While preparing to study abroad in the Czech Republic, I thankfully had a wonderful pre-departure professor along with guest speakers who were all full of knowledge. They told us to expect an intense history that still has reaching effects on today's population. Our professor and guest speakers told us that while the average citizen may seem, "less polite," by American standards, this is not seen as rude but as a regular mindset. The population of the Czech Republic are known as people who only open up to those that they know, so as a foreign traveler, I should not find it surprising for the citizens to seem somewhat closed off.
In addition to the people we would meet, we were also told to expect beautiful buildings, interiors, and green spaces. Our professor, who had gotten back from a trip to the Czech Republic in the fall showed us pictures and reassured us that pictures just could not do the country justice. As a lover of all art, especially historical buildings, seeing the domes, Gothic designs, and real life castles in the photographs, they had me counting down the days until I could step onto the airplane to another part of the world.
As the time to leave drew nearer, our entire group worked on our Czech. As a former Spanish student I thought it wouldn't be too hard to learn the language but as I kept practicing and discussing with my travel partners, we realized that Spanish and Czech come from two separate families of language. I kept practicing because I knew once we were in the country, it would be extremely important in order to ask for directors and order food, among all of the other questions we ask one another on a day to day basis.
In addition to the information we needed to purely stay in the country, our professor had each of the students taking part in the study abroad experience research more about how the Czech Republic utilizes the Event Management and Hospitality Management sectors. Completing research before hand gave us all an understanding of the country, the relevance of our trip, and how important it would be to take notes on any and all of the events we could take part in while abroad. After researching, we found that due to the massive amount of tourists traveling to Prague, the Czech Republic's capital city, the Event Management and Hospitality Management sectors were booming. In addition to this information, we found it surreal that we would be able to visit a castle complex that plans, coordinates, and hosts events in addition to the fact that we would be able to meet with one of the head Event Planners.
Before departing for the Czech Republic, I expected an environment unlike any other that I have seen, to learn more about the country's history as well as more about my area of study, and to take in as much as I possibly could in two weeks.
コメント