Czechia

My first visit to Czechia came during my gap year before college, when I traveled to visit Lucie, who had become like a little sister to me during our time training together at a tennis academy in Florida. Her mother, Kateřina, was an Olympic gold medalist for the Czech Republic in cross-country skiing, and Lucie was following in her footsteps as an outstanding athlete.

My introduction to the country, however, was far less graceful. Growing up in sunny San Diego, I had no idea how cold Europe could be in November, so I arrived in Prague wearing flip-flops. It was freezing. As if that weren’t bad enough, I kept smiling and saying hello to strangers on the street. Every time I did, people looked at me with puzzled expressions, and Lucie would burst out laughing. I quickly learned that Czechs tend to be more reserved with strangers, and greeting everyone on the street isn’t exactly the norm in Prague.

Six years later, I returned to visit Lucie again, and it was incredibly rewarding to see the woman she had become. One of the greatest gifts of travel has been watching the people I care about grow and succeed in their own lives. It’s something that always brings me a great deal of happiness.