REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK: Back to the US after 11 years living in Prague, Czech Republic
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- Опубліковано 1 чер 2024
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After 11 years in Prague, America seems like a strange place! Come with us to experience the stage and wonderful state of Colorado!
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ABOUT ME
👋🏽 Hi, I am Jen! American living in Prague and loving every minute of it. I’ve been living the dream in the capital city of Czech Republic with my American husband and Ukranian dog for 11 enchanting years.
I make videos and tell stories about immigrant life in Prague, cross-cultural mishaps, and give tips on how to live in, work in, and visit Prague.
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Skoda ze je tak velkej nepomer mezi mesicni cenou a tou dvojrocni chtel bych to nekdy zkusit ale jen na mesic.. na vic to nevyuziju.. proste obcas jo obcas ne
Czechs have name tags so you know who you're complaining about :D
HaHaHa! Bullseye! 😅
i came to the comments to write that :D
I was goint to write the exact same thing
Haha sooo true!😂
I'm a Czech and my girl is from Slovakia, we've been in the States earlier in our lives (West Coast for her, Idaho for me) and from time to time we talk about going on a trip there - visit to the Yellowstone, 5th Avenue, Boston, New Orleans, places like that - and the discussion always ends with, "But we'd have to talk to everyone, be nice to people, pay tips... let's go to Italy one more time instead!"
I love this response! I feel the same! We’re moving to the Czech Republic in a little over a year and for the last five years, we’ve been taking vacations truly far and well away from people because we just don’t wanna be chatty to people anymore. 😂 we have gotten into Vanlife and wild camping and it’s great to keep away from people in this manner.
@@Tangocita444 Good luck on your move - you'll fit right in! 😀
In Italy they don´t give tips, but they love speaking 😉 in Italian, which I´m studying... Also in Czech Republic I always do some small talks, hi? where are u from? They like it, I can´t imagine it with Germans...😉 And Italians love Prague so much
In USA it is so crazy that even when you order through a machine it will ask you for a tip. I believe soon even the ATMs will ask for tips :D
Loved this casual conversation format. Feels like I could have been right there with you.
Glad you joined us!
I am a native Coloradan (now living in Washington state) married to a Czech man (from Plzen) and we're getting ready to move to the Czech Republic - so this video was kind of "full circle" for me and very interesting for me and my husband to watch. I agree with all of your reverse culture shocks and I still live in the US! Trucks EVERYWHERE for no reason whatsoever, tipping culture out of control, etc. I do have to admit that I will miss the friendliness of Americans, no matter how superficial, when I move to the Czech Republic - I find the surliness of checkout clerks to be quite off-putting. That being said, I think the video was really great - loved the format and Honza's commentary. You should do more video chats with him. And, of course, your sweet little Tobik.
Thanks for chiming in! The topic is full circle for you! Glad you like the chats with Honza, we’d like to do more of those.
I've found greeting the checkout clerks with Dobrý den and then saying Díky/Děkuji when they're done does wonders to melt the hard crust they tend to have. Some of them even opened up to chat!
Good luck in Czechia and I want to welcome you here ahead! 🙂
@@Elgard2 Ano, souhlasím s Vámi. Také prodavačky, pokladní zdravím, děkuji, přeji hezký den. Kolik kyselých ksichtů za den spatří ... Před pokladními mám zvlášť respekt, protože každá jejich chyba (manko) se jim promítne do peněženky...
Czechia is not a great place to move to nowadays. Inflation is too high and future economic growth is questionable. I moved to London as it offers much better job opportunities.
The sports bar sounds like my absolute worst nightmare.
Yeah actually mine too, but after 13 hours of flying and 2 hours of driving, I somehow appreciated the Americanness of it. Though I couldn’t do two nights in a row. I prefer my quiet Czech pubs
Hi Jen, I live in Aussie land (Australia) for 37 years now. Am still homesick!!!!! 🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿
I was born in České Budějovice. Love South Bohemia.
Too old to go back and leave son here.
Love to see your periodical videos and wishing you and Honzík many happy days. Love Pav❤
Are you too old for that, indeed? Only you know what's best for you. Only you matter. But you're never too old to listen to your heart ;) Sending warmest regards from Prague! ❤
Budejovice jsou super a vubec cely jizni Cechy! :)
Thank you Pavla!
V Českých Budějovicích by chtěl žít každý....
@@zyrnur147Kromě mě (pro ty, co nejsou cimrmanology, je to vtip, České Budějovice jsou opravdu nádherné).
This is so facinating! I’m an American, but considering a Fulbright in Czechia. I love your account! Thank you for making these videos :)
You're so welcome!
Go for it. It will definitely be a live enriching experience!
Nič mi nebolo, ale už mi je lepšie. Super rozprávanie na získanie pohody na celý deň. 👍👍
Went to Czech Republic in may with me and my girlfriend. Had a blast great food and beer. Did 3 days in Prague 3day out of Prague. Driving was great (I am from DC Maryland area, speed limits are guidelines there to and a lot of traffic) the biggest cultural shock I had was not a lot of public bathrooms and you had to pay.There was a lot of trucks out and about when driving back from Prague.The ram dealership had more truck at it than where I’m from now and that’s North Carolina . I love the fact when over in Czech Republic the server leaves you alone and let you eat in peace, and not having to hear their life story. Do miss the food beer and skoda cars
Another brilliant video. :D Loved seeing the clips from the US as well.
I remember a (very short-lived, thankfully) era when the KFC chain (including our local one in Brno) was asked to be more international (or I cannot imagine another sound reason :D) and had to go all "Starbucks", asking people for their first name to call it out out loud when the meal was ready for pick up.
The customers looked mortified, the cashiers looked even more mortified...everybody looked mortified. :D
The sight of an 18 yo teenager calling out a 60 yo man's first name in a trembling voice as she was looking him in the eyes, holding his fried chicken, was a sight to behold.
Thankfully, they dropped the idea pretty quickly. :D
This whole scenario cracks me up! 🤣
😆
Haha, brilliant! I am playing the scenario through in my head in the Czech language and a Czech setting… It feels completely absurd. “What do you mean, ‘Karle’?? That’s Ing. Petrášek to you!”
😂@@gentlemanjim480
When asked about my name in Starbucks (I've been there 2 times in my life) I always answer Maxipes Fík. Because you can pour me coffee without knowing my name, thank you.
Awww, I love relaxing atmosphere of this video! Just two nice people chatting about interesting experience. So wholesome! ❤
I’m glad 😀 you enjoyed it Josephine! We want to make more videos like this.
I u nás bývá solnička a pepřenka na stole, pokud nechodíš do nějakýho pajzlu nebo naopak hogo fogo restaurace, ale stačí se zmínit a donesou ti to.
Úžasný dialog, úžasné video, roztomilý pejsek, který Vás dva miluje. Jste doma, už jste naši.
Ať se Vám daří! 🙂
I grew up in Wiscnosin in the 1960s. All of this came in over the past twenty years.
My 21yo daughter and I walked out of a club when the band we paid to see was cranked up so loud that we had to cover our ears. I stopped going to bars about ten years ago because of the sensory overload.
I miss the days of smoky polka bars!
You guys are awesome! It's always fun to hear you talk about culture stuff :)
Thanks! 😃
I think the Dutch Pub near Národní Třída can be close to the "sports bar". :)
Hi Jen, Old Quibbler at your service again! These reverse culture shocks never get old - they allow one to reassue himself on the other people that one is a slave to the habits one creates, in the environment he lives in... Thanks a lot Jen and Honzo - after a long break, fun and informative again (only when it comes to beer instead of Zichovec try Hostivar - they have it in every Albert)! Bye! ;)
Hi Jennifer,
Sir_Mac here, as always!
This kind of stuff is, what I was waiting and hoping for! You and Honza, you are native Americans, obviously, but you live here in CZ long enough to understand uniqueness of a czech soul, of a czech personality. So with that understanding, you know what to promote / point out so America is "attractive" to czech people!
If I remember correctly, Jennifer, you are a vegetarian, right? So let's make Honza the center of a video for once, and let him do the reviews of czech hamburgers. If they taste like the american ones, if they don't, ... what kind of special hamburgers you can find here in CZ and in America... I like you very much, Jen, but I would like to see Honza to participate more in a field, where he has a lot to say, I assume!
Sir_Mac
Hearing your own language when coming back home is something that always gets me, somehow.
Nice comparison video, there were some good points!
I just went. I am hooked. Saw Grandma's Family name ("Rodini"=family name) Bačik and Bačikova on about a fifth of the headstones in the small hrbitov in her town in Moravia. I'm going back... to Prague, to Terezin, to Moravia, to Bratislava, and maybe to Munich. Don't know when. But I am going back. I mean, just look at my surname! LOOK at it!! lol (used to be Pijaček). I want to explore of the recent history of the world wars, and I want to explore more of my families roots. Can't wait. Will be planning for a year!
Jen, I am getting culture shock any time I go back to Czech rep.from the USA.Living in the US 34 years.Love this country.My home.
Once I read somewhere a comment from a Czech guy describing his return from the US and his cultural shock. After he landed in Prague he got on a bus and while on the bus he pulled out money from his pocket to find out how much leftover dollars he still got. Right across from him were sitting some old Czech ladies and when they saw his dollars they uttered: Zasrani Americani and that's how he knew he is back in Czechia 😆"Ceska nasranost" should be Czech motto in my opinion 😁
bohužel, to je to poznamenání komunismem 😉já ho sice zažila jenom jako dítě, ale ten vliv trval dál... A kdybych v něm prožila delší dobu, tak by mě to asi taky víc ovlivnilo... Myslím, že se to s cestováním mění, mladší generace jsou už taky jinde no... Osobně nemám ráda, jak se sami na sebe díváme hrozně kriticky... jako: Česi nosí ponožky v sandálech, ble... no třeba holky na jihu Itálie vytáhnou v letním vedru ke kraťáskům dlouhé kozačky... 🥵 prostě všude je něco, my se zbytečně rádi sebeshazujeme
Oh no, not the American public toilets where you can make eye contact with the person queueing in front of the stall while you're doing your business inside... 😅
😂🥹
This video sparked this question, how does both y’all’s parents feel about you living so far away? My husband is Czech but we’re living in the US while my parents are alive. We feel so torn. Czechia is absolutely amazing and we miss it.
I feel with you. I'm a Czech guy, living in Germany, married to a Chinese girl, and I totally can relate to the "being torn" feeling. Luckily there is the interenet, so we see each other on both sides of our families quite often online, but it's not the same.
CZECH REPUBLIC not czechia
@@DABLOUKY se neposer
@@DABLOUKY....je to to samé....🤣🙈
@@DABLOUKY Můžeš si na to buď zvyknout nebo se kvůli takové prkotině vztekat na netu. Hádej, co je dospělejsí.
Colorado is beautiful
This is an awsome video... I can relate so much with what you come up with (and I have family on the NW coast) but after years in Europe... I be long here 😊
Why do Czechs have name tags? Well, you should know exactly who you want to complain about and you'll feel good about them getting paid less.😃
Nice jacket/shirt/top/whatever its called, Jen!
Also when that woman told you "you hit my leg", my reaction (when angry) would be "Se neposer" xD
Tobík: Honza ok, teď zkusím Jen 😘
We live in New York city, but spend a month in Prague every year. A few years ago (pre-pandemic), we took a car to the airport. The driver picked us up, drove to the end of our block, and began entering the trip into his meter. He go to the tip screen, and asked us how much we wanted to tip him - 20% (normally the standard for a NYC tip), 25%, 30% or, I think, 35%. He was surprised and a little embarrassed when we said we didn't know that until we've actually had the ride. In Prague, we told some friends about this, one of whom was a taxi driver, and they nearly died laughing.
Afterthought on this - I don't think that driver even considered a tip to be a "well done" reward. He just thought it was something we owed as part of the payment, and whether it was a small or large tip had more to do with us - whether we were stingy or generous.
if +420 cannot be used in the area code, the numeric entry 0420 is used.
Actually it is 00420…
@@JosephineMarch7 I think to call abroad from US you have to dial 011, then the country code.
@@JosephineMarch7 In fact only + is always correct, since on different continents they add different number of zeroes. In Europe we add "00", while in USA they only one "0", that is why + sign is used as a substitute.
You've just sent me to Colorado, thank you! Like...it's yet another US state on my bucket list (!), but having been in only 6 so far, I definitely need to catch up on that.
Yet another excellent vid! 👏 And the thing with J is so cool and funny :D
and smart 🙂
Every single time I’m in USA I have ALL of those feelings and experiences. Love that you captured it so perfectly. Headed back to Prague and I’m gonna miss that free water…but looking forward to perliva voda 😂
Bobik is the star of this video!
Great relaxing video. You may not even know that + can be replaced with the digit 00, so 00420 works too :D :D
Lol the eye contact during Cheers. That’s how my husband hooked me 😆
i liked very much this "episode"! jen was so unusually relaxed (and herself), i would appreciate this style more often. not so predictable, tight and "busy" when you want to stuff as much as possible informations into video. such beer talk is good format. exactly my taste...
So we’ll make some more for you!
@@DreamPrague thank you jen. not just for me, i noticed in comments that there are more people with same opinion...
WoW Colorádo vypadá fakt skvěle to jsem netušil , že je tak hezké :)
17:00 - Speaking about Czech republic. Fancy (cocktail, whisky, anime) bars also serve water for free without asking and nobody expects to pay for that. On the other hand, if you walk into a restaurant which remembers Brezhnev, you'd not only need to ask for tap water, but often also pay for it.
Tobík at the end is like "Where did they go?" xD
This was lovely 😊
In Czech we have "tip sport bar" every time in day there is some match you can watch and place legal bet... 😂
Hi Jen, really perfect video! Thank you for that! The State of Colorado must be really beautiful. I'm thinking first of all about the Rocky Mountain range. I wish I could visit the U.S. again. I also wish I could go to the Rocky Mountain states.
You are so welcome! Yes I recommend Colorado 100%!
I don't tip by % . What is so much harder about bringing me $20 glass of Scotch vs $5 beer?
Good point
I love the innova disc golf discs rack at the enter to the liquor store. :D
I pointed that out to Jen as well. So Colorado.
God, it's so true about the pin in the metro (train, tram, etc.)! God forbid someone gets a phone call. "I can't now, I'm on the tram" and those murderous looks... I laughed for about an hour. 🤣🤣
Welcome back to the US! ❤
Holy sh!t, your Ř is wonderful! I was amazed by many things from your Czech life, but this one really got me!
Do I rember correctly that Jarda Jagr used to own sport bar in US style near Vaclavak? Is it still there?
Different minimum wage for tipped employees is ultrastupid concept which leads to many akward sutiations.
Strašně by mě zajímalo co říkala tvoji krajané n nás, naše zvyky a ty kulturní rozdíly . Díky
I know I have nothing to do with you guys feeling home here, but I still feel kinda proud of it! Btw. these casual talks with Honza are really good, love your energy together! :)
Thanks Radek! We’ll make more of them😎
Pickups are common in europe too. Not these big Ford F550 trucks , but smaller like Ford Ranger / Toyota Hilux size . But I have seen Dodge RAM several times in Slovakia.
Jen drinks faster then Honza...:) good girl!
Every time 🤣
Hey Jen and Honza, i forgot to ask you. Did you dance there on the country ball ?
Best video so far. You guys are really funny 😁 😂 😀 👍 Keep them coming.
Over the years I have noticed how much Czechia and Prague in particular is becoming Americanized.
And you know what? Some of it is not a bad thing,like Czechs having better customer service ( still not there but getting better little by little). 😊
When I heard that at Parlament the servers checked a few times if everything is alright, I thought I would be annoyed that someone is dsturbing me while I am eating. 😀
That US town was sooo lovely and beautiful! But I like the Czech way more. Although I would really like to visit a place like this.
The segue to your pitch for the VPN company was so smooth. Well done indeed.
Oh that’s nice to hear, thanks!
Nice talk👍I enjoyed it 😉
I have a culture shock from the US everytime I watch the news - a bull in a China shop. Now imagine how much nicer this world would be, if Czechs were a superpower!
Jen mentioning the weekly pick-up truck shopping reminded me of one thing that surprised me when visiting the States - why do people buy the whole cartons of like 32 or more of the smallest bottles/cans of soda instead of big bottles?
Such a good point! I have no idea but the small cans are stupid.
Cool video! TBH I watched it more to learn about the US culture.
Regarding the pizza, do you really not eat it with your hands in Czechia, though? I've seen Czech people do it. And I myself think that's how to best enjoy a pizza!
About the gas prices, the US is famous for its low prices and not many countries can compete with that. It's thus approximately the same all across the EU.
I'd say the large tipping in the US is well known too. According to Forex, in Czechia, you tip 5-10% and in the US 15-20%. I'd also say that tipping is more expected in the US than in Czechia.
Lastly, I want to ask you something, Jen! I am (no surprise) struggling a bit with getting my Czech pronunciation right, so I was wondering if you know some way to get this vocal training? Preferably online.
I have used Duolingo for 1.5 years, but I recently realized that app sucks for learning, so I moved to Mondly, which lets you also speak, and even with AI bots. I feel a lot more encouraged with that app to improve my speech. But it's still a little bit too challenging.
Thanks on beforehand, and thanks for your interesting and rather unique videos!
You were in my neighborhood up in Breckenridge. I've done that Fairplay drive more times than I can count. Sadly, the waitstaff still isn't making a decent wage. They are reliant upon tips to make a living.
Thanks for your perspective! Always happy to tip well for friendly service! Hopefully we didn’t offend her too much 🤓
Expecting a "decent wage" for any low-skill work can be frustrating. My guess is that living around the Breck area more than compensates for it , so there are takers. In addition, what's stopping those feeling sad for the waitstaff to tip them 50% or more?
@@DreamPrague I think that getting offended is a luxury entertained mainly by those already well off. The average rent in Breckenridge starts at around 2K (1 bedroom, if you can find it) and up to 4.5K for something bigger. So healthy tipping helps!
Dear Jen, I love your videos and I would really love to move to Prague, but what about finding a job and a place to live???? Are you thing of making any videos about that?
i don't know, I eat pizza with my hands, never with a fork and knife... i like italian pizza, american pizza has too thick dough for me, it's not pizza but some kind of cake...
Ha I was literally in that liquor store not 3 months ago :D
The sports bar as described is my idea of absolute hell.
🤣
Jina kultura, jina mentalita, jine zvyky. Jsem za to rad. Tady je odmena za skvelou obsluhu, jidlo a piti. Zakaznik oceni a nebo neoceni. Dal jsem 40%, BEZNE DAVAM 5-20 a take jsem nedal nic a vse si nechal vyplatit do koruny ( OBSLUHA SE NAS POKUSILA OKRAST). A pokud nejsem spokojeny, nedela mi problem dat take 0 kc. Pokud nejsem spokojeny nestava se casto- naposled vlas v omacce svickove).
Colorado, my second home.
Just came back from US and I can proudly say I experienced all of that you talking about... and maaan so many ice in soda while at freezing open football stadium, still cant wrap my mind around it. LoL
ooh and I use NordVPN and it works great
8:37 Ohledne tipovani, neni zadny zakon ze musim davat tip, proto "No tip a Skip". Staci me, ze si k uctu pridaji dan. At jim majitel plati living wage nebo at si najdou lip placeny job.
oh, so lovely!!
benzín je síce lacnejší, ale menej kvalitný (85 až 91 oktánov) a tie autá "žerú" podstatne viac.
Ale prd! Kvalita je plus/mínus stejná, však motory se vyrábějí a ladí podobně pro celý svět, jiná je metodika, jak se k tomu srovnávacímu číslu dojde. V Evropě je RON (oktanové číslo), v US AKI (antidenonační index).
Thanx for video I like It I was always fascinated by USA culture (That way like you are in the Zoo) :D i like this talking about cultural shock with examples.
7:22 kde to je?
I like to keep my American spirit alive even after 20 years in a small village in Moravia. I drive a big RAM pickup truck and park in small mall parking lots. I fold my pizza, leave tips on the table, and add salt and pepper to every dish. Admittedly, I might seem a bit odd to some.
I think this was the first time I heard you say John instead of Honza, so weird 😅
Also, I hope one of your videos will go viral and you’ll gain more subscribers, the quality of your videos, your editing and your humour need to be appreciated by more people 🤗
That’s really kind of you to say. Made my afternoon 😘
Hi Jen,
could you tell me where do i find americans who want to learn czech?
Some communities or something like that?
I need to talk with some native english speakers...
lovely video
There are sports bars all over Prague.
spropitné u karetních transakcí je i u nás v některých restauracích :)
Miluju tenhle kanal a vas dva ":D
3 - zapomněl jsi na Tobika!🐶🤓😂😉😄😆😛
😘
Nice American/European perspective of view over the USA.👍😉
Is the Colorado boy who's just got home from Prague visiting family 4 days ago Saturday I found that to be some very interesting point of view and had to agree with all of them actually in the very beginning you stated how loud it was here in Colorado a quiet they're in Prague funny you should say that because that's one of the things I noticed the most I felt like people there were very dry and I felt it to be somewhat boring I did not spend time in bars I spent it with family most of the time it was outside of the city I'm not saying my family is doll by any means but I meant Czech Republic in general is just seemed so dry compared to Colorado or America not try to insult anyone I promise
Do you not believe in punctuation?
Tbh I prefer video game bar than sports bar :)
Also working as a server is not easy, because you have to store lot of data inside yourself and your LEDs flicker constantly.
I think the Wall-to-wall Big Screen in the James Joyce Irish Pub with soccer (football? Rugby? I don't even know) playing and 14 strapping twenty-something lads hoisting twenty-ouncers qualifies it as a sports bar.
You are definitely Czech, now ! Why ? No shoes inside house ! Bare feet in living room, around coffee table! Wow ! That would never happened in Woodland Hills! All guests would leave ! LOL ... PS: YES, tips in the US are out of control !
2x in the US this year (different places) after few years (and after covid) and sadly staff is now anything but friendly (and competent) now..
"It was about 10% it was terrible tip"
That was 10% more than anyone should tip then
Ahoj Jen, super video, jako vždycky... ale nemělo by to náhodou být označeno jako placená propagace? Nebo byla ta lahev, pečlivě nastavená etiketou do kamery a ten relativně špatný herecký výkon při ochutnávání piva zadarmo?
Jinak to jezení pizzy "na prasáka" je běžné i v ČR (nebo alespoň já jí tak jím skoro vždy :D)
Hele i kdyby, tohle sis mohl odpustit.
You have been to the Czech Republic and Germany. So why did you not go to Poland?
I have! But Honza hasn’t. Where should I take him?
Hi Jen, thanks for your another video. It is nice to see that normal shots of civilian American life. I must say that american tips are brutal. I'm not stingy, but can not imagine giving a 30% tip. And 4 beers for 60 USD - that's scary. I would be abstinent.
More beer!!! ;o)
Ahoj Jen, may I ask you - I will go to USA for 2 months and I would like to make some videos for friends and family. They will be totally amaterish, but I would like to have certain quality at least. - please, would you have some experience if there is possibility to buy used iPhone (12 pro max would be ideal) in USA cheaper than in Czech Republic? I am not sure, if you are the right person to ask, but you are one of a few people who has experienced both, so I am humbly trying 🙂
Sports bar, Pivo Karlín
You guys are hilarious!
🥸
When you say you didn't do your taxes for a few years, does that mean if they don't catch you that you don't pay taxes that year? In Finland if you don't fill in the tax form, you will just miss out on some deductions that you might have been entitled to. You still pay the taxes whether you file them or not, but somehow I suspect it works differently in America?
If you are classified as a W2 employee (most common) in the US, an estimated amount of taxes are taken out of your paycheck by your employer and sent to the tax authority(ies). After the tax year is over you fill out a form to calculate if you over or underpaid your taxes. Either you get a refund or pay extra. Not filling out the form may lead to penalties.
@@chriseaton2730 Thanks for the explanation, it seems quite similar then
Americans are very generous.