As a senior pursuing a dual major in the humanities—specifically, in science & technology studies and communication—I knew that I had some flexibility when it came to choosing a program. I sent away for informational brochures from many different programs, and eventually settled on USAC because it seemed to allow the most flexibility in choosing classes and ability to travel. I chose to study in Prague because I had heard that it was one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, with cobbled squares, rich cultural traditions, and home to the largest ancient castle in the world. Prague was also still relatively up-and-coming as a city that had formerly been under both nazi and communist rule. I wanted to discover Prague as it was still rediscovering itself.

I took courses in history, literature, and politics while I was abroad. An 88-year-old Czech man named Jan Wiener, who escaped from Czechoslovakia to Britain during WWII to fight against the Nazis, taught our course in 20th century European history. I took a Czech politics class that focused on the transformation of Czechoslovakia after the Velvet Revolution, the overthrowing of the communist government, as well as the Velvet Divorce, the splitting of the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the literature course, we analyzed samizdat, which is literature that was banned under communism. We also listened to old tape recordings of non-conformist rock bands that played underground during communist rule, the most famous of which was the Plastic People of the Universe. One of my favorite memories from Prague was attending a music festival at which the much-revered Plastic People played.

The language spoken in the Czech Republic is Czech, which is similar to Polish. USAC required all students to take a two-week crash course in the Czech language upon our arrival in Prague. I knew it was going to be a rough semester learning the language when on the first day it took most of the class half an hour to grasp the pronunciation of the word “four.” I managed to learn at least survival Czech, which made simple conversations in stores, restaurants, and train stations much easier.

While I was living in Prague, I attended some of the informal practice sessions of a local semi-professional women’s soccer team called Slavia. The level of play was high, and it was a remarkable feeling to be able to play soccer together even though we could not speak the same language. They giggled when I tried to count along during stretching, especially when I attempted to say the infamous number four. Unfortunately, I could not continue to play with the team in a formal setting, as I did not want to interfere with my NCAA eligibility for my senior year of varsity soccer at RPI.

An interesting thing I learned from the women on the soccer team, however, is that women who play sports such as soccer in Eastern Europe are not widely supported. One of the women on the team who spoke better English than the rest explained that their peers thought they were strange. This was eye opening to me, as I am used to a culture where women and girls are encouraged to play sports.

I was surprised to witness discrimination in the Czech Republic toward the Roma population. Roma are widely discriminated against in much of Eastern Europe, to the point where they are assigned separate and poorer quality schools. My Czech politics professor invited a Roma man into our class to talk about the discrimination he has experienced. It felt as though I had been transported to 1950s America during the times of “separate but equal” American racial policy. For my final project in that class, I wrote about the policy of sterilization of Roma women under the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.

Studying abroad made me aware that just about everybody has an opinion about America. Whether good or bad, when people find out that you are an American, they have something to say about it. On two separate occasions, we had run-ins with people who had very strong opinions about America. With the exception of these isolated incidents, most Czech people were extremely friendly. I found that it helped to try to speak Czech, because it showed that you had respect for both the language and the culture. In order to integrate better with the Czech people, I learned to avoid high-touristy areas, get off the beaten path, and go to local Czech hangout spots. One such spot was a secluded beer garden that looked over the Vltava River. Czech citizens came here after work to walk their dogs, grab a beer, and watch the sun set over the city.

When I was not attending classes or exploring Prague, I was traveling to other countries, visiting cities such as Budapest, Hungary and Marrakech, Morocco. Though I loved traveling, some of my favorite memories occurred in Prague. Hockey games were popular in the winter, and soccer became more popular in the spring. In both sports, there existed a wicked rivalry between the two Prague teams of Sparta and Slavia. Another of my favorite memories was when my family came to visit during the Easter holiday. During this time, the trees in Prague’s Old Town Square were decorated with colorful eggs, and stalls were set up selling traditional food and handmade crafts.