My Bubble

I live in a bubble here in the Czech Republic. This bubble is known as the English as a Foreign Language, or EFL, Department. In this department, my colleagues speak English (obviously). This means I actually have people to converse with each day! But outside of my bubble?

Let's face it, not many Czechs speak English. If they do, I tend to scare them away because I'm a native speaker. They don't feel that they speak English well enough to talk to me. Yet, this is the whole reason I'm here: to help people learn and speak English better. Sometimes I just want to shout: "Do not be intimidated by me!" I am such a patient person, and I firmly believe that practice makes perfect.

Here are two scenarios for you:

The School Canteen. Last week, I went to the school canteen. Usually, I'm with one of my English-speaking colleagues, but this time I was by myself. Typically, teachers are allowed to cut the students in line for lunch. So, I walked around the students in line and the teacher that was on lunch duty started yelling at me in Czech. I am positive she thought I was a student. I just glared at her because I had no idea what she was saying. Then, I said, "Nemluvim cesky" (I don't know Czech). She glared at me in bewilderment. I mean, I'm clearly in the Czech Republic, why wouldn't I know Czech? She thought for a moment and then said, "Aha." That's when it clicked that I was "The American", and she let me continue on my way. Honestly, it was very weird and uncomfortable to be yelled at in another language, especially because I did not know why! Then, since I didn't go with any English-speaking friends, I sat next to the other teachers. They were conversing in Czech, so I just ate my lunch in silence. So awkward!

The Electronics Store. I didn't bring my hair dryer with me, and Autumn seems like it's going to be a very cold and wet season here. So, I had to go to the electronics store to buy one. A lady walked up to me who worked there and started speaking Czech. I assume she asked me if I needed any help. I blatantly said, "Do you have a hair dryer?" I got stared at, again. So I pulled some of my hair to the side, and pretended I was drying it using a hair dryer. "Ahhhhh," she said. Then started walking, so I followed. There were about ten to choose from, but my hair is straight, so I don't need much. I pointed to two different ones asking which was better. She started talking in Czech again, but then she pointed and underlined the name of one hair dryer and gave me a thumbs up. I figured that meant Remington was a good brand name here, so I took that one.

The moral of the story?

Body language is extremely important when you are traveling and/or living in a country and you don't know the native language. I point at things and do gestures all the time, and ultimately I get what I want/need. Also, it's a good idea to start trying to learn the native language as soon as possible. I did go to the bookstore in Strakonice, but they didn't have the book I was looking for to learn Czech. The good news is that I'll be in Prague this weekend and I'll be able to buy a recommended book there. It's called Czech: Step by Step. It's a grammar book, and then I'll have people help me with pronunciation. It is imperative that I learn some basic Czech phrases for everyday language immediately!