First of all, why did I choose to study abroad in Czech Republic? At first, I just wanted to study abroad and get to know foreign countries because of what my English teacher told me. He was also a YFU student and studied in the U.S. His story of the exchange sounded so nice, and I was interested in it. And he also said learning new language will help us someday, because everyone can speak English but not other languages. I think that’s so true in Europe. In Japan, most people don’t speak English well, but in Europe, many people speak more than 3 languages fluently! And I was interested in Europe, especially in Prague which has beautiful architectures and long history. Also, it’s not that big a country, so I thought it would be easier to visit the entire country. That’s why I chose Czech Republic. I really thank my decision, I’ve been able to enjoy my life in Czechia! 

School life 

The school system is quite different from my country. In Czechia,most people study in elementary school for 5/9 years, then go to secondary school for 4/8 years. So they are supposed to study for 13 years before they graduate high school. Moreover, they have a maturita, the graduation exam which is a requirement for universities. And they have a “maturitní ples”, prom. It was the first time I had ever been to prom, wear dress, and dance with music. So it was literally unbearable and unforgettable experience for me, I was a bit shy to dance in front of people, but gradually I could enjoy it. 

About daily life, my school starts at 7:55 and usually ends around 14-15 o’clock. I’ve been taking English,mathematics,chemistry,geography,P.E., art and music class at school. I chose subjects according to my interests and language level. When I just came here, I couldn’t speak even English, it’s better now but still not enough. So I take English classes every day. About P.E., art and mathematics, we don’t need Czech skill that much, so why not? And I just like Chemistry,then I was interested in geography and music class in Czech. Otherwise, it was too hard for me because of the language,so that’s why I chose in this way. Even now, my Czech skill is around A2 level of CEFR, but my friends translate the content into English. I appreciate them so much, I wouldn’t have survived school life without them. Sometimes we go to school trip to Praha, 

Host family  

My host family consists of my host mother, father, 2 sisters and grandma. Especially I spend a lot of time with grandma because we’re living together on a different floor from the rest of the family. She doesn’t speak English, but it helped me to improve Czech skills. She teaches me how to make Czech foods! Sometimes I play board games with my host parents and sisters. I didn’t use to play board games with my family in Japan, so it was fresh to me. They taught me Czech cultures, histories and language. They let me go swimming in lake in summer and ice skating in winter. I enjoyed Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Day, every events with them!   

Cultural differences  

I’ve experienced numerous cultural differences. I mean, Czech culture is similar to other European cultures, but just Japanese culture is completely different from any other country, so I was confused a lot. For example, boys and girls are so close and they do body touching easily. I was also amazed at the hug as a greeting. In my country, generally, we just bow or shake hands and try to keep distance from each other. I actually love the hugging cultures, so I’ll do the same even after the exchange year! 

Also I was surprised by water. At first, we need to pay for it in restaurants. When I knew that, I thought “why, it’s just water!!”. I couldn’t believe and was shocked that water is expensive here. Moreover, the water is hard, but Japan has soft water, so it took a while to get used to the iron taste. Water is necessary for our life, brushing teeth, taking a shower, just drinking, so I felt strange every moment at the beginning. 

One more thing, we have to pay for restrooms, especially in big cities such as Prague. Overall, I could learn deeply about cultural differences in Czechia, and it’s absolutely amazing experience that we can’t have in Japan!  

Czech cuisine  

My favorite Czech dish is “svíčková” (a kind of stew) with knedlíky(dumplings). 

There’re lots of great foods in Czech Republic. Sometimes we have a soup before a main dish. You can have some tasty pastries at bakery too!  Currently, I’m trying to learn how to make Czech cuisine. Because it’s super delicious and I’d love to share it with my family and friends in Japan.  

Christmas in Czech 

I enjoyed Christmas the most. Christmas is called Vánoce in Czech. It’s the biggest event in Czechia. From the end of October, supermarkets sell Christmas sweets, the city is full of Christmas in December, and the Christmas ornaments won’t be put away until mid-January. There’re Christmas markets in every city squares,Christmas trees at home, and traditional foods! I enjoyed gift exchange with friends the most. At the final day of school before the winter holidays, we bring Christmas presents and give them to friends or even teachers! Also on Christmas Eve, we exchange presents with our family. That was so exciting to open them! Everyone gave me nice gifts, so those are my treasures of this exchange year!  

On 24th, we exchange gifts, eat traditional food and watch a fairy tale. Czech has so many fairy tales, it’s hard for me to understand, but still, I love them. New fairy tales are released on 24th,25th,26th December every year. My favorite one is “Noc na Karlštejně”, because the songs are great. 

During December, many people bake Christmas cookies. It has a lot of variety, so we’ll never be bored. At markets, we can have some hot drinks such as Punč, punch, and Svařák, mulled wine (I drink alcohol-free one). The traditional dish is a carp/schnitzel with potato salad. We eat it on the Christmas Eve. 

I also did fortune-telling with my host family. There’re so many traditions of Christmas in Czech Republic.  

Through this 7 month, I could look at myself again. I had terrible homesickness for the first 2 month. The sudden change to an environment without my parents made me realize how I had been relying on and loving my home country. I became negative when I realized how I can’t do anything myself. But my friends and volunteers from YFU helped me a lot. They gave me positive advice and tried to find a way to improve with me. I think the best thing about my study abroad experience is friends and people. I got so many friends during YFU orientations and some trip. They also know how hard studying abroad is, so I felt really comfortable to talk with them. And my friends. I’m not good at Czech but they understand and try to get to know me somehow. They support me in terms of language issues and talk to me. I love how they are kind. And above all, my host family, a vital point of my exchange life. We did so many things together and spent much time. They’re my second family. Czech Republic is my second home country. 

These memories are my treasure forever. I’m glad I came here!! 

I appreciate everyone who I’ve met in this year, YFU served me such a wonderful opportunity to have great friends and trips, my biological family allowed me to come here, paid for the program, and always support me with big love. I still have more 3 months left. I’ll do my best and enjoy it, so I’ll never regret. 

Thank you for reading!!:) Kokomi