I am going back to school to finish my degree in the fall and need a new laptop as it will be done completely on-line with ASU. After many months of research and weighing my options of buying one here or having a friend bring one from the US. I decided to buy it here. It is a little bit more expensive but in the CZ all electronics come with a complete guarantee for two years and a 40 day trial period. So after feeling pretty disappointed about our flight to Paris being canceled because of the Volcano. We re-booked the trip for September and decided to head to the electronic store and boost my spirits with a new 'toy'. After finding the right model I had picked out on-line and making sure everything was in order. We headed home with my new laptop. I was ecstatic. My excitement was short lived. I turned on the computer and warily selected the laptop language settings and the operating language settings to English (Anglicky in Czech) as windows 7 prompted me to do so. Re-booted and then was overwhelmed with disappointment as everything was still in Czech. Great now what???
Eduardo and I used google translate and you tube and basically learned that it is impossible to change the visual language settings after they have already been selected on widows 7 premium. With ultimate you can change anytime. But still this made no since, I selected Anglicky, the sales man said it can be in Anglicky as long as you select it as your language when you first turn the computer (WHICH I DID) and Microsoft's website confirmed theses things. So why still Hezky Cesky???
(Beautiful Czech)
After a couple hours and a couple beers of trial and error and getting nowhere. We surrendered and the next day I went to return the lap top. 2 days and 2 big disappointments. (I don't deal well with disappointments)
The next day at 9 am I was back at Electroworld (kind of like best buy)and was searching for the guy who sold me the computer or someone else who spoke a little bit of English. Found no one and after 20 minutes of explaining the situation in cave man like sentences, the point was comprehended. The point was also given back to me that I must have made a mistake and not selected anglicky as the language. They did some research on the computer and found that I DID select the correct language and that it is some fluke. Since they had no more of the model I wanted, my options were A. To wait possibly a week to see if their other store had one and it it could be set into English?? a week???? why? B. Buy Windows 7 Ultimate C. after much discussion get a full refund. Waiting a week for a answer that could be "no" here is your money back was not really an option for my impatient personality. Buy windows 7 ultimate after I just bought an almost 1000 USD computer when I did nothing wrong was not going to happen. They said they could give a discount but still it was the point, No. so finally I got my money back. Now I just have to wait till the money is back in my account before I figure out my next option.
These are the things that make living in a country where you don't speak the language so difficult and frustrating sometimes.
The following are just little things that can cause so much confusion because of language: Grocery store shopping, getting cable installed, calling the Internet company because your Internet isn't working, wondering why that person buzzed your door 3 times and wouldn't go away even after you told them you spoke no Czech, wondering what the old woman said to you on the tram, wondering what the construction worker said to you when he saw you running out of breath in the park, Going to the doctor-dentist, getting your visa renewed, being the only person at your work who doesn't speak Czech, making friends, ordering food, buying really anything, going to the post office!!, getting your deposit back from your landlord, and so much more.
Even though these things are frustrating and difficult it is still fun and makes life a little more challenging than usual to live in a foreign country. It is never boring, that for sure.
To all of you who say, "just learn some Czech". Point taken. I am not proud to say that Eduardo and I have lived here for two years and 2 months and we can't carry on a basic conversation. We can however say some basic words, we never planned on being here for this long and why would I learn Czech if we were just planning on staying here for a year? Tell me where and how I can use Czech outside of this country? It is however getting better and I am sure when it's time to leave we'll just be getting good. However, I say proudly that I have been studying my Spanish more as it makes since for my future and I am really good. I would say at 85%
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