How My Time Studying Abroad Led to Learning More About My Identity 

I had the privilege of studying abroad in Prague during the spring semester of my junior year. My time abroad in Prague was so transformative for my identity in so many ways, and I’m so grateful for this experience. 我学会了如何欣赏其他身份和文化，并接受自己的身份.  

Differences in Identity 

Before studying abroad, 在我家乡大学的新生培训中，有人提到欧洲国家对文化的看法与我们美国不同.S. Lots of European countries are rather homogenous, 他们的人口通常只由本国人组成. Because of this, 许多国家并不特别接受与该地区最普遍的种族不同的种族. The Czech Republic is a special example of this, having been under Soviet Communist rule until the early 1990s, which is very recent. Since the country was under communist rule, 他们在种族或民族上与捷克人不同的移民和居民较少. Knowing this, 作为一个看起来不像捷克人的人，我很担心, that I’d look out of place.

My roommates and I at the castle our first weekend in Prague, 这是布拉格最著名的地标之一，也是我最喜欢的风景之一.

在迎新培训中，领导们向我们保证，我们会感到欢迎和舒适, but I still was a bit unsure. 我知道，要让自己在这座城市的各个方面都感到舒适，最好的办法就是全身心地投入到布拉格的生活中. 当我花更多的时间探索布拉格和认识其他人时，我感到越来越舒服, but I could tell it’d take some time.  

This photo is from the park by my apartment, sometimes I went by myself to read or listen to a podcast, 或者我的室友来玩Spikeball或者坐在啤酒花园里.

How CEA CAPA Classes Helped Me Better Understand Identity 

我开始更好地了解捷克共和国的身份认同以及它如何影响我自己的身份认同的一个方法是通过我的一门CEA CAPA课程. 我很幸运地在CEA CAPA研究中心上了一门课，叫做捷克共和国的民主. 在这门课上，我了解了捷克政府的演变，以及捷克公众舆论在捷克共和国动荡历史中的演变. 我们每周的课堂会议还包括到共产主义博物馆和捷克议会的实地考察. 这两次实地考察都让我更好地了解了捷克共和国的身份.

On my first (of many) trips to Prague Castle!

我原本以为是一个种族单一的国家，结果却比我想象的要多样化得多. 我了解到捷克议会中有其他种族的议员, and that country is home to many more minorities than I anticipated. 了解捷克共和国是其他种族的家园，帮助我更好地接受了我在这个陌生地方的身份.  

Other Cultures in the Czech Republic 

布拉格有一件事让我很惊讶，那就是那里有很多越南人的后裔. 在情况介绍中解释说，当捷克共和国处于共产主义统治之下时, Vietnamese people saw parallels between the two countries, as they’re a socialist nation. Thus, 许多越南人移民到捷克共和国，并从那时起成为该国第三大少数民族. I was surprised to hear that this was the case, 但这让我更放心，因为我知道我会在布拉格周围看到其他人 Asian descent. As I learned the city better, 捷克文化和越南文化是如何交织在一起的，这很有趣.

例如，几乎每个街角都有Potraviny，这是一家小型便利店. 我的室友和我经常去我们街那头的那家买临时食品和宵夜. The owner of the Potraviny on our corner was Vietnamese, and this specific store carried lots of Vietnamese food. 除了捷克小吃，我们还尝试了各种各样的面条和越南小吃. 在我们家附近有一家小店，这让我同时体验到了两种截然不同的文化, both of which I came to associate as local. 

和我们所有的新朋友在莱特纳公园度过了我们在布拉格的最后一夜.

Before going abroad, 我非常担心自己找不到自己的位置，因为我看起来不像本地人. In Prague, I found the opposite. I was greeted with an extremely welcoming society, 我从不觉得自己与众不同，因为我的肤色和当地人不一样. I made friends abroad with locals who worked at the coffee shop down the street, with Czech students at my school, and so many more. 我从未觉得我的身份是与周围人建立有意义联系的障碍.

这是我公寓拐角处的一家咖啡店，我在那里和那里的员工交了朋友. They always let dogs inside - this one was so well-behaved!

这些联系帮助我更好地了解了这座城市、它的文化和我自己的身份. 对于那些计划宝博体育的人，你可能会担心你的身份如何适应你将要学习的国家, it’s normal to be scared.  Instead of letting your worry get the best of you, try to seek out opportunities to learn and to challenge yourself. The more you learn about the city around you, the more comfortable you’ll feel, and hopefully it’ll allow you learn as much about yourself as I did.