Studying abroad constantly shows me how little I know, how limited my knowledge of the world’s history and cultures is. In American schools, we learn about our own country’s history over and over, year after year, without ever expanding our understanding of what was going on elsewhere.
This week I spent three days in Prague, in the Czech Republic. Prague is a beautiful city with a rich past: it’s been the home of Germanic and Slavic tribes, the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburg Empire, the Nazis, and the Soviet communists during the Cold War.
We took a three hour walking tour of the city and visited the Museum of Communism, located ironically next to a McDonald’s. I learned just how ignorant I was of the Czech Republic’s history – I had no idea under what circumstances it had lain after World War II until the Velvet Revolution in 1989, or how it had evolved from Czechoslovakia. In the Museum of Communism we watched a video that explained the various uprisings and demonstrations that led to the fall of Communism. Seeing the footage of police brutality and the lengths the government went to in order to suppress the Czech people was striking.
Being surrounded by this saturation of history is one of my favorite parts about studying in Europe. Every street I walk on has seen hundreds (if not thousands) of years of human civilization. I have five weeks left to soak it all in before I leave Paris for Pennsylvania. Time is spinning quickly.
Location: Dělnická 24, 170 00 Praha, Czech Republic
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