我的留学时光如何让我更了解自己的身份 

我有幸 布拉格留学 在我大三的春季学期. 我在布拉格的那段时间对我的 身份 在很多方面，我很感激这次经历. I learned how to appreciate other identities and cultures, and to accept my own 身份.  

身份差异 

之前 宝博体育, it was mentioned during orientation at my home university that European countries view culture differently than we do in the U.S. 许多欧洲国家相当单一, with their populations typically made up of only people native to that country. 正因为如此, many countries aren’t particularly accepting of ethnicities different from those most prevalent in that area. 的 捷克共和国 这是一个特殊的例子吗, 直到20世纪90年代初一直处于苏联共产主义统治之下, 这是最近才发生的. 因为这个国家处于共产主义统治之下, they’re known to have fewer immigrants and residents who are racially or ethnically different from Czechs. 知道了这一点, I was worried that as someone who didn’t look like I was native to the 捷克共和国, 我会显得格格不入.

我和室友在布拉格的第一个周末住在城堡里, this is one of 布拉格’s most famous landmarks and one of my favorite views.

During our orientation the leaders assured us that we’d all feel welcome and comfortable, 但我还是有点不确定. I knew that the best way to get myself to feel comfortable in the city in all aspects was to throw myself into life in 布拉格. I felt more and more comfortable as I spent more time exploring 布拉格 and meeting others, 但我知道这需要一些时间.  

这张照片是在我公寓旁边的公园拍的, 有时我一个人去读书或听播客, or my roommates came with to play Spikeball or sit in the beer garden.

东航卡帕课程如何帮助我更好地理解身份 

One of the ways that I started to better understand 身份 in the 捷克共和国 and how that affected my own 身份 was through one of my 东航卡帕 classes. I was fortunate enough to take a class at the 东航卡帕 Study Center called Democracy in the 捷克共和国. In this class I learned about the evolution of Czech government as well as Czech public opinion throughout the 捷克共和国’s tumultuous history. Our weekly class meetings were supplemented with field trips to the Museum of Communism and the Czech Parliament. Both field trips allowed me to see 身份 in the 捷克共和国 better.

这是我第一次(还有很多次)去布拉格城堡!

What I originally thought was an ethnically homogenous country turned out to be a lot more diverse than I expected. I learned that there are members of the Czech Parliament of other ethnicities, 这个国家的少数民族比我想象的要多得多. Understanding how the 捷克共和国 is home to other ethnicities helped me to better accept my 身份 in this foreign place.  

捷克共和国的其他文化 

Something that surprised me about 布拉格 is that there’s a large population of people who are of Vietnamese descent. It was explained during orientation that while the 捷克共和国 was under communist rule, 越南人民看到了两国之间的相似之处, 因为他们是社会主义国家. 因此, many Vietnamese people immigrated to the 捷克共和国 and since then have become the third largest minority in the country. 听到情况是这样，我感到很惊讶, but it put me more at ease to know I’d see other people around 布拉格 of 亚裔. 随着我对这座城市的了解加深, it was interesting to see how Czech culture and Vietnamese culture became intertwined.

For example, on almost every street corner is Potraviny, which is a small convenience store. My roommates and I frequented the one down the street from us for last minute groceries and late-night snacks. 我们街角的波特拉维尼酒馆的老板是越南人, 这家店有很多越南食品. We tried all different types of prepared noodles and some Vietnamese snacks in addition to Czech ones. Having that little store down the street from us allowed me to experience two distinct cultures at once, 这两件事我都认为是当地人. 

With all of our new friends in Letna Park on our last night in 布拉格.

出国前, I was extremely worried that I wouldn’t find my place as someone who didn’t look like a local. 在布拉格，我发现情况正好相反. 我受到了非常热情的欢迎, and never felt that I stuck out because I didn’t have the same skin color as natives of the country. I 在国外结交朋友 和在街边咖啡店工作的当地人一起, 和捷克学生在一起, 还有更多. I never felt that my 身份 was a barrier to creating meaningful connections with those around me.

This was the coffee shop around the corner from my apartment where I made friends with the employees. 他们总是让狗进来——这只狗表现得很好!

Making those connections helped me better understand the city, its culture, and my own 身份. To those of you planning to study abroad who might be worried about how your 身份 fits into the country you’ll be studying in, 害怕是正常的.  而不是让你的担忧占据你最好的一面, 努力寻找学习和挑战自己的机会. 你对周围的城市了解得越多, 你会觉得越舒服, 希望它能让你像我一样了解自己.