A Farewell to Prague
the eye abroad
PrintIf there is one thing studying abroad has taught me, it's that college students are for the most part infinitely adaptable. As I look back on the last three months, and the month still ahead of me, the little obstacles that seemed insurmountable at the beginning have become a part of my daily life. I take it for granted now that my day will begin with a cold, hand-held shower and that I will probably slip and fall when trying to get out of the very communist-era tub. I've learned to use large amounts of fabric softener when doing my laundry in the rickety machines, and have come to appreciate the freshness of sun-dried towels. I've conquered my cravings for guacamole, creamy peanut butter, and bottomless cups of coffee. I barely bat an eye at the small idiosyncrasies of Czech life, including needing keys to get out of a building, being served half a liter of beer with my breakfast omelet, purposefully misleading store hours and "open" signs, and an abundance of leopard-print denim. It takes visitors pointing out a particularly gruesome statue or strange custom for me to realize that yes, men whipping their wives with willow sticks in celebration of Easter day is perhaps a bit archaic.
The many different languages and cultures I encounter on a daily basis are a constant reminder that I am in a truly cosmopolitan European capital, one that is quickly becoming a hotspot destination for tourists and expats alike. Recently, a former teacher of mine was reminiscing via e-mail about the few weeks she spent in Prague in the early 1990s, shortly after the fall of Communism and break-up of the country into separate Czech and Slovak nations. She remembered seeing a line of at least hundred people wrapped around Old Town Square, waiting for almost an hour to buy small, four-dollar Dixie cups of Coca-Cola, previously unavailable under the Communist government. Now Western banks, restaurants, and retail shops have a strong and visible presence throughout the region, most openly apparent in the McDonald's "golden arches" which have conquered every Eastern European city. In the past twenty years, the former Communist bloc has embraced mass consumerism with open arms, while still maintaining a quiet, eccentric charm that is distinctly non-Western.
There is a lot to learn about democracy and capitalism from studying in a country that has yet to really figure them out. Since I've arrived in Prague, the Czech government has been dissolved and re-created. The economies of many Eastern European countries have collapsed and been built back up. Events that would have shaken the foundations of American society are just part of the normal development of countries where these institutions are only a few decades old. My Czech professors, who include the original drafter of the Czech constitution and a former Presidential candidate, are constantly reminding us not to approach our study of the political system with such an "American" eye. More and more, however, the Czechs are looking at America, and American students, in a more positive instead of ambivalent way. Since the Czech Republic has held the EU Presidency for the past six months, President Obama chose Prague for his first foreign policy speech in early April. Having experienced the frenzy of the DNC in Denver and Inauguration Day in D.C., I didn't expect this version of "Obama-rama" to be on quite the same level of excitement. However, the crowds began massing in the wee hours of the morning and, with the beautiful old castle as a backdrop, thousands of Czechs, Europeans, and American alike cheered for our new president who has truly achieved an international celebrity status.
Last week President Obama signed a bill significantly expanding the Peace Corps/AmeriCorps program and ensuring that many more young Americans will be volunteering and working abroad in the years to come. Hopefully previously Wall Street-bound college graduates – including Columbia seniors without employment prospects –will see this route as an alternative path in the turbulent economy, and gain the benefits of an amazing experience in the process. Travel is supposed to be a way to escape your comfort zone; in my case, it was the Columbia bubble that had become overly comfortable over the last three years. In some ways I have accomplished this: I have experienced the beauty of Venetian canals and Roman ruins, the rolling hills of Tuscany, the quirkiness of Budapest, the trippy Gaudi architecture and beaches of Barcelona, the crazy nightlife of Krakow and Amsterdam, the ruins of the Berlin Wall, and the G20 riots in London – all of which seem a world away from Morningside Heights. I've stayed in hostels that ranged from charming to downright dangerous, and tried my luck with the "couch surfing" fad. I've met a network of budget-travelers, backpackers and students from every continent, all trying to experience as much as possible before settling into permanent homes and jobs. I've developed independence, "street smarts," and an unquenchable desire to see the world that would be hard to gain by any other means. But at the end of each trip, exhausted from traveling, I cannot wait to return to my beautiful, creaky old apartment and regular Praguian coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and parks. I haven't escaped my comfort zone as much as created a new one that will be just as difficult, if not more difficult, to escape.
30 April 2009
vol. 6, issue 12
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