Czech in the Big City

by Veronika Svobodova

I have always loved learning about different cultures. From joining the traditional Javanese Gamalan orchestra to learning the dance steps of the Greek Tsifteteli, I’ve always been the kind of person who’s eager to travel the world and meet new people as much as possible. So when I was asked to come and work with Translatus in Chicago, I knew it was a great opportunity for me to experience life in yet another part of the world.

I was born in a small town in Moravia, the eastern region of the Czech Republic. In January of 1996 my family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. While there, we also visited nearby countries like Singapore and Thailand, and then moved on to live in Thessaloniki, Greece. After almost 9 years of living abroad, my family moved back to the Czech Republic. I decided to move to the capital city of Prague, where later, in April 2006, I started working with Translatus Inc as a project manager in the Operations Department.

Moving to Chicago was my first time ever visiting the US. I knew right from the start it was going to be quite different from anywhere else I’ve been, so I decided to get ready for the unexpected.

Here are some of my impressions of living in Chicago so far:

1) Everything is large, or sometimes even extra large (to my “small” European eyes, that is) large cars, large streets, tall buildings, large meals….

2) The food is really good. I haven't had food here yet that I didn’t like. What is quite surprising though (at least for me) is the fact that everything is served with chips. Posters on restaurants and sandwich corners invite you to "have a healthy meal" while you get your “healthy” meal served with a bag of chips. I’m not really sure how healthy that is.

3) Certain things are just quite different and at first just a little confusing for those who don’t know. While grocery shopping, when you pay for your items, your change in coins comes through an automated machine into a little bowl, while the bills are handed to you by the cashier. The first time I went grocery shopping the cashier had to scream after me and point out to the place where I "forgot" to take my change from.

4) Generally people in Chicago are very nice and friendly. It always brightens my day to see people smile not only at me but also at each other

5) However, sometimes this friendliness can be too much. Having a waitress ask you how your food is three times during your lunch as you’ve just taken another bite of your hamburger isn’t exactly my kind of fun. Luckily this doesn’t happen that often.

6) Everybody's always trying to sell you something or make you contribute to some organization, or even save you from your sins. A short walk from one corner of the street to another may include a sales person trying to sell you a voucher to a near by salon, an activist trying to make you contribute to the saving of the environment, a young lady inviting you to a "free" makeover (with the purchase of the product of course) and a street preacher screaming in a microphone and giving out pamphlets.

7) Going shopping can sometimes be a little nerve-racking. You are constantly followed by shopping assistants who try to give you "their best deal" just so they can sell you something. One incident involved the sales person going so far and telling my colleague that he just contradicted himself. We left the shop without buying anything. Lesson learned: coming on too strong and aggressive may result in no sales at all

The city and I are reflected in Millennium Park's "Cloud Gate",

also affectionately called "the bean" by many Chicagoans.

Over all I am enjoying these little differences in culture and so far it has been an interesting experience living in the US. I will write more about my life in Chicago in the next couple of months and then towards the end of my visit in October, hopefully also with some news from my travels throughout the US.