Language can be quite amusing...

I have no been in Europe for two weeks, which is pretty hard to believe. It’s been quite strange being abroad this time with the wonders of Skype and Facebook… I barely feel like I am in another country sometimes. It’s funny, when I am doing my nightly routine of homework and Facebook I sometimes forget that I am not back in Michigan because I am talking to the same people I always do. I’m really glad that it hasn’t made me homesick, but excited to be able to talk to my friends and family back home so easily.
Today I wanted to write a bit about the wonders, challenges, and amusement of language. It has been a challenge living with the language difference so far because many older people in stores and restaurants don’t speak English. Usually it works to just point at things, but people can seem frustrated when you have to speak English with them. I have a habit of feeling really guilty when I am forcing people to speak English with me, but my friends tell me I shouldn’t – they say the people need to learn to speak English. Or, I just have to accept that I will not become fluent in three months and that isn’t the point of my semester here, so it is really ok that I can’t speak the language.
So that’s a bit about language barrier with the Czechs, but my classes and life with the other Erasmus students is a different story. All of my classes here are in English, but I am one of 3 native English speakers in this current batch of international students. This means that all my teachers and colleagues at school are not speaking in their first language, but in their second or third. I admire them all so much for this! It is also impressive that they must read articles in English that are even challenging for me… so like I said – this is something I admire as a person who only speaks one language fluently.
With all of our language differences, class discussions are quite entertaining. At times it is hard to understand what people are saying because of accents or the level of their English speaking skills. It’s funny – I am in many classes with a guy from England, and some of the other students find it hilarious that I have a hard time understanding him at times! Yes we speak the same language, but British English is so different from American English. It is the same when all the Erasmus students are together. They are all speaking in English because they come from all over Europe, but the English is usually quite broken. My roommate was telling me that while it’s good that she has the chance to work on her English, she worries that it won’t get much better because of the broken English they all use. So, they want me to correct their English – which is fine with me! Usually I feel bad doing that, but they want to improve and I am happy to help as one of the only native speakers here.
Along with the language differences in my classes, the nationalities of the students makes for very interesting discussions. I am taking political science and history courses about Central Europe before, during, and after communism. This topic can be quite controversial for many people in my classes because they come from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Germany, Romania, the Czech Republic, and other parts of the world as well. And, since they’re political science students, they’re all very opinionated and quick to speak their mind about everything. It is only the beginning, and I can tell there will be some interesting and heated discussions in the future.
These are just some of my musings and observations in my classes and daily life here in Olomouc. It definitely keeps things interesting!