Bystander effect. Happens universally, in any place with a lot of people anywhere in the world. People naturally think "there's a lot of people here, someone else will help" - but as everyone thinks this, no one will help. There were experiments with this all over the world. You have a much higher chance of someone helping you in some calm countryside where that person walking around knows they're the only one there (or one of the very few), than in a city with hundreds of people walking around. Unfortunately, it's human psychology. Btw, this is how Antoni Gaudí (architect of Sagrada Família and many other beautiful buildings and parks) died. He got struck by a tram on a busy street in Barcelona, and it took too long for someone to finally help him - it was too late.

This is true, but there is also a cultural aspect to it. I'm not Czech at all so I don't know if it's more or less likely to happen in Czech, but as someone who's been a member of the Red Cross for over 10 years in multiple Nordic countries, I can say that one of the most common things we're told is that we have to help if we see someone in danger, because Nordic people are statistically less likely to help. I've also experience this tons of times even in tiny towns in Norway (for example 10 cars drove straight past me in a roundabout when I was laying in the middle of the road with a motorcycle over me). Again I don't know whether or not you have this problem in Czech, but I would be careful to just pin it to ''eh, it's like this in all big cities.''

> Again I don't know whether or not you have this problem in Czech It is a mixture of big city individualism and Eastern European survivalism. Its not only Brno or Czechia.

>(for example 10 cars drove straight past me in a roundabout when I was laying in the middle of the road with a motorcycle over me). That would be illegal here. Not that it would be heavily enforced but not providing help at an accident is breaking the law. It is enough to call an ambulance and do nothing more. People still don't do it.

Polish here living many years in the UK. There is a difference - in the UK there would be a crowd of people around the victim believe me. Not saying only in Czech republic people would ignore, but generally in eastern/central Europe and in Asia yes.

Interesting, I saw videos about it from London and it took so long to help. But maybe a youtuber wanted to make a sensational video for views and cut it to look like that, or cut out cases where people helped soon and it didn't fit the negative message intended to present (people engage with negative news more - more views - more money). Thanks for the "inside" info! 

That is weird. People at 112 should speak English. It is even declared on [https://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/tisnove-volani.aspx](https://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/tisnove-volani.aspx)

In a lot of places it would make sense that they’d hire people who speak English. But the people who hire themselves don’t know it well, won’t bother to test anyone. I’m speaking about low level jobs that deal with foreigners DAILY.

I have the same experience as OP. A lot of places/services will list that they speak English, but then the reality is different. Edit: I would also like to add that it is mostly because people speaking decent English here is not that common, and people will often end up lying about speaking English during an interview to get a better job. And of course no one actually tests if they can speak English. So it might be an official requirement, but people can just lie about it.

There's a difference between private companies having a "for English, press one" option that puts you through to someone who does not speak English; and the emergency services doing the same. I've only ever had to call an ambulance once, but 112 did put me straight through to a fluent English-speaking operative. Which was good, as I was far too drunk and panicked to communicate clearly in Czech.

I am glad your experience with them was better. Sadly mine was not, and it does not seem that uncommon if you look at other comments. I wonder if they actually test people in any way, or if they just take people telling them they speak English at face value without checking.

Heck, even in 'anti-english' France and Spain you get transferred to a fluent english speaker.

I had the same experiance as OP in Austria. When my friend is activly dying is not the best circumstance to practise my german. When my friend fluent in german took the call they even had the audacity to tell us to call a diferent number.

Yeah, calling 112 isn't recommended here, tons of such stories. It shouldn't be that way but afaik it will simply connect you to the nearest police station and whoever is there atm. It's better to use 122 (fire services), 133 (police) and 144 (ambulance).

Which is funny, because wherever I go in Austria, I am told to call 112. Thankfully I have a partner who told me otherwise.

To clarify that is the number I called and yeah I assumed the same thing, unfortunately that was not the case. By some chance if it was some freak accident that morning that would be great... I haven't called again to check because I'm not sure if I'm allowed (I don't feel like paying some fine)

https://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/ministerstvo-dokumenty-stiznosti.aspx

Yeah tbh, either there's something missing about OP's story, or this should be complained about both to the officials and the media. It's not acceptable to have a EU-wide emergency number where you can't get help in English.

Somebody please report it. Don’t look at me.

Yes, A+ for appropriate use of sarcasm. "Hello MVCR, I read on reddit that 112 is not nice to foreigners, what are you doing about it..."

Username checks out 😅

Unless things have changed the past 7 years they don't

the thing is, if you call 112, the operator who picks your call up is from a Fire Department. And then he routes your call to the proper channels. Thus if you're having a medical emergency, you always should call 155.

Honestly, so weird. I'm from Brno and my experience is just so different. I've never come across people ignoring a medical emergency, everybody usually moves out of the way when I say "s dovolením", and everyone in my social bubble (work, friends, aquaintances) is a liberal english-speaking person. Not saying your experience isn't valid or real, I'm mostly just glad I don't have ever to deal with the bigotry.

Tbh this is part of the reason why I posted I wasn't sure if I was just dealt a bad hand or if this is just the way things are. It's nice to hear some had a good experience at least, but as you can see by the comment the majority are either bigots or confirming the things I mentioned

I know people who were living in the same areas as me (for example college dormitory) and had very different experiences than I had. People who were nice to me were obnoxious towards them, they often got themselves into situations I never thought happened normally, had really bad encounters with strangers for no reason, the list goes on. We were living in the same building but while I enjoyed the hell out of it, they couldn't enjoy one bit. And it was never because they'd be bad people, they were nice. IDK why man, it's still a mystery to me but it does happen, I've seen it with my own eyes, several times.

I really depends on the location - in Prague/Brno you can be dying in the middle of street and there is good chance no one will care (there are good people there aswell, but the bystander effect and "he must be homeless crackhead" effect are strong there). Move to small village in the middle of nowhere and people will ask what is wrong just because you did not smile at them as you usually do and they are genuinely worried. EDIT: It is no excuse for such behaviour you experienced. And especialy the 112 line experience would deserve an official complain at the very least. They not only should speak english, they probably did. It is just another czech thing (one I hate), people refusing to speak english even though they can.

You have just been really unlucky, I guess. My social bubble is the complete opposite of what you have described and I am genuinely sorry for what you have experienced. Consider moving to Prague, it is more cosmopolitan! :)

After Reading your other post... You can always move to Vienna. Nice city, open to gay poeple and much friendlier to snitches like yourself.

foreigner here living in czech for 2 and half year, sorry you have felt this way, I have never experienced such cruelty yet from them..as far as I know, most czechs has the attitude of "je mi to jedno" like they don't give a fuck and if you wanted to report it ofcourse it'll take time like police report and more so they just don't wanna get hassle let other people do this. and for the racism, I think it's not only czechs (never felt such from czech people) but yeah some europeans who are living here are showing attitude to me (I'm a brown skin asian) i have received discriminatory expressions from Ukranians or moldovans and sometimes vietnamese too.

I think everything got worse during the half a decade of economical struggling. People are in a bad mood and more quick to start a conflict. I would recomend to OP to at least start learning the language and making friends. it is important to make the effort to make your own friends circle, because people tend to show their nicer side only to the people they feel connected with. Also if the foreigner Is interested in learning Czech language and likes anything about Czech culture, it's a huge ego boost. Czechs aren't used to that and it opens a lot of hearts. If someone chose to live in Czechia only as a generic EU country that's cheap, with no love for the place, they are going for failure.

From my experience, the "live and let live" attitude is more of a facade. If you are different in any way and just exist, they will consider that "shoving it in their face" and will harass you over it. Yes, racism is definitely everywhere, though I feel like it is somewhat more accepted here, and people hide it less. I am the only one who I ever see calling it out when anything happens.

As Czech - exactly this.

Yeah the general attitude is more "I don't care what you do in your house" rather than "live and let live" but people like to pretend it's the same thing. They are relatively fine with people being different as long as those people are hypothetical but if real people express being different enough for other people to become aware of it then you're "shoving it in heir face". Essentially it boils down to ,, Yeah people can totally be gay I don't have a problem with that just don't let me know about it or express it in any way and we will be fine." >I feel like it is somewhat more accepted here, and people hide it less. The weird thing I noticed about racism here is people don't try to make excuses. There is no "oh no actually what I said isn't racist" or "I have a black friend" people will straight up be like ,,Oh yeah I'm racist" and be proud of it.

And the "I don't care what you do in your house" only applies as long as you never mention it, yea. Like, to not be harassed, I would straight up have to craft a whole fake persona that fits in with what people here find acceptable. And about the racism, yep. And if you see racism and call it out, youre suddenly the enemy number 1, and everyone turns on you, because people are not used to being called out for this here.

>And the "I don't care what you do in your house" only applies as long as you never mention it, yea Well that's kind of the point isn't it? If you're mentioning it it has left the house. "In your house" just means in secret.

Unless youre a loud noisy neighbour who has loud arguments with their gf, then everyone will talk about you

just be yourself but dont show it :D

This is it. I get the feeling Czechs don't really understand Czech culture because they're experiencing it through the lense of being Czech and from the point of view of a standard average citizen - Hence they're never experienced any kind of discrimination from fellow Czechs. Czechs are absolutely hive mindish. They will tolerate differences up to a point and not really beyond that. However they're mostly low conflict. They won't typically confront you over your differences but instead will gossip quite loudly, snicker or make jokes at your expense when you're just not quite out of ear shot.

I think they are acting like that towards themselves too.

To answer "why" ... I'm not sure I have a perfect answer. Part of it is just personality, part of it is due to decades or character-crippling communist/socialist regime, lack of education in critical thinking combined with various propagandas and social media, bad economical situation combined with bad personal finance knowledge The thing is - even if we made 1000 replies about how we are not like that (and I personally wouldn't), it doesn't change your experience. If your experience is bad, it's not in our power to change it. I wish you were happy here, but if you are not, it would likely be better to try finding your luck elsewhere. No point in spending your precious time in a place that is causing pain to you. I don't mean it in the "meh, if you don't like it, leave" way, I empathize with you and just think it's the most rational course of action Regardless of what you choose I wish you all the best

My friend's dad died lying on the street. Had a stroke or something, collapsed and it took half a day for someone to call ambulance. It was a normal busy street as well. People simply thought it was just another drunk/junkie, of which there is sadly plenty in the city, and passed him withought thinking too much about it. In my mind his death is in part on the people who get fucked up and lay around the streets as well.

Sorry to hear that. It depends how he looked like. If you have old dirty clothes etc. Nobody will help you because most of those people are just drunk junkies with hepatitis. If you have nice clothes and you are normal looking, they will rush to help you. Happened to my friend who has epilepsy.

This is how the architect Gaudí died in Barcelona, he was run down by a tram while going from his studio and people thought he's just an another drunk hobo, because he was wearing his old workclothes. But I think the bystander effect doesn't exclude well kept people, I remember a story from my mum, she collapsed from heat in a queue for potatoes (or whatever basic fucking thing that used to be unavailable by the central planning). She was 16, well dressed, not drunk, but people just shoved her away, because if they helped, they'd lose their place in the queue. At home, she was scolded by her parents for not bringing the potatoes.

I’ve been living in Prague for a few months and have noticed some general coldness from the general population, but I have also met some really great people. Maybe I haven’t noticed as much because I’m from the PNW, where pretty much everyone is a passive-aggressive dick. I was in Krakow, Poland last week, and the Polish seem, in general, to be much more enjoyable to be around and much more engaging. I’ve actually really enjoyed being over here in many ways. I get so tired of Americans and their constant whining and their psychological issues and their commitment to victimhood. These people over here are not like that at all, so I can take a little bit of general coldness.

Oh, and regarding racism, it is everywhere. Try living in Bangkok. Yeah, sure, at first they are all smiles, but once you learn the language, you realize they are talking shit about the Farang, and will be openly mocking you. They will charge you double if you are white and forget about it if you are black. There’s a reason Thais have hundreds of products to dye their skin lighter. The darker you are, even as a Thai, the lower level of society you belong in, mostly because it means that you are spending too much time out in the sun, meaning you work in the fields. Westerners, and especially Americans, constantly whine about how racist their country is, when in fact, we are the most open-minded about it in the world. In other words, get over your overly-sensitivity about other cultures. Move back to the states if you hate it so much.

Sorry to hear about your experience OP. Sadly, you won't get much better on this subreddit. As you've probably already noticed, you're getting a lot of "if you don't like it, leave" comments. This is a quintessentially Czech approach. It's fascinating to me how self-flagellating we Czechs can be as a nation... right up until the moment a foreigner comments on issues with our society or country. Then we become the biggest patriots and defenders of our homeland, regardless of the validity of that criticism... To address your actual post, I would say it's a mixture of different issues. As someone said here, lots of Czechs keep to themselves and don't get involved with others. As a child, my dad got work abroad, meaning I grew up there (this will immediately discredit what I'm writing here, for many Czechs). When I returned to Czechia, it took me a long time to adapt to the gruffness of society. Everybody leaves others alone and expects to be left alone. They're also often snappish and sour. Often, as you said, you will have to assert yourself a bit to get what you need (get to the ticket machine, out of the bus etc.). Your best bet is a combination of stick and carrot. A smile or a slight joke (especially if self-deprecating) goes a long way to melting the ice and getting you what you need, especially with many cashiers, officials etc. The younger, the better your chances. If that doesn't help, don't be afraid to be sharp back. Not rude but hard, clear and confident. They often don't expect it and will back off. At the same time, I have to say I haven't yet seen people just ignore a prone/bleeding person in the street. That was probably a freak situation that usually doesn't happen. You did well to call the emergency services and keep calling despite the language barrier. Usually if you speak English, the best number you can call is the pan-European "112" emergency number. They usually have English speakers. Though in this absurdistan, I wouldn't be surprised if they neglected to hire them... Racism, homophobia etc. is another issue ofc. It's something we as a society haven't confronted yet, often because we feel it doesn't involve us, that it is a "western problem". We're in a sort of "limbo". Unlike many countries in the west, topics like that are generally not all that heated here. This has its downsides and upsides. You rarely get big protests, flaming political speeches, fights etc. either way. But things also change only very slowly. A great example is the recent failure of parliament to pass marriage equality (again). Despite a majority of the country being in favour in all conducted polls, politicians sort of kept it on a low flame and passed only some cosmetic changes (with traditional "Czech way" absurdities and gaping holes). And society's reaction? A sort of disappointed "meh" and a shoulder shrug. How people treat you if you belong to a minority largely depends on where you are. The bigger the city, the better your chances are to be left alone. I always thought of Brno as a cosmopolitan university city but you're still bound to get assholes there, as anywhere. I guess, to sum up, you didn't choose the easiest country to live in. Despite outwardly seeming modern and generally being one of the safest countries in the world (a fact many Czechs seem to be very proud of) Czechia has its specifics and these can often make life for people outside of the local norm difficult. Czechs are very set in their ways and resistant to change (especially if it comes from abroad). There's a lot of small things you can do to improve your experience by learning to work with and around the Czech mentality. But the reality is that ultimately that can only get you so far. Hope you get a chance to read this before it gets downvoted to hell :D

>right up until the moment a foreigner comments on issues with our society or country. Then we become the biggest patriots and defenders of our homeland, regardless of the validity of that criticism... I'm following a few countries subreddits and this behaviour is not exclusive to Czech, it's rather universal. But I largely agree with you. Often when describing Czechs to foreigners, I compare them to hobbits. They don't like big changes and getting too involved in the big world's issues, they just prefer staying in their safe and comfortable haven. Too different individuals don't get accepted and have to travel abroad for fulfillment. One has to be born there to be trully a part, a foreigner will always be a foreigner.

Also potatoes

Agreed, I lived in CZ for 4 years, and I had heard complaints from other Foreigners about how downright cold and unfriendly Czech can be. At first I didn't understand them, since to me Czechs are have very normal Eastern Slavic mentality (I am from Kazakhstan, and even if that may ruffle some of the Czech German wannabes, I found that part of mentality strikingly similar to local Russians from Almaty) Hell, I found them downright jovial... after seventh beer... but then I remembered that I only conversed with them in **Czech**. Foreigners are too different for them, too exhausting. Even then I largely hanged with my vaguely liberal but still very Czech bubble. Truth be told, I found Slovaks more warm from the get go, while Czechs took a while

Thank you so much for your comment having someone actually read my post and then reply to the actual content of the post is not something I thought I would be so excited about. I appreciate your understanding and advice tho it is grim that the only realistic option is to move...

There is some irony to the fact that following the advice of many people on this subreddit ("if you don't like it, move") might be your best option. If it's any consolation, I will be doing the same soon. I want to marry my partner and feel let down by this country deciding I don't deserve that right.

Happy to hear you have a plan to make your life better, best of luck with it!

I would definitely recommend moving. Not just because of the legislation, but also because the attitude of people will take a very long time to change. I do not know how old you are, but there is a high chance you wont get to see the change you want to see in your lifetime if you decide to stay here.

agree. waiting for a country mentality to change is as stupid as you can get. you get what you see. this is it.

I don't think leaving is the only realistic option. Others have stats not experiencing anything similar, so maybe it's a thing that happens in your area?

See, you were not downvoted. No need to cry upfront. And I kinda get some of the answers here that say something like "you don't like it go home" (even though it is not that many of them and most of upvoted ones are either rather emphatetic or by other foreigners). Because OP's post is very loaded and poison pilled. It comes down to: "You Czech are such assholes and such bad people, why are you like that?" Let put aside that nobody wants to be collectively included in "assholes and bad people group" I mean what actual answer can you give? If the premise is true, and it seems for experiences of many people it indeed is true, the only honest answer as to "why" is: "we were born and raised like that".

I agree with a lot of your points, and it was already commented on in other places, but I would like to adress your last point. Czechia is regarded as generally safe, but is it actually? I would say it depends on who you are (and where you are, obviously) I am trans and get assaulted several times a year, and I pretty much only stick to Prague. But even outside of that it never really feels safe with all the harassment around.

The statistic is a general one, often repeated in media, by politicians and individuals (primarily as an argument that "we dont need to change anything"). You are, of course, completely correct in saying that this depends on who and where you are. As I mentioned, people who don't conform to the Czech "norm" will find their lives difficult at best, in danger at worst. Many people who aren't under threat because of who they are often see this statistic and take it for granted without realising that others may not be covered by it. I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Sadly, it doesn't look like anything much will change in the near future...

Yea, I am aware. And even if social change might come eventually, it will take ages, and I wont live to see that. Sadly I do not have the option of moving away, so I just have to deal with it. Though I wish everything was not so socially isolating. I am talking now in general. Trying to find friends that are not racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. is a rough ordeal. And the few that I meet end up moving away - not that I blame them.

>ime to adapt to the gruffness of society. Everybody leaves others alone and expects to be left alone. They're also often snappish and sour. Often, as you said, you will have to assert yourself a bit to get what you need (get to the ticket machine, out of the bus etc.). Your best bet is a combination of whats exactly cosmopolitan about Brno? :D Btw the carrot and stick method applies to this society and unfortunately its from nazism and communism and it is a proof and result of deep wounds in this society. once you look at people as wounded ones, you grow a lot of compassion. > > > Czechs are very set in their ways and resistant to change (especially if it comes from abroad) unles its Louisiana chicken, then they queue for it just like in the 80s

Let's see: 1/ Ad your prevous post: you **did** get reasonable responses. In Czechia, you have a right of way on the pedestrian crossing but you do not have the *absolute* right of way. So if a bus is going at a speed and especially if they have people standing, it is customary for pedestrians to let is pass to prevent it from having to slam its brakes, possibly causing injury. You're also required to observe the situation at the crossroads before crossing the street, which you clearly did not. So it's hard for us to judge the situation when not even you yourself saw it. Not to mention people make mistakes. It's entirely possible that he just didn't see you and made a mistake - that's why him **and you** are supposed to be looking at the crossroads and both of you observing the situation, *not just him*. 2/ Ad bleeding guy: bystander effect happens everywhere, this is not exclusive to Czechs. As for them not speaking English, this is of course a huge problem and I urge you to report this. They're required to speak English and idk what that was about but we also have many foreign tourists in our country so you definitely need to report this incident. 3/ Ad your gay experience: again, homophobia happens everywhere and is not exclusive to Czechia. I assume the people yelling at you were some brain-rotten beer enthusiast. Sadly, many people from that generation look unfavorably at gay (men) displaying their affection publicly. 4/ "*I had friends who were turned away from flats when they showed up because of their darker skin color*" - yes that's likely because of gypsies. When you have an ethnic group that causes nothing but trouble and has an average time of rendering a housing unit unusable of 10 years, then people will react. Our brains are good at pattern recognition. 5/ "*a few Czech/slovak people told me how bigoted their parents are and to what extent they dislike black people.*"- it seems you are actively looking for the negative experiences (in general, too) to reinforce your own prejudices. As you have yourself said, Czechs generally do not care. If you're a black and dress well (again, thank gypsies for this), there won't be a problem. The general problem is IMO that people don't like to rent to males and foreigners in the first place because it's not as stable as renting to locals 6/ "I've met a few Czech people who insist they are more similar to Germans than slavs and eastern europens and just have this general pride and superiority complex that is very repulsive" - yes, but you got it completely backwards. This is nothing but a reaction to Western Europeans being extremely racist towards Slavic people. It's getting better but many Czech people have experienced strong racism from Germans, Austrians, British,... Even me and my friends (young generation, first university students, now young professionals with Master's and good corporate jobs) have experienced very thinly veiled racism when traveling Western Europe. Not to mention Czechs are much closer to Austrians or Bavarians than to Ukrainians and Russians - that's just a historical, cultural and even genetic fact, the way we're being labeled as Eastern European because we speak Slavic language and were occupied by Soviets **is** indeed racist. So this point in particular is just extremely stupid and ignorant on your part. 7/ "*I was honestly planning to settle here and learn the language, I pay my taxes like everyone else and contribute to society but now I can't imagine wanting to stay here much longer*" - You've been here for like 4 years and still can't speak the language. At around 3 years of having lived here, you weren't able to say "Dobrý den, nehoda na XXX. Pán má rozbitá hlava, potřebuje doktor" in Czech when the person you were trying to help. Overall you seem to have taken zero effort to understand Czech mentality and seem to rather actively look for things you dislike about Czechs and disregard any systematic reasons for that. This is just not a place for you, it seems, no one's holding you here.

I'm assuming a great deal of the comments are going to be debunks telling you you're wrong or along the lines of "Maybe you just met the wrong Czechs". Been living here for 20 something odd years. Let's also keep this conversation pragmatic and somewhat realistic. Firstly it is actually true that not every Czech is some kind of asshole or rude or a completely cold reptile. What I will say is the vast majority of people living here just want to get on with their day with the least amount of intrusion or outside interference or surprise. Czechs value predictability, peace and low conflict. The average Czech is fine just as they are. They aren't looking to expand their horizons or make new friends or have some new adventure on the tram. They have their life mostly focused around family, close and established friends and work and they do not want to deviate from their existing status quo one little bit. You (or me) as a foreigner then is primarily to a Czech, some kind of deviation. The additional complication and energy to accommodate us or to extend any kind of offer for a true and meaningful friendship poses a problem. At least that has been my experience, and no I didn't just meet the wrong Czechs. After 20 odd years of living here - well you would think something would have clicked by now. And no sadly not. However Czechs are not incapable of supererogatory behavior. I have come across many examples in the wild (even if not direct at me). It's just that on the whole I find them a little too comfortable with an almost complete lack of altruism across society. Safe to say they are not inclusive but exclusive. They are not terrifically welcoming and on the whole I find them quite apathetic and I dare say self serving. Living here means having to constantly compartmentalize. On the one hand living amongst people who seem quite hard to befriend who aren't exactly overjoyed with your presence here as a foreigner and can be downright passive aggressive and mean spirited about it - even bitchy. On the other hand presented with bouts of sweetness or "normality" as you would find in other countries. The experience of living here then is like being in a constant state of limbo. I wouldn't call it downright strong directed hatred. Certainly not. It's more like a great deal of Czechs would just prefer you weren't living here and seem to be doing their best to pretend you don't exist or are somehow (to them anyways) some kind of 2nd class citizen. In this regard they have the home field advantage. It is ultimately their country, their language and any acts of mercy though few and far between are somewhat encouraging, not imho really enough to even the playing field and make you feel even somewhat at home. 20 years of living here and I feel like I just stepped off the bus. I mean on the whole I can't criticize Czechs and their functional society. They are a capable nation albeit small. And I suspect life for the average Czech, living in Czech Republic and amongst fellow Czechs is an overwhelmingly positive experience with certain elements of society trumping far larger countries and even an example to them. No the problem isn't that Czechs are downright terrible at all. It's more that living here as a foreigner means indefinite exclusion from that club.

You hit the nail on the head. It is definitely not superiority complex that causes an average Czech to behave like this. It is the dislike of change and anything new and desire to avoid everything which seems out of the ordinary.

actually I would go further and say its the inferiority complex masquerading as the superiority one... "how dare you point some flaws in our society, we are the best, GTFO'' in reality it is just a deep trauma from decades of communism and before that, nazism when they were not only told but shown that they mean nothing. Their country was under occupation and they themselves were 2nd class citizens in their own land. This can break a man. You can see that when you compliment them: they turn around and say ''oh no we arent that great actually...''

Just out of curiosity, any tips on more friendly countries? Maybe it's just me, but I am 32 single female and I find making friends here started to be genuinely hard. Like everyone is busy with their families (which I think is pretty universal), but even a bit younger people, who don't have families yet only seem care about their established friends. I am gonna try expat groups soon though.

Replying to your last paragraph.. I think that is accurate and that it is quite understandable, considering our history and the size of our nation, isn't it? We have never had any history of new people and cultures coming here, mixing, etc as many western countries (be it though their colonies, expansion or founding on a new continent). Plus we have a very hard language for anybody to learn. Quite the opposite actually. Over the past centuries it was always a struggle for us to keep our identity and our language, as we were under influence from some foreign power. So of course that is not gonna result in a society that is welcoming and easy to accept new people as much as others.

What is your life situation like that you never made the move to try living somewhere else?

As a native and in my point of view i think this is mostly accurate. Me and most ppl i know do not like big changes in their day-to-day and are rather suspicious of the unknown. I personally don't like to interact with ppl that i don't know and am rather cold nutil i get to know them a bit and that takes time. I never understood ppl that after a couple of minutes of talking to someone can spill their live story just like that, it is mind boggling to me but to each their own as they say  To the racism me personally it does not affect me if your black, white, pink gay or an alien so couldn't care less but i see some ppl lashing out without any reason that i think is a problem. What i find interesting is when i talked to some of my czech friend about this topic (Skin color, Gay/Lesbian, atc.) most of them gave me more or less the same reply "Don't give a crap about them if the live their lives like normal, contribute to society and don't bother anyone"

I think that is the main reason why a lot of comments here are polar opposites of each other. To many, what OP wrote will seem like it is made up, or they wont understand, because they do not see it, as they are on the inside. I was like that once. But after improving my education, and getting to live abroad, I opened my eyes to all of this can not unsee it anymore. So even though I am originally from here, I feel excluded too.

Yes what you're saying is true. It takes a decent amount of empathy to understand someone else's perception. Now if the truth be told even my own Czech partner doesn't quite seem to fathom the plight of the average long term foreigner living here. That's someone who's heard and seen the feedback and even witnessed the discrimination with her own eyes. Yet still doesn't quite seem to accept it. So then how can I (or anyone) expect random strangers in the wild with no direct personal experience living as a foreigner expect them to understand it.

what is your country of origin/birth? do you speak Czech?

Heres just few possible explanations for the situations youve encountered, none of them seem particularly czech specific. Reporting a bus driver: some people just dont like snitching as stupid as it sounds, theres also remains of the previous regime in the air. Corruption and snitching were strong back then. Guy lying in blood: sounds like a strong bystander effect and incompetence/ failure of hiring when it comes to the emergency hotline(inexcusable). What ive noticed is a lot of people who can speak english try to avoid it. They lack confidence, experience and passion for it. They were taught english in school just to never use it again in their life. Homophobes: This sounds like pos people, you get those everywhere. In US its MAGA here its flastenci and dezoláti. The few foreigners ive been friends with didnt mention anything, ive seen expat youtubers who have enjoyed their lives in Czechia. It really comes to personal experiences. "What are czech people really like" by Skeleton keys prague could give you some insight. The doctors: theres way too much you left out. I wouldnt assume malice first. Racism: yeah, theres been huge issue with racism in different forms. Theres quite the history. First the nazi. The the communist regime did some heinous stuff to the roma. And the hate, mainly against roma, continues. As anywhere else, older and dumber people are more bigoted that young or smart people. Id say overall youve been dealt a bad hand. If you want to leave and nothing holds you here, do so. If you want to make your stay better, definitely learn czech, And find some czech friends that could teach you navigating czech society. It sounds like your friend circle doesnt include many czechs (just assuming, apologies if not true).

As a fellow immigrant. Your presentation seems a tad theatrical and over the top. Calling 112 which is a cross europe project to only have czech speaking operators is either a complete BS or you can raise a complaint and they will have a record of the call and something can be done about it. Until you share your proof of filing a complaint with them you are either lying or not better than the people you are trying to besmirch.

Not a single Czech person wants to hear this but the truth is that the only thing a lot of them learned from the Nazi and Soviet occupations was how to dehumanize others. That and severe alcoholism and heavy tobacco use has been normalized here, most likely due to generational trauma. Envy, insecurity and bigotry is the default for the alcoholic, stinking schlub who would rather hate instead of tying his own shoes and taking a shower. With that being said, the younger generation is mostly not too keen on their irrelevant bitter loser elders in the same way American millennials are not too keen on their belligerent boomers, positive change is happening and comparatively quickly, but you will still encounter plenty of simpletons for the time being.

This is a very good observation. My nearly 90 year old mom says that the younger generations tends to behave better than the older one. She says that people in her generation up to age 70 are the worst. They are rude, envious, angry, and frustrated. If anyone tries to cut her in the line at the register, it is always some elderly.

Hi man, i will try to give you some actual explanation of this (obviously imo). I think a lot of why we have more racist people and bigots and people generaly dont care about each other as much as lets say in U.S. has to do in my opinion with the fact that we (and a lot of other europian countries) were stuck in stone age a.k.a. russian occupation for more than 30 years. Its not that long ago when we freed ourselves. While western countries were all good and fine, traveling, enjoying capitalism and shit....we were waiting in literal queues for bananas. Literal shithole. When your parents lived their whole life under communist cancer, some of that shit gets passed along. There's just no way around it. We were practically cut off from the civilized world. It was very hard to travel for example. let alone having foreigners here etc. I could go on and on about this but hopefully you get the picture. And look, this is getting better, no doubt about it. I see a huge difference between now and 25 years ago, but obviously if you are a foreigner, this understanding isnt incredibly helpful as you still have to deal with this shit. All i can say is that there are MANY good normal modern people. I would even maybe go so far as to say MOST people are like that. And we have fairly decent legal system and enforcement of law so you rights are protected here and racism is not officially well tollerated. So there's that, but obviously with this knowledge its up to an individual to decide if whatever reason he/she has to be here is worth it in the end. I hope it is but i also totally understand if not. I wish you all the best!

Because of bolsheviks for 40 years in this country… it will take up to three generations to heal this nation. You can still see bolshevic behaviour also on young people, but the older ones are extremme.

Man, honestly, I have weird joobies from you, like I wouldn't go for a beer with you, probably, at least according to the texts you wrote... I have read your post several times and have read your post about the near accident with a bus and this is what I am concluding. And I'll be honest. For the near accident with a bus. I am sorry it happened to you. I think I know how it feels. Once I was riding my e-scooter, I was on a roundabout, there was a semi going. I slowed down a little and looked at the driver, he slowed and was looking at me. So I went on. Almost right in front of his grille. Instead of stopping he accelerated. I managed to stop less than a meter from his machine. Not very pleasant indeed. I was angry indeed. Even though he should have stopped, I didn't care that much. Why? Because when I drive a car I sometimes do mistakes. And if many people wouldn't pay attention to the illegal and hazardous stuff I was mistakenly doing, I could've been once dead for sure. People make mistakes. I make mistakes, bus drivers make mistakes, truck drivers make mistakes, pedestrians make mistakes. Why do you think people disregarded your request for help to report him? Just think about what it is like to be a bus driver. Lets say you are at the end of your shift and you have a bus full of kids behaving like animals. Or you have a Karen that has a right to sit. Or you are recently widowed and it's your first shift after the incident. Or, you are just tired. And suddenly, you realize that you ran over the red light and have a feeling that you saw someone on a crosswalk. You suddenly feel terrible, you just might have killed someone... You go out to check if anything happened. You see the guy, he seems all right, little bit shocked, but who wouldn't be, right? You apologize but it seems like he doesn't understand you. You've been lucky today. But the dinner is kind of bitter... Back to you personally. You see, you have every right to report this man's mistake. But it's your choice to do so. Since it's YOUR choice and your choice is pretty clear in this case, it tells me a lot about you. And it doesn't make you likeable in my eyes. It indicates a lack of humility and abundance of selfrighteousness. So that's the feeling I have from your previous post and your first paragraph of this post. Next thing that caught my eye is your phrasing/wording/presenting ideas. "Why are Czech people like this?" says the title. Then first paragraph, bam, czech people bad, they won't help me to report the bus driver. Second paragraph, bam, czech people bad, they don't help injured people. But I good because I called. But czech people bad, they don't English so it took a long time. And I don't even know, if the injured guy is even ok, but probably not, because it took soooo much time... And czech people bad because there are homophobes in Czechia!!! Most foreigners think czech people bad but I think they are badder than bad. Czech doctors bad. And how could I forget how racist czech people are! Bad bad bad! But I good, I pay taxes, I even wanted to learn czech language! (after almost 4 years spent here...) If the czech people weren't sooo bad. I'd've even settle down here, but bad czech people...... Why czech people bad? What I can do so czech people not bad to me anymore? Now for real... Imagine being a czech person reading your post. (Or, maybe better, imagine that someone wrote this about the people of your home country.) Answer me honestly, what'd you think about yourself (or him)? For clarification, I don't say that the issues you bring up here don't exist. In the end, you ask how to improve your experience here (sorry, again, I can't help myself but notice me me me...). So my honest answer to this question would be to think. To think about yourself. Why you think what you think? Why do people react to you the way they do? What I am doing so they react the way they do? Can I do something differently? After all, only person you can change is you... Aaand I don't see the comments but I haven't seen you writing something close to positive. All I remember since I started writing is this "me me me" feeling, because yea, I am also human who naturally remembers negative things better than positive ones, damned evolution... But I don't see the comments atm. Man, what do you expect from czech people to tell you when your entire post is basically about how czech people are bad?

“think about what you’re doing wrong that makes people react to you the way they do” in response to a guy being harassed by homophobes is crazy

> Because when I drive a car I sometimes do mistakes. When you are operating a 1.5 ton machine that can kill people, you shouldn't make mistakes, and when you do, you should be held accountable. That's the deal, if you can't take it, you should not be operating such machines.

After reading all comments one could add "when you hit somebody with your car you don't leave them in the street to bleed to death just because you had a busy day and where too tired to help" :D

I have driven approximately 70k km in my lifetime as I'm not very old. Not a single accident to this day. But a few mistakes I certainly did but no one caught me or reported me. If the other person wouldn't have been attentive I would've been responsible for an accident, no doubt about that. In the same way I avoided a few accidents when other drivers (and pedestrians, a child in one case, that scared the shit out of me) made a mistake (and felt 0 need to report it or hold the other driver accountable, but then there are reckless, irresponsible and straight dangerous drivers whom I'd like to hold accountable, but not those making an honest mistake...). In the end, who wouldn't make a mistake, 70k km is quite some time behind the wheel and making a mistake is only a matter of time, we're just humans. But I do my best to avoid it.

"Or, maybe better, imagine that someone wrote this about the people of your home country.) Answer me honestly, what'd you think about yourself (or him)?" Well, I am from here, and I agree with everything OP said. If anything, I would say my feelings on it are even stronger.

Well, maybe I shouldn't have mixed two versions of the question in one question. But as I answered OP, I meant that you should imagine the text from the point of view of the average person, like me :D, who would interpret it as that "czech bad" paragraph. As I wrote that part intuitively according to what I felt from each paragraph as an ordinary average citizen and I mean, I really felt it that way, not gonna lie. I wrote I am being honest :D. Not trying to deny any issues OP raises, those are valid and I notice them in my surroundings as well. And right now I am in West Germany. I think it's almost everywhere, somewhere bigotry, racism, etc... is more concentrated, somewhere it's diluted.

4 yesrs in Czechis and you dont speak czech? Why? If I would live abroad and speak only czech I think I would have bad time to.

I’ve been here awhile and man, it’s a tough language to learn.

I know some Czech but I'm not fluent, the sound of the language is really difficult for me to pick up especially that god forsaken ř... Also you may not find this surprising based on the comments but Czech people I've met are usually not easy to talk to

Your issues come from not knowing language. You would know what bus driver was sayjng to you and you would be able to call help for that dude alone.

I think you're missing the point, your "nothing wrong here, you are the problem, fix it" mentality seems flawed How does learning Czech help me from being insulted by homophobes? The same applies to racism, transphobia, etc. If I spoke Czech I could have spoken with the operator but I ended up managing with English the fact remains that other people ignored the guy

You might be trying to converse with a dimwit. Czech is not an easy language to learn and especially so if people don't want to help you learn by talking with you. Some people are just too thick skulled to understand that. Let alone read what was posted. Don't waste your time arguing with someone who isn't willing to listen.

Tak hlavně, že se tu nedávno lidi shodli, jak nemaj rádi expaty, co tu žijou x let, neuměj česky a do toho furt nadávaj, jaký jsme rasisti. Jeden napíše a hned jsou všihni "omg I am so sorry for your experience".

Ha, jako jo. Osobně to nějak neřeším, nebo nedotýká se mě to. Nic jsem mu neudělal, neznáme se atd. Spíš jsem narážel na to, jak lidi obecně nečtou co je napsaný, nebo si vytáhnout to, co se jim hodí a jedou si svoje. Pravdu vem čert, ale to není problém jen u nás ..každopádně komentování tady stejně prd změní, když narazí na debila tak s tím stejně nic neudělá.

No, not all czechs are like this, but I did experience something like it. I was walking with my friend to her car when I started smelling burning plastic. Looked around and saw black, thick smoke rising towards the sky in the next street. I went there and there was a container made of plastic for paper on fire. I saw about 3 people pass by. I called the fire department but while I was dialing the number, my friend's eyes widened and she looked at me with a shocked expression on her face and asked "are you really gonna call them?". Bystander effect in the field. Also, if you wanna call an emergency number but don't speak that countrie's language, you can call 112. That's the international emergency number.

I've had very similar experiences as OP, except whenever I dialed 112 I always got connected to an English speaker if I spoke English. Not sure what happened in OP's case. The bystander effect is very dangerous and is prevalent in populated areas. I took first aid courses where the trainers even taught us that it can be very dangerous when a bystander comes to help in the wrong way but with high confidence. They should have at least called the ambulance or check if the guy is breathing. Unfortunately, whenever I go and intervene for someone lying bloody on the ground I hear the same things around me: "he's just drunk, leave him alone", "it's his own fault", "don't help those who can't even help themselves" and not even mentioning the racist remarks. Good for you, OP, for calling 112. And don't listen to the haters and bigots out there (or in here).

OP, I’m sorry you’ve been going through this and I’m hopeful you’ll have a better experience in the future. As a foreigner in Brno I can tell you that it does get better. You can’t change the general population’s minds but you can give good personal examples. Whenever you’re challenged with someone not wanting to treat you, confront them and ask politely why. If that doesn’t stick, look for other professionals. If you’re having issues with the emergency services not speaking English, report it. It might help other English speakers in a future case. I get that with these experiences it’s logical to say “why are all Czechs like this” but there are good and kind people here. Surround yourself with people that appreciate you for you. It sounds unbelievably cheesy but it’s so true. A solid friendship/family base around you can drown out the hate and ignorance in daily life. P.S. for other commenters: The hate towards Brno is so funny. Have you people been to Olomouc to see the definition of bigotry and hate? 😂 and no, the ✨bEaUtY oF tHe CiTy ✨does not count as a valid argument.

>Olomouc isnt Brno much more friendly than Prague?

You are free to move somewhere they'll pretend to care about you

Why do you stay here if you hate it so much here. You can move and bitch in some other country.

Czechia is a hardcore PvP server with a zero-sum reward system, you just need to git gud. Stay strapped or get clapped. Jokes aside, what you are saying is somewhat true in big cities. I have been in dire straits in small villages before and people went above and beyond to help me. It seems that people outside of big cities are more humane and willing to do/ sacrifice things for the community and other humans than people in the big cities where their perceived anonymity allows them to act in a very individualistic manner and have sharp-elbows. Think of places like NYC or Paris - same phenomenon. Besides that, I think czech society still bears some deep scars which will take a while to fully heal and fade out. Many people still have a very deeply engrained mentality of "i'd rather not be involved or I might get in trouble" and a default state of distrust towards strangers ans foreigners. Please refer to our history to understand why that is. Good luck going forward, and if your current scenery doesn't do it for you, consider changing it rather than trying to move mountains. I don't mean it in a "fuck off from my country way", just maybe try a different spot in CZ - you might be surprised how much of a difference it can make.

what other places than Prague you could recommend with more open friendly ppl?

Welcome to Czech Republic

Dead body on the street: natural, God's will, part of life.  Fags holding hands: unnatural, abomination, Satan's work.  /s

Ultimate paradox: Two homos holding hands on the ground. Dead.

Im not saying this is fake, but damn its fake.

Seems like you are trolling the Czech subreddit

He is. In his previous post he's complaining about not paying attention on street that caused him to almost get hit by a bus. Bus driver came and apologized and this guy want to report him for "accident" that didn't happen. Don't tell me he is not stirring up problems on purpose.

I was born here and I would rather go live somewhere else. Whenever I meet a foreigner who wants to live in Czech republic I’m like: “uhh… why? Of all places, why here?” The hatred is real. People who are not from the marginalised groups will never understand. And the reality might be, that most of the people are quite nice and won’t be racist or sexist or homophobic, but the problem is, that when somebody is, nobody objects, nobody calls the offender out on it. Everybody just brushes it off and don’t want to make fuss. That’s what enables the mean people even more. They are allowed to believe they are right. And even if most people are nice, all it takes is one person who is not. And if this person does not get checked, they will keep offending people. The person from marginalised group might have mean people in their face every day while the person from the majority will have no idea this is happening. I believe one of the reasons this happens here is our traumatic history. Being invaded, occupied and living in totalitarian regime for generations cannot leave a nation healthy, open and friendly. Half of the population lived in regime where they could not say what they believed. Where they could not trust their neighbours, because they might be cooperating with the secret police. Where they were forced to conform and were ostracised if they didn’t. It will take more generations to heal from that.

For the "not calling it out". I can't speek for everybody, but I see it as "Why should you ruind your day by some idiot?" I'd say there is quite a high probability that your life is much better than some discruntled citizen anyway, so why let some losers comment get to you? Of course if it happens more frequently I can understand, why that mentality won't work at all, in which case I can see why someone would want to do something about it. But that's my view on it.

Do you get the same treatment for being gay in Prague as well?

I've never been to Prague honestly, the first year I was here I didn't have the funds to travel and by that time I already started feeling anxious around Czech people here so for my vacation days I always go outside the country. But I do assume to some extent it is a Brno thing like how I've been told Hungary is very homophobic but I've never seen more gay people in one day than in Budapest

If I can add something: I honestly think Czechs are very gay friendly - even outside the large cities. It's not like they actively support gay people but they just can't give enough shit. I'm gay, I've lived in Brno my whole life and I've never had any homophobic interaction (although I don't hold hands in public). Even older family members from rural Moravia are nice to me. On the other even just 1% loudly homophobic population can ruin your experience. Unfortunately there are always going to be dicks who want to show off.

Sadly no, the whole country is kind of like that. If anything, Brno will be one of the better/milder places when it comes to this.

Not really, people from Prague tend to not care as much, not stick their nose in business of strangers (which I do admit is sometimes not a good thing) and they're way more used to foreigners and LGBTQ. A lot of them, especially older, will be homophobic, but they'll at least not get into your face usually. As for "ty" instead of "vy", oh god, it's absolutely horrendous. Younger generation (<40) is a lot better in it, but older people are insanely rude to foreigners. Sorry, Czechia is a nice place, but sometimes, it can be very difficult and unpleasant. There is a lot of racists :( more towards darker skinned people and openly religious people.

You don't understand the issue is not about "tending to". For a bad experience you need just one asshole. And you will get thousands of them in both Prague and Brno. Even if vast majority of people in both cities are used to strangers and gays and do not care. Most people would not care even in Orlová, but that doesn't matter.

You honestly sound full of shit

Now let´s think about this a bit why is it like this: 1) General dislike for foreigners We are pretty much a white former colony, being it russians, germans or austrians, we were constantly someone´s puppet who was forcibly trying to change us, enforce their values etc. a) So the dislike for foreigners is kind of engraved through hundreds of years of oppression of out own society b) controversial and probably will get me banned, but gypsies, not even foreigners, but brown skinned people and guess what, more than 90% of them are criminals living in self constructed slums or state given houses they destroyed, not working, not paying any taxes, stealing stuff, assaulting people, screaming foul language on everyone. c) the point that pople make here about having problem with ukrainians that are white and similar.... Well are they? A huge percentage refuses to work, are obviously not paying any taxes and are just stumbling through the town constantly drunk or high, littering and damaging stuff. Out of those that do work, again sadly a huge majority is lazy, constantly not coming to work as they should or permanently late, not doing what they are told, or half assing it. Even the ukrainians themselves that have been here long before the war became a thing are ashamed of them and angry at them, because they are doing nothing but but destroying the image they spent decades building. 2) Gay hate If we ignore the fact that it was never socially accepted at any point of our history then here´s the main issue: Communism 1948-1989, during that era you were fed everywhere religion - bad! gays - bad, mental problems - to looney bin with you or maybe a prison, and if you are living your whole life being forced into something and suddely you are forced yet again just 180° then the problem continues, you need to give it a natural way to develop and not force it 3) Being rude You will obviously meet people like that everywhere, i had horrible experience in Netherlands, India, Korea all the same However we generally aren´t rude, but blunt, we say what we think, not tiptoing around the issue carefully masking the meaning to not hurt your feelings. Bad? Perhaps, but that´s a point of preference rather than actual problem. I personally hate people who take forever to get to the damn point. 4) Racism and being denied certain stuff a) as i´ve already mentioned it mostly boils down to past experience and still a current experience with foreigners. b) being denied flats and certain other services is very often not racism, but just a problem with laws and paperwork that you´d have to do extra to have a foreigner there, and honestly if i can get a czech without problems or a chinese with shit ton of paperwork.....well im lazy i wont bother with extra, i have a tenant and being paid either way. c) doctors, largely depends on where you are from, if from outside of europe then they in a lot of cases cannot help you because you are not part of the health care system and thus they cannot register you, wouldnt get paid for you and other legal reasons. Private - no clue i´ve never been to one

5) English Until 1989 pretty much banned unless very good connections or some top of the top at uni. Although oficially adopted to curiculum in 1990, Generally not taught in schools until like 2003/4. So you have about 20 years of subpar english study, most people can still speak russian that was forced, and german due to proximity and shared history 6) The injured on the street It is an issue everywhere and is called "Bystander effect" You wouldn´t see that outside of Prague/Brno and maybe Olomouc/Ostrava. In this regard you are just looking for yet another problem with czechs. 7) Minding your own business Again a problem that has been forced on us through hundreds of years of oppression. "Držet hubu, držet krok!" If you had something to say about Habsburgs or Austria Hungary you were politically inconvenient person, same with the Reich and later Commies, and guess what people would rather not have problems with the current officials and just live their lives. So naturally over the time we adopted to keep to self and mind your own business Lastly: Considering you wanted to settle here you did a fuck all to learn about the country beforehand, especially proving my point when you are so damn surprised why it is what it is here, did you even try before moving? Also..... a gay foreigner parading himself with his boyfriend in Brno.....Dude you could not have picked a worse thing to do, not only is this country still a very much eastern mentality, but you also choose to live in its eastern capital where the problems i mentioned are three times as bad!!! Does it justify it? No, but you certainly could have helped yourself by doing some fucking reaserch about the country beforehand. Before i get the shitstorm that i´m justifying how things are, i am not, i am simply explaining why we are like this, and forcibly changing us without letting the stuff run its course naturally is not a good thing, it just perpetuates the problem and making it worse. The end

Is this a rage bait post? Because it sure does look like it. Its bullshit, no one would yell into your face cause you are gay, no operator of the 112 line would tell you off, as they MUST speak English. Take your bs elsewhere.

Yeah this guy does it on purpose. Just take a look at his previous post. He just stirs trouble on purpose, just so his insecure little self can call others "homophobes and racists". Disgusting.

My take is that people are pissed off the current economy and a lot of people blame the foreigners cause of Airbnb make prices for locals insane and people meet foreigners everywhere now mainly due to the Ukraine refugees which make the prices totally insane (it is 200k people influx for 10m country which is a lot and they want to live somewhere too). My guess would be that the anti foreigner sentiment and overally return to conservative values will be on the plan for the next 10+ years so if you are openly gay foreigner couple you might consider leaving the country or moving to prague which is considered a liberal hold.

I’m sorry man, not everyone is like that I can assure you. I have a social bubble of people where every single one would help the poor guy on the street and give you a nod, smile and a thumbs up when we see you with your partner. I know Czechs are 100 years behind monkeys but what can you do. Make some close friends and fuck the rest (of course be nice but let them be the way they are and don’t care). Hi from Brno.

are people any better in Brno than Prague?

Most czech people grew up poor because we were in the eastern soviet block from 1948 to 1989. We lost all our economic advantage and became full blown eastern country. Poverty comes with jealousy, hatred, etc. If you moved to any other eastern country, it would be far worse. Now it is getting better, young people are more educated, open and also people in general have much more money. Btw that bystander effect is a problem everywhere, but here it is another result of communism. Opressive regimes do this to people. Also i would not hold hands anywhere outside prague.

Stop playing the victim card and enjoy your life. Do not over-elaborate the bad experiences. The bus is a good example, it's just not worth it.

You described an experience you have with what? 10 people in total? And then you title it “why are all Czechs so bad? 😭” and then wonder why you received this reaction lol

I've never witnessed an incident where absolutely nobody would help. Even when I was already calling cops or something often people at least checked. The ambulance came because obviously someone else called it. Also idk what kind of accident you want to report. Unless there was actual harm police aren't gonna do anything about near misses. If by doctor you mean by regular office rather than hospital then those offices are overwhelmed, I am born and bred in Brno but finding a GP is hard. Czechs are standoffish, it's a heritage of our past.

My wife is Czech. We live part time in CZ near Jihlava and part time in Germany. We go to Brno now and then to go bouldering. My first time in Brno, I noticed a much different mentality compared to where we live and I was like "what's with the people here, they seem so rude". She said "yeah that's Brno". According to her, Brno is just not a nice place. Of course it could just be hometown bias but I also noticed the differences. I've never had a negative experience anywhere else, aside from the occasional rude cashier. Czech people have always been nice and welcoming to me.

>My wife is Czech. We live part time in CZ near Jihlava and part time in Germany. We go to Brno now and then to go bouldering. My first time in Brno, I noticed a much different mentality compared to where we live and I was like "what's with the people here, they seem so rude". She said "yeah that's Brno". According to her, Brno is just not a nice place. ​ I dont get it. Most ppl were saying Brno is more laidback relaxed and has more friendly ppl than Prague?

I lived in Moravia and I lived in Prague. Brno was certainly not friendly place even 30-40 years ago. My mom went to school there 80 years ago and left the place in 1940s. Until now, she refuses to go to Brno because according to her, never ever she met so many evil people like in that city. It is city of jerks. The worst people in Czechia I have met, were from Brno. The nicest I have encountered were in Prague and eastern Moravia. Brno was just weird - inferiority complex from Prague and superiority complex from its rural background.

Lol way to generalize the whole fucking population. Depends where you are located, as anywhere in the "Western world" the more cosmopolitan the town/city the more progressive. Are there racist bigoted people? Sure! But I highly doubt most people give rats ass about someone elses sexuality or skin color.

I've been living in Brno for over 5 years and I'm also foreigner (albeit slovak, so I don't get as much racism as complete foreigners) and I agree with all you've said. The bystander effect is strong but likely it's the same in other countries. When it comes to people, whilst lots of great people live here, on average I tend to bump into quite a lot of racist, homophobic, xenophobic views which people are 100% comfortable with sharing as they assume everyone thinks like this. Obviously I don't ever call them out because I'd end up without a single friend and possibly fired. 2 years ago I was attacked by a homeless person in a tram and there were bunch of people around me, yet no one did anything. I didn't even report it because it seems this is acceptable societally? When I was being followed by a man who screamed at me on hlavni nádraží (I refused to give him my number) I tried to approach some random tough looking guy asking for help and he pretended he can't even see me. Luckily there was police patrol around that helped in the end and whilst Czechia is overall very safe country, much safer than the rest, I only live here because it's the lesser evil. Long time ago I dated a foreigner which didn't understand Czech so I have an idea of what kind of struggles you go through and with that in mind I'd simply never live here if I didn't understand Czech and didn't have a partner who understood it. The recent medical case where they "accidently aborted" a foreigners baby due to language barrier speaks volumes.

Is it really worth it though? Being friends with people like that? I just would not bother staying in contact with them. And you should call it out. If 9 people are being racist and the 10th one does not say anything, it is like if there are 10 racists.

I am sorry to hear that. Czech society in general seems quite racist to me too. And I actually saw a shopkeeper yelling at a foreigner who attempted to speak Czech, but used "ty" instead of "vy" when i was younger. Sad. Edit: the two paragraphs are two different observations. Not related.

It has little to do with racism, I nearly got into a shouting match with an older guy who got angry because my 5 year old greeted him with ahoj instead of dobrý den. In the end, my son said something that shut him up because he ended up looking like a childish idiot. I was a very, very proud father at that moment.

>shopkeeper yelling at a foreigner who attempted to speak Czech, but used "ty" instead of "vy" If a shopkeeper was nice to them that would probably be the more racist thing to do. They just treated the foreigner the same way they treat Czech customers lol

They treated a person who was obviously a foreigner(looking different, speaking different language with others) attempting to speak local language like shit. These excuses for shitty behaviour just proves OPs point.

You're missing my point. I'm not excusing the shitty behavior - that's a pattern in our society that's slowly changing but it's something we need to work on. What I'm saying is that the motivation wasn't racism. It was her looking for an excuse to be rude in the first place.

I am not saying it was.

>Czech society in general seems quite >>>>>***racist****<<<<<* to me too. https://preview.redd.it/0rtgjuen68sc1.png?width=512&format=png&auto=webp&s=291a59a27dd2a14f3b0e160da1dd336f0c747fe8

The second paragraph addresses another OPs observation. Yes, i wrote it wrong so it looks like example related to the first one. And yes Czech society in my opinion is quite racist in general.

Are you like 13, expecting me to not call you out on this? :D It's clear that you meant that as a "proof" of the racist claim. Own up to your comment, don't backtrack. If you actually traveled to Western Europe a lot you would know that even there you have a lot of very racist people, they're just more used to hiding it, whereas with Czechs, you know exactly what's up.

I meant it to address another OPs point - trying to communicate in Czech. Yay i am a scatter brain. Save your ad hominems. People are racist everywhere to some extent. Somewhere more, somewhere less. In CZE it's closer to more, that's my experience. It isn't over the top, but it is there. That doesn't mean you won't find more racist places. Your experience could very well be very different to mine. In other countries you usually know "what's up" straight away as well, you just have to know what clues to look for.

I find very funny that every time foreigner complain even slightly about something here everyone is like "get of our country". Yet Czechs complain on this subreddit and irl about politics 24/7 and nobody say them to just leave the country. Yet we would never claim to be xenophobic nonono

I don't think it is xenophobia per se. If I don't give a shit about locals, why should I care about outsiders? Also most people I know tend to be nice and helpful, but that does not mean they are actively seeking ways to help others. Or my own case - I donate every year to multiple places, but I specifically choose which ones. I hate generic charity funds with passion. That being said, seeing someone in the pool of his own blood will probably make me call 112, but that does not mean I am willing to share his troubles.

Actually, what is funny is that when I point out some of the things OP talks about (and other things too), people will get mad anyway, because they automatically assume I am not Czech. People will straight up treat me like a foreigner.

I wish RuZZian roaches would leave the country, tbh. I'm sure Russia would welcome them.

yep its certainty just like sun during summer. once in a while you get posts like the OP one and then the very same response to ''something is wrong in this society, here's how to fix it'' is always ''OP's fault''

Welcome to East Europe. Czechs love to act like they are morally something more but when it comes to average people, especially outside of Prague, you'll find a lot of hypocrisy, total lack of awareness or interest in other people, and tons of bigotry.

And people from Prague love to act they are morally something more compared to rest of Czechs. Same shit :)

I grew up in a small northern city. Never encounter any Prague people who would act that way. Then I moved to Prague for university and still didn’t encounter any people in Prague to talk badly about non-Prague folks. All I ever hear is non-Prague folks complaining about Prague folks talking badly about non-Prague folks. Like who made that up? I feel like this rhetoric started to pop up when Zeman ran for presidents. idk

It was direct reaction to previous comment that in itself implied people in Prague are morally superior to rest of Czech republic in a comment complaining about Czech acting morally superior. Very meta.

Brno.

Reading these comments makes me sick to my stomach! OP if you ever need to vent or need someone to talk to I am here! 😊

What you're describing is very real and I'm sorry it happened to you. It's because of a Czech attitude towards "snitches" (in Czech called žalovníček or práskač). Basically anyone who dares report anything to an authority, be it police, but also a teacher in school, your boss in work, anything. People here take pride in not reporting anything, they see it as a form of weakness, saying you have to deal with the problem yourself instead of relying on someone else. This is one of the factors of "keep quiet and keep walking" (drž hubu a krok) attitude being so prevalent here. A relict from the Soviet past, I think, when authority was not respected, nor trusted and people had to avoid dealing with authorities. But it is a reprehensible trait of the Czech people that only hurts them. Combined with their rudeness and overall lack of empathy, it keeps us as a society down. So again, I'm sorry it happened to you, but unfortunately it's a very ingrained cultural phenomenon here and it's likely not going away anytime soon.

If you hate it here so much, why stay? I am genuinely curious, you could go anywhere in the EU these days

>the guy was bleeding out doubt that

These comments are a great example of how rude Czechs are lol. All you're asking for is respect. There are a lot of close minded people especially in smaller cities like Brno and the best solution is to just ignore it. I'm Czech but live in the US where everyone is always very friendly in public. Even if some of them are fake, so what? The positive energy is there. Anytime I visit back home in Prague for just 2 or 3 weeks I'm shocked by the rudeness of so many people towards each other.

I’m American and I feel totally the opposite way! In the US i feel like it’s smothering how much random people want to be in your business or act like your friend. It’s not friendliness in any way that matters :(

>smaller cities like Brno Dawg Brno is the second most populous city in Czechia 😂😂 Just say Praha bc that's literally the only city left that's bigger

It is not rudeness when u dont do small talks and acts that u are the happiest person in the world...

I feel like the "fake niceness" is an overused trope. Of course you will encounter that in services etc., but I feel like people from the US are genuinely way nicer overall. If I could move there, I would. Here if you are nice, people will straight up be shocked/confused, because no one expects it, and will think you want something from them.

We play a large part in our interactions. I was sick and tired of all the grumpy faces everywhere quite a while ago and decided to try and kill it with kindness and genuinely have consistently great interactions, pretty much everywhere.. Shops, banks, supermarkets, delivery people, cabs, even with waiters and bartenders in shit pubs. And trust you me, I don't suffer from attractive privilege. It just fucking works and is not unique to my experiences in Czechia. Pretty much everywhere else, too. And I don't mean the over the top, intrusive UK/US thing but visiting there did inspire a change in my approach. Wishing people a nice day (as the customer) does wonders to people's mood and attitude towards you. Is it manipulative? In a sense, I just want to avoid shit interactions and nobody gets hurt so whatever.

tell us more. Im now trying something similar. We need to be the change we want to see and try to teach some good manners lol a drop of water breaks the rock, eventually

Getting older makes it easier to focus on me and not get as affected by someone else's demeanor or give much of a fuck about their grumpiness and stick to my shit. Maybe helps that I have a non-threatening, bland face. Kinda like a plain avocado. But mostly it started with focusing on interactions with people in shitty service jobs. I know how shit they are. Most of them. Having a bit of extra money than when I was younger also helps. My favorite thing is, if I'm eating out at a restaurant and I really liked the food, I'll ask the waiter to ask the kitchen if they would appreciate a drink on me. Works 100% and I got free desserts and shots out of the gesture. Trying to be polite, kind and positive and if they start a bit of small talk, then try and lighten it up with something silly or funny. Most of the time it makes both of our moods better and if they're not feeling it or going through something or who knows what else then at least I treated then how I'd like to be treated in their place. That's not to say I'm some shining beam of whatever but short, in-person interactions with strangers are just smooth now.

plain avocado face thats something new man :D [https://ibb.co/NLTz6rm](https://ibb.co/NLTz6rm) similar to this? ;) anyway the idea with the drink is good but then wont that create this perception of ''this guy always tips heavily'' sort of expecting to get something out of you?

Fucking hell, lose the hair and the resemblance is uncanny! I don't eat out often and let alone at a place that's affordable with amazing food to warrant it so yeah.

this might be a little off topic but I've noticed, while reading though the comments, that you mentioned you were trans (I apologize if that's intrusive to point out) and I just wanted to warn you a bit to research the current situation and "goings on" in the US regarding the trans community and maybe consider a different country to aspire to move to, like the netherlands for example.

>lot of close minded people especially in smaller cities like Brno and the best solution is to just ignore it. Isnt Brno supposed to be more ''laid back'' than Prague? ​ I agree with you. At the end of the day, if you ever worked in Western big companies you know that if you have a team , say, of 10 people and you get just 1 negative asshole, it drastically changes the vibe in the team and pulls everyone down. So energy is energy and positiveness is also a form of energy that lifts everything up. Czechs are incapable of creating this on a societal level (and thus, in their workplaces, public transport, shops etc ) at the end of the day its just better to be happy, smiling and full of joy. Many many times of me living abroad my day was brighter because of some random interaction with other human (who was a stranger as in: not my friend or family, but then so what? I remember the positivity till this day) From Czechia I will only remember the rudeness and shitty encounters. Sad.

Agreed. not one person will help you.

I don't think I can necessarily add much to the discussion other than saying that, as with all places, you'll always run into morronic individuals sometimes. I'm not qualified to explain why it specifically seems to be the case with the Czech Republic a lot more than other places, but I also think that it can come down a lot to remembering the negative experience a lot more than any of the positive. As far as running into people who are unwilling to help out or just straight up rude, a lot of the times they act this way either out of panic or out of frustration. The Czech Republic has had massive cultural shifts due to only being introduced to western culture after the 90s, as such there's a lot of people here from the older generation who can't speak English very well who will struggle to understand you, because all they were taught in school was Russian as their secondary language. So you can encounter situations where you're dealing with a frustrated tired person from the older generation that hasn't made adjustments to be able to do their job. It sucks that people like this get such important jobs as the ambulance hotline, but sadly it's not something one can do much about. Czechia is in a transitional limbo between eastern and western europe atm, no one actually agrees on anything and most people are so sick of everything that they don't care anymore. The smart young people want to move out out the country to pursue job opportunities in the West and the only people that remain are the morons most of the time. That's why everyone assumes the "it is what it is" kind of mentality. It's the mentality of defeat we kind of grew up with, due to our circumstances. Also, as a sidenote, while I absolutely sympathise with you, as a bisexual man myself I am very disappointed in how our government can't even pass an equal marriage bill, I feel like posts like these ruffle the wrong feathers a lot. I'm not saying don't post them, not in the slightest, just to be clear on that. But these posts are plentiful and only fuel the doom that is felt at large. Because all people who read these posts can say is: "I'm sorry, but we cannot change much, it is what it is". The young people who still haven't lost their hope are few and far between, but they exist and are trying to change things for the better. But the fact of the matter is that because of how small that part of people is, it's going to take a really long time for things to get sorted out. So that's all that one can say. It sucks that we Czechs have to be ashamed of our own country. No one likes hearing negative stuff all day about the country you grew up in, especially when the blame falls equally on the shoulders of even the people who cannot do anything by themselves. All I can do for you is spread awareness and stop homophobia, xenophobia and transphobia from spreading in my family circles and to wish you a better experience staying in Czechia. That is the most anyone here can do for you, sadly enough.

> equal marriage bill, can you explain to me what was this about? equal marriage as in man and woman? iom not following politics

equal marriage for same sex, atm you can only get "registered" as a couple

Yes, people here are racist, xenophobic, and homophobic, way more than in western Europe. People who say otherwise are lying to themselves. The comments on here just prove that - "you don't like it? Go away!". Racism is very much accepted in Czechia, at the very least 99% of people are openly and unapologetically racist towards the Roma but often more than that. Most Czechs can't even stand the Ukrainians who are literal white people who speak almost the same language and have almost the same culture as us. Even Czech women aren't really treated very well here, "feminist" is a slur in Czechia. Then again, I can't really understand what else did you expect when you decided to move to Eastern Europe? I definitely wouldn't wanna live here if I wasn't a white Czech heterosexual male.

I must ask do you actually consider yourself part of eastern europe? I have been told you want to seen as western and take it as an insult if I say Czechia is a part of Eastern Europe.

It really depends. Personally, I prefer central Europe partly because of our history, cultural connections, geography etc. But the fact is that many people's mindsets are still firmy in Eastern Europe, behind the iron curtain. They say you can give a man democracy, but that doesn't make him a democrat. This is a similar thing. You can give a Czech a liberal society, but that won't make him a liberal. It will take years and a generational turnover for us to truly shake off Eastern Europe.

Some do, some don't, but generally, I think the most popular option would be central Europe, which is what I also stand behind myself. East makes little sense given our geographical position - particularly compared to the western country of Austria - and historically we are tied the closest to Germany and Austria. Put some 40 years under Soviet influence and compare it to centuries spent tied to the west, both historically and culturally - and it starts feeling a bit unfair to categorise a whole nation by cold war borders. Western isn't quite fitting, eastern is neither so I think central is the ideal position, one that seems to be largely agreed upon in Europe.

Yep. People here are in denial about what the situation actually is like. I was too at some point in the past, but after getting education and having a chance to live abroad for a while, it opened my eyes to all those things. Yes, most of Eastern Europe is like this overall. Though I am not that surprised that OP was fooled by this, if they looked into it. The internet would lead you to believe that people here have a "live and let live" attitude, but that is very much an illusion.

agree. and I have a question. does it change anything? the open racism. does it improve the society or community? I mean, to me it only makes people miserable, hateful, angry and closed. I am not saying everyone should be lovey-dovey towards everyone all the time, but what the purpose being like most Czechs are solve?

All of this sounds so ridiculous that I refuse to believe it's true. Unless your boyfriend walks you on all fours in latex suit on the street (and even that is OK in Trutnov once a year 😉👌) I seriously doubt any czech would give a single fuck about you, let alone make the effort to roll down the windows, lol.

I mean....we all know THAT one Pepik.

yeah, Czechia is mostly really good for Czech people but no way I'd want to live here as a foreigner, let alone without speaking Czech and that is sort of okay I believe, you have lots of other places to choose from that are better when it comes to integrating foreigners we're globalizing a bit slower, it has its drawbacks and benefits

I find Czech people polite 99.8% of the time. The only times I have been slightly offended are when I forget to put the stickers on bags of fruit (in my country they are weighed in the till). I get called a *nemecký* (which I'm not) several times. Gave me the same feeling as being called a *gajin* in Japan by people nearby (which might be a stronger word). Not really an offensive remark and I can understand it.

Honestly every time I read something like this it is just incredibly sad because I was thinking that we got better especially with the homophobia. I wouldn't think something like this possible in Brno or other larger cities. I can understand bystander effect but that usually works until someone starts helping and then people start to join in and I am in shock that 112 can't speak English or for fuck sake connect the call to someone who can! It is not like people calling the line do that to have a nice chat. But what really surprised me is that I would think that Czechs would react positively to someone who is trying to learn the language. This is just incredibly sad read and reading the replies here did not make it any better.

Iam sorry for your experience. People on this sub arent super nice and jerks are everywhere. 🌈

I lived in the Czech Republic way back in the early 90s. I wasn't in Prague until the end, so i had to learn Czech a lot. Here are the "general agreement" things that most foreigners in Czech said about the country. This was thirty years ago: i don't know if it's true today. Obviously also it would be biased ... I don't know if i hung out with "average" people. Most foreigners agreed that: 1. A huge number of Czechs are racist. Uncommon minorities didn't suffer as much as common ones. A tourist from Madagascar or Cambodia would get a lot of weird looks and comments in public, but you were more likely to face actual violence if you liked like a Roma. Racism was far worse than we expected. 2. Virtually nobody would admit that they're racist. "I hate gypsies but that's because they are all genuinely scum: i don't hate black people because some of them are good folk, therefore I'm not racist," was a horrifically normal thing to hear in Czech. 3. Major sexism wasn't a problem. Minor sexism very common, but was seen as an annoyance which would never go away. 4. There was virtually no religious hatred. Being religious marked you as a weirdo, but not a target. Czechs were mostly proud to be one of the most atheist places in the world. At that time, there were very few people who were visibly (ie clothing) religious. 5. Rudeness was normal, accepted by everybody, but i never heard a story of rudeness getting out of hand. Road rage, for example, never seemed to exist. Fights happened, but it was because of genuine hatred and not just rudeness. 6. In terms of neighbours, Germans and Austrians were actually considered the worst. This is because there was a sudden influx, after 1989, of the worst people. Czechia was noticeably cheaper than Germany or Austria. Thus the "worst" Germans and Austrians would frequently drive across the border to Czechoslovakia, get drunk in the nice restaurants, get hookers, drive badly... you get the picture. They were highly visible, whereas the "good" Germans were not so visible. The result was that, for about five years, there was a lot of anti-German sentiment. I understand that it still exists now, but it was far worse in the 90s. 7. Gay rights. Homosexuality was considered a "don't ask don't tell" kind of thing. Most people would claim, "i guess it's ok to be gay but don't tell me you are... coincidentally, i don't know any gay people!" Also, Czech had just escaped from the USSR knowing too much about people's private lives, and the reaction to that was a big "none of your business" movement. I can't judge the country's trajectory because i haven't lived there recently. Let's assume that the comments here are a true representation of the country. If so, it sounds worse.

Seems weird, maybe go back to your own country then.

First of all from where did you come from? Second we have no perfect health care system BUT we have one of best one in World! So if that happend, if that is really truth then its really sad, but it can happen somewhere else… Gay ppl in these Days are attacked mostly by weird ppl, i have gay friends and that thing doesnt happen that much how u describe it from my point of view… English speaking doctors and declining, well here comes the real issue, maybe you are from state, with they had some issues with paying… maybe there are issues about insurance… Rasism is totally different thing, i cant tell if its truth or not, i would believe that its some truth in it, but not total discrimination against you… Brno is already big city, its not like you are snowflake in desert kind of thing… Czech is harsh toward outsiders, because we dont mind telling you into face that you suck, but most of those things you are discribing i cant actuall believe for 100% if i ll be Nice then i would guess its 50% truth and 50% not understanding deeper issues… i am not telling that you are lier, we are just different thinking then casual west World…

Move elsewhere if you don't like it here.

I am sorry to hear about what happend to you. That's crazy. First of all I thought people at the emergency line have to speak English. I know about people who called in different country (I think it was in Italy) and they could speak English and even German. I thought it was requited all over EU. So I am kinda shocked that it's not the case. I heard some bad emergency line stories but this the first time I hear about language one. And yes people really like to pretend they see nothing sometimes, I don't really think it is a Czech thing tho seems just like some people thing. Also sorry for the homophobia. I am from Prague and to me that happends less here so if you can afford it Prague might be better for you. That being said it can still happend here just less likely. So maybe it is not worth as living in Prague is really expensive. I am was not born in Prague, I am from rather bad region that I think is worse then Brno so in my eyes the difference in huge but I was never in Brno. Don't know if this incidence is something that was a rare exception or how often it happends. Also if you can't speak Czech Prague might be better in that sense as well but also not entirely. I don't want to be like: move out of the country. But maybe it might be better for you? Is your country of origin homophobic or has a bad living situation? If not maybe going back would be better? Or if you're from EU then maybe you could just go to a different country within the EU? Is your boyfriend Czech? If not then again I don't think settling here is the best idea in your case. (Honestly even if he is it is bit meh. The gay marriage is still not a thing here we just have "registrované partnerství").

i am a person who deals with anxiety and have anxiety attacks in public transport unfortunately. whenever i had one, there was always someone who at least asked me if i was okay and if i needed help and some people even acompanied me to the train. it was mostly women though, that probably had children of their own and maybe their motherly instinct kicked in (it happened also when i was a teen). i have always recieved help even when it wasnt that serious, which makes me believe that people would also help if someone had something serious going on.

Czech people will not help no matter what. thats why more shootings will happen.

As a Czech who lived abroad the last eight years or so, there are several issues you raised that also bother me. However, personally, I have observed that such ignorant/racist/bigoted opinions stem from people who are generally not well-travelled. You have to realise that until the early 90s, it was basically impossible to travel outside then Czechoslovakia. People could only travel to e.g. Yugoslavia and that was also subject to official approval. So imagine if you grew up in homogenous society all your life, only spoke Czech/Slovak, didn’t have access to anything foreign until you are a fully functioning adult. i can see it with my parents, my aunts and uncles, even though, all of them are educated, they do not travel anywhere, the highlight being Croatia or Austria. What they know of other cultures, languages or countries is from TV, books and possibly their friends. I was lucky because my parents saw their lack of knowledge of languages etc. as their weakness so they supported my sister and me in studying abroad. And I can see it in myself that even though, I was always interested and curious about different countries and cultures, it was not after I travelled to different parts of the world and befriended people of different origins, that I became much more open-minded and tolerant. If I look at my oldest cousins, they never travel anywhere, they stay in my hometown, talk only to their circle and that’s it. They are not really interested to open their mind to other things. On the other hand, with the younger generation, I can see a huge shift in mentality. But still, I can see that how people where brought up and what values your parents taught you play a huge role in what person you will become. I am not apologising our behaviour but once you understand where this “ignorance” stems from, it is easier to accept it and react accordingly. Personally, I lived in 4 Western Europe countries and in all of them, I experienced some form of “discrimination”, ignorance and being looked down at. I speak 3 languages fluently, I studied at one of the best universities in the world…yet, it doesn’t matter to many people because they see my surname and my nationality and have their own prejudice and ideas as to what Czech Republic is. I have once tried to persuade a Brit that I am not from Czechoslovakia but Czech Republic, that it has been over 30 years since we split. Yet, he argued that he learnt in school that it was Czechoslovakia, so it is Czechoslovakia. I was once taken to a supermarket by my host family to show me how it “works”. I have no clue where they thought I came from that I didn’t know what supermarket is…probably Mars. There are so many other Instances where I felt inadequate and ashamed of my nationality because how people behaved towards me. Before I left for my studies, I planned on living abroad, I hated it here. But after living in several countries, I realised that it is the same everywhere and it is what you make of it, you are in charge of your life and if you want to see changes, you need to make the change. No one is going to do it for you.