If I had to use one word to describe my study abroad experience it would have to be extraordinary. I loved every activity that the AIFS, our study abroad office, and our professor planned for us. I feel as though the two week long experience showed me more about the person I want to become both professionally and in my personal life.
As we toured the country, we were blessed with five amazing tour guides all with such unique and different personalities, I want to talk though about three in particular. One of our first tour guides was Zed, he took us all around Prague during our second day in Prague which helped us orientate ourselves with our temporary home. While touring with Zed, I learned about how passionate the citizens of the Czech Republic are about never coming under communist rule again. Zed, who can be described as a passionate and kind man told us that if the Communist party were to ever come to power once again, he would take up arms to stop their progression. As an American, I can not think of a time in my life in which our country has ever been so passionate about keeping out a certain political party/governing style and for that I am grateful.
Ronada was another one of our tour guides and she was so much fun. She taught us a traditional Czech song that we preformed for our host family for the weekend along with a traditional Czech dance. Along with the great times we had with her, she tried to pack as many new experiences as possible into the little time we had with her. I remember Ronada's excitement as we went to each of our new stops, it was as if she was experiencing it for the first time again.
Along with Zed and Ronada, we had Z, an eighty something year old man who could beat all of us college students up a hill and had more energy than a three year old. He was born and raised in the Czech Republic in the early 1940s with one of his first memories being cuddled with his mother in their basement as a town not five miles from his own was being attacked with bombs. After the liberation in 1989, Z began to tour visitors around his home country. He was and is so proud of everything that his country has accomplished in the past 30 years he just wanted to show it off. I am so thankful for Z as he was willing to share his life story with us, make us feel welcome, and he took time out of his weekend commute to share the history of his home town and the town that housed the Bone Church.
In addition to meeting all of the wonderful tour guides, I learned that when it comes to the Event and Hospitality Management industries I want to do events that involve companies that are inclusive. In regards to that, I've realized even more how important it is to be accepting of all other people and backgrounds. I originally thought of myself as an accepting person but I know there is always room for growth and I want to promote kindness in my personal life and professional life. In addition to inclusive companies, I want to work with family based companies. I feel as though this will be both a challenge because there would be multiple audiences I would be working with but an ever larger reward when I see that my work has made their experience one to remember.
I will always cherish my time in the Czech Republic and the amazing people I was able to share it with, like a majority of study abroad students, I already can not wait for the opportunity to revisit the country that stole my breath and my heart.
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