Hello! I just wanna say that you look really sweet and I'd really wanna chat with a native american. I am native czech but I love English really really much! So if you'd wanna know something or ask something you can reach me any time ✨
Ahoj, Jen. I liked your "foreigner" videos! I am originally Australian, but I've lived my adult life in New York City (I'm 73 now!). Every year, we try to spend the month of September in the beautiful Czech Republic, and since I "retired" in January 2020, I have been writing a novel based in Prague. I understand completely why you and Honza chose to move there.
Being a foreigner may suck or not depending on which foreign country you live in. The big advantage foreigners living in US have is the strong immigrant tradition there. I hope it still exists. I did not like living in Germany when I lived there in the early eighties because I felt the German people were looking down on me because I was Czech and had a foreign accent in my German. That's why I then moved to US, in particular San Francisco. Nobody really cared about my accent in English there, I was just another slightly weird guy from some place else who spoke English with a slightly different accent. Most people did not even remember where I was from "originally" - that's the polite way to ask immigrants in America where they are from, and even if they asked me and I told them, they tended to forget it unless they got to know me better, the way I might forget which country in Central America is a Spanish speaking person from. Which suited me just fine. And quite a few people told me (a refugee and and a new immigrant back then) "Welcome to America". Nobody ever told me "Willkommen nach Deutschland" during my year and a half in Germany. That's why I stayed in US and paid taxes there for 35 years, although eventually I did come back to my native country. Now I live off my Social Security quite well here. So all things considered, things worked out pretty well for me, and I hope they will work out well for you guys too.
I think all Western European countries still look down at the ex eastern block. I live in London and here it’s fine, like you described your life in the US, but when I lived in a small town I was constantly reminded I was a foreigner and someone not as good as the English. I didn’t see the same thing towards me in the US but I definitely saw it towards a lot of my Central and South American friends.
Your experiences sounds exactly how I'd imagine life as a Czech emmigrant in the US. And you're right, in general, there is a strong immigrant tradition in the US. My grandmother was a child when she came from Montenegro and her family was so proud to be newly "American". I fear that the US doesn't welcome certain stripes (colors) of immigrants these says, but maybe that's only the sensationalist news I watch from over here. Glad American welcomed you!
@@janab6660 I think it’s a worldwide rule that huge multicultural cities are always more welcoming towards foreigners than small towns and rural areas.
Agreed. I've been in Sweden for couple of months and never had (most of) those issues mentioned in the video. It's really down to the local culture and also how you relate to theirs - in my case, Swedes do things very differently but I actually find their culture suit my personality more than what I'm used to at home, so it was very easy to switch. The most stereotyping I experienced was when a person asked me for directions and when I said I don't speak Swedish, she told me she needs someone who knows the area and left before I could say anything. She eventually came back (upon not finding anyone who knew the answer) and I gladly pointed her in the right direction. She actually apologised to me for presuming I wouldn't be able to answer that (which certainly wasn't necessary and I fully understand why she expected that, but it was kinda cute). If anything, I have a problem with Swedes saying nice things about my home country and then it feels weird to disagree with them so I just pretend they're right 😂
@@DreamPrague so nice to hear you have some Balkan routes! I'm from Serbia, and thinking about moving to the USA. Being a foreigner must be such an adventure! Your videos are so helpful! Thank you 😊
After living in the States for almost 40 years I feel like a tourist who knows the language when I go back to visit in Czechia. We are planning on retiring there in a couple of years, and I am convinced it will be like emigrating again.
Ahoj Jen, začínám psát česky, aby ses něco naučila :) Jsem asi v půlce toho videa, ale musím reagovat. Zdravení v čekárně. To chápeš špatně. (akorát teď v češtině jsem na vážkách, zdali tykat, nebo vykat. Slušné by bylo vykat. V angličtině by stačilo použít křestní jméno. No tak snad mi odpustíš tykání). Když se lidi hromadí na veřejných místech, čekárna, úřad, krytá čekárna vlakového nádraží, považujeme za slušnost pozdravit při příchodu a odchodu. Neříkáme ahoj, nebo čau. Říkáme dobrý den a nashledanou ... to jsou zcela neosobní druhy pozdravu. A není v tom nic osobního, je to holá slušnost.
I have to say that this tradition sounds very peculiar, it is especially hard to understand because , it goes exactly totally against what being Swedish or Finish is like. I mean I understand your words and Jens words, but I am struggling to see how it would look like in real life... On the other hand it is things like this that make traveling interesting!
Souhlas. Obvykle se vystačí se slovníkem "Dobrý den. Kdo je poslední? Nashledanou." Ale často stačí kývnutí hlavy a úsměv. Nepozdravit znamená, že ty ostatní lidi ve stejné místnosti úplně ignorujete, což vyzní dost trapně a neuctivě, že se vyvyšujete. Pokud někdo vejde do čekárny, ostatní se na něho podívají a on se podívá na ně (minimálně aby zjistil, kdy přijde na řadu a kam si sednout) a bylo by hodně trapné ani nenaznačit pozdrav. Větší debaty se v čekárně nevedou, protože pacienti nechtějí ty ostatní rušit, případně lékaře za dveřmi, je to tedy ohleduplnost. Taky mívají dost starostí, obav nebo bolestí, než aby měli náladu na debaty o počasí. Ale stane se, že když zůstanou jen dva, tři, nebo se přihodí nějaká zajímavá situace, která prolomí ledy, dají se spolu polohlasně do řeči.
@@monikaj2889 👌 Okey, sure, that’s good manners in Czech Republic and so is bowing while you speak to superior on the phone in Japan, but it still seems very exotic to me. I mean the combo 🙊on one hand being silent and yet greeting all. But sure, why not? 🐶
@@jammmy30 Well think of it this way. When you enter a church, you also greet everyone, but certainly not start a conversation before or during a mass, because it's a sign of mutual respect to other people or authority in that situation. Same with funeral. Even tho Czech Republic is one of the most atheistic countries in the world, Christians culture echoes from everywhere, because they have been there for 900 years.
Well, when you enter the crowded waiting room, you often need to say "Dobrý den" to ask "Kdo je poslední?" so you don't need to track the whole crowd. And not to look weird. So when leaving, "Nashledanou" closes that "Dobrý den" opening :)
@@DreamPrague myslíte, že když ve videu říkáte, že v Americe kvůli Čechovi nezačnou mluvit všichni u stolu Česky se vztahuje i na tenhle debatní ansábl ?
I just touched down in Prague and moved into my apartment today. I'm Canadian and the culture shock so far has been immense. Glad to know I'm not alone. Edit: I'll be here for at least 2 years so any advice is appreciated.
Then you may find useful this yt channel, too. It can help you save your nerves and money :D th-cam.com/users/HONESTGUIDE And keep following Jen, she¨s always right ;)
and what kind of advice you need? i would also appreciate if you can elaborate more about these culture shocks :-) do some zoom video with jen and she can share it ;-) "at least 2 years" sounds solid, adventurously and long enough to figure it out and at the end to feel comfortable here. good luck! :-)
Ahoj, I am currently living in Finland with my wife and daughter and we are thinking to settle down here. There pros and cons are exactly the thing we are evaluating right now. The main con for us is the distance from family. This we started to care about after our daughter was born, then you realize that to see 4 times a year your family might not be enough. I am ready for most of the other cons to cope with. The language barrier is sometimes positive too, in Slovakia I hear people all the time complaining and talking bs, in the radio and tv they are all the time a lot of negative news, this all might be the same here, but since I dont speak Finnish yet, I have this filtered out and I am quite happy about it :)
Being a foreigner is hard. In three years in the Czech Republic, I learned a little Czech, but my English and my native language deteriorated very much (everything turns into an ugly jumble of three languages). I will never get used to the quality of service in the Czech Republic (it is disgusting) and the quality of medicine (in Russia it is more accessible and better). But on the other hand, it is very pleasant to be here - everyone is smiling and positive (funny that Jen seems to have the opposite comparison), and the weather after St. Petersburg seems heavenly =)))
Personally, I prefer using English when non-Czech (and English speaking) people are around not just to make their time easier but also because it is an opportunity to speak English and thus improve it. I also understand that Czech language is more complicated and some of its concepts probably seem weird. And, of course, I love English and how it sounds.
Also I guess that not that many foreigners are learning Czech even though they live here = so it is easier to speak in English in their presence to have them feel included and also to not have the need to explain everything twice - in Czech and then in English.
That’s fine, but this is precisely the reason why I’ve lived here 3 years and can’t have a conversation in Czech. It’s been a huge hindrance to my integration into Czech society and ability to do normal things. It’s incredibly difficult to find Czechs willing to speak Czech with me and help me learn Czech.
@@dazzel9475 This is exactly what I was trying to articulate with my other comment. Personally I think it is a way for them to deliberately exclude us from Czech society precisely because it's for just for them and nobody else. It ensures that not many people will settle here. And of course at the same time we get pilloried for not speaking Czech... In the end I just pay a tutor a fair wage to speak to me once a week but it's not nearly enough because every language exchange ends up with the Czech trying to take advantage and turn the whole thing into an English conversation sadly.
I think, being a foreigner in a new country it feels a bit like you are a child again: Even simple things you don't get right (because their done slightly different or they become complicated). You do things for the first time. You don't really get what you want (because you don't know haw to express yourself precisely). and so on.
... and imagine, that Prime minister of Czechia is a foreigner too and he has exactly all the difficulties, you have just mentioned ... Czech like to have fun in their political stricture ... By the way, I am Czech, but I do not vote in this way 🤔🙄🙄🙄🤔
The language thing reminds me of the time when a youtuber expat named André Traveler introduced himself to a Czech guy and he didn't know how to read English and read Traveler as Čavela. So now the youtuber is André Čavela xD
Shared cultural background is a great point. I was thinking about it imagining how difficult it must be to really understand certain Czech song lyrics, which reference Czech cultural basics (like things from Večerníček for example) even if the foreigner learns Czech language perfectly. PS: Hi, Tobík!
LOL - when I moved to Canada I was terrified to pick up the phone, because most of the time I did not understand the person on the other end (especially because it usually was a telemarketing call from someone with a strong accent)
Hi Jen, love your videos and the way you see life in CZ from a different perspective. However, I've been living in Switzerland for 5 years now and I think, that even though everything you mentioned might be a struggle, you didn't mention things that really shake your core (which you don't necessarily expect). Understandably though, since you're not living alone, but you moved together with Honza. What I'm talking about, if you live abroad ALONE, is how often you feel very very lonely. How many years it takes to make a couple of close friends (which might be due to the language barrier or generally because the nation is more reserved). You will get terribly homesick, even if you think you won't. You will miss a lot of events and things in your friends and families lives back home, cause you cannot flight back and forth all the time). So there, I think those are more groundbreaking moments, than those you mentioned. Btw when I moved to Switzerland I could speak and understand Swiss German (which is completely different than normal German) and it still took me years to find close Swiss friends and a feeling that I belong here. Others, who never learned Swiss German, basically don't have any Swiss friends, not close anyways. Maybe it's just my experience though.
Really good comment. I have a few friends that live here in the cz alone and one of them is constantly depressed and the other manages better but it's still hard.
All you are saying Jen fits perfectly with my own experience. Frankly, sometimes (often?) I'm "lost in translation" even in my own native language and country...
Lots of good points about stereotypes and stereotyping. As a Czech-Canadian, I can relate! So true about the subtleties of different cultures and shared histories, or lack of them.
I will adapt to live in whatever European countries in my opinion because I left my country with 33 years old and I am American 🇺🇸 now and traveling to Europe I realize that I like a lot more than here in USA and I end up with a Czech man in America so I can do it
Evaluation of pros and cons of being a foreigner is exactly the key factor for the decision wether to live abroad or stay at home. You may find many aspects of a given country interesting and attractive but you have to be satisfied with your long term perspective in that country in order to settle down. As a Czech citizen who visited almost every country in Europe and on top of that Mexico, Argentina, US and Russia, I still consider the Czech Republic the best place where to live (despite so many things that could be improved here).
Great video again! i would love to meet you and Honza and have a beer! It's great to see someone observing and thinking, discussing i love it! I really like to meet people from other coutries, it helps to undertand each other, the culcure differenceces, their opinions on things and history... I met last week men from FInland, who lives in Czech for years and it was great! Have you ever thought about setting up a meeting for foreigners with czech people? I would love it!! I am from town Tábor in South Bohemia, if you like history this town has a lot to offer. Thank you and keep it up! PS: please forgive me for my "English" (i hope my english teacher forgives me too if he will ever read this :D )
What Jen has said totally corresponds to my own experience as a Czech expat in the UK. I have been in a 10 year relationship with a non-Czech partner. Suddenly finding myself in an immigrant’s shoes helped me wake up in my mid-30s from routine and stagnation I was beginning to experience and renewed my interest in other people and their life stories. Plus there are a lot of traits of British culture that appeal to me.
@@DreamPrague Hi Jen, the Old Quibbler at your service! Properely you were supposed to say: "Děkuji, Jene." - I know it is archaic way to say it but somehow I still like it more then just modern: "Děkuji, Jane.". ;) Besides thank you for a new video - I think that there is no universal answer to your question as attitude to such phenomena definitely must be solely individual. Anyway I believe the more you understand the language and more you immerse into Czech culture (film, music, literature) the better grip you get. But it takes time. The more videos and information I get about English or American culture the more jokes I can grasp in shows I watch. Do not be afraid and read more Czech books (if you dare) - Kundera first books might give you great helping hand on the way. ;)
Ahoj Jen! I totally felt that remark on always defending and explaining US jus because you´re american. It is the same if fall in another minority category - if you are jewish (active christian, or even dare to be muslim), everyone will have you as an expert on everything jewish or considering Israel (same for other faiths); if you are gay, you get all the responsibility for all gay people around universe; if you keep tarantula spiders or snakes, you´ll get blame for every exotic pet on the run. It is just a shortcut that normal people take because just little of "normal" people outside of cerntain population groups has chance to meet somebody from the minority. Our country has "well preserved" homogenity, which maybe makes this problem worse. But it´s certainly not nice nor polite behavior and I hope that someday we will know better.
After 15 years of being a foreigner, I am so looking forward to going back home and also looking forward to seeing my husband as a foreigner for his very first time. He won't be alone so I hope that will help him a lot.
You really don't need to move to another country to don't understand local jokes. These things can differ by social group. For example if I say "my dad is going to Vírovice again" everybody in my family will understand exactly what's going on and everyone else will look at me like "what the hell are you talking about."
It's a great video very honest thanks I liked it. This is just a hunch but you look like you have more to say but you're always so respectful and polite and I like that and appreciate that about you
I will never get used to double prices in different countries - for locals/for foreigners :D But, unfortunately, you can come across this shameful thing here in Prg as well. And, luckily, we have our own "knight" who fights for this balance(among other unfair things) - Janek Rubeš :D
Velice zajímavá videa, a to jak po obsahové, tak i obrazové stránce. Jste žena, která mnohým ukázala, že Američané jsou schopni upřímné a překvapující sebereflexe, kterou my Evropané ani nepředpokládáme a pohled "z druhé strany na tu naši zemičku " je vždy zajímavý, a to i pro nás Čechy. "Klobouk dolů" za zpracování a styl, kterým je toto srovnávání prováděno. Je z toho sice cítit americké pojetí "filmové řeči", ale v tomto kontextu vznikají velmi svěží, vtipná a zajímavá videa. Přeji hodně dalších povedených videí, čím dál více diváků a rád se na tento kanál budu vracet!:) Honza
I was on vacation in Daytona and we went to a beach shop (I was studying Czech at this point). We walked in and noticed the shop keepers. I thought they were speaking a weird form of Spanish, but Dad said they were speaking a Slavic language. I thought “Okay. Portuguese sounds Russian to some people.” I made small talk and asked where they were from if they didn’t mind telling me. She said a country in Eastern Europe. I said well, where at? She said a little place called the Czech Republic. I said “Really?! I’m fascinated with the Czech language and culture and especially the history.” I name off Jan Žižka and she’s convinced. She says to tell her husband, so I tell him, “I’m fascinated with Czech language and culture!” And the best part of the story right here, he said back with a strong Czech accent, “Oh really?! That’s weird.” I speak Czech and they become more and more friendly and eventually give me a free keychain. Before I get a bunch of people saying that this is obviously fake because she said Eastern Europe. I think she did that to be easier on the average American or even better Floridian. I have girls in my class that can’t identify Italy on the map.
Ahoj Jen, I am Czech living in California, now. Your videos are so helpful for me, because you are describing so good the foreigners feelings about culture differences... And I feel it like a big support for me there. The part about how lonely is sometimes to be with people, who don't think you're interesting enough, just because your language isn't fluent and you don't express yourself just like you can in your native language, it's simply so true... You encouraged me to thinking about starting italki lessons, just for feeling better when I meet someone who is interested in "real" conversation or even making friends, instead just smalltalk about where my accent is from or "how are you, fajn, thank you"... I came here in July with my wife. She is an American with Slovakian parents (they are living here too, since 80's). I noticed before, when we were in Czech Republic together, how the Czech people think about her differently, even if she is an American who speaks like native in Slovakian language, fluently and with confidence, so they understood her very well. She was a foreigner for them all the time, I think because they were not able to understand why she is in Czech Republic when she could be in California or anywhere 🤷 ...she has an American way of thinking, like you said in many of your videos, she is always like: "let's do this, we will find the way", no like Czechs: "there are so many reasons why it's not possible"... And it's why I love her. It was so extraordinary in Czech Republic to meet someone with this thinking and I'm learning from her to see possibilities in every situation. I was her support in ČR, now she is my support here in California. But the cultures are so different sometimes, and the way of life as well... Life in the cars for example is so uncomfortable for me, I was used to walk in the streets of my town in České Budějovice, or Plzeň and Prague where I studied. But I like the exploring american nature so much! There are so many beautiful places and California is so big... I like it. I'm sorry for so long comment 🤣 I just wanna say you are so true in your videos and it's so much supportive for me, so Thank you for what you do here in your channel. Děkuju mockrát, Jen. Jsem ti vděčná za tvoje videa, za upřímnost a preciznost, kterou do nich vkládáš. Přeju ti hodně štěstí do nového roku a se zkouškami k občanství a věřím, že se ti to podaří. Držím palce. Posílám pozdrav ze slunné Californie 🌈 do Čech ❄️ Díky, Eliška
"Let's do this, we'll find a way!" Yes, she sounds very American :) So you are living almost the opposite experience as I am! I'm sure it can be frustrating not to express yourself fully. I think it's also hard in California (as much as I love Californians) to find someone who's interested in "real" conversation. Small talk sometimes feels like a way of life there. And oh yes! I feel you on the cars. I used to think a car meant "freedom" and for me now a car is a hassle. I feel free when I can walk everywhere or even take a magical tram that appears out of nowhere at my side to speed me through the city. Přeji ti krasný nový rok!
I was living abroad with my husband for 8 years and 80% of people we met were assuming I was Russian. It was very annoying but be a foreigner and live abroad was the best experience in our lives and we made so many friends there
Hi Jen, cool video - just…you find kind of weird when people greet each other in the waiting room or in an elevator, but on the other hand find completely normal when random people start chatting with each other about i.e. vaccination on the bus from the airport in LA.. Isn’t this sort of similar? Strangers interacting and acknowledging each other?
OMG! I felt like watching myself talking. Everything you said was exactly how I felt when first moved from Iraq to the United States. I dont laugh when my boss and other co-workers joke around using movie quoutes 🤣 because I don't get them... Though I am American now, but I still feel a foreigner sometimes. God bless you.
I've lived in the UK, Austria and Czech Republic, and experienced other parts of the world and originally from South Africa. Foreigners in the Czech Republic and local Czechs are like oil and water. Obviously you can still get on with your day and do your thing. For all intents and purposes you might live a normal life. From social standpoint though, you honestly might as well be living in an arctic research station. After over a decade of living here. I have a child, we own a house, and we do very well in most avenues of life, but I have with 100% certainty "given up" on Czechs. I have found without exception it is impossible to actually befriend them. My experience is also coming from someone who's over 40 and at this age making new friends is a struggle to begin with but with the added complexity of a) Language b) Culture shock c) Apathy or attitude towards foreigners, it's all very much stacked against the foreigner. Instead what I do is stick to making friends with other foreigners, it honestly doesn't matter from which country, race or religion they're from, my true friends here are other foreigners. Now obviously that's not a completely idealistic solution, but it is the reality and truth. And my situation is not that uncommon, it's just that most foreigners won't dare to admit it. The foreigners I know here who are of the same age range and have been here a while without exception all 100% of them live in the exact same way. It's not something we really talk about much or dwell on, it falls into that category of "negative" reality people don't want to know about. This is not per say a knock at Czech people, a quick Google scan can confirm this is a European wide problem. I would say the foreigners living in Switzerland have it even worse. But if you look at surveys done, then Czech Republic ranks right up there as one of the most unfriendly places on earth for foreigners. When I consider the plight of my fellow South Africans who left the country due to instability, most of those ended up in Australia or perhaps New Zealand, the UK or the US, and in all these countries they are on the whole not only accepted but welcomed and I dare say even cherished. Foreigners in the Czech Republic (or Europe) are generally not cherished, they're tolerated. Europe is very much comprised of these individual silo cultures which are ultra conservative and are exclusive clubs and do not want change, and language and culture are very much intertwined. The situation for foreigners in the Czech Republic will not improve much until some critical mass is achieved which will likely never happen. I have resided to the fact that up until the day I die, and hopefully that will still be in another 20-30 years, I'll be hearing the familiar "on je cizinec" routine. This is neither a complaint nor a rant. This is me just chirping in and telling the truth. I absolutely also forgot to leave my biggest tip and that is to get out of the country as often as possible, remind yourself of the life outside the Czech Republic and interact with people from other cultures as much as possible.
Quite a sad read tbh. I mean... don´t you have a single local CZ neighbour who accepts you as you are and who you can share beer or two with? Well, the language barrier is indeed a thing. In the English speaking world, it is relativelly easy, becasue it does not matter if one is from the UK, Australia, New Zeland or Canada. All can interact with each other with no real trouble and even with the differences and cultural background, all theese have quite a lot in common. As opposite to that, our central/southern/eastern european slavic territory has in fact almost nothing in common with this post-Commonwealth world. I spent almost one year in the UK back in 2003 and luckily for me, my English was good enough to be communicative from the very beginning. And it improved significantly just over a first few months. After 6 months, UK people were actually having difficulties to identify my accent. It was so benefitial for me to be mostly within locals for the most of the day (now I am back to my corporate english crap again, lost most of my charm during last 18 years, but that´s a different story.) But than I realised not all "immigrants" were like I was trying to be. I met some people from CZ, SK, PL, some of them were ok with English, but some of them could barely order a meal. And I could not imagine myself doing the same thing... travell to a foreign country and actually not being able to communicate on a decent level. Also, what was really strange experience for me... The huge difference in "ranking"... How low eastern-europeans were wiewed in comparison for example with Pakistanis or people from India and other former British empire countries. If it wasn´t my relativelly good English (by than...) that saved me from most hostile coments, I would probably feel much more like "that guy from some shitty post-communist Russian country." I have no idea how good you can speak Czech, but if you reach some higher level, all will just open up for you. You mentioned, that you lived here for over adecade by now. After such long time, you simply MUST be fluent in Czech with almost no accent. And considering this, it seems to me almost impossible NOT to be friends with some locals. Try read some books in Czech, learn something about the history, culture... Don´t give upon us! We Czechs tend to be grumpy and always complaining about everything, but we have a huge respect for everyone who shows some balls. So next time you hear that usual "on je cizinec", just tell them "možná cizinec, ale vsadím se, že česky umím lépe, než Andrej Babiš" and you cannot loose ;-)
@@mikasedlinen Thanks for your reply. What you're saying makes sense, and in theory you would just assume that's how it is. Still I would like to clear up a few things. Firstly, I do have friends here, it's just that all those friends are foreigners. And these foreigners include western foreigners, Polish and Slovaks. Next thing is, the language barrier alone isn't the problem. I work with people who speak very good English, who are Czech. I have in the past made more than enough effort to try and establish friendships and that effort has not been met by Czechs. Regarding neighbors, I think this is a good point you mentioned, which shows me you really do understand the culture. I think here language barrier is very real. In my case though I have 3 good neighbors, one of which is Czech, the other 2 are foreigners. Although the Czech is polite and decent, there's only been some real breakthrough with the foreigners. Last point I want to clarify is that my situation isn't that unique. In my travels, I find foreigners here from western countries who's Czech skills do not exceed my own and who are in very similar situations. To be clear I haven't met one western foreigner here who I would say is well integrated, at least not in my age group, or who isn't for example a Czech-American, or moved to Czech Republic at a young age. The statement I'm making is that if you move to Czech Republic as an adult over 30, you most likely will never integrate and ever be one with the locals. I'm also saying, I don't believe this is unique to Czech Republic, surely the same problem exists across Europe, but I do believe that since Czech Republic is so ultra conservative and has so few foreigners and relatively fresh exit from socialism and separation with lower English levels that other Central and Western European countries, the effect is more noticeable in Czech Republic than other Western nations.
@@blahdiblah2169 you are probably right about the age being important. When I was abroad, I was in my mid-twenties. Easy to cope with all issues imaginable, no kids, no responsibility, wellcoming And loving parents waiting at home if something goes wrong... your situation Is far more different. And as we know, personal experience cannot ne shared or passed to someone easily. Anyway - Good luck. 😎👍🏻
The thing about "hometown in Belarus" was particularly touching :D And also a special like for loud and public nose blowing: I'm not from Japan (from Belarus) but I still can't adapt to that. Thanks, very few people talk about it out loud :D
Belarus is not bad as we know where it is and what's going on in there :-). But there are many other far away countries people know nothing about like Mongolia in Asia. Because people know close to nothing about them it can be very difficult to start a conversation. On the other hand people don't want to talk about the usual things like how you're doing in Czechia as it's expected to be a very common question.
To co říkáte je moc výstižné a pravdivé. To v rozloučení při odchodu z čekárny znamená asi toto ' Byli jste fajn ale už musím jít a ať vám to dobře dopadne" asi tak
I’m not surprised that people are interested in your culture. As you mentioned, american culture is everywhere. I’m part of the first generation here that basicaly grew up with your culture. With american movies, tv shows, books, music. It’s been more than a decade since I even got to the point where I even often think or dream in English. Since early age I feel like american and czech cultures are both equal part of my life. And yet I have never been to US or UK :) But I hope to visit US one day with my family :)
I think it's more a case of her being an extravert, and good with people in general, so people would find conversation over American culture. I'm a boring 40 something white guy without boobs and no one wants to discuss American culture with me.
Ahoj Jen, další koment. Práce v ČR. Když se necháš zaměstat v mezinárodní společnosti, kde je oficiální jazyk angličtina, budeš benefitovat na znalosti řeči. Většina manažerů kde pracuji, jsou rodilí mluvčí. Čechů jen velmi malé množství.
Well, I've lived in the US for decades now (originally from S Moravia), incl 5 yrs in California, and can attest that the take-your-shoes-off business varies a lot. Quite a few Americans leave dirty shoes in a mud room (if they have a house) and walk around in socks. On the other hand, some foreigners in the US adopted the habit of keeping their shoes on. It can get really confusing, I usually get around it by simply asking the host "do you want me to take my shoes off"? Some say "Nah!", some "Yes, please!", others "No need to, but whatever makes you more comfortable", in which case I obviously take them off......................Now about the old country - what cracked me up in Czechland (it was in mid-90s, hopefully it's changed by now), was when I got yelled at by an old lady (city worker) for walking on grass in a small town central park. Nešlapte po trávě!!!! Presumably the grass was meant only for looking at but not for walking on :-)....Sharing this experience with my friends later on, they were incredulous - what the hell is grass in a park meant for, if not for walking , laying, or doing a picnic on it? Call it a cultural difference, too :-)
It was like that everywhere with grass in the past, but I think they are very changing it in last years with more local city governments and mayors. When everything was ruled by those big political parties, everything was like with the grass you can't walk on, today it's much more relaxed.
@@Pidalin If so, that would be a small progress :-) Otherwise every country has pros and cons, it seems to me Jen focuses mostly on Czech pros (highlighting cons would likely earn her some adversarial reactions). E.g. one aspect of living there that always irked me was the infamous "trvalé přihlášení pobytu", which goes contrary to my long held belief it's no one's business where I live, permanently or temporarily. No such thing exists in the US and quite frankly, I do not understand why Czech are so hung up on this mandatory requirement that originated during the Habsburg empire, survived the First Republic, was taken over by Nazis, and even more eagerly by the Communists...It survives to this day, probably because Czech bureaucrats can't live w/o it.
Intresting, thank you for sharing. :) My experience/opinion about parks especially near castles and history buildings are visited a lot and walking grass is prohibited there for a reason, so the ones that came there after you see the same nice park. I saw some castles with totaly ruined gardens because with low budget you cant spend enough time and money to the park and when thousands people are walking around on the grass, it gets totally ruined, it becomes mudland instead of park with nice grass. But in cities it is allowed in most parks i believe (sometimes there are areas for picnics), there are of couse exceptions and some parks dont allow dogs/animals.
Being a foreigner is challenging. Definitelly. But many of negatives can be switched into positives: Dating - You are exotic, unkknow, maybe your language can sound cute or strong, you are just interesting person for someone else. For some locals you can be inspiring or they will admire you: Oh you could learn new language and move so far from home Meeting people: You are not just "one of millions", just gray crowd. You are part of unique community. Community of foreign people in new country who have lots of common problems, can meet each other, solve the problems, share their expereances just beacuse they moved to same country. You would not talk about common problems with neighbours from side block. And special community are people from your home country. I found that in Canada, usually people moving to another country are not lazy, selfish bastards, they are open minded and have lots of common. So you find sometimes better "natives" in foreign country than at home Jobs: You are native in forign language. Thats huge benefit for international companies. But yes as a doctor, it could be problem Your culture: As mentioned make your self interesting.
Something is telling me that leaving your doctor's office we should never say "na shledanou" it feels like we will see each other again ..? I would rather say " ... s bohem ..." Or like in Ostrava would say " zdar buh" Great video as always ...
4:40 I'd say more like the other way around, american films (cause, hollywood, obviously) and british music (personally I'd pick Queen, beatles, rolling stones,... over Backstreet boys, anyday) ;)
Hey Jen, hope you got around to reading the post by RIK and the subsequent replies... Might shed some light on your bemused 'Na shledanou' in waiting rooms that you've mentioned in a couple of your videos (some in Czech as an added bonus ;))
Pro mne byla samotna premierova jizda na Mestskem okruhu pomerne drsnym probuzenim , na druhou stranu se nedaji ale ani posat vsechny lahodne momenty s chlebicky ,vlasakem a mechurkou.
Encountering various cultural differences also includes hygienic habits and it is quite logical. In Europe, we blow into a tissue. The Arabs pull it in and probably swallow it, yikes. In Japan a nd part of China you can coat or cough and spit mucus. This is socially acceptable as opposed to blowing the nose. If you are left-handed and you are going to the Arab states, India or North Africa, forget about your left hand. In these countries, they use it instead of toilet paper and it is therefore considered dirty. Do not shake it, and under no circumstances use it when dining. Otherwise, you can easily earn a hummus sticker. Eye contact is also interesting, in the US it is required during conversation, as a sign of sincerity. Here and in Germany it is required for a toast, otherwise in conversation evasion means shyness. In Japan, you will embarrass people, and somewhere it's a straight provocation. Clapping, croaking and farting are also different everywhere, not to mention the rituals in the toilet.
It really depends where you choose to live. I started as a French Canadian and the Quebecers really ram your foreignness down your throat. You cannot open your mouth in Quebec, without being asked: "Where are you from?". It can happen at a bus stop when you ask for directions. Your taxi driver will be curious about your accent. Opening a bank account? Going to the hairstylist? They WILL ask. No matter if your French is fluid and your accent is slight - they'll keep asking. There is an enormous irony in their attitude because they have a huge accent when compared with the classic European French. (I had no problems of this sort in France. They couldn't care less about my origins.) So, because of this, my husband and I moved to the English part of Canada. The anglophone mentality is very much like my own. I have been living under the Rocky Mountains for decades now, and I don't really feel like a foreigner anymore. I'm sure, Jen, that with each decade added to your sojourn in Czechia, you will feel more and more at home. Say hello to Prague for me. (I had to cancel my trip this year again. Darn Covid complications...)
Hi Jen, you are spot on with your observations. I live in Australia for 40 years ( originally from Czech Republic) and I still don’t feel like I belong. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, have great friends and family but still something is missing. Btw love your videos ❤️
Very interesting and enjoyable video. Shared culture is a real thing. I like that you accept that you will never truly be Czech, no matter how long you live in the country. The same is true in any country: America, England, Australia, etc. Some people consider it racist to think this way. What a load of crap. In Australia we are very accepting of foreigners who want to come and live in Australia. But there is a difference between someone who immigrated here and someone who is born here. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a thing. I’m hoping to live in the Czech Republic one-day and I’m looking forward to being the foreigner 😬
Hi Jen, just a little trivia from my own experience... It's true that in most of the world no one will try to speak Czech with me. But in a few, they do. It has happened to me many times that in Slavic countries, like Poland or Balkan countries, people have tried to talk to me in Czech. Of course, we ended up slipping into English, but I have to say that the effort was there.
8:00 Hey, why are you call that boring, It would be a pleasure for me, and it is also a great topic to talk about with a glass of beer in front of us 👍. My friend has a UK husband and we have a great fun, when we discuss those things
Hey... Consider the lack of eye contact and discussion as a "preservative" - in its original neutral meaning - to your privacy and that Nashle at the end as a sign of "We are happy we had so much space in between us". Just thinking... Its not rude. Its different... Thanks for pointing that out. ;-)
Ahoj Jen. I didn't introduce myself. I'm Mike. My mother is former Czech and I grew up here every summer as a kid till was 15. I've always considered it my second home. I've never met any other Americans living here. I do have some great Czech friends here. Several years ago I bought a flat here. Hope to connect and make new connections.
CZ: Ahoj Jano, mám pro tebe vtipný zážitek z konverzace s jednou francouzskou rodinou, u které jsem byla na výměnném pobytě. Jednou chvíli před obědem jsem s nimi seděla na gauči, koukali jsme na televizi a oni si mezi sebou povídali francouzsky. Neumím sice moc mluvit a skoro nerozumím francouzsky, ale poznala jsem, že otec zmínil Česko a řekl něco jako "V Česku mluví rusky?". Ihned jsem mu odpověděla, že nemluvíme rusky, ale česky a že Češi nejsou Rusové. Trochu mě to namíchlo a říkala jsem si, že jsou docela mimo mísu. :D EN: Hi Jen, I have a fun story for you about a conversation with a French family, with whom I've been on an exchange stay. One day a while before lunch we sat on a couch and watched TV and they talked to each other in French. I don't speak nor understand French that much, but I recognized that the father mentioned Czechia and said something like "Do they speak Russian in the Czech Republic?". I immediately answered him that we do not speak Russian, but we speak Czech and that the Czech people are not the same people as the Russian. It made me angry a little and I thought to myself that they didn't know much. :D Měj se hezky, Peace & Love, Nela✌️❤️
As a foreigner(ofcourse) you have to adapt to the region things(whatever are those) but when you have no idea about their culture/habbits first thing you do is what you know and for that you will be instantly judged insted of correct you or inform you because even if they know that you are a foreigner they don't care because is easier.Of course there are exceptions.
BTW, I hope it isn't rude to ask, but is he really named Honza or is it something he adapted here? I got from your previous videos he is American, but that's why it always strikes me, when you mention his name.
Ahoj Jen, next more inspiration for you... tema nakupovani v CR vs Kalifornie. Tesco, Lidl, Kaufland, Iceland. In South America, they take away your purchase at the checkout. In Prague not. You have to put the purchase in the bag quickly.
When people switch to English when near someone who speaks great English (it doesn't need to be a native speaker) and very little local language, it's actually for their own benefit, not to accommodate the foreign person. This is very common in countries / social circles with good English knowledge and it has purely practical reasons. It's much easier to speak in language we both know well, than trying to decipher someone's broken Czech or whatever. I understand why it's annoying for someone who tries to learn the language (I've been there myself :)) but if you're out for a few drinks, the last thing you want is to struggle to understand your peers. It's easier if everyone just speaks a language everyone else knows well. I know people who are not native English speakers and had the same problem with everyone switching to English in various countries when they tried to learn the local language. English is simply our lingua franca :) That's also reason why no one will attempt to speak Czech in England (apart from the fact that almost no English people speak any Czech so I'm not sure how they even could try, other than generating random sounds :)).
Jane, jak jsem pochopil, tak u tebe převládají pozitivní stránky - jinak by jsi se zde netrápila. A k tomu žít v jiné zemi : rád bych ( líbila by se mi Latinská Amerika), ale je mi 70 let a navíc nemám dar (či vůli) naučit se cizímu jazyku - tak už zůstanu v Česku. Přeji Vám vše nejlepší
@@DreamPrague How about a collab video then? 😲 I can show you and Honza a couple of puzzles from my collection and talk about life of a russian speaking foreigner in Prague.
But on the bright side if you do anything that seems too weird to the locals you can just blame it on being a foreigner :D I do it while dealing with my monster in law and once I say 'it's a Polish thing' she stops talking about it lol
714 / 5000 Výsledky překladu I don't think it helped the Czech / Russia / Latin America comparison much. It is something like an Austrian / American (USA). The same language group and also Hitler is not from Venice, California and the band The door is not from Austria and at the same time the Anglo-Saxons are the same. The Czechs identified themselves in the 19th century from a unifying Germany. In fact, they had their first great experience with Russia when the legionaries fought the Bolsheviks. For 120 years, Prague was the seat of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 3 times longer than there was any socialism. The Czech lands were the imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1002 until the Napoleonic Wars, and it was not until 1866 (when the greatest battles of Austria-Hungary and Prussia took place here) that the Czech lands finally ceased to be part of the German Confederation.
I'm a little worried about this video. I hope you're all right. You seem to be going through a bit of a crisis. Some of my Czech friends emigrated to the US and had to adapt, a friend of mine who was a programmer with a degree had to work as a security guard in a supermarket and it took a couple of years to get a position that matched his skills.
Ahoj Jennifer, negativa a pozitiva člověka, který žije v cizině jsou pochopitelný. Pozitivní věci které uvádíš ve svých videích o životě v Čechách se z 80% vztahují na Evropu.Mnoho věcí je shodné, nebo podobné kdekoliv v západní Evropě. Tak abys žila v Praze ,na to nestačí levné pivo nebo levná veřejná doprava. Možná proto lidé v tvém okolí nevěřícně kroutili hlavou,když jsi jim řekla,že jsi z Kalifornie. Ale ty máš dobrodružství v krvi. A my jsme rádi, že jsi si vybrala k životu Prahu a necháváš své videa překládat do češtiny, což asi není úplně levné.
I really liked your video but the 8th part about limited work opportunities in Czech Republic is highly inaccurate. Definitely if you don't speak the language, your opportunities will be limited, but if you speak Czech, you're good as everyone else in your job and you have the necessary qualifications, no one cares where you come from. Im a med student and I know many classmates from years above me that have graduated and found jobs here. Same with other highly skilled professions. And this happens in every EEA country. The catch is to learn the language.
OMG I hated the way people always switched to English when I lived abroad. I was upper intermediate in the local language and people would think I was just repeating a phrase from a book or something because of my accent. Eventually it stopped though, but the same thing at parties, I purposefully didn't befriend some people because they wanted to use me for free English lessions.
I feel your pain! Every time I try to speak Czech in Brno I always get people switching to get free English practice! If there are untrained tutors out there charging 500 CZK an hour for conversation, why should we work for free? 😡
@@dhand0178 Me neither. I just want to have some Czech friends to hang out with and speak Czech to but unfortunately most just seem to want to take advantage. Sad really.
@@ShunShufen What about asking them to speak in Czech with you? You know, they are not telepats ;-) Or if they would not, answer only in Czech :) We Czechs can take it, we are not made of sugar.
@@MarvinCZ českí a slovenskí emigranti v USA si hľadali komunitu čechoslovákov ktorá im často pomohla s prácou a začiatkom v exile, prečo by to nemalo fungovať rovnako ?
@@user-kk5vh1zb5u Nefunguje. Američtí expats nejsou exulanti, kteří uprchli z domova jen s tím co unesli. Nepotřebují pomoc, aby měli šanci přežít v nové zemi. Pokud dnes někdo vyjede z US bez zajištění práce a/nebo dostatečných prostředků, tak to Američané budou brát spíše jako jeho neschopnost.
No, ono konkrétně těch amerických společností tady není hodně. Díky zvláštnímu zvyku koupit zdejší firmu a přivést ji cugrunt. Endemičtí výrobci našeho bílého zlata by mohli vyprávět a nejen oni. Hláška, že kam v businessu vkročí Američan, tam sto let tráva neroste, je dost běžná.
3: 26 thats so not true, they will gonna try, they so gonna try over and over and over again to mangle my name in the most polite manner. But what they really never gonna try for some unknown( to me) reason is to try to trust me and accept its nearly impossible for non Czech to pronounce it as it means to be pronounced and that it just means George in Czech and Im more than fine with them calling me that. They never do, sometimes they do it once but thats it and next time i'm again Jirry, Yiri, Yuri, Jurry, or anything really depending on the person and often on day cos one person often uses more than one version of their interpretation of my name.
I prefer to bother foreigners (mostly Americans) and make them say my Czech name, but some of them don't care and use the English version. :-) Anyway, Jiří Řehůřek is a perfect tongue twister. :-D
no Jirka vysloveny v anglictine zni dost divne, skoro jako jerk. takze americanum se tohle rikat moc nechce a radeji pouziji George. no a chtit aby rekli Jiri s ceskym prizvukem je hodne idealisticke. Rehurek je taky dobry lingvisticky orisek :-)
You'll never be a local when you live abroad. It can all be fun and games when starting out, but as you age into the years of health issues, you can be presented with something 2 different doctors said to me : "You should go back to your home country for that surgery". This despite years paying into the health service of the country I live in, and not being covered any more for health costs in my "home" country. Despite asking, no referral to a hospital was given to what they termed "elective" surgery. For a surgery that in my home EU country is seen as necessary surgery to treat a chronic condition. So you have to think of the consequences for your later life if you decide to live abroad. Especially if you don't speak the local language well, and your native language isn't widely spoken in the place where you live.
I know a guy who's been living in the Czech Republic for 30 years and he's still known as "The Bulgarian". You're correct and if you look at most of the discussion on things related to being a foreigner then the bulk of the talk is from younger people with very limited experience living in that country, who will almost surely one day return home. Yes, it's exciting and fun to begin with, but for most westerners who live outside of Prague the culture shock is just too extreme. The language too difficult, and most simply do not integrate. Sure they might pay their taxes and keep a job, but they aren't making any real ground on the social side. I find most of the discussions on life as a foreigner tend to touch on mindless things like price of beer or where to buy certain foods. What people don't really understand is that to live life in the Czech Republic means to be a perpetual foreigner. Basically something odd, not really wanted and different. A problem that is with you on any given Monday or any Saturday of the year, there is no escaping it or break from it. The retention rates of western foreigners in this country are entirely dismall the vast majority by far end up leaving. The only exceptions I know are those who end up marrying a Czech and have kids here. Without exception all the rest of the foreigners I've known here ended up leaving.
Myslím že to randění musí být super, člověk se naučí o jiné kultuře, zvycích a myslím si že je to podobné jak se říká: "Kolik řečí umíš, tolikrát jsi člověkem." akorát je to ještě takový "level up"
O problematice emigrace / imigrace, přijetí "místních" a tiché diskriminaci bych mohl psát do rána, je to na knihu. Jako vše v životě, jsou dobré i špatné stránky. Škoda je jen, že imigranti, kteří pracují, platí daně, respektují místní pravidla a přijali ČR jako svoji zem často naráží od "místních" a to právě od těch co měli modrou knížku, všemi způsoby obcházejí placení daně, vždy hledají díry v zákonech a jak si namastit kapsu....naráží právě od nich a jiných křiváků a primitivů, že oni jsou i po 50ti letech stále cizinci a NIKDY nebudou "našinci". To je ta malá, připosraná duše a úzkoprsost protkaná špatnou historickou zkušenosti. Výše uvedené se netýká celé společnosti ale jen její části. Ale ve srovnání s ostatními zeměmi, zde je to asi lepší průměr v toleranci a rozumném spolužití. Také se to mění rychle k lepšímu (zejména Praha a okolí) alespoň ve vnímání mladších generací a zkušenějších a vzdělanějších lidi, kteří trošku po světě cestovali, oproti menšině primitivů se silnými předsudky (platí to oboustranně).
I would only consider being a foreigner in an English speaking country. I am waaaayy too lazy to learn any new languages. So that is one negative less :-D. But yea. It's true that I will never be able to express myself to my full potential in English as I can in Czech.
Jestli chceš mluvit někde česky , zajeď na akce do příhraničních oblastí všichni jsme se tu po převratu učili německy , neboť do r.cca2005 tu anglinu nikdo nepožadoval . Byly tu jen německé firmy a všichni požadovali němčinu . Takže anglicky mluví převážně jen ti narození po r.90 nebo ve velkých městech kde obchodní spol. angličtinu požadovali .
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Ahoj
Hello! I just wanna say that you look really sweet and I'd really wanna chat with a native american. I am native czech but I love English really really much! So if you'd wanna know something or ask something you can reach me any time ✨
I did set up Nord VPN. I have found most people I have met are joyous and friendly. Men are very misogynistic here.
Ahoj, Jen. I liked your "foreigner" videos! I am originally Australian, but I've lived my adult life in New York City (I'm 73 now!). Every year, we try to spend the month of September in the beautiful Czech Republic, and since I "retired" in January 2020, I have been writing a novel based in Prague. I understand completely why you and Honza chose to move there.
A novel based in Prague! I love it. September is also a great month here-hopefully it will be a little warmer than August was. :)
Wow, I would like to read that novel.
@@matotuHELL me too
Dear Marion, please let me know name of your book. I didn't find it in your linked in.
Being a foreigner may suck or not depending on which foreign country you live in. The big advantage foreigners living in US have is the strong immigrant tradition there. I hope it still exists. I did not like living in Germany when I lived there in the early eighties because I felt the German people were looking down on me because I was Czech and had a foreign accent in my German. That's why I then moved to US, in particular San Francisco. Nobody really cared about my accent in English there, I was just another slightly weird guy from some place else who spoke English with a slightly different accent. Most people did not even remember where I was from "originally" - that's the polite way to ask immigrants in America where they are from, and even if they asked me and I told them, they tended to forget it unless they got to know me better, the way I might forget which country in Central America is a Spanish speaking person from. Which suited me just fine. And quite a few people told me (a refugee and and a new immigrant back then) "Welcome to America". Nobody ever told me "Willkommen nach Deutschland" during my year and a half in Germany. That's why I stayed in US and paid taxes there for 35 years, although eventually I did come back to my native country. Now I live off my Social Security quite well here. So all things considered, things worked out pretty well for me, and I hope they will work out well for you guys too.
I think all Western European countries still look down at the ex eastern block. I live in London and here it’s fine, like you described your life in the US, but when I lived in a small town I was constantly reminded I was a foreigner and someone not as good as the English. I didn’t see the same thing towards me in the US but I definitely saw it towards a lot of my Central and South American friends.
Your experiences sounds exactly how I'd imagine life as a Czech emmigrant in the US. And you're right, in general, there is a strong immigrant tradition in the US. My grandmother was a child when she came from Montenegro and her family was so proud to be newly "American". I fear that the US doesn't welcome certain stripes (colors) of immigrants these says, but maybe that's only the sensationalist news I watch from over here. Glad American welcomed you!
@@janab6660 I think it’s a worldwide rule that huge multicultural cities are always more welcoming towards foreigners than small towns and rural areas.
Agreed. I've been in Sweden for couple of months and never had (most of) those issues mentioned in the video. It's really down to the local culture and also how you relate to theirs - in my case, Swedes do things very differently but I actually find their culture suit my personality more than what I'm used to at home, so it was very easy to switch.
The most stereotyping I experienced was when a person asked me for directions and when I said I don't speak Swedish, she told me she needs someone who knows the area and left before I could say anything. She eventually came back (upon not finding anyone who knew the answer) and I gladly pointed her in the right direction. She actually apologised to me for presuming I wouldn't be able to answer that (which certainly wasn't necessary and I fully understand why she expected that, but it was kinda cute).
If anything, I have a problem with Swedes saying nice things about my home country and then it feels weird to disagree with them so I just pretend they're right 😂
@@DreamPrague so nice to hear you have some Balkan routes!
I'm from Serbia, and thinking about moving to the USA.
Being a foreigner must be such an adventure!
Your videos are so helpful! Thank you 😊
After living in the States for almost 40 years I feel like a tourist who knows the language when I go back to visit in Czechia. We are planning on retiring there in a couple of years, and I am convinced it will be like emigrating again.
You are correct.
Yahhh, me too. After 40 years in US, still not sure about CZ or just go to Tenerife or Grand Canary.
Ahoj Jen, začínám psát česky, aby ses něco naučila :) Jsem asi v půlce toho videa, ale musím reagovat. Zdravení v čekárně. To chápeš špatně. (akorát teď v češtině jsem na vážkách, zdali tykat, nebo vykat. Slušné by bylo vykat. V angličtině by stačilo použít křestní jméno. No tak snad mi odpustíš tykání). Když se lidi hromadí na veřejných místech, čekárna, úřad, krytá čekárna vlakového nádraží, považujeme za slušnost pozdravit při příchodu a odchodu. Neříkáme ahoj, nebo čau. Říkáme dobrý den a nashledanou ... to jsou zcela neosobní druhy pozdravu. A není v tom nic osobního, je to holá slušnost.
I have to say that this tradition sounds very peculiar, it is especially hard to understand because , it goes exactly totally against what being Swedish or Finish is like. I mean I understand your words and Jens words, but I am struggling to see how it would look like in real life... On the other hand it is things like this that make traveling interesting!
Souhlas. Obvykle se vystačí se slovníkem "Dobrý den. Kdo je poslední? Nashledanou." Ale často stačí kývnutí hlavy a úsměv. Nepozdravit znamená, že ty ostatní lidi ve stejné místnosti úplně ignorujete, což vyzní dost trapně a neuctivě, že se vyvyšujete. Pokud někdo vejde do čekárny, ostatní se na něho podívají a on se podívá na ně (minimálně aby zjistil, kdy přijde na řadu a kam si sednout) a bylo by hodně trapné ani nenaznačit pozdrav. Větší debaty se v čekárně nevedou, protože pacienti nechtějí ty ostatní rušit, případně lékaře za dveřmi, je to tedy ohleduplnost. Taky mívají dost starostí, obav nebo bolestí, než aby měli náladu na debaty o počasí. Ale stane se, že když zůstanou jen dva, tři, nebo se přihodí nějaká zajímavá situace, která prolomí ledy, dají se spolu polohlasně do řeči.
@@jammmy30 It’s not a tradition. It’s good manners
@@monikaj2889 👌 Okey, sure, that’s good manners in Czech Republic and so is bowing while you speak to superior on the phone in Japan, but it still seems very exotic to me. I mean the combo 🙊on one hand being silent and yet greeting all. But sure, why not? 🐶
@@jammmy30 Well think of it this way. When you enter a church, you also greet everyone, but certainly not start a conversation before or during a mass, because it's a sign of mutual respect to other people or authority in that situation. Same with funeral. Even tho Czech Republic is one of the most atheistic countries in the world, Christians culture echoes from everywhere, because they have been there for 900 years.
Well, when you enter the crowded waiting room, you often need to say "Dobrý den" to ask "Kdo je poslední?" so you don't need to track the whole crowd. And not to look weird. So when leaving, "Nashledanou" closes that "Dobrý den" opening :)
Odvahu žít jinde nemám, neumím žádné jazyky, jsem v tomto marná. Velký obdiv všem, kdo to zvládají. Jen jsi skvělá. :)
Děkuji xEliter! Je to vyzva!
@@DreamPrague opravdu je to vyzva.
@@DreamPrague myslíte, že když ve videu říkáte, že v Americe kvůli Čechovi nezačnou mluvit všichni u stolu Česky se vztahuje i na tenhle debatní ansábl ?
I just touched down in Prague and moved into my apartment today. I'm Canadian and the culture shock so far has been immense. Glad to know I'm not alone.
Edit: I'll be here for at least 2 years so any advice is appreciated.
Oh! So exciting. Good luck!
Enjoy your stay in Czech!
Then you may find useful this yt channel, too. It can help you save your nerves and money :D th-cam.com/users/HONESTGUIDE And keep following Jen, she¨s always right ;)
@@jaroslavbenes3963 thank you!
and what kind of advice you need? i would also appreciate if you can elaborate more about these culture shocks :-) do some zoom video with jen and she can share it ;-) "at least 2 years" sounds solid, adventurously and long enough to figure it out and at the end to feel comfortable here. good luck! :-)
Ahoj, I am currently living in Finland with my wife and daughter and we are thinking to settle down here. There pros and cons are exactly the thing we are evaluating right now. The main con for us is the distance from family. This we started to care about after our daughter was born, then you realize that to see 4 times a year your family might not be enough. I am ready for most of the other cons to cope with. The language barrier is sometimes positive too, in Slovakia I hear people all the time complaining and talking bs, in the radio and tv they are all the time a lot of negative news, this all might be the same here, but since I dont speak Finnish yet, I have this filtered out and I am quite happy about it :)
Being a foreigner is hard. In three years in the Czech Republic, I learned a little Czech, but my English and my native language deteriorated very much (everything turns into an ugly jumble of three languages). I will never get used to the quality of service in the Czech Republic (it is disgusting) and the quality of medicine (in Russia it is more accessible and better). But on the other hand, it is very pleasant to be here - everyone is smiling and positive (funny that Jen seems to have the opposite comparison), and the weather after St. Petersburg seems heavenly =)))
Personally, I prefer using English when non-Czech (and English speaking) people are around not just to make their time easier but also because it is an opportunity to speak English and thus improve it. I also understand that Czech language is more complicated and some of its concepts probably seem weird. And, of course, I love English and how it sounds.
Also I guess that not that many foreigners are learning Czech even though they live here = so it is easier to speak in English in their presence to have them feel included and also to not have the need to explain everything twice - in Czech and then in English.
That’s fine, but this is precisely the reason why I’ve lived here 3 years and can’t have a conversation in Czech. It’s been a huge hindrance to my integration into Czech society and ability to do normal things. It’s incredibly difficult to find Czechs willing to speak Czech with me and help me learn Czech.
@@dazzel9475 This is exactly what I was trying to articulate with my other comment. Personally I think it is a way for them to deliberately exclude us from Czech society precisely because it's for just for them and nobody else. It ensures that not many people will settle here. And of course at the same time we get pilloried for not speaking Czech...
In the end I just pay a tutor a fair wage to speak to me once a week but it's not nearly enough because every language exchange ends up with the Czech trying to take advantage and turn the whole thing into an English conversation sadly.
I think, being a foreigner in a new country it feels a bit like you are a child again:
Even simple things you don't get right (because their done slightly different or they become complicated).
You do things for the first time. You don't really get what you want (because you don't know haw to express yourself precisely). and so on.
"you are a child again..." Absolutely! Thank you for letting me know it´s not just me.
... and imagine, that Prime minister of Czechia is a foreigner too and he has exactly all the difficulties, you have just mentioned ... Czech like to have fun in their political stricture ...
By the way, I am Czech, but I do not vote in this way
🤔🙄🙄🙄🤔
Máte moc hezký pohled na věc.
Jste chytrá,sympatická a máte pozoruhodné postřehy,které nutí k zamyšlení.
Děkuji.🌞💓🌞
The language thing reminds me of the time when a youtuber expat named André Traveler introduced himself to a Czech guy and he didn't know how to read English and read Traveler as Čavela. So now the youtuber is André Čavela xD
maTÉ slepice? :DD
nejde o to, že by to neuměl číst. andré mu to řekl v angličtině a ještě té jeho britské a on to prostě nechytil. ale bylo to vtipné, viděl jsem to :-)
Shared cultural background is a great point. I was thinking about it imagining how difficult it must be to really understand certain Czech song lyrics, which reference Czech cultural basics (like things from Večerníček for example) even if the foreigner learns Czech language perfectly.
PS: Hi, Tobík!
LOL - when I moved to Canada I was terrified to pick up the phone, because most of the time I did not understand the person on the other end (especially because it usually was a telemarketing call from someone with a strong accent)
Hi Jen, love your videos and the way you see life in CZ from a different perspective. However, I've been living in Switzerland for 5 years now and I think, that even though everything you mentioned might be a struggle, you didn't mention things that really shake your core (which you don't necessarily expect). Understandably though, since you're not living alone, but you moved together with Honza.
What I'm talking about, if you live abroad ALONE, is how often you feel very very lonely. How many years it takes to make a couple of close friends (which might be due to the language barrier or generally because the nation is more reserved). You will get terribly homesick, even if you think you won't. You will miss a lot of events and things in your friends and families lives back home, cause you cannot flight back and forth all the time).
So there, I think those are more groundbreaking moments, than those you mentioned. Btw when I moved to Switzerland I could speak and understand Swiss German (which is completely different than normal German) and it still took me years to find close Swiss friends and a feeling that I belong here. Others, who never learned Swiss German, basically don't have any Swiss friends, not close anyways. Maybe it's just my experience though.
Switzerland is "special".
Really good comment. I have a few friends that live here in the cz alone and one of them is constantly depressed and the other manages better but it's still hard.
I've kind of "solved" that by living with flatmates, so I wouldn't feel so alone :)
Being a foreigner is just like what my mom always says: "an Ox in somebody else's land will always be a Cow".
I love your channel, because I can relate to your worldview and experience 100%. And I like how you don't hesitate to call things as they are. No bS.
All you are saying Jen fits perfectly with my own experience. Frankly, sometimes (often?) I'm "lost in translation" even in my own native language and country...
I recently realized I am at that point where I can’t speak Czech properly anymore and I still can’t speak perfect English like natives 🙈
Přijde mi spíš divné, že na shledanou vám přijde osobnější, než úsměv a pohled do očí :)
Lots of good points about stereotypes and stereotyping. As a Czech-Canadian, I can relate! So true about the subtleties of different cultures and shared histories, or lack of them.
I will adapt to live in whatever European countries in my opinion because I left my country with 33 years old and I am American 🇺🇸 now and traveling to Europe I realize that I like a lot more than here in USA and I end up with a Czech man in America so I can do it
Evaluation of pros and cons of being a foreigner is exactly the key factor for the decision wether to live abroad or stay at home. You may find many aspects of a given country interesting and attractive but you have to be satisfied with your long term perspective in that country in order to settle down. As a Czech citizen who visited almost every country in Europe and on top of that Mexico, Argentina, US and Russia, I still consider the Czech Republic the best place where to live (despite so many things that could be improved here).
Great video again! i would love to meet you and Honza and have a beer!
It's great to see someone observing and thinking, discussing i love it! I really like to meet people from other coutries, it helps to undertand each other, the culcure differenceces, their opinions on things and history... I met last week men from FInland, who lives in Czech for years and it was great!
Have you ever thought about setting up a meeting for foreigners with czech people? I would love it!! I am from town Tábor in South Bohemia, if you like history this town has a lot to offer.
Thank you and keep it up! PS: please forgive me for my "English" (i hope my english teacher forgives me too if he will ever read this :D )
What Jen has said totally corresponds to my own experience as a Czech expat in the UK. I have been in a 10 year relationship with a non-Czech partner. Suddenly finding myself in an immigrant’s shoes helped me wake up in my mid-30s from routine and stagnation I was beginning to experience and renewed my interest in other people and their life stories. Plus there are a lot of traits of British culture that appeal to me.
Já ten konec miluju... To rozloučení je prostě úžasný! :D :)
Děkuji, Jan!
@@DreamPrague Hi Jen, the Old Quibbler at your service! Properely you were supposed to say: "Děkuji, Jene." - I know it is archaic way to say it but somehow I still like it more then just modern: "Děkuji, Jane.". ;)
Besides thank you for a new video - I think that there is no universal answer to your question as attitude to such phenomena definitely must be solely individual. Anyway I believe the more you understand the language and more you immerse into Czech culture (film, music, literature) the better grip you get. But it takes time. The more videos and information I get about English or American culture the more jokes I can grasp in shows I watch. Do not be afraid and read more Czech books (if you dare) - Kundera first books might give you great helping hand on the way. ;)
@@DreamPrague Děkuji Jane nebo Honzo... Já vím, čeština je těžká, už jen těch 7.pádů. Ale konec je skutečně roztomilý.
@@toruvalejo6152 Thanks for the advice, Toru! As always :)
@@richardtomecek338 Děkuji...Richarda?
Ahoj Jen! I totally felt that remark on always defending and explaining US jus because you´re american. It is the same if fall in another minority category - if you are jewish (active christian, or even dare to be muslim), everyone will have you as an expert on everything jewish or considering Israel (same for other faiths); if you are gay, you get all the responsibility for all gay people around universe; if you keep tarantula spiders or snakes, you´ll get blame for every exotic pet on the run. It is just a shortcut that normal people take because just little of "normal" people outside of cerntain population groups has chance to meet somebody from the minority. Our country has "well preserved" homogenity, which maybe makes this problem worse. But it´s certainly not nice nor polite behavior and I hope that someday we will know better.
I am boring in any language :p
Vy si teda fandíte... ;)
Your video's are so informative I learn so much ❤️❤️❤️
After 15 years of being a foreigner, I am so looking forward to going back home and also looking forward to seeing my husband as a foreigner for his very first time. He won't be alone so I hope that will help him a lot.
You really don't need to move to another country to don't understand local jokes. These things can differ by social group. For example if I say "my dad is going to Vírovice again" everybody in my family will understand exactly what's going on and everyone else will look at me like "what the hell are you talking about."
It's a great video very honest thanks I liked it. This is just a hunch but you look like you have more to say but you're always so respectful and polite and I like that and appreciate that about you
Vaše videa mě baví Jen. To je to, co od nich očekávám. Většinu z nich přeposílám přátelům. Zpětná vazba kamaráda z Arizony mě pak vždy pobaví.
I am Czech and the fact that we leave waiting room saying "Na shledanou" like we had been engaged in a conversation feels wierd to me my whole life 😁
I will never get used to double prices in different countries - for locals/for foreigners :D But, unfortunately, you can come across this shameful thing here in Prg as well. And, luckily, we have our own "knight" who fights for this balance(among other unfair things) - Janek Rubeš :D
5 years in, black American in Prague and I feel SEEN! THANK YOU
Velice zajímavá videa, a to jak po obsahové, tak i obrazové stránce. Jste žena, která mnohým ukázala, že Američané jsou schopni upřímné a překvapující sebereflexe, kterou my Evropané ani nepředpokládáme a pohled "z druhé strany na tu naši zemičku " je vždy zajímavý, a to i pro nás Čechy. "Klobouk dolů" za zpracování a styl, kterým je toto srovnávání prováděno. Je z toho sice cítit americké pojetí "filmové řeči", ale v tomto kontextu vznikají velmi svěží, vtipná a zajímavá videa. Přeji hodně dalších povedených videí, čím dál více diváků a rád se na tento kanál budu vracet!:) Honza
I was on vacation in Daytona and we went to a beach shop (I was studying Czech at this point). We walked in and noticed the shop keepers. I thought they were speaking a weird form of Spanish, but Dad said they were speaking a Slavic language. I thought “Okay. Portuguese sounds Russian to some people.” I made small talk and asked where they were from if they didn’t mind telling me. She said a country in Eastern Europe. I said well, where at? She said a little place called the Czech Republic. I said “Really?! I’m fascinated with the Czech language and culture and especially the history.” I name off Jan Žižka and she’s convinced. She says to tell her husband, so I tell him, “I’m fascinated with Czech language and culture!” And the best part of the story right here, he said back with a strong Czech accent, “Oh really?! That’s weird.” I speak Czech and they become more and more friendly and eventually give me a free keychain. Before I get a bunch of people saying that this is obviously fake because she said Eastern Europe. I think she did that to be easier on the average American or even better Floridian. I have girls in my class that can’t identify Italy on the map.
Ahoj Jen, I am Czech living in California, now. Your videos are so helpful for me, because you are describing so good the foreigners feelings about culture differences... And I feel it like a big support for me there. The part about how lonely is sometimes to be with people, who don't think you're interesting enough, just because your language isn't fluent and you don't express yourself just like you can in your native language, it's simply so true... You encouraged me to thinking about starting italki lessons, just for feeling better when I meet someone who is interested in "real" conversation or even making friends, instead just smalltalk about where my accent is from or "how are you, fajn, thank you"...
I came here in July with my wife. She is an American with Slovakian parents (they are living here too, since 80's). I noticed before, when we were in Czech Republic together, how the Czech people think about her differently, even if she is an American who speaks like native in Slovakian language, fluently and with confidence, so they understood her very well. She was a foreigner for them all the time, I think because they were not able to understand why she is in Czech Republic when she could be in California or anywhere 🤷 ...she has an American way of thinking, like you said in many of your videos, she is always like: "let's do this, we will find the way", no like Czechs: "there are so many reasons why it's not possible"... And it's why I love her. It was so extraordinary in Czech Republic to meet someone with this thinking and I'm learning from her to see possibilities in every situation. I was her support in ČR, now she is my support here in California. But the cultures are so different sometimes, and the way of life as well... Life in the cars for example is so uncomfortable for me, I was used to walk in the streets of my town in České Budějovice, or Plzeň and Prague where I studied. But I like the exploring american nature so much! There are so many beautiful places and California is so big... I like it.
I'm sorry for so long comment 🤣 I just wanna say you are so true in your videos and it's so much supportive for me, so Thank you for what you do here in your channel.
Děkuju mockrát, Jen. Jsem ti vděčná za tvoje videa, za upřímnost a preciznost, kterou do nich vkládáš. Přeju ti hodně štěstí do nového roku a se zkouškami k občanství a věřím, že se ti to podaří. Držím palce. Posílám pozdrav ze slunné Californie 🌈 do Čech ❄️
Díky, Eliška
"Let's do this, we'll find a way!" Yes, she sounds very American :) So you are living almost the opposite experience as I am! I'm sure it can be frustrating not to express yourself fully. I think it's also hard in California (as much as I love Californians) to find someone who's interested in "real" conversation. Small talk sometimes feels like a way of life there. And oh yes! I feel you on the cars. I used to think a car meant "freedom" and for me now a car is a hassle. I feel free when I can walk everywhere or even take a magical tram that appears out of nowhere at my side to speed me through the city. Přeji ti krasný nový rok!
I was living abroad with my husband for 8 years and 80% of people we met were assuming I was Russian. It was very annoying but be a foreigner and live abroad was the best experience in our lives and we made so many friends there
Hi Jen, cool video - just…you find kind of weird when people greet each other in the waiting room or in an elevator, but on the other hand find completely normal when random people start chatting with each other about i.e. vaccination on the bus from the airport in LA.. Isn’t this sort of similar? Strangers interacting and acknowledging each other?
Já žiju v zahraničí už 15 let a je to fajn, vždy je to o člověku a ačkoliv mám Česko moc rád, tak jsem tu doma, protože tu mám svou rodinu.
OMG! I felt like watching myself talking. Everything you said was exactly how I felt when first moved from Iraq to the United States.
I dont laugh when my boss and other co-workers joke around using movie quoutes 🤣 because I don't get them...
Though I am American now, but I still feel a foreigner sometimes.
God bless you.
I've lived in the UK, Austria and Czech Republic, and experienced other parts of the world and originally from South Africa.
Foreigners in the Czech Republic and local Czechs are like oil and water. Obviously you can still get on with your day and do your thing. For all intents and purposes you might live a normal life. From social standpoint though, you honestly might as well be living in an arctic research station.
After over a decade of living here. I have a child, we own a house, and we do very well in most avenues of life, but I have with 100% certainty "given up" on Czechs. I have found without exception it is impossible to actually befriend them. My experience is also coming from someone who's over 40 and at this age making new friends is a struggle to begin with but with the added complexity of a) Language b) Culture shock c) Apathy or attitude towards foreigners, it's all very much stacked against the foreigner.
Instead what I do is stick to making friends with other foreigners, it honestly doesn't matter from which country, race or religion they're from, my true friends here are other foreigners.
Now obviously that's not a completely idealistic solution, but it is the reality and truth. And my situation is not that uncommon, it's just that most foreigners won't dare to admit it. The foreigners I know here who are of the same age range and have been here a while without exception all 100% of them live in the exact same way. It's not something we really talk about much or dwell on, it falls into that category of "negative" reality people don't want to know about.
This is not per say a knock at Czech people, a quick Google scan can confirm this is a European wide problem. I would say the foreigners living in Switzerland have it even worse. But if you look at surveys done, then Czech Republic ranks right up there as one of the most unfriendly places on earth for foreigners.
When I consider the plight of my fellow South Africans who left the country due to instability, most of those ended up in Australia or perhaps New Zealand, the UK or the US, and in all these countries they are on the whole not only accepted but welcomed and I dare say even cherished. Foreigners in the Czech Republic (or Europe) are generally not cherished, they're tolerated.
Europe is very much comprised of these individual silo cultures which are ultra conservative and are exclusive clubs and do not want change, and language and culture are very much intertwined. The situation for foreigners in the Czech Republic will not improve much until some critical mass is achieved which will likely never happen.
I have resided to the fact that up until the day I die, and hopefully that will still be in another 20-30 years, I'll be hearing the familiar "on je cizinec" routine. This is neither a complaint nor a rant. This is me just chirping in and telling the truth.
I absolutely also forgot to leave my biggest tip and that is to get out of the country as often as possible, remind yourself of the life outside the Czech Republic and interact with people from other cultures as much as possible.
Quite a sad read tbh. I mean... don´t you have a single local CZ neighbour who accepts you as you are and who you can share beer or two with?
Well, the language barrier is indeed a thing. In the English speaking world, it is relativelly easy, becasue it does not matter if one is from the UK, Australia, New Zeland or Canada. All can interact with each other with no real trouble and even with the differences and cultural background, all theese have quite a lot in common.
As opposite to that, our central/southern/eastern european slavic territory has in fact almost nothing in common with this post-Commonwealth world.
I spent almost one year in the UK back in 2003 and luckily for me, my English was good enough to be communicative from the very beginning. And it improved significantly just over a first few months. After 6 months, UK people were actually having difficulties to identify my accent. It was so benefitial for me to be mostly within locals for the most of the day (now I am back to my corporate english crap again, lost most of my charm during last 18 years, but that´s a different story.)
But than I realised not all "immigrants" were like I was trying to be. I met some people from CZ, SK, PL, some of them were ok with English, but some of them could barely order a meal. And I could not imagine myself doing the same thing... travell to a foreign country and actually not being able to communicate on a decent level.
Also, what was really strange experience for me... The huge difference in "ranking"... How low eastern-europeans were wiewed in comparison for example with Pakistanis or people from India and other former British empire countries. If it wasn´t my relativelly good English (by than...) that saved me from most hostile coments, I would probably feel much more like "that guy from some shitty post-communist Russian country."
I have no idea how good you can speak Czech, but if you reach some higher level, all will just open up for you. You mentioned, that you lived here for over adecade by now. After such long time, you simply MUST be fluent in Czech with almost no accent. And considering this, it seems to me almost impossible NOT to be friends with some locals. Try read some books in Czech, learn something about the history, culture... Don´t give upon us! We Czechs tend to be grumpy and always complaining about everything, but we have a huge respect for everyone who shows some balls. So next time you hear that usual "on je cizinec", just tell them "možná cizinec, ale vsadím se, že česky umím lépe, než Andrej Babiš" and you cannot loose ;-)
@@mikasedlinen Thanks for your reply.
What you're saying makes sense, and in theory you would just assume that's how it is. Still I would like to clear up a few things.
Firstly, I do have friends here, it's just that all those friends are foreigners. And these foreigners include western foreigners, Polish and Slovaks.
Next thing is, the language barrier alone isn't the problem. I work with people who speak very good English, who are Czech. I have in the past made more than enough effort to try and establish friendships and that effort has not been met by Czechs.
Regarding neighbors, I think this is a good point you mentioned, which shows me you really do understand the culture. I think here language barrier is very real. In my case though I have 3 good neighbors, one of which is Czech, the other 2 are foreigners. Although the Czech is polite and decent, there's only been some real breakthrough with the foreigners.
Last point I want to clarify is that my situation isn't that unique. In my travels, I find foreigners here from western countries who's Czech skills do not exceed my own and who are in very similar situations. To be clear I haven't met one western foreigner here who I would say is well integrated, at least not in my age group, or who isn't for example a Czech-American, or moved to Czech Republic at a young age.
The statement I'm making is that if you move to Czech Republic as an adult over 30, you most likely will never integrate and ever be one with the locals.
I'm also saying, I don't believe this is unique to Czech Republic, surely the same problem exists across Europe, but I do believe that since Czech Republic is so ultra conservative and has so few foreigners and relatively fresh exit from socialism and separation with lower English levels that other Central and Western European countries, the effect is more noticeable in Czech Republic than other Western nations.
@@blahdiblah2169 you are probably right about the age being important. When I was abroad, I was in my mid-twenties. Easy to cope with all issues imaginable, no kids, no responsibility, wellcoming And loving parents waiting at home if something goes wrong... your situation Is far more different. And as we know, personal experience cannot ne shared or passed to someone easily. Anyway - Good luck. 😎👍🏻
The thing about "hometown in Belarus" was particularly touching :D And also a special like for loud and public nose blowing: I'm not from Japan (from Belarus) but I still can't adapt to that. Thanks, very few people talk about it out loud :D
Belarus is not bad as we know where it is and what's going on in there :-). But there are many other far away countries people know nothing about like Mongolia in Asia. Because people know close to nothing about them it can be very difficult to start a conversation. On the other hand people don't want to talk about the usual things like how you're doing in Czechia as it's expected to be a very common question.
To co říkáte je moc výstižné a pravdivé. To v rozloučení při odchodu z čekárny znamená asi toto ' Byli jste fajn ale už musím jít a ať vám to dobře dopadne" asi tak
Wow. Been living in Switzerland for 13 years and there are a lot of similarities to recognize here.
as an expat from Spain who is living in Prague for more than 3 years, I can ensure that what you are saying is totally true :-)
I’m not surprised that people are interested in your culture. As you mentioned, american culture is everywhere. I’m part of the first generation here that basicaly grew up with your culture. With american movies, tv shows, books, music. It’s been more than a decade since I even got to the point where I even often think or dream in English. Since early age I feel like american and czech cultures are both equal part of my life. And yet I have never been to US or UK :) But I hope to visit US one day with my family :)
I think it's more a case of her being an extravert, and good with people in general, so people would find conversation over American culture.
I'm a boring 40 something white guy without boobs and no one wants to discuss American culture with me.
Ahoj Jen, další koment. Práce v ČR. Když se necháš zaměstat v mezinárodní společnosti, kde je oficiální jazyk angličtina, budeš benefitovat na znalosti řeči. Většina manažerů kde pracuji, jsou rodilí mluvčí. Čechů jen velmi malé množství.
Well, I've lived in the US for decades now (originally from S Moravia), incl 5 yrs in California, and can attest that the take-your-shoes-off business varies a lot. Quite a few Americans leave dirty shoes in a mud room (if they have a house) and walk around in socks. On the other hand, some foreigners in the US adopted the habit of keeping their shoes on. It can get really confusing, I usually get around it by simply asking the host "do you want me to take my shoes off"? Some say "Nah!", some "Yes, please!", others "No need to, but whatever makes you more comfortable", in which case I obviously take them off......................Now about the old country - what cracked me up in Czechland (it was in mid-90s, hopefully it's changed by now), was when I got yelled at by an old lady (city worker) for walking on grass in a small town central park. Nešlapte po trávě!!!! Presumably the grass was meant only for looking at but not for walking on :-)....Sharing this experience with my friends later on, they were incredulous - what the hell is grass in a park meant for, if not for walking , laying, or doing a picnic on it? Call it a cultural difference, too :-)
It was like that everywhere with grass in the past, but I think they are very changing it in last years with more local city governments and mayors. When everything was ruled by those big political parties, everything was like with the grass you can't walk on, today it's much more relaxed.
@@Pidalin If so, that would be a small progress :-) Otherwise every country has pros and cons, it seems to me Jen focuses mostly on Czech pros (highlighting cons would likely earn her some adversarial reactions). E.g. one aspect of living there that always irked me was the infamous "trvalé přihlášení pobytu", which goes contrary to my long held belief it's no one's business where I live, permanently or temporarily. No such thing exists in the US and quite frankly, I do not understand why Czech are so hung up on this mandatory requirement that originated during the Habsburg empire, survived the First Republic, was taken over by Nazis, and even more eagerly by the Communists...It survives to this day, probably because Czech bureaucrats can't live w/o it.
Intresting, thank you for sharing. :)
My experience/opinion about parks especially near castles and history buildings are visited a lot and walking grass is prohibited there for a reason, so the ones that came there after you see the same nice park. I saw some castles with totaly ruined gardens because with low budget you cant spend enough time and money to the park and when thousands people are walking around on the grass, it gets totally ruined, it becomes mudland instead of park with nice grass. But in cities it is allowed in most parks i believe (sometimes there are areas for picnics), there are of couse exceptions and some parks dont allow dogs/animals.
@@d1191962 You described it perfectly. In this aspect, Czechia is very similar to Germany and Austria. Rules are rules! :)
Being a foreigner is challenging. Definitelly. But many of negatives can be switched into positives:
Dating - You are exotic, unkknow, maybe your language can sound cute or strong, you are just interesting person for someone else. For some locals you can be inspiring or they will admire you: Oh you could learn new language and move so far from home
Meeting people: You are not just "one of millions", just gray crowd. You are part of unique community. Community of foreign people in new country who have lots of common problems, can meet each other, solve the problems, share their expereances just beacuse they moved to same country. You would not talk about common problems with neighbours from side block. And special community are people from your home country. I found that in Canada, usually people moving to another country are not lazy, selfish bastards, they are open minded and have lots of common. So you find sometimes better "natives" in foreign country than at home
Jobs: You are native in forign language. Thats huge benefit for international companies. But yes as a doctor, it could be problem
Your culture: As mentioned make your self interesting.
I agree with all these points, Desperoro! I feel like a rare bird being a foreigner, it's fun and exciting all the time!
Something is telling me that leaving your doctor's office we should never say "na shledanou" it feels like we will see each other again ..? I would rather say " ... s bohem ..." Or like in Ostrava would say " zdar buh"
Great video as always ...
4:40 I'd say more like the other way around, american films (cause, hollywood, obviously) and british music (personally I'd pick Queen, beatles, rolling stones,... over Backstreet boys, anyday) ;)
Hey Jen, hope you got around to reading the post by RIK and the subsequent replies... Might shed some light on your bemused 'Na shledanou' in waiting rooms that you've mentioned in a couple of your videos (some in Czech as an added bonus ;))
Pro mne byla samotna premierova jizda na Mestskem okruhu pomerne drsnym probuzenim , na druhou stranu se nedaji ale ani posat vsechny lahodne momenty s chlebicky ,vlasakem a mechurkou.
Great video, thanks!
Jen jedna poznámka, neb mne to trochu urazilo :-( Nás zajímá kultura každého cizince i kdyby byl z Azerbajdžánu. Ale jinak moc pěkné postřehy.
Nemusíte se urážet pane. Napsal jste "nás". To mluvíte za všechny obyvatele ČR?
Já myslím že to bylo mířený na Amíky... ty že to nezajímá a dokonce když někdo řekne že je třeba Čech, tak si myslí že je vlastně Rus.
@@jayxfrost8987 nebo Čečenec
Jasne Jen, ak sa niekedy nahodou stretneme, tak budem hovorit zasadne po slovensky, aby sa tvoja cestina zlepsila :-D :-D :-D
Encountering various cultural differences also includes hygienic habits and it is quite logical.
In Europe, we blow into a tissue. The Arabs pull it in and probably swallow it, yikes. In Japan a nd part of China you can coat or cough and spit mucus. This is socially acceptable as opposed to blowing the nose.
If you are left-handed and you are going to the Arab states, India or North Africa, forget about your left hand. In these countries, they use it instead of toilet paper and it is therefore considered dirty. Do not shake it, and under no circumstances use it when dining. Otherwise, you can easily earn a hummus sticker.
Eye contact is also interesting, in the US it is required during conversation, as a sign of sincerity. Here and in Germany it is required for a toast, otherwise in conversation evasion means shyness. In Japan, you will embarrass people, and somewhere it's a straight provocation.
Clapping, croaking and farting are also different everywhere, not to mention the rituals in the toilet.
In Japan it really is not OK to cough and spit mucus.
It really depends where you choose to live. I started as a French Canadian and the Quebecers really ram your foreignness down your throat. You cannot open your mouth in Quebec, without being asked: "Where are you from?". It can happen at a bus stop when you ask for directions. Your taxi driver will be curious about your accent. Opening a bank account? Going to the hairstylist? They WILL ask. No matter if your French is fluid and your accent is slight - they'll keep asking. There is an enormous irony in their attitude because they have a huge accent when compared with the classic European French. (I had no problems of this sort in France. They couldn't care less about my origins.)
So, because of this, my husband and I moved to the English part of Canada. The anglophone mentality is very much like my own. I have been living under the Rocky Mountains for decades now, and I don't really feel like a foreigner anymore. I'm sure, Jen, that with each decade added to your sojourn in Czechia, you will feel more and more at home. Say hello to Prague for me. (I had to cancel my trip this year again. Darn Covid complications...)
It would be funny to tell them that's how French speak in Europe!
Hi Jen, you are spot on with your observations. I live in Australia for 40 years ( originally from Czech Republic) and I still don’t feel like I belong. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, have great friends and family but still something is missing. Btw love your videos ❤️
Very interesting and enjoyable video. Shared culture is a real thing. I like that you accept that you will never truly be Czech, no matter how long you live in the country. The same is true in any country: America, England, Australia, etc. Some people consider it racist to think this way. What a load of crap. In Australia we are very accepting of foreigners who want to come and live in Australia. But there is a difference between someone who immigrated here and someone who is born here. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a thing.
I’m hoping to live in the Czech Republic one-day and I’m looking forward to being the foreigner 😬
Hi Jen, just a little trivia from my own experience... It's true that in most of the world no one will try to speak Czech with me. But in a few, they do. It has happened to me many times that in Slavic countries, like Poland or Balkan countries, people have tried to talk to me in Czech. Of course, we ended up slipping into English, but I have to say that the effort was there.
Hi Jen, sorry to ask you this question but why do do you call your husband Honza? He is also from states, right?
8:00 Hey, why are you call that boring, It would be a pleasure for me, and it is also a great topic to talk about with a glass of beer in front of us 👍. My friend has a UK husband and we have a great fun, when we discuss those things
Hey... Consider the lack of eye contact and discussion as a "preservative" - in its original neutral meaning - to your privacy and that Nashle at the end as a sign of "We are happy we had so much space in between us". Just thinking... Its not rude. Its different... Thanks for pointing that out. ;-)
Ahoj Jen. I didn't introduce myself. I'm Mike. My mother is former Czech and I grew up here every summer as a kid till was 15. I've always considered it my second home. I've never met any other Americans living here. I do have some great Czech friends here. Several years ago I bought a flat here. Hope to connect and make new connections.
CZ:
Ahoj Jano, mám pro tebe vtipný zážitek z konverzace s jednou francouzskou rodinou, u které jsem byla na výměnném pobytě.
Jednou chvíli před obědem jsem s nimi seděla na gauči, koukali jsme na televizi a oni si mezi sebou povídali francouzsky. Neumím sice moc mluvit a skoro nerozumím francouzsky, ale poznala jsem, že otec zmínil Česko a řekl něco jako "V Česku mluví rusky?". Ihned jsem mu odpověděla, že nemluvíme rusky, ale česky a že Češi nejsou Rusové.
Trochu mě to namíchlo a říkala jsem si, že jsou docela mimo mísu. :D
EN:
Hi Jen, I have a fun story for you about a conversation with a French family, with whom I've been on an exchange stay.
One day a while before lunch we sat on a couch and watched TV and they talked to each other in French. I don't speak nor understand French that much, but I recognized that the father mentioned Czechia and said something like "Do they speak Russian in the Czech Republic?". I immediately answered him that we do not speak Russian, but we speak Czech and that the Czech people are not the same people as the Russian.
It made me angry a little and I thought to myself that they didn't know much. :D
Měj se hezky,
Peace & Love,
Nela✌️❤️
As a foreigner(ofcourse) you have to adapt to the region things(whatever are those) but when you have no idea about their culture/habbits first thing you do is what you know and for that you will be instantly judged insted of correct you or inform you because even if they know that you are a foreigner they don't care because is easier.Of course there are exceptions.
BTW, I hope it isn't rude to ask, but is he really named Honza or is it something he adapted here? I got from your previous videos he is American, but that's why it always strikes me, when you mention his name.
I have it the other way around, I'm native Czech speaker but I fell more confident and expressive speaking English
Ahoj Jen, next more inspiration for you... tema nakupovani v CR vs Kalifornie. Tesco, Lidl, Kaufland, Iceland. In South America, they take away your purchase at the checkout. In Prague not. You have to put the purchase in the bag quickly.
When people switch to English when near someone who speaks great English (it doesn't need to be a native speaker) and very little local language, it's actually for their own benefit, not to accommodate the foreign person. This is very common in countries / social circles with good English knowledge and it has purely practical reasons. It's much easier to speak in language we both know well, than trying to decipher someone's broken Czech or whatever. I understand why it's annoying for someone who tries to learn the language (I've been there myself :)) but if you're out for a few drinks, the last thing you want is to struggle to understand your peers. It's easier if everyone just speaks a language everyone else knows well.
I know people who are not native English speakers and had the same problem with everyone switching to English in various countries when they tried to learn the local language. English is simply our lingua franca :) That's also reason why no one will attempt to speak Czech in England (apart from the fact that almost no English people speak any Czech so I'm not sure how they even could try, other than generating random sounds :)).
Jane, jak jsem pochopil, tak u tebe převládají pozitivní stránky - jinak by jsi se zde netrápila. A k tomu žít v jiné zemi : rád bych ( líbila by se mi Latinská Amerika), ale je mi 70 let a navíc nemám dar (či vůli) naučit se cizímu jazyku - tak už zůstanu v Česku.
Přeji Vám vše nejlepší
Who said Belarus? 😮
Wanna talk about my home city Minsk? 😂
Yeah!
@@DreamPrague How about a collab video then? 😲
I can show you and Honza a couple of puzzles from my collection and talk about life of a russian speaking foreigner in Prague.
But on the bright side if you do anything that seems too weird to the locals you can just blame it on being a foreigner :D I do it while dealing with my monster in law and once I say 'it's a Polish thing' she stops talking about it lol
714 / 5000
Výsledky překladu
I don't think it helped the Czech / Russia / Latin America comparison much. It is something like an Austrian / American (USA). The same language group and also Hitler is not from Venice, California and the band The door is not from Austria and at the same time the Anglo-Saxons are the same. The Czechs identified themselves in the 19th century from a unifying Germany. In fact, they had their first great experience with Russia when the legionaries fought the Bolsheviks. For 120 years, Prague was the seat of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 3 times longer than there was any socialism. The Czech lands were the imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1002 until the Napoleonic Wars, and it was not until 1866 (when the greatest battles of Austria-Hungary and Prussia took place here) that the Czech lands finally ceased to be part of the German Confederation.
I'm a little worried about this video. I hope you're all right. You seem to be going through a bit of a crisis.
Some of my Czech friends emigrated to the US and had to adapt, a friend of mine who was a programmer with a degree had to work as a security guard in a supermarket and it took a couple of years to get a position that matched his skills.
No crisis, just trying to give the negative side. That must have been had for your friend!
Ahoj Jennifer, negativa a pozitiva člověka, který žije v cizině jsou pochopitelný. Pozitivní věci které uvádíš ve svých videích o životě v Čechách se z 80% vztahují na Evropu.Mnoho věcí je shodné, nebo podobné kdekoliv v západní Evropě. Tak abys žila v Praze ,na to nestačí levné pivo nebo levná veřejná doprava. Možná proto lidé v tvém okolí nevěřícně kroutili hlavou,když jsi jim řekla,že jsi z Kalifornie. Ale ty máš dobrodružství v krvi. A my jsme rádi, že jsi si vybrala k životu Prahu a necháváš své videa překládat do češtiny, což asi není úplně levné.
I really liked your video but the 8th part about limited work opportunities in Czech Republic is highly inaccurate. Definitely if you don't speak the language, your opportunities will be limited, but if you speak Czech, you're good as everyone else in your job and you have the necessary qualifications, no one cares where you come from. Im a med student and I know many classmates from years above me that have graduated and found jobs here. Same with other highly skilled professions. And this happens in every EEA country. The catch is to learn the language.
OMG I hated the way people always switched to English when I lived abroad. I was upper intermediate in the local language and people would think I was just repeating a phrase from a book or something because of my accent. Eventually it stopped though, but the same thing at parties, I purposefully didn't befriend some people because they wanted to use me for free English lessions.
I feel your pain! Every time I try to speak Czech in Brno I always get people switching to get free English practice! If there are untrained tutors out there charging 500 CZK an hour for conversation, why should we work for free? 😡
Interesting comment I've heard that from many people perhaps you could set something up or you teach English under the table maybe?
@@dhand0178 I don't work in the industry and don't want to!
@@dhand0178 Me neither. I just want to have some Czech friends to hang out with and speak Czech to but unfortunately most just seem to want to take advantage. Sad really.
@@ShunShufen What about asking them to speak in Czech with you? You know, they are not telepats ;-) Or if they would not, answer only in Czech :) We Czechs can take it, we are not made of sugar.
Ahoj Jenifer, môj naivný pohľad na zamestnanie občana USA v Prahe je taký že prídete do nadnárodnej Americkej spoločnosti a máte slušne platenú prácu.
I takové společnosti řeší kvalifikaci - vzdělání, předchozí pracovní zkušenosti, atd. "I'm American" není pracovní kvalifikace :)
@@MarvinCZ českí a slovenskí emigranti v USA si hľadali komunitu čechoslovákov ktorá im často pomohla s prácou a začiatkom v exile, prečo by to nemalo fungovať rovnako ?
@@user-kk5vh1zb5u Nefunguje. Američtí expats nejsou exulanti, kteří uprchli z domova jen s tím co unesli. Nepotřebují pomoc, aby měli šanci přežít v nové zemi.
Pokud dnes někdo vyjede z US bez zajištění práce a/nebo dostatečných prostředků, tak to Američané budou brát spíše jako jeho neschopnost.
No, ono konkrétně těch amerických společností tady není hodně. Díky zvláštnímu zvyku koupit zdejší firmu a přivést ji cugrunt. Endemičtí výrobci našeho bílého zlata by mohli vyprávět a nejen oni. Hláška, že kam v businessu vkročí Američan, tam sto let tráva neroste, je dost běžná.
Loved the sponsor spot. I am purchasing NordVPN right away, if it prevents bad actors from entering my screen :-D (pun intended)
😂
Hi. Great VIDEO.
So true
3: 26 thats so not true, they will gonna try, they so gonna try over and over and over again to mangle my name in the most polite manner. But what they really never gonna try for some unknown( to me) reason is to try to trust me and accept its nearly impossible for non Czech to pronounce it as it means to be pronounced and that it just means George in Czech and Im more than fine with them calling me that.
They never do, sometimes they do it once but thats it and next time i'm again Jirry, Yiri, Yuri, Jurry, or anything really depending on the person and often on day cos one person often uses more than one version of their interpretation of my name.
I prefer to bother foreigners (mostly Americans) and make them say my Czech name, but some of them don't care and use the English version. :-)
Anyway, Jiří Řehůřek is a perfect tongue twister. :-D
no Jirka vysloveny v anglictine zni dost divne, skoro jako jerk. takze americanum se tohle rikat moc nechce a radeji pouziji George. no a chtit aby rekli Jiri s ceskym prizvukem je hodne idealisticke.
Rehurek je taky dobry lingvisticky orisek :-)
You'll never be a local when you live abroad. It can all be fun and games when starting out, but as you age into the years of health issues, you can be presented with something 2 different doctors said to me : "You should go back to your home country for that surgery". This despite years paying into the health service of the country I live in, and not being covered any more for health costs in my "home" country. Despite asking, no referral to a hospital was given to what they termed "elective" surgery. For a surgery that in my home EU country is seen as necessary surgery to treat a chronic condition. So you have to think of the consequences for your later life if you decide to live abroad. Especially if you don't speak the local language well, and your native language isn't widely spoken in the place where you live.
I know a guy who's been living in the Czech Republic for 30 years and he's still known as "The Bulgarian". You're correct and if you look at most of the discussion on things related to being a foreigner then the bulk of the talk is from younger people with very limited experience living in that country, who will almost surely one day return home.
Yes, it's exciting and fun to begin with, but for most westerners who live outside of Prague the culture shock is just too extreme. The language too difficult, and most simply do not integrate. Sure they might pay their taxes and keep a job, but they aren't making any real ground on the social side.
I find most of the discussions on life as a foreigner tend to touch on mindless things like price of beer or where to buy certain foods.
What people don't really understand is that to live life in the Czech Republic means to be a perpetual foreigner. Basically something odd, not really wanted and different. A problem that is with you on any given Monday or any Saturday of the year, there is no escaping it or break from it.
The retention rates of western foreigners in this country are entirely dismall the vast majority by far end up leaving. The only exceptions I know are those who end up marrying a Czech and have kids here. Without exception all the rest of the foreigners I've known here ended up leaving.
Myslím že to randění musí být super, člověk se naučí o jiné kultuře, zvycích a myslím si že je to podobné jak se říká: "Kolik řečí umíš, tolikrát jsi člověkem." akorát je to ještě takový "level up"
Já osobně bych měla problém už jenom s dorozuměnim,já se nedokázala naučit ani rusky. Chudák cizínec!!!
O problematice emigrace / imigrace, přijetí "místních" a tiché diskriminaci bych mohl psát do rána, je to na knihu. Jako vše v životě, jsou dobré i špatné stránky. Škoda je jen, že imigranti, kteří pracují, platí daně, respektují místní pravidla a přijali ČR jako svoji zem často naráží od "místních" a to právě od těch co měli modrou knížku, všemi způsoby obcházejí placení daně, vždy hledají díry v zákonech a jak si namastit kapsu....naráží právě od nich a jiných křiváků a primitivů, že oni jsou i po 50ti letech stále cizinci a NIKDY nebudou "našinci". To je ta malá, připosraná duše a úzkoprsost protkaná špatnou historickou zkušenosti. Výše uvedené se netýká celé společnosti ale jen její části. Ale ve srovnání s ostatními zeměmi, zde je to asi lepší průměr v toleranci a rozumném spolužití. Také se to mění rychle k lepšímu (zejména Praha a okolí) alespoň ve vnímání mladších generací a zkušenějších a vzdělanějších lidi, kteří trošku po světě cestovali, oproti menšině primitivů se silnými předsudky (platí to oboustranně).
Tobik!
If you don't immigrate to a country as a child, you'll never really fit in.🤷♀️
Ahoj, Jen! Když tě potkáme někde v Praze, byla bys tedy raději, abychom s tebou mluvili česky a ne anglicky?
I didn’t really see a lot of negative in the video devoted to being a foreign person in the Czech Republic.
I would only consider being a foreigner in an English speaking country. I am waaaayy too lazy to learn any new languages. So that is one negative less :-D. But yea. It's true that I will never be able to express myself to my full potential in English as I can in Czech.
Jeden "vtip", který můžete používat při cestě autem nebo přecházení ulice. "Zprava dobrý, zleva tanky" - Miroslav Liďák 1968
"Zprava dobrý", byla její poslední slova.
@@velkymaly1786 jojo, poslední věta před smrtí, zprava dobrý 😂😂
Jestli chceš mluvit někde česky , zajeď na akce do příhraničních oblastí všichni jsme se tu po převratu učili německy , neboť do r.cca2005 tu anglinu nikdo nepožadoval . Byly tu jen německé firmy a všichni požadovali němčinu . Takže anglicky mluví převážně jen ti narození po r.90 nebo ve velkých městech kde obchodní spol. angličtinu požadovali .
Take se tu ucilo, narozeni i po roce 1980... na zakladni skole se ucila Anglictina :) Ano nemluvime tak dobre, ale pozname to z her napr Sega, PC.
I LOBE YOUR VIDEOS
I LOBE YOU! :)
:D
@@DreamPrague Guys, get a lobby!
@@jammmy30 🤣
@@DreamPrague your videos are so informative I learn so much form your videos ❤️❤️❤️
Udelej video na tema bezpecnost L.A. vs Praha :) where is it safer? compare L.A. vs Prague :)