It’s absolutely insane that it’s just two days before my flight and I received texts from family in the US asking if I was okay because there was a school shooting today at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague. I am so in disbelief, and my heart is extremely heavy.
The Czech Republic has honestly felt like one of the safest places in the world while I’ve been here. I can’t imagine how much this is going to affect the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims. And even just the general Czech public. A shooting like that just does not happen here.
It’s four days before Christmas. The holiday season for a lot of people was just crushed, in this country where school shootings are not a topic of conversation. This is the deadliest school shooting Europe has seen in the past 15 years.
I took this photo this morning around 10 am because I wanted a picture of the Czech Flag. I didn’t notice it was in front of a school. I didn’t realize that this photo would probably be more significant to me than I thought.
I have so many words to say that I’m now at a loss for words.
Even right now sitting in my dorm room in Brno, just over 100 miles away, I’m hearing some bangs that are honestly making me scared to leave for the night, even though those bangs might have been happening every other night. I sound paranoid in my head, but it’s terrifying that even in the safest feeling of places this can just randomly occur. I hear police sirens every day, but today they feel like they mean something different. Czech media already said the shooter was eliminated, by suicide, and that the public is not in danger.
In 2019, when there was the Walmart shooting in El Paso, my heart was frozen for the whole day. I am absolutely feeling that feeling again. My community did not deserve that, and neither did this one. I hate sitting with this feeling.
Tonight I’m praying. This country has been home for the past few months and it’s a devastating note to feel like I’m ending on. This happens in America, even though it shouldn’t, and the fact that it happened here- it’s f*cking heartbreaking. It’s a devastating routine in the U.S. that I pray doesn’t ever repeat here.
There is a lot of violence happening this Christmas season, all around the world, and my prayers are with every person affected by the hatred of others. Even though the Christmas decorations are beautiful, God, this season has been so ugly.
It’s not that I’m a super materialistic person, but there are some things I truly miss from home. Like a drying machine that actually dries my clothes or actual AC and heating in my room. It’s “little” things in the U.S. that I take for granted and find myself missing. My laundry had been hanging over shelves and a drying rack for 3 days and still not fully dry. And since it’s getting colder now, I try to keep the window closed so it isn’t humid feeling in the room but they take longer to dry and leave a wet smell in the room. It’s truly painful. I visited my roommate’s hometown, Skarszewy, Poland, and in her home, I was amazed at how their washing room looked. There were lines that you could pull down and string back up to maximize hanging space. But still, I would rather have a drying machine from Samsung that sings to me when the load is finished.
I will say though, I live for the way some people decorate their homes here and some common features in some houses. I become wide-eyed astonished looking at some stuff because I’m jealous I’ve never seen it or it’s not as common in the U.S. as should be.
The front yard garden of one of my friend’s moms. Most of the yards in her neighborhood had one as well. Some neighbors trade produce with each other depending on the variety of plants within their gardens.
my list of things from homes in the EU:
-drying line contraption -heated flooring in bathrooms and tiled rooms -front yard gardens -steel grating entrance doormat -fridges hidden in cabinets -In-unit trash chute -the way windows open -electric bikes/car adapters
*bonus* hand dryers at the sides of the sink faucet
I think most people can agree that the United States needs to invest in better public transport. Denver is definitely one of the better cities for transport, but it still doesn’t truly live up to the train, tram, and bus system that’s set up in European countries. El Paso’s public transport is practically non-existent, really only with city buses that not many people take, and the city is too large to make your way around on foot. Brno itself is walkable, but the buses & trams and the way they are scheduled make everything feel organized and like a short journey. I don’t miss the RTD as much as I will miss the tram here. I do feel though that I will go back to using public transport more in Denver like when I first moved there until it becomes inconvenient. I say inconvenient because half the time I would ride the RTD before it usually makes me late even if I left earlier or just be uncomfortable due to other riders. Also, most people know how to behave on public transport here, they aren’t intoxicated beyond belief or indecently exposing themselves. I have witnessed an older gentleman get pickpocketed on a bus, which was super sad, but I think it just made me feel like I needed to watch my belongings more than making me feel uneasy.
Walking to a tram and bus stop close to the city center. The walk from Vinarska Dorms to the Center is about 30 minutes, while the tram is less than 10 minutes.
Interior of the 1 Tram heading from my Internship near the border of Brno towards the Dorms, around a 4o minute trip. Various political cartoons were graffitied under a bridge.
My love for the consistency in public transportation here has probably had more of an effect on my sense of urgency than I realize. I’m sure that my internship and school schedule feel more laid-back than what I am used to in the U.S. also does that. It’s not that I’m not busy, but with the approach, everyone has around professional-personal life balance- the personal gets more time. I feel like usually I’m a rushed person, between my many things to do, travel times between places and always trying to keep my word on plans I’ve made with others. I grew up always feeling immense guilt when I’m running late and still can’t manage to make it on time sometimes due to traffic, parking, or Uber wait times. Here, I still feel my internal guilt and rushing but not as heavy. My schedule feels full but there are times for many breaks and the transportation around the city lessens travel time between classes, home, work, and fun.
Grocery shopping has become a part of my semi-daily schedule, stopping by one of the many grocery stores on the way home from school, hanging out with friends, or after eating out. Produce here tastes so much better, but goes bad much faster so I’ve stuck to only grabbing a couple items at a time that will last a day or two. I’m starting to recognize brands way better and the Czech words for some products, but the first couple of weeks I would be standing in the aisles for a while longer than others who were able to just grab and go. I still take my time, in case I find something new but usually don’t want to look “too American” carrying out too many things. The snack sections are smaller, less spicy, and less sugary, but still with plenty to try. When I think about the snacks here, I truly just wish they had chips that were actually hot. The hottest flavor of potato chips I’ve found has been paprika and it feels like a weak BBQ chip.
Grocery shopping in Poland with my roommate, Oliwia. Most grocery trips with around 5-10 items take less than 10 USD from my wallet.
There are things from the United States I miss, like the drying machine that I take for granted and hot chips, that if I had here would make leaving next month harder. But there are so many things here I wish I could just pack up and take with me. The remaining time I have in Brno I will spend appreciating the little things that I’ll be missing when I’m back home. Obviously, public transportation isn’t a little thing, but I’ll soon be missing the ease of how it functions here heavily. I’ll also miss the ease of how “Czech” time functions as well and how that makes me calmer while still productive. I just won’t miss the amount of time it takes my clothes to dry.
DU Abroad 