In a quiet corner of the Prague Six neighborhood, scrawled in white paint and angry capital letters, a solitary park bench reads “Allah is Jewish Gay! F*** Islam.” The adjacent sidewalk reads “F*** Islam” and “GNLS,” which I would later learn stood for “Good Night Left Side,” written clockwise a Celtic cross spanning several feet….
Whenever I get homesick, it does not manifest as moping around, constantly calling people back home or missing my family (sorry Dad). Instead, I get emotional about my love for my hometown. Freshman year, my roommate had to agree to hanging a six-foot-long Chicago flag in our room. New Yorkers had to hear my unsolicited…
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. I have no Czech friends. Most of you will read that and think I must be socially awkward or a weird shut-in. I promise, although I sometimes…
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. Before departing for a semester in another country, the study abroad office makes students go through certain modules so we understand any responsibilities and risks associated with our…
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. Americans may no longer be allowed to travel in the European Union without visas. In early March, the European Parliament passed a resolution that recommends travel restrictions…
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. I have only been in Prague for a month. Much of the city remains unfamiliar to me and, if we’re being honest, I only finished unpacking last week….
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. Leading up to my semester here, and once I arrived, friends and family members were excited for me and asking all sorts of questions, most commonly “why…
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. “Without my morning coffee I’m like a dried up piece of roast goat” – attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach I drink black coffee. Strictly. Except for when…
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. As I endeavor to describe what moving to another country is like, certain adjectives come to mind. Without a doubt, the most commonly used words of my…