Wow, I have exactly the same experience but from somewhere totally different. I grew up outside London in the UK and then had to move to the Czech Republic (essentially Eastern Europe) with my parents. Going from a very diverse city where I had friends of many nationalities to a relatively homogenous one was something I definitely noticed.
Please do not refer to Czechia as Eastern Europe. It’ simply wrong: Czechia rejected the Eastern Christianity even before the Great Schism, it never was a part of the Russian Empire and it spent most of the last millennium as a part of the HRE. The only connection - being part of the former Eastern block was so long ago that in only 4 years Czechia will be a EU member longer than it was occupied by the USSR.
Ok sorry sorry I was just trying to make it easier for an American to imagine. I know it’s practically the definition of Central Europe but EE served well for what I was trying to describe.
Wow, I have exactly the same experience but from somewhere totally different. I grew up outside London in the UK and then had to move to the Czech Republic (essentially Eastern Europe) with my parents. Going from a very diverse city where I had friends of many nationalities to a relatively homogenous one was something I definitely noticed.
Please do not refer to Czechia as Eastern Europe. It’ simply wrong: Czechia rejected the Eastern Christianity even before the Great Schism, it never was a part of the Russian Empire and it spent most of the last millennium as a part of the HRE. The only connection - being part of the former Eastern block was so long ago that in only 4 years Czechia will be a EU member longer than it was occupied by the USSR.
Ok sorry sorry I was just trying to make it easier for an American to imagine. I know it’s practically the definition of Central Europe but EE served well for what I was trying to describe.