With the holiday season officially in full effect here in the Czech Republic, the empty office has definitely been something that I have had to get used to.The good thing about this is that it has definitely allowed for me to catch up on readings and interests that I have fallen behind on, but it also leaves holes in my schedule due to moving meetings to fit the holiday schedules of our teams. Still, it also provides a good deal of freedom, as I also took some time at the end of this week to spend more time with my family when they arrived at the end of the week.
Part of my internship has focused on a cultural integration that I didn’t really know what to expect from. Understanding a group of people has so many aspects, from knowing their history to experiencing their culture, and it is difficult to get all of that in a short period of time, especially in a country that you don’t know much about to begin with. My interest in history has furthered my want (and I think my need) to just grasp as much understanding as I can in my short time here. Excursions and readings have largely helped with this, but I have also taken in so much more by just experiencing all I can, from listening to colleagues converse in Czech to immersing myself in the pub culture you find here.
The great thing about the relative emptiness of the office and my schedule this week allowed me to catch up on 
some of these cultural readings. With a basic understanding of the Czech Republic’s past (Austro-Hungarian Empire through the fall of communism), this week I spent most of my office hours learning about contemporary politics here in this country. On top of the information that I have been receiving about the United States’s current political climate, I have been able to remain much more engaged than I thought I would. The connections and the need to understand how these events play out have played into enthusiasm for a type of history and understanding I often overlook.
I also took steps this week to continue this type of education once I return to the United States. While it was not necessary for me to speak Czech to function here in Prague, I have learned some very basic Czech while I have lived 
here. My personal belief is that anyone that will spend any amount of time in a country should learn at least a little bit of the language, even if the people speak a common language, as it shows a respect to the people you are among. The thing is, as difficult as the Czech language is and as small of a population in the world that actually speaks the language, I want to continue my education upon my return to the United States. I sat down with my mentor, who is still learning the language as well, this week and she gave me some great resources and suggestions to continue my education. On top of that, I plan on keeping in contact with the colleagues I have here upon my return, so it’d be nice to be able to communicate with them in Czech in the future. Here’s to the dedication to learning a new skill!
I have learned so much from all of the social activities I have taken part of in my two months here. From little things like festivals to communicating with my colleagues, I honestly feel more “at home” in more social situations 
here than I ever have in my actual home. My own preference is to spend most of my time in solitude due to social anxiety that I experience, but this is not an issue I have had here. I expressed interest, when introduced to the library’s director, that I liked jazz music, and this week I got the opportunity to attend the Bohemia Jazz Festival, which was quite lovely. I couldn’t stay long or attend both days, but it is something I would have definitely talked myself out of if I had still been in the United States. Wednesday I was invited to join two of my colleagues for lunch as well and invited for (how they ask to buy you something) ice cream. We enjoyed a lovely conversation about media representation (specifically strong, female characters in merchandise, like Gamora or Rey) and about the issues with plagiarism and intellectual property rights in and out of the Czech Republic.
Our team also finished some of our major prep work for the Space Use Project. We tested the floors with our interns for the last week to make sure that our training was sufficient for expanding to other colleagues when the time is ready. I spent much of the week developing the documents for the remaining floors of the library. With a few consultations with the team, we solidified our understanding of the floor maps (which are the last materials that need added to our documents folder) and agreed to a few minor changes in the methodology before testing begins again. Friday was our last day of testing the methodology, as the library has largely emptied out for the summer, but the touches being made will prepare the library to begin observing the entire library when the new semester begins. The collaboration on development has been extremely interesting and a project I have really liked working on. There is still more work to be done (such as the development of a database to store and analyze the data), but the project is ready for a full launch when the time comes.
Raven K 