Experiential Blog 7

To my surprise I feel that I have had minimal culture shock for the majority of the trip; for the most part the people that I have encountered were fairly similar to people back home in the United States. I feel that the main difference that I have noticed is that nearly everyone is polite and courteous; at home this is not always the case. I have had several pleasant conversations with locals that seem genuinely interested in where I am from and what brings me to wherever I may be at that time, and this is always a good experience because it seems like people like to know what my life is like as well. Something that I have noticed that is a pretty big contrast to back home is the hours of businesses. Most stores close fairly early in the evening with exceptions to pubs and some restaurants; I think this is a big indicator of the lifestyle not only in London, but also Vienna. Prague seemed to me like it was an all-hours of the night kind of city; I thought it was interesting how at any given time of the day, whether it be 4 in the afternoon or 4 in the morning, there were people dressed casually walking around the streets. My experience with Prague has lead me to believe that there is a minuscule concept of time; time was less of a number and more like a color of the sky. Prague was my favorite city because there was always something to see or do, and the people there were extremely friendly. I think that the place that I had the most difficulty with adjusting to was Vienna. The quietness of Vienna did not surprise me, because we had been forewarned. Because of this quiet nature I expected the people of Vienna to be polite and friendly; instead I often felt like I was being frowned upon in a disgusted manor. In one incident a bicyclist literally spit at my feet, and I suddenly felt like the smallest most unwelcome visitor in such a large city. Vienna was beautiful, but for me it was the low of my trip. From my experiences in foreign countries I feel more strongly than ever that a reserved nature and attitude is probably the best possible way of behaving in foreign environments or situations. In addition to this, I think it is prudent to avoid making assumptions about other cultures. From my time abroad I can say that you will never truly know a culture until you experience it firsthand.