I went through - people were talking to me ALL THE TIME. I was getting coffee and the barista wanted to know my plans for that day. Sitting on a bus a person beside me had asked me where I had bought my jeans. And you know how we Czechs are....we do not talk to strangers. It's normal for me now. I am the one who gets secretly hurt if someone is just not in a mood to talk. Also, showing happiness felt different here. For example I would give a gift to a Canadian and they would go: Oooohhh yayyyyy, I loooooveeee it! Whereas I used to go: Oh thank you! I really like this. I did not understand why people used to think that I actually did not like the gift. Today , if someone gives me a gift I joyfully "scream" too. There are so many more things but that would be a very, very long post. Thanks for the video and thanks for making me look back.
I’m laughing out loud at this comment because you have had the exact opposite experience to me! Your English is fantastic, and you’re very brave to have made that move!!
I can totally relate to your post. I am a Czech lady and I had been living in Wales for three years (we are talking 25 years ago :o)). I had thought then I knew English pretty well, but after my first encounter with the Welsh accent in the open market I realized I was lost :o) I must have looked like a mute deaf person to the stall owners in the following weeks because I used these little cards with my shopping and just simply showed them :o)
I would love to hear more of your experience!
Slohovka🤣🤣
My mother has always found it amusing that, for Americans, everything is WONDERFUL! AMAZING! etc. She thinks it's an odd, but lovable trait. We're from Russia.
"I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! ®" (...because it's vepřové sádlo)
😂😂😳
Vepřové sádlo is the new Máslo!
ve finsku jsem byl vic ztracenej..)))
czcams.com/video/_6QB-BY3yMQ/video.html
Haha to nie je maslo ,ale pork marmalade😝
My boyfriend wanted say sunglasses in Czech language and he said SLUNCE SKLENICKY i couldn’t breathe how much i was laughing coz his CESKY JE MALY
That’s a good one!
Brusle,is skates.bryle glasses..when they said brusle,I thought they said Bruce lee.lol.
Hasice,fire fighters,I thought it was hashish.but that was 28 yrs ago..
Čína je velká, Japonsko je malé ....
Great video. I love traveling to new places and one reason is all the different perspectives. Everyone should go to a different country at least once and live a while.
We walk with our eyes down so we don't step in something.
dobrý postřeh.
Dekaliter is equal to 10 liters. Price is in deciliters (1/10 of liter).
Drinking with teachers is "normal" since high school :))
Normal in high school??......NEKECEJ
@@srtrtyyu5407 maturitní večírek, maturitní ples it sound normal and it is since high school.
@@ondrejsoroka8170 So basically since end of high school
Yeah, there is no reason not to have a beer with your students once they are adult. And most turn 18 before the last year of high school, and if the teacher is friendly with some students, they might as well go out with them, and beer is what Czech people generally default to in pubs and restaurants.
There is a fun joke: A little boy walks in a pub and orders: "malou desítku" (a small (0.3 l) 10° beer). The waiter says, "boy, you are too little, you should order lemonade instead". The boy responds, "yeah, but the lemonade is 20 crowns and I only have 18".
Bude to znít blbě, ale mě hrozně baví začínat žít v cizí zemi. Člověk může být za blbce naprosto bez výčitek a pozná toho tolik nového, mozek je skoro na úrovni malého dítěte, které objevuje svět :D
Přesně tak.
I just realized I can't imagine what a fluffy towel feels like. :D
Jane, if you aeat whole block of pork lard on bread you are Czech citizen from start.
With chive and salt.. Agreed
😥
@@DreamPrague what's wrong?
Jakub meant it as a compliment
yeah, this is typical meal, like snack :)
Pork lard + bread + onion + salt = Best snack 😋
Před dvaceti lety jsme odjeli s kamarádkou do USA, měli jsme sebou jen jedno telefonní číslo a anglicky jsem uměl I am hungry a my name is Martin. Nakonec jsem tam byl 15 měsíců, pracoval jsem ilegálně, kromě tří dnů za celou dobu každou noc. A protože jsem tam byl rok sám, musel jsem si na všechno přijít. Je to zkušenost, která vás změní. K lepšímu. Zvedne vám sebevědomí, rozšíří obzory a uvědomíte si, že jste schopen zvládnout víc, než jiní. I když je to skoro jako vzpomínka na život někoho jiného, je to zkušenost k nezaplacení. PS: vaše videa jsou super a vy jste fakt velká sympatička ;-)
We drove through the state of Idaho and my water pump burst at Chevrolet. At the nearest service, the mechanics father and son probably noticed that I was not American and said that for $ 600 it would be done in five hours. And after two miles we came across the service of the descendants of Italian pioneers. When they found out that we were Czechs, they treated us to coffee and a young mechanic arrived for a new water pump and installed it in half an hour. We paid $ 125 and drove on. ...hold podvodníci jsou všude na světě
This one is from my personal experience as a teen when I was apologizing to my english teacher in states that I have to go home because "my rooster is leaking". You know faucet - kohoutek - little rooster. He was probably thinking weird romanians, they have rooster at home. Isn't it funny how we all do these things, but I also think that is how we learn.
Ha, ha! Reminded me of the time I first came to UK as an aupair and after meeting the family I said: "I hope we will understand each other." What I meant to say was: I hope we will get along.
The lady of the house said: "You speak English very well." ... We understood each other very well, but didn't get along - I was gone by Christmas! 😁
I live in between Paris and Brno and I relate so much to this video! The biggest shock for me was definitely how Czech people are at ease with nakedness in spas or showering in swimming pools...but I have to admit that I got used to it pretty quick :D
Haha not all of them, I just hate it :D good for you!
With the old destroyed buildings in the center it usually is just developers being a??holes. There are usually some kind of restrictions in certain city neighborhoods, e.g. in the old town, you cannot tear down an old historical building and replace it with something modern. If you want to repair the building, you can only do it in a way that doesn't ruin the esthetics. However, if the biulding is so damaged that it might just fall down, you are allowed (maybe even obligated) to tear the building down for safety reasons. And once the building is down, there is nothing holding you back from building something modern there (usually way taller, modern, super expensive, ....) or just anything bringing you way greater profit.
Reminds me of Telč with its historical square. You are told which windows and which roof tiles (including color) you are allowed to use when reconstructing house, there's no way to use anything else.
Moc pěkné video, které vykouzlí úsměv na tváři. A z Vás vyzařuje neskutečná pozitivní energie
😊😘
I am a Czech living, studying, and working in Prague. Before the pandemic, I was walking across the old town daily. And every time I was enjoying it. Always stopping when the bells started to ring and always amazed by the sheer beauty of the place. it never gets old actually.
20 years ago I stayed in the U.S.A. I loved the dryer in the apartment I stayed in and how my old towels came out fluffy and felt like new . I bought a dryer immediately when I got back home . I have had a dryer ever since , but I still hang my clothes and I only use the dryer for my towels :)
A friendly add to your story. You forgot to mention the very good public transport in Czech Republic. It is very well scheduled and synchronized. You don't even need a car in the main cities and also in between cities and towns. I live in the second big city of Czech Republic, Brno, for almost 7 years. It is indeed very safe and beautiful city too... :)
If you want soft and fluffy towels, then iron them. We stopped ironing our clothes a long ago, but towels are the only piece of fabric we are still ironing, because the steam give it the softness that's neccessary.
To the introduction topic - they usually give you a tour and introduce everybody you will work with, so it was probably as you said: they don't do this with contract workers.
Ironing? Interesting idea, we'll try it, thanks!
I wasn't introduced either as a regular employee :-)
I was convinced that these days most or ar least many families have washing mashines combined with dryers, or I am wrong?
@@DreamPrague Ideally steam iron, you want to make them wet again to soften ;-)
@@vs2573 Some might have, but I don't know any family that has it, and I was born and live all mi life in Czechia. My uncle bought a dryer few years ago, but it was separate from washing machine (and he lives in house, so he has separate room for it, in flats are no space).
Super video i postřehy. Když jsem se byl student a pak pracující člověk co žije v Praze, tak jsem se taky na to tak díval a bral to tak nějak samozřejmě. Ale když jsem pak jel někam do přírody, tak obdivoval co tam vidím.. když jsem se přestěhoval do hor, tak jsem si zase zvykl na přírodu a když pár krát zavítal do Matičky Prahy, obdivoval historii, kulturu, divadla.. a nadával Pražákům, že spěchají a nezvednou oči k těm fasádam domů co zažily Karla IV. Husity, Rudolfa II. kdy Praha byla středem Evropy. Ale i válek a povstání. Kde na fasádě Národního Muzea byli kulky z roku 1945 i 1968... Pokračuj ve videích dál 👍🍷🍀
If you want a fluffy towel without using a dryer just iron them, they’ll be much softer 😀
Aw I LOVE the feeling of "cardboard towel" haha
Haha, I guess whatever you're used to!
@@DreamPrague I do not consider towels to be like cardboard when I use fabric softener during washing them :-) And yeah, I'm your age and I've got myself a dryer just a year ago :-) It's still not common to have dryer, probably as same as it's not common to have air conditioning at your flat/house... Cheeers :-)
I love it. I hate fluffy towel. :D
I don’t know.. I think maybe 10 years ago dryers were not in every household, but now everyone around me has got one..especially families with kids. It’s true my mum did not have a dryer back then and used to hang clothes - but also iron all the clothes. Let me explain it... If you hang it, you’re supposed to iron it later. That’s the secret. When you iron your towels they are soft. Ironing your clothes is also a way of sanitizing your clothes. So your clothes is soft and clean afterwards. However, you still have some dust on it. I love using a dryer, as it catches all the dust from clothes.
also if you hang your towel outside in the fresh air, the cardboard towel smells so good haha!
Well, you need to wash your towels after few uses in washing machine and use enough fabric softener (aviváž) to make it fluffy again :D but still wait for it to dry on drying rack. Some people have dryers but it's not that popular in Czech republic.
I agree Czechs are a bit strange with drinking alcoholic beverages like beer during lunch, even formal lunch, but we think of beer more like it's just a cooled drink good for your stomach when you eat large meal. Also you're not drunk after one beer so noone is bothered :D (if you don't drive a car)
The funny thing about Czech towns and old buildings. Growing up in Tabor, my dad used to think they should just knock the old buildings down and build new and modern rather like in North America. But after living in Canada for decades he missed all that and really enjoyed going back. Just the idea that one could drive less than an hour in any direction and there would be something interesting and historical to see.
I totally agree Peter. I'm surrounded by eye candy.
No fuj, bourat Staré město. :D
Orloj, from latin horologium, italian orologio, myslím že češi to neuměli správně vyslovit a zkomolili si to na orloj. :)
Oh how interesting, thanks for that!
English hour is from Latin word horo.
Wouldn't be the first time as czechs are experts on "komoleni"!!! 🙃
Same root as the French word for clock - horloge.
@@theoko0707 But we at least don't write letters which are not pronounced. :-D
living in Czech Republic for 10 years, is a great place to be for us - our adoptive foreign country. We visit Prague anytime we have a chance, is lovely
Tellin' people you like Prague when you have Brno in nick name..
You're a brave lady 😁
It has been great to live in Prague during COVID, because the city centre is quite empty and there are no tourist traps like Thai massages and Panda mascots. For the first time I was excited to go for a walk through the city and I've started to appreciate it more since then.
I totally agree, it’s a once in a lifetime experience, although bad circumstances.
@@DreamPrague And imagine these times in communism. Prague was totaly empy and safe and walking there in that time was pretty amazing. At some places you felt like in middle ages :D But you know, communism. I hope it will never come back to our beautiful country!
@@lukaszachoval969 I think things like Airbnb made it much worse, since right now not a lot of native Czechs live in city center, its mostly tourists, which is why in COVID times it was so empty. This is why some Europe cities are starting to push back against Airbnb, so city center is not just hotel.
When I first came to the US, I was staying at this hotel in NYC and the first time I wanted to use the bathroom I looked at the toilet and tought it was broken since it was full of water - it definitely startled me and took me a while to figure out it was normal. After some time it became absolutely natural yet little wierd :)
OMG that's hilarious. I have the exact opposite complaint. I feel like I'm "using" and empty bucket.
Exactly the same happened to me. I arrived to JFK Airport and went to catch Greyhound bus. At the station's toilets I've checked one - broken....full of water, next one - broken, another one...broken again.....God, I was so desperate.
Asi je to zkušenost většiny Čechů , o které se moc nemluví. Já začal nadávat "to si říkají jedničky a hajzlíky mají všechny ucpaný"... Pak jsem použil ten žbluňkající americký wc ať to dopadne jak chce.
Známá scéna z filmu Big Lebowski jak tam vymahači peněz topí hlavu Lebowskému v záchodě. "kde jsou prachy Lebowský", "asi v tom hajzlu ještě se tam podívám"., by se u nás na českém záchodě nedala vůbec natočit.
@@PMSlatinice Stejně tak scénky, kde pes pije ze záchodu dávají o hodně větší smysl. :D
When I visited the States and have thus encountered the american "high water" toilet I had known from the start that it is its normal function but even so every time I flushed it and the water started raising, I had to supress this mounting panic feeling that it will continue to fill and that it will eventually overflow. Although Im not easily scared or disgusted, overflowing toilet (even oterwise empty, filled with clean water only) totally repulses and scares me.
Omlouvám se, umím rusky, německy, maďarsky, polsky, ale anglicky jen to nezbytné a psát správně anglicky už vůbec. Proto píšu česky. V roce 1993 jsem se pracovně poprvé ocitl na delší dobu Moskvě. Byl to šok!!! Myslel jsem si, že ruštinu ze školy ovládám. Maturitu z ní jsem udělal na jedničku. Teprve tam jsem zjistil, že neumím NIC! Nejen, že se ten místní jazyk naprosto lišil od toho, co nás ve škole učili, ale dokonce význam slov, které nás ve škole učili, byl v některých případech naprosto jiný. Ale během 2 měsíců jsem to vylepšil až natolik, že mi pak už nikdo nechtěl věřit, že nejsem z Pobaltí (Litva, Lotyšsko, Estonsko) protože jsem rusky mluvil správně, ale podle nich s pobaltským přízvukem .Ale kulturní šok byl ještě větší. Vůbec jsem nechápal, jak ta společnost funguje. A už vůbec největší šok byla jejich tehdejší "Kryša - střecha". Každý tehdy musel mít "kryšu" To je "ochránce", který vás chránil od jiných vyděračů a za co jste mu platili určité procento ze zisku. Mohli jste si vybrat, zda budete platit mafii, policajtům, nebo starostovi. Ale platit jste museli, jinak jste neexistovali. Například jsem si v pátek půjčil videokazety ve stánku u nádraží v Solněčnogorsku. V pondělí jsem je neměl kam vrátit, protože místo stánku tam byla hromádka popele a majitele už nikdy nikdo neviděl. Dodnes je mám doma ve sklepě. Nechtěl platit... Ale časem jsem si zvyknul. Člověk si zvykne na všechno. Tudíž si myslím, že problémy, se kterými se zde, v Čechách setkala Jen, jsou jen velice slabým odvarem oproti tomu, s čím se člověk může v životě potkat.
PS: dnes natáčím videa na CZcams v ruštině, pro ruskojazyčné diváky a všichni mě v komentářích chválí za dokonalou ruštinu..
Lojza Novák - to neni mozny , to by se v Rusku stat nemohlo , to by Putin nikdy nedovolil :-)
LOJZOAHOJ, PROSIM JAK SE JMENUJE TVUJ KANÁL DĚKUJI JIRKA
@@hartman12349 V 1993 tam vládla Jelcin vodka, Puťka naběhl o několik let později.
To bola doba najsurovšej mafie a úpadku v Rusku. Mimochodom v niektorých oblastiach na Slovensku to bolo vtedy skoro rovnako. Viď Dunajská streda - ľudia sa tam vtedy báli.
@@pjaro77 A ten úpadek v Rusku je furt. Zkuste si tam drobně podnikat. Dnes už je to většinou tak, že šéf místní mafie a šéf místní policie jsou jedna osoba případně členové téže rodiny. Nejvíc mě dostalo,, když před pár lety se mi chlubil student jakési univerzity státní správy (kde navíc dělal diplomku o korupci), že U NICH na univerzitě není zvykem to, co je jinak na středních a vysokých školách normou: totiž před zkouškou (na střední před maturitou) dát vyučujícímu nebo řediteli hmotný či finanční dar.
you can actually say that "můj hard disk umřel" or "můj monitor umřel", "můj telefon umřel" etc.... we use it sometimes. Rather with some electronics maybe. But its like its gonne, not just needs to charge.
The new job introduction is just a business specific thing. Where I work new ppl get introduced even outside their office in other parts and offices.
Kdyby mi v práci měli představovat každýho novýho zaměstnance tak přes to neustálý třesení si s někym rukou nic neudělam. :-D
Actually I would more likely say "chcípl"/"zdechl" verbs "chcípnout"/"zdechnout" are/were used mostly about animals, as it is considered unsensitive to speak such about people. Lately even animals are considered as such. About things it is still okay though :-)
Agree, except for a phone... There it is more like: "Sakra, umírá mi telefon, nemáš nabíječku s USB-C?" ("Damn, phone is dying, don't you have a charger?")
@@robinsebelova7103 It's still very colloquial and probably not something I would use with a stranger in a shop, though, especially not a jewellery shop (it might be different with e.g. a car) - more like something I would say to a friend or at least coworker.
A decaliter is 10 liters. 0.1 is a deciliter. 😉
oops!
@@DreamPrague That's one of the difficulties when coming from the States - to learn the measurement system. Even the numbers are different - a billion is a milliard! 😀
I've never used "Decaliter" but what is very common to do, especially in the deli department or deli market is to say "I'd take xx Deka of a product". In that case, 1 Deka means 10 grams, just like deciliter.
@@SneakyBadAssOG You're totally right, "decaliter" is really not used (hectoliters are). And it's not only the preposition "deka" but "deci" as well, which is used without the quality. No Einstein could count how many times I've already said a sentence like: "Dvě deci vlašáku", "Ještě deci (or: decko) vlašáku" and so on. (Vlašák means in this case not the meat salad but Welsch Riesling.)
10 litres of wine could explain the bill too high 😂
The thing about being new to a workplace or any kind of "adult" space for that matter really bothers me even though I'm Czech. I have social anxiety and it would be super helpful if people tried more to make newbies feel more welcome and if the environment felt more inclusive. So it always takes me almost a year to "get out of my shell" in a new social group. But I try to lead by example so whenever we get a new colleague I try to be as helpful as possible and make it easy for them.
What really amazed me in USA, is when you go to shopping, for example in Walmart. Cashiers put your foddstuff in so many plastic bags and even they have time to talk to you. In Czech unfortunately are cashiers very busy and in a hurry. Sorry for my english.🙂
Yes, and sometimes our czech cashiers are pretty impolite. I even once experienced a cashier who was like Creature/Krátura from Harry Potter. She was taking one thing after another and quietly saying stuff like “shit, shit, shit, everything they buy is shit” like we were not there 😂😂😂
I was flabbergasted by a pair of father and son (I think) in Manhattan when I first arrived there, fresh off the plane and out of the metro, walking around in the neighbourhood of my hotel.
They took an evening walk around the same block, but in the other direction, so they saw me twice. The second time they offered their help to find my hotel, which I declined, and they continued with some small talk.
I was surprised when they invited my for dinner in their close by apartment for the next evening, giving me the name and all..
And I thought to myself that this would never ever happen in my small hometown in Germany, someone just inviting a complete stranger for dinner.
In the end I didn't go because I remembered only the address, and not their name, and was intimidated by the marble entrance hall and the receptionist in a suit.
Jste chytrá,vtipná a dobrý analytik.
To se cení!Díky.💓
Thank you.😃
I am arriving to czech republic in few months.
Thank you, your video helps me
Greetings
Bilboardy v Česku - to je smutný příběh 😞
Great video again! ❤ It's so interesting that the woman in the office was kind, because I think every single time I go there, there is someone really rude 😂
Concerning the letters:
Czech administrative style (this sort of 'official legalese') is famous for its incomprehensibility. Even to Czechs. You often have to read it several times to understand what the **** they're trying to say, searching the lines for these little nuggets of useful information in a sea of completely useless fluff (like the paragraph-long citations of the laws a decision is based on etc.). I'd like to say you get used to it, but you don't. It's something that has to change.
Actually, this is same all over the world...
Thing is, that in the same manner, U.S. producer has to inform that you should NOT dry your pet in the microwave oven, here (at least gov offices) need to provide legal description of the situation and ho document (which was incorrect or missing) is supposed to look like, including all possible options...
So you have that 2-page long legalese and then 1 line: "Dokument X was merely a plain copy and proves nothing."
you`re so expressive, when I watch you I really feel like you`re talking to me :) I`m sure you must be a great teacher
Wow, thank you! that's lovely to hear.
Yes, I moved out to UK 2013, started working for families, later in hospitality. I was shocked about food, that children were not used to eat proper lunch or dinner and quality of some products was terrible. But everyone was very Kind to me, everywhere I went ( work , shops)
I got used to immediately but when i came back to Czech , it was much worst for me, mainly the people. I could not understand their mentality 😀😎
Hi Jen, Czech girl living in Cali here.
I know how hard it is to start in a different country and it’s wonderful to hear your experiences. 🙂
Love your videos, thank you for sharing with us! ❤️
Hi Petra in Cali! Thanks for watching! Are you having the exact opposite experience as me? Do you miss your sadlo? (Can you even find it in stores there??) Stay safe and healthy :)
Hi Jen , thanks for reply. I don’t miss “sádlo” 😁 but I did miss Czech food a lot at the beginning. But that was 16 years ago and now when I go to Czech I miss the food I got used to here, especially the variety of fresh fruits and veggies. But my Czech hubby does miss “svíčkovou”. 😁
I don’t know if you feel the same, but the longer I have been here the more I miss Czech and my family.
But being here has been an incredible experience and I have learned a lot.
And yes, all the things you talk about in your videos I can relate to!
Good luck in everything! 🍀🤗
I love watching your videos! Im planning on moving to czechia after I turn 18 and once everything with covid settles down more, but seeing your videos helps keep me in the mind set that it is possible ::)
That is awesome! It's a great place to live. Thanks for watching!
Visit for a vacation first to find out reality. It may not be so sweet.
Tohle video se mi opět líbilo. Je to zajímavé. Mějte se tu hezky . Ahoj .
When I was at uni, we went out with our teachers for a beer couple of times, completely normal lol. Even at the end of high school senior year , we convinced our teacher to go to a park and we got beers in cups from nearby pub. She didn't drink though since it was her working hours and we technically shouldn't either, but well, we were adults so what. She was in her early 30s and was really cool though and it was just before finals so she gave us free pass. Good times.
Good memories!
Yeah, when we were somewhere outside with teacher, half of class was smoking and nobody cared about that. :-D
It is interesting to watch your improvements in Czech speaking skills during 2020! Skvělá práce! :-)
Glad you noticed, thank you!
That Sádlo story really got me, thanks for a good laugh 😄
Amazing, am currently going through many of these now :D I would love to hear more about your experience buying property in Prague!
Good idea! I can get into that, thanks!
Lovely stories, Jen... Reminds me dozens of similar "cultural shocks" - esp. during my first months in Japan. There I realized for the first time how strange it is when one cannot _read_ practically anything, and even some "international" words often does not work apart from the university environment. Well, after passing an intensive summer course of Nihongo and learning hiragana and katakana, I immediately felt as a new person in that exotic Japanese environment. As you were also living in Japan for several years, you surely understand... And yes, local friends are so essential for "survival" in such a culturally remote country. In Europe or America, we actually share so many cultural similarities that adaptation is much easier -- though I do remember some funny "adaptation stories" there, too. Anyway, many thanks for your another charming video and Best Wishes from Brno -- Aleš.
Hello Aleš from Brno! There's a great movie about being a foreigner in Japan called Lost in Translation - it makes me miss our time there! It's all fun stuff, even if it is difficult when you're living through it!
@@DreamPrague Hi Jen, and thank you! Yes, I know this movie. But I must confess that sometimes (often?) I've been "lost in translation" even in US, though living with English daily for over 50 years... Simply - your native language is your native language. In Czech, we have saying "Kolik jazyků znáš - tolikrát jsi člověkem". It's a long and winding road... (_Paul McCartney_).
Hi Jen
Just started to watch your channel and I’m already your big fan. I’m literally blown by your personality and enthusiasm. Also it’s interesting to see things from your point of view. I’m myself expat (born in Czech Republic) living in United Kingdom (England) for 17 years (recently become naturalized British citizen).
Hope one of major Czech Tv station notice you and take your channel to another level.
Keep up great work and all the best.
You’re so kind Lubos! Stay healthy up there in 🇬🇧!
@@DreamPrague Thanks Jen,
Here’s a bit crazy at the moment, but I guess it’s same in Czech Republic (sorry I hate word Czechia).
Hope this madness will be soon over.
Look after yourself.
What a lovely video! Thank you Jen, I enjoyed every second of it. And don’t worry, sadlo is supposed to be the best for scrambled eggs anyway ;)
I loved this video so much😊.You made me laugh and also nostalgic ❤️ . Thank you ❤️
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, the word “Orloj” is likely to have evolved from the French word for a clock “l'horloge” or the Dutch for watch “horloge”. In the Middle Ages, Prague’s Ungelt was a centre for international trade where merchants from all across the Old world met so it’s possible that their word for the Astronomical clock took off and was adopted by the locals.
As far as I know, the word has been adopted directly from Latin (horologium) or Greek (horológion). But according to one of the theories, this Latin (or Greek) word had been first adopted to German as orlei and then got to our language from German.
I did not have many surprises after moving to Olomouc, but there were a few: finding a bunch of mini gardens with sheds close to the center (for example right across from the new fancy mall), mini vegetable gardens about paneláky, mushroom hunting, and best of all: cycle ball :)
I'm a South African and I lived in the Netherlands for a while - now I'm moving to Brno. The beer thing over lunch is also not unusual in NL. And people also dress properly for a walk, I guess it's the cold weather. I've had the pleasure of meeting my future Czech colleagues on Teams already and they were very friendly and they all introduced themselves to me, so I guess it depends on the work setting. I've never used a dryer in my life, either here or in NL, unless there was such a facility in the building already. And yes, generally parks in NL are also very safe - not so over here! Thanks for the informative video.
I think that the relationships you have with teachers. (meaning university) greatly depend on what you are studying. I used to study my bachelors degree where only 50 people were admitted and we were friends with the teachers. Wild parties and everything. But then during my masters at a different school it was nothing like that, cause there were hundreds of students. And we always had to use Vykání and all that.
Missing the beautiful cityscape - I totally agree! When I had studied here, I enjoyed the city in all its beauty - once I started to work and live here, I joined to the people born in Prague who visit to the city centre once a year. :D
What a lovely video again, Jen! :) You have truly mentioned some interesting experiences. Well, I have an experience of living abroad, specifically Glasgow in the UK. Although I have lived there just for a half a year and then came back to Prague, I also had a chance to gain some weird or not always pleasant experiences. :D First of all, I don´t know if you have been to Glasgow or Scotland before but the weather is just terrible there. I would say it is raining like 330 days a year so you are just soaked all the time. I remember buying a new pair of shoes every month because it was destroyed by the floods of water. :D it was actually like being a cliff with the water splashing against you all the time. the second thing was to get used to a heating system in an appartment where I lived. I remember how pissed I was about the fact that I always had to charge "a heating card" in a post office to have some credit on it, then to stick the card into a system in an appartment so it would use the credit and my radiators would start to work. oh boy, how I enjoy a central heating or a boiler here in Czechia. :D and the language issues... oh yes, I remember that as well.. even though I went to a high school where the English language was taught on a pretty high level and I was kinda condifent about me speaking English, I remember how hard it was for a first 2 months to get used to a Scottish accent... It was really pretty tough to understand the locals and I felt very disappointed about my language skills. but then I got used to the accent and I started to love the way they speak, their culture etc. So these are a few memories I have from that time. :) I am glad that you feel now quite comfortable in the state offices. After all, with your smile and charisma the office lady must be willing to help you! (I know it is not always the case though, sorry for our mentality) Anyaway, enjoy your day, girl! Have a nice walk with Tobik! ciao! :)
You haven't mentioned a glass of water in a restaurant. FREE! Something automatic in America, in Czechia you have to ask and then pay for it.
BTW, there is another historical orloj in Olomouc!
I agree with the "city atmosphere". All foreigners I meet tell me how beautiful and magical Prague is etc. and I know about it but I just don't realise it anymore. If you see it every day as you said you really will get used to it so they are quite surprised when I don't share their admiration. :D
Really nice video. Thank you Jane for sharing your experiences. It was really funny. :)
I think the sentence "Kde je hodiny" confused the guy, because your pronounciation is more like "Kde je hodný", which would more or less mean "Where is the nice (person)"
aha! And I'm sure my pronunciation was so much worse back then!
@@DreamPrague But you speak very well now. When I hear you speaking Czech in your videos I don't even need subtitles to understand.
@@DreamPrague Also, it should be "Kde JSOU hodiny?" Because hodiny/hodinky (and dveře, nůžky etc.) are "pomnožná podstatná jména". Something like uncountable/collective nouns in English, I'm not really sure how to translate it correctly.
@@adrianacernochova I don't know the term in English but it's the same thing with "scissors" or "trousers" in English. (Although strictly speaking you can say "scissor" or "trouser", it's not normally used to refer to the thing itself, just in phrases like "trouser leg". So it's more or less similar to the Czech pomnožná podstatná jména. Also ugh, writing these things in English in the nominative case is _weird._ :D )
5:10 What's even better is bread with home-made duck fat and onion. Yummy!
If you ever go to see a cardiologist, please don't tell him that! He will get a heart attack.
@@freddiethompson58 It is not that bad. Milk chocolate is worse.
@@freddiethompson58 Lard is actually quite healthy. In limited quantities, of course.
I love that your topic is literally the same as for example Wanted Adventure (she moved to Prague some time before you) but subjects discussed ale COMPLETELY different. I'd love if you'd do some collab. That might be super interesting.
I've never heard of her. I'll check her out, thanks Stepan!
@@DreamPrague found her husband and moved to Munich later but still visits Prague and pronounces Dana as Dana and not Dana!
Cardboard towels :) Especially in winter when put on a heating element to dry :) Solution: Use "aviváž" and / or iron with steam iron after drying (hygienic ironing after washing at 60°C).
Listening to Your videos I start appreciating the positives in our countries more and more, thanks for a different point of view :)
The "cardboard towel" cultural shock is the best :-) I have an opposite problem - I hate the fluffy ones :-)
Another wonderful video Jennifer I enjoyed it so much. Of course different than the Czech Republic but the 2nd country I lived in besides the United States was Israel straight out of college where I was offered a job in orchestra. I could discuss many things but what caught me by surprise initially was that the idea of survival of the fittest prevails. By that I mean if you don’t act aggressively in many situations nothing will happen. At the beginning I would let people on the bus to be polite and considerate… I even carried my cello with me and then missed many buses.. but after two years I would end up pushing people aside with my cello and getting ahead of all types of people young and old because that was the way to survive.
Fakt zajímavé postřehy.Díky.🌞😉🌞
Thx for interesting insight :). I like it. Years ago i moved to Brussels. The thing that shocked me the most was this diverse building architecture. For example you have the church of Saint Gudula, like gothic beauty of a building. And right next to it just awful glas/concrete bullshit of some government building or financial office.. and places, streets or squares like this there was plenty. Never seen it anywhere else. .. then i drank ton of beers and got used to it :))). But remember this shock till today.
Thanks for the video, as a Prague-born cosmopolite, I really enjoyed it. Here's my two-pence worth: The skyline! When I was 24, I moved from Prague to Chicago. I had seen quite a few cities all around Europe by then, but the skyline of downtown Chicago viewed from South 31st and Wabash was SO strange to me... Almost intimidating. I went on to stay for 5 years in Chicagoland and it took me the best part of the first two to just get used to the skyline and start feeling like "yea, I could settle here". :-)
I live in usa 11 years and i still can't get used to the food 😣
I remember my English teacher from the university. He was a young American and every week he organized an evening out. We went to a restaurant and talked and drank beer with him. But everyone had to speak in English, so it was still educational :) Your expat weekend reminded me of it as well.
Cardboard towel problem: 13:43 - it's simple, there is that thing called "Aviváž", that makes things fluffy....
"Abandoned buildings": 18:00 - some of those are "investment buildings, some of them are "non-removable" placeholders - it's not possible to demolish them straight away, so owner damage roof and wait for building to collapse itself so new and ugly building can be built in it's place...
I am enjoying your videos. I used to live in Czechia but have been here over 50 yrs. Find it nice when I visit there and totally undrstand how you felt when you 1st came there. I have been back several times but now it's not that easy. Besides, things changed a lot here recently and sometimes I regret that I am here.
This Canadian has lived in the US (10+ yrs), Japan (21 yrs), Mexico and China, and could live in Česká republika thanks to my Moravian wife if warranted by current events in the US. Over time complacency kills the awe and wonder of living in a new environment; travel is the antidote. Thanks to your video, I feel confident I'd enjoy a move to Czechlands. Thanks for producing this work...which has the potential for appearing in book form....
Very nice video, I was laughing at "hodinky umřel". Also it is very interesting for a Czech to learn what the foreigners struggle with. And don't worry, I also feel like a need to hire somebody to communicate with the offices! :) Billboards are horrible! And yes, Czechs are unwelcoming, the story about how you went to the new workplace is typical. My sister has a French husband and he says the same thing. This is also because Czechs are shy to speak in front of foreigners, they are afraid of making mistakes.
I really like your videos and I hope you are happy here with your husband and your doggie. When I used to live in Lisbon I could walk every day through the center and watch around me. And there I felt like in a amazing pohádka. It was the biggest love at first sight.
Jenn, you are a very brave person to move to the Czech R. I really love your videos and I feel your pain...I am a Czech and I moved 30 years ago to Canada, I can relate to your experience ! I laugh hysterically listening to your videos! Keep going my dear!!!!
😘😘
Jste úžasná a zcela narcistycky mě těší jak hezky mluvíte o naší krásně zemi a kultuře ❤️🙃
I'm volunteering to help some foreign students coming to visit for a semester, and am definitely gonna send them this vid :D
Please do!
Jen, we always introduce new colleagues in our company and take them out for lunch. It was also the case in all my previous companies. Your experience seems to say something about the school you were working for.
And - yep, I understand. I still remember my first shopping in a grocery store when I worked in Japan :-)
All the best, Jen.
Aha, so, it's not a typical work experience. I think it probably had to do with the fact that we were all "Zivnostensky list" and would come and go very often. Japanese grocery stores are the best- you never know what you're buying!!
Česká Republika je opravdu nádherné místo, kde chcete prožít svůj život a hltat ho plnými doušky.
Jsme hodně stará generace oproti ostatním státům EU , o západu ani nemluvě.
Ta česká nebo spíše Československá mentalita je prostě něco výjimečného. Je to něco, co jsme si za posledních X set let tvrdě vydobyli.
Miluju to tady,i když život někdy není lehký a osud nepřeje každému. Všude po celém světě je tolik nádherných míst, které člověk by chtěl navštívit , ale doma je doma a to je tady .
Haha, When I moved from Prague to the Great Boston area, MA. I was completely unprepared for living in the suburbs. I was an au-pair and my family was from Natick but on their profile, they have filled they are from Boston, good public transportation to downtown. So when I matched with them and I got the exact address of their home, 15 miles from the city, and a train coming once an hour during the workdays and every 2 hours during the weekends. I was in a panic. When I was telling them I haven't lived in the city I meant the center. Because it took me 15 minutes to get there by bus and metro. I was also assumed that everything is operating 24h 7 days a week. My bad, the last train was leaving from Boston at 11pm. When my host mom went open bank account with me she was telling the breaking news they are having online banking, when teller was asking me what kind of check I would like to order, I started laughing because last time I heard about them was at high school like something that the bank around the world used to use. Bingo 8 years later the USA still happily using them. I don't. I know how to deposit them in my online app. Also if I will ask for directions I will get an estimated driving time to the location. Oh and I almost forget the gym outfit and sneakers style was something that took me at least 5 years, that it is ok to wear sneakers in the city and I don't want to screen to people go change and come back in proper dress code. And I learn to listen when local people said it is not a good neighborhood because people get shot there on daily basis. I am still alive and I can handle the small talks from strangers.
I have basically laughed through the whole video 🤣 thanks! But regarding being the new colleague, maybe it was your unique situation, but I would definitely say that they would usually introduce you to your closest coworkers and the team would bring you along for lunch or something 😉
Milé a dojímavé videjko😍
Haha, I got absolutelly opposite experience with the parks from LA. My first or second time there my company booked a cheap hotel at Alvarado south for me and i took nice chilling night walk through nearby park like I was in Prague. The other day cab driver couldn't get why the hell do I stay at Alvarado and didn't belive I really took that walk in park and survived.
Oh good lord even I wouldn't walk through any park in that area. True story, Alvarado is where all the high school kids would go to buy fake IDs so they could buy alcohol.
Hi Jen! Great content as usual! May I suggest to switch off the autofocus during filming? It kinda drives me crazy... 🤣🤣🤣 You ate sitting at a fixed distance, so manual focus would suffice. 😉
Hi, I got exact same culture shocks but from opposite side. I am Czech and in 2012 I moved to Vancouver where I got quiet overwhelmed by differences from so many people from many different countries in one city 😂
So one more year and we'll keep you Jen here forever! 😉
I had English lessons in the restaurant's garden. And I always paid for English lessonand + drink for my teacher, usually it was beer. David is a very good teacher.
Yeah, probably. 😊
@@DreamPrague I hope so 😇
Love it!
Just a few comments:
you're talking about YOLKS and the subtitles say "jokes".
Krkonoše is misspelled (there's an extra O after the R)
There's an extra question mark after "where is in L. A."
The word "Žižkov" is totally left out in the subtitles (I was wondering if it was partly done by a machine, but then it translates Pařížská correctly as Paris Street) and it says "Vincenta" when you mention a "večerka" (a convenience store or whatever such a shop would equal to in the US).
Jen is absolutely the most brilliant and funniest and cutest US commentator I've ever seen or heard! :-D
to mi připomíná mojí první práci po škole, nastoupil jsem do Grandhotelu Pupp v K. Varech jako portýr :) a chodil skoro denně kolem několika budov od architektů Hellmera a Fellnera (vygooglete si je) jo prostě "Čechy krásné Čechy mé".
Oh, I hate fluffy towels :-D But you can make them softer by ironing.
The thing with no introductions at work sounds strange to me, in both of my workplaces I was introduced to co-workers, had some trainings/meetings to get familiar with the workplace etc.
The objects in the center of Prague with less decorated facade are maybe the sacral buildings, for example Clementinum.
Ahoj. Mám moc rád tvou otevřenost a upřimný projev. Je to zjímavé jaké drobnosti si člověk uvědomuje a řeší. Já třeba nenám rád měkkou nadýchanou osušku, protože mám pocit, že nesaje a lepí se na mě chloupky a taky je fajn cítit tuhost čersvého vyžehleného ručníku. Když pak povolí, už to není ono. :-) S žlutým žloutkem tě musím trochu zklamat, z velkochovů je žloutek dobarvený karoténovými batvivy přidanými do krmení slepicím. Vajíčko z venkova, kde má slepice pestré přírodní krmení je hodně jiné, žloutek je sytě žlutý, ale ne do červena. :-) Píši česky, protože jsem v US ještě 9 let nestrávil :-)
Thx for the video.
Ad your experience in work, there is actually a phrase to describe this situation "být hozen do vody" meaning to be thrown in the water. It's a reference to the idea, that the best way to learn to swim is to be simply thrown in the water and you will figure that out.
I lived in North Carolina fór 14 years, nice experience, oceán, mountains,culture,people, good And all
Reminds me of when I told my then 5 year old daughter that the battery on something died. She said "it died?" with surprise and I said, yes the battery's dead. She then said "I'm going to live forever."
Great video! Two things I was thinking while watching this - the workplace relationships maybe go hand in hand with the thing u mentioned in another video, that Americans are generally warmer on the outside and friendlier (even though some Czechs might consider this a bit fake, cuz i would assume many times it's a facade). It very much depends though, I think younger Czechs are much more "Americanised" or "Globalised" and for example when it comes to my workplace, we're very friendly with the newcomers and the temp workers also. The "hollowed out building" thing you mentioned, that's a big issue of the whole country. As you mentioned, you often get wounderful historical buildings next to a complete wreck of a house. It's often money thing and it often messes up with the country's image. I remember staying in western part of Germany and they didn't seem to have this kind of problem, all of the buildings looked nice and maintained.