How to get to understand a culture as best one can through the internet
I'll be going to Prague later this year during Christmas and this will be my first trip to Europe. I don't know very much as to what to expect other than some general etiquette guides from the internet. What I want to have though is something that talks about the functions of Czech culture and how that manifests itself in everyday life. In essence, I want to, as best as possible, understand and know Czech culture before I go there. I know that I can't get a perfect understanding just off of the internet (or by just being there for a couple weeks), but
Do you know of any resources about Czech culture that are more in depth and would help me get a better understanding?
Best Answer
There's a series of books, "Xenophobe's Guide To [nationality]", that I find are a good combination of being short, funny, affectionately-written usually based on self-reflection by well-travelled cosmopolitan people from the country in question (the Czech one is written by three Czechs, for example), and quite well focused on the quirks and differences that are relevant to day-to-day interactions and socialising.
They're available as e-books if you don't have time to order a physical book.
They're good to get a broad-brush impression of how people from a country you know nothing about see themselves, and what those main stereotypes are that some (not all...!) locals are happy to admit have an element of truth to them.
Don't take them too seriously, though. They're good for an entertaining and interesting quick 30-minute read on a plane to add a touch of fun insight to a 2-week holiday, but don't expect anything like an authoritative tome where every detail is thoroughly checked and referenced! For example here's a useful review of the Czech guide by a native Czech guy:
As a born-and-bred Czech, I found the book quite informative and funny. I learned quite a few things and, and there are some fantastic insights.
However, I was surprised by how much information in the book is plain wrong... For example, Czechs attend dancing classes in the second year of high school, not the last, celebrating name days is not a bigger deal than celebrating birthdays, the word "robot" was coined not by Karel ?apek, but his brother Josef, the word "brk" is never used to mean "penis", and many others.
Generally, I recommend this book to native Czechs who want to gain a new perspective on their country. Also, foreigners living or thinking of living in the Czech Republic will certainly find the book useful... take such books with a grain of salt.
So, good for an interesting broad-brush impression and for fun conversation starters, but don't be surprised if some locals take issue with some of the details.
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