This last week I was lucky enough to take a class trip to Prague with several other students for my Internationalization of Higher Education class. The city was breathtakingly beautiful, the people were kind, and my complete lack of Czech language skills never proved to great of a hurdle. I can now confidently recommend the city as a destination to anyone exploring central Europe.
Not only was visiting the city an amazing culture and historical experience, but it got me thinking a lot about international economics in Europe. Having spent so much time in Germany, I am certainly aware of certain financial issues with other Eurozone nations, but this was the first time I had visited a country that was not also on the Euro since leaving the United States. The Czech Republic, as you may or may not know, operates on the Czech koruna, or Czech crown. This sparked my interest, as one would think a growing, relatively stable, economy such as the Czech Republic has would be welcome into the Eurozone. As it happens, they were planning on adopting the euro in 2010, but these plans were cancelled in 2005. The crown is currently worth about 28-1 compared to the euro, and 24-1 compared to the dollar, creating a favorable exchange for my visit there. This does have an impact on the Czech economy though. Despite hopes that the different currency would decrease the negative impact of the Eurozone crisis, the heavy trade ties means the Czech Republic has felt it just as much. The crown was the worst performing currency in early 2015, mostly due to poor exports and the need for the central bank to create inflation.
It has been interesting learning about the compassion of economies in Europe both in and out of the Eurozone, and for that I am glad I took a trip to Prague.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
Post 6: Home for the Holidays
So for the holidays I made the decision to go back to the
United States to be with my family and friends from home. It was a great time,
getting to see everyone for Christmas. Everybody was so curious about how my
time in Germany had been going. For me going home was a very eye opening
experience. I had not realized how much I had become accustomed to the way of
living in Germany.
Although it
was only for a short time I definitely had to adjust to being back in the
United States. There were somethings that I totally had to readjust to that I
had always taken for granted when I was back I the United States. The most
common thing I would do was every time I had change when it was less than five
dollars I would put away my wallet, only to realize I would be receiving one-dollar
bills, rather than the one and two euro coins I had become accustomed to.
I also had to get used to driving myself everywhere. Even though when I first came to Germany I missed my car, after being at home I realized how nice it was to be able to hop on a tram or bus anywhere in the city and not have to worry about parking or paying for gas. Another little unique USA cultural aspect that I had to remember was tipping, as well as sales tax.
Remembering these little things definitely made me realize how much I had grown accustomed to living in Germany. When I am living over there I slowly adapted, but coming home was a big culture shock just to see how much had changed.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Post 5: Christmas (and Christmas Shopping) in Germany
Germany is one of the most enchanting places one can be for
the Christmas season. The old city streets light up with lights, the Christmas
markets in the town squares, the general warmth of the atmosphere, despite the
cooling weather. The Christmas season in Germany seems to start even sooner in
Germany than it does in the United States; there is no big holiday like
Thanksgiving to stop November from succumbing to the Christmas spirit. Instead,
almost as soon as Halloween has passed, Christmas lights go up and presents can
be season lining shop windows.
Just like
in the United States, with Christmas cheer comes Christmas shopping. The
streets lined with lights are also filled with stores and shoppers, eagerly
preparing for the holidays. This means gifts, food for big holiday meals, and
decorations for the festivities. Although there is no insane blitz on the shops
comparable to Black Friday in the United States, there is still a strong
feeling of consumerism in the air. Slashed prices, holiday deals, and end of
year sales are all common sites during this time of year.
My favorite
part of Christmas in Germany has to be the Christmas Markets. Nowhere else can
one feel more in the spirit of Christmas than when wandering through the cheery
shops and restaurants in the old city squares. The best way to view these makeshift
shopping plazas is at night, when the glowing lights of the city and the
Christmas Market come together and people huddle over mugs of Gluhwein and
munch gingerbread cookies. I cannot imagine a more festive place to enjoy the
Christmas season.
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