It’s coming up on a little over 13 months abroad and I’ve started to decipher the dramatic differences between societies.

A quick background to those of you who don’t know what my story is. I was born in the US to Czech parents. My first language was Czech and so my culture growing up was heavily influenced by the Czech community and my patriotic parents. My family and I would travel to Czech to visit my extended family almost every year. I developed a bond to the Czech land and to the wonderful time we always had in the summer. So when I ended school and knew that I wanted to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a professional soccer player I felt that Czech was the best place for me. More opportunities in terms of soccer and a foundation of family that I can lean on if I must. I thought, I speak perfect Czech, I know the heritage, I’ve spent almost a month every year here, I will fit in like a glove. That was short-cited since there are many things you will learn about a society only after you start to live there. Many day-to-day activities and the way in which the society socializes stand out only after a few months.

True American mannerisms are so pronounced that wherever you go it’ll be hard for things to go unnoticed.

The idea of hugging someone that isn’t family is almost unimaginable for a Czech.

Answering to a question enthusiastically and positively when asked how things are going is not normal. Although not squinted upon.

There is an abnormal and formal dialect between a person of higher “status”. In quotes because I mean this even between a cashier and customer. In Czech the customer is not always right.

Respect to the elderly is an absolute must no matter what. There is a different dialect and words you use to speak to someone who is older than you.

People in higher positions like to highlight that they are.

The health care system is chaotic. Do you need an MRI? Waiting a few months is normal. To get anything done in a timely manner you either need, a lot of money or a friend/relative in the hospital. Your opinion in most cases is overlooked, they went to school for what they do, therefore you don’t know anything. (healthcare is also paid through taxes)

Tipping is not a necessity, however rounding up in most private markets is appreciated.

Friends you make, are friends you will have forever. Once people open up and become your friend they will check up on you, call you, become as vulnerable as a best friend you’ve had since you were a kid in the US.

The idea of pursuing a career you’d actually enjoy is much less prioritized than in the US.

Smoking cigarettes as a teen/adult is looked at less negatively.

Saying hello and bye to everyone when entering and leaving a place is important.

Dialects in a gym, or in a sport, are changed to slang and informal no matter the age between you and the other.

It’s normal for someone to own a cottage in the forest and an apartment in the city. Spending weekends in the nature and weekdays in the city is normal if working in a bigger city like Prague.

Going to a club means going to a club with a set group of people and mingling between that group.

It is normal for an athlete to have a beer after training.

Public transport is undoubtedly better than anywhere in America.

If you stand out in any way you will attract attention from others, people aren’t afraid to stare.

An initial correspondence between you and a new person is usually a bit cold.

There is more respect given for being educated.

Going to museums, galleries and movies are filled by an age range much wider than in the US.

Because the nation is small the connection to famous people is less “other-worldly”. If you say you met “a very famous Czech” it has a different value than if in America you met “a very famous American”.

The television/radio news is trustworthy. Financed by Czechs themselves through their taxes, the news does a great job of trying to be nonpartisan.

Older Czech men don’t go to the gym but rather get their form of physical fitness working on their house, or in some sort of lower level Soccertennis/soccer league.

Czechs take pride in baking.

Every adult knows how to do a sport.

Every adult knows a group of Czech traditional songs.

People aren’t very friendly to newcomers. It’s almost as if there is protective barrier that is dispatched before they realize you are not harmful.

The role of the male in society is more conservative than in the US. As a woman you will be treated with more linguistic respect than a male. Males will open doors, stand up for women on the metro, etc.

Cat-calling and giving compliments to women that are strangers isn’t looked at as disrespectful and not rare.