A Little This That: the details

I'm half way through my time in Prague and it's been incredible! I've done my best to quickly adapt to the culture and lifestyle here but there are little things that remind me every day I'm not at home. These are my top 5 details I've found while living here:

1. There are no top sheets. I noticed this my first night at a house I was staying in but thought maybe they didn't have any clean ones. Then when I was traveling over Spring Break in Austria and other parts of the Czech Republic I noticed it again. They have duvets and that is the top sheet and the comforter.

2. The toilets have full and half flushes. You can figure out which one is used for which...

3.. The doors always open in. Fire hazard?! Uh yes. And not a day goes by that I forget this and pull on push doors and walk away because I think the place is closed. So if there is a fire in any of these buildings...let's hope everyone is calm and collected and not pushing to get out of the building.

4.We wear "indoor shoes" at school. I didn't really understand why this was a part of their culture until I got here and experienced the snow and rain. But now I get why everyone has shoes to change into once they get to school to keep the wet messy shoes out of the classroom.

5. People love their dogs here. The dogs are rarely leashed and often accompany their owners in restaurants and on public transportation while sporting some sort of doggy clothing.

Okay one more...this is more random and personal though...

I have massive bruises from being thrown around on the buses and trams like a rag doll. I've learned how to stand and where to be but there is always that one bus driver who slams on the breaks and sends me and all the other Czechs flying into a railing. So I've started a bruise collection on my left side (every time I tossed into a railing it's the same side and same place...figures). It's rather impressive if you ask me.

Here are some of my favorite pictures so far...