Hi, it’s Lily again! As a reminder, I participated in “maymester” abroad program to Prague, Czech Republic and Krakow, Poland and returned at the end of May. I am excited to share and reflect back on all my amazing experiences from last month!
Before I applied to this specific program, I was forewarned that I would be completing a course abroad in only three weeks, making it very structured and giving me little free time. I prepared my mindset accordingly and was ready for all the academic activities planned by the program coordinator. However, once I received the schedule, I realized I had so much free time! Classes were usually only an hour every morning and there were only a few days that were fully planned. I recognized that to truly engage with the culture, I had to have an open mindset. The more time we spent in the cities, the more aware I became of all the incredible opportunities each city had to offer. The best part about the program was the easy transportation access with trains, trams, and metros which allowed us to go anywhere. This led our group to discover towers with beautiful overlooks of the city; flower gardens and parks; intricate cathedrals; hidden artwork; unique topography from hiking trails; underground jazz clubs; free concerts; and cat and bunny cafes. These experiences gave us opportunities to meet and interact with Czech and Polish people and even other study abroad students. I believe that most of the value I got from the program came from my own ability to explore and embrace what these cities had to offer.
Besides my own personal exploration, the program activities themselves exposed me to experiences I could’ve never found on my own. One of the best day trips we went on included seeing the silver mine in Czech Republic and the salt mine in Poland. These two mines were starkly different, but both were very memorable. In the silver mine we had to dress in white lab coats and construction hats as we entered the tight walls of the silver mine. Sometimes the sides got very narrow, and the ceilings got so low that we almost had to crawl. On the other hand, the salt mine was gigantic and although we saw such a small portion of it, we still went over 300 meters deep. The mine was so large that there were fully built churches, concert halls, and dining rooms. Another once in a lifetime opportunity was getting to tour the Auschwitz concentration camp. Most of it was destroyed during or after the war, but to stand where such a tragedy happened is something you can never fully express in words. The most overwhelming part was when we were shown some tragic photographs taken at the exact spot we were standing, and it was almost like you could imagine it happening in real time.
Looking back on my experience, I remember expecting a strong culture shock, but when I was in Prague, I couldn’t help seeing all its similarities with Pittsburgh. The rivers, bridges, cathedrals and churches, public transportation, diversity with people and food, and multiple Starbucks and McDonalds reminded me of a lot of Pittsburgh. Additionally, most people in Czech Republic spoke English or were patient while working with an English speaker so there was not much difficulty with the language barrier. However, there were some differences in Europe that weren’t easy to navigate. Unlike in the US, there is no free public water access like water fountains or water bottle filling stations. At restaurants, you must pay for water and was expensive relative to the cost of a beer. For five dollars you would only get one glass of water while you could get a pint of beer for 50 cents. Also, there was no free public restrooms available, and bathrooms cost a few coins. In America you could stop at a gas station or a restaurant and use their bathroom for free, but in Europe you must either buy something there or pay for the restroom. In addition, even with public transportation walking was our main way of getting around, making us easily walk 30,000 steps a day. Overall, the lack of water and limited use of bathrooms on top of walking 10 miles a day made us extremely exhausted at the end of each day. But all the incredible experiences I had made it completely worth it, and I cherish every single part of this adventure.
