That's Dutch for Hello Everybody... Yes, I'm Dutch, currently living in France and considering moving to the Czech Republic, possibly very soon. I've passed the 30yo landmark a while back, I'm single and I work in customer care. I've been looking at this board for a while now and found it quite helpful so I thought it was about time I said hi. So... Hi!
Hi Wissy, thanks! Well, I've spent a lot of time in "the west of Europe" and the USA and I think it would be very nice to experience something different now. I'm very interested in (life and culture in) the "new democracies" and I have some Polish blood so I feel a kind of "connection". Czech republic is offering jobs in my field now, customer service, so there you have it. Nothing is certain yet but I'm very excited about the possibility...
May I know where in France you live? I just came back from my holidays in southern France and it was awesome! Hope your relocation to the CR will work out well!
Oh, thanks! I was in Paris just once, several years ago - very charming and cosmopolitan. BTW, I'm sure you have done some research so you probably know that French (or generally western) mentality is quite different from the Czech one. But it depends on what you prefer plus, as we say in Czech, změna je život (life is change). Alors, bon chance! :wink:
That's very interesting... I did try to do some research but what I found was very basic and let me to believe that Czech culture/mentality was probably closer to my own, Dutch, culture/mentality than French culture and mentality are... But I'm probably very wrong... Perhaps you'd be kind enough to elaborate on it a bit?
Well, I'm not an expert, I can just offer my personal opinion. I think Czechs tend to be more reserved in their initial communication (especially with foreigners), but once you get closer to them they can be quite "deep" in their relationships. But it's a very general statement and it depends on who you meet specifically (ie. it depends on their personality, age, background, place they live...). As I recommended to another person on this site, I've recently read a book called Czechs and Balances by Benjamin Kuras, which can answer some of your questions regarding this issue. And should you have other questions of this kind, don't hesitate to ask (although I can't guarantee I'll be able to answer them properly!).
Recently I read this funny article: What Europeans think of each other http://dailycandor.com/what-europeans-t ... ach-other/
I admit it's a general statement, but I think it's possible to find some specific traits in every nation/culture. Eg. my personal experience with Westerners is that they are more open, positive and optimistic. But different people can have different experience.
Thanks for that, that was a really enjoyable read as were some of the other stories the author wrote and linked too... hehehe, I'm still laughing, especially about the german digging a whole at the beach...
I'll try to find a copy of that book! Thanks for that! Ok, I want to ask this... How do Czechs generally react to people who don't speak Czech? For me, French is only my fourth language so I don't speak it very well, but I try, but I'm getting so very very tired of french people reacting to me apologizing for not speaking french very well by saying "oh" and turning their backs to me... I really hope this is different in the CR? And also, I'm used to Dutch office culture where the cleaners and the president will say hello to each other in the morning and evening and where the president or anyone else will listen if any of his/her workers has anything to say. In France it is quite different... How formal is office hierarchy in the CR? Thanks so much for your response!!! I really appreciate it very much!!!
I guess eso objected against the term Westerner, not against the generalization. The cultural differencies among Westerners are so big that Czechs are not exceptionally different. It is better to compare with more specific cultures like French culture or Protestant culture or Anglo-Saxon culture etc.
You're welcome! Just to get an idea of what the book is about, you can have a look at: http://www.svu2000.org/issues/kuras4.htm To answer your question about Czechs responding to foreigners: I think they appreciate if you at least try to say a few words in Czech - it kind of opens the door to their being more communicative and friendly. And they like to be treated as equals and not as "uncivilized East-Europeans". After all, the Czech Republic is in Central Europe and most of its citizens didn't choose and weren't happy with the state of affairs under socialist regime. Concerning the office hierarchy, I can't say much about that as I work as a freelancer (with no boss above me, ha!), but I think Czechs still tend to be quite official, which includes addressing one another with their titles (such as "pane inženýre, pane doktore"). But I assume you would work in an English speaking environment where the situation is different and even Czech employees follow the "rules" set by the company's foreign leadership.
It's definitely true in certain aspects. On the other hand, the influence of communism plus Slavic mentality create some specific features which are alien to the "Westerners" in general.
Děkuji! Interesantní! So what would those specific features be for instance? And if you don't mind me asking, what kind of free-lance work do you do? About Czechs being treated as "uncivilized East-Europeans"... Is that just a fear or does that really happen? I've never been to the CR so I have some expectations that I'm sure will prove to be false, but Czechs being uncivilized is definitely not one of them...
