Anna Ketterling is a student at the University of Denver and an ISA Featured Blogger. She studied abroad with ISA in Prague, Czech Republic.
When traveling abroad, the ailment of homesickness can sometimes set in. A very common feeling among students spending so much time away from home. But don’t fret! There is hope because good news is… it has a cure!
The city of Prague is very different from the large cities one can see in the United States. The cultural differences are somewhat more easily detected than those one would see in a perhaps more “main stream” city such as Paris or Rome. If you find yourself in Prague, wishing for a slice of home, use this short guide to help satisfy that craving for a little bit of U.S.A flavor.
Globe
Here in Prague, coffee-shop/homework zones are not very easy to locate. Many Americans like to take their work with them somewhere, usually a café or coffee shop, to complete their assignments and just hangout. So if you do not want to go to a boring old Starbucks, hit up Globe. Globe is a small café/restaurant that not only serves delicious American classics, but also has a fully stocked bookstore of English literature. The wifi is free and works remarkably well, there are outlets by almost every table, and the staff is exceedingly friendly! If you want a relaxing cup of coffee and a comfy environment to study, or if you just want a little bite to eat, Globe is your place!
Shakespeare and Sons
For all you readers out there, you might find the acquiring of English books in Prague rather difficult. While the city flourishes with many bookstores (Czech’s are big readers) they do not contain books in the English language. For those kinds of novels one must venture to special bookstores, like Shakespeare and Sons! Located in the heart of Malostranksa area and just off the Charles Bridge, this little bookstore offers a wide variety of new top sellers to classics. It also has historical literature available along with sections on art, cooking, philosophy, and business, basically everything! The exclusively English book selection provides lots of comfort for those that are not advanced Czech language readers yet, while also being conveniently located near a delicious Tredlnik shop! (If you have never seen a picture of one of these, I encourage you to look it up and prepare to drool).
Marks and Spencer
Grocery shopping is always a chore, but now imagine grocery shopping and not understanding a SINGLE WORD YOU SEE. Czech is really only spoken in the Czech Republic, so I came into my abroad experience not knowing any of the language… now I can get by with speaking a bit, but in terms of reading… not so much. To relieve this stress, try Marks and Spencer. The British grocery store provides a wide variety of recognizable items and the packaging is all in English. They even sell macaroni and cheese! A commodity I have found rather difficult to acquire in Prague. So if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to google-translate every word you see on the packages at the Czech grocery stores, try Marks and Spencer for a little reassurance.