April 02, 2006
One is the Magic Number
One of the things that bothered me about living in the Czech Republic was feeling like I couldn't fully engage with the society all around me because I didn't speak Czech. I had a bit of it down, enough to buy things in shops, but my lack of language skills meant I couldn't talk to people on the street or in a bar, couldn't apply for most jobs. I couldn't even read a newspaper.
Here I am now in Australia, in a country that speaks my native language, enabling me to go to grad school, apply for any job I'd like, read every magazine and newspaper on the stands, and be able to talk to just about anyone I wish. And yet I'm more socially isolated in Melbourne than I ever was in Prague.
The expat scene in Prague can get tiring sometimes – it's a bit like being at boarding school or summer camp – but the point is that there is a scene in the first place. There are bars that are known to be hangouts for expats and backpackers, so at the very least you can find people to chat with for a night. And once you meet one or two other expats, you meet their friends and those people's friends and next thing you know, your dance card is full. In Prague I found myself going to bars and parties all the time, sometimes several nights a week. I was a regular social butterfly.
In Melbourne, though, I know hardly anyone, and end up sitting home alone most nights, just me and my laptop. It's like any move to any other city, where you hope to meet people through work, or maybe in your building. But I live in a house by myself, and don't have a job, and only see the people in my program a couple of hours per week, with little to no interaction between us. I have a few friends, but they're mostly foreigners themselves, also new to town, and with a limited social circle. I don't end up meeting many Australians, and neither do I have an expat scene to hook up with. There are expat scenes here, of course, but they're mainly for non-English-speaking folks, like the thousands of Asian students at my school, or the Arab or Greek immigrants all around my neighbourhood.
Ironically, the fact that I spoke so little Czech in Prague actually gave me a method for meeting more people – it meant the other English speakers I met and I had something in common. But of course speaking English in Australia is, well, normal. Entirely unremarkable. Certainly no reason to introduce yourself to someone in a cafe or bar.
Being able to talk to everyone means I don't have a reason for talking to anyone.
Posted by wildsoda at April 2, 2006 12:50 PM