As a foreigner living in the Czech Republic, it is sometimes difficult to understand the mindset of the Czech people, so I went straight to the source and prepared a short questionnaire for 50 Czech university students. This was by no means a scientific experiment, and my discussion of the results is sloppy at best. But if you look past that, the survey revealed some interesting findings on how Czechs view themselves.

In general, how would you describe the personality of Czech people?

More than 50 percent of students mentioned that Czechs were “always complaining,” “pessimistic,” “unsmiling,” “stubborn,” “jealous” and “not open to change.” They also mentioned a general sense of “xenophobia” or “intolerance of other cultures.” One student said that if you ask Google, “Why are Czech people so…”, it suggests “racist, rude, and atheist.”

However, the students also mentioned many positives. These included “Czechs look unfriendly, but are actually kind.” “Czechs are funny and like to tell jokes.” “Czechs are hardworking and very capable when they need to be.” Other frequent adjectives were “frank,” “reliable,” and “proud of themselves and their products.”

My favourite responses included “not crazy enough.” (As if being crazy was the benchmark for national character.) And “stupid,” which was spelled “stoopid.” This either supports the student’s point, or they were being ironic – in which case refer back to “Czech people like to tell jokes.”

What do foreigners think about the Czech Republic?

Typical responses were “beer,” “girls,” “Prague,” “beautiful/historical country”, and “socks and sandals.” “Unfriendly” also came up a lot, often followed by “because of our fear of speaking foreign languages.” Several students said foreigners believed Czechs were “all alcoholics.”

Other responses included “they think we’re pigs,” “they think our president steals pencils,” “they probably don’t like us very much,” “Americans think we are still part of the Soviet Union, or they see us as more ‘eastern’ than we actually are.”

What are the best things about the Czech Republic?

More than 70 percent mentioned “nature, mountains, and national parks.” This was closely followed by “Czech beer,” “food,” “Prague,” “free education,” “historical sites such as castles,” and “location (heart of Europe).” Several mentioned “sexy girls,” “small size of the country (easy to travel),” “all the seasons look different,” “low prices,” “access to health care,” and “it’s safe.”

My favourite response was “atheism.” (You have to be very anti-religion to think the best thing about your country is that people don’t believe in a God.) I also liked the answer “beer and becherovka,” mainly because it sounded like an excellent name for a Czech magazine.

What are the worst things about the Czech Republic?

The most popular response was “politics and government corruption.” Others included “intolerance,” “the pessimistic mindset of the people”, “harsh winters”, “homeless people,” “low salaries,” “bureaucracy,” “the condition of the roads,” “our president,” “no sea,” “few big cities,” and “the food makes people fat and ill.”

What do Czech people consider to be good subjects for “small talk”?

The responses to this question surprised me the most. I am often forced to defend English culture when Czechs tell me we’re stupid for discussing the weather, and yet “weather” was the most prevalent answer.

Several mentioned “politics,” “work and family”, “where to have a beer,” “complaining,” “food,” “world news,” “TV”, and “sport.”

My favourite answers were “talking about their dogs” and “how everything was better when they were kids.” Clearly someone had visited their grandparents the previous weekend.

How does communism still have an impact on the Czech Republic?

More than 50 percent mentioned “communist buildings.” A similar percentage mentioned some variation of “older people tend to compare communism to now — and believe we were doing better during communist times.”

Interestingly, many began by stating: “Communism has no real impact today,” and then went on to add many of the things that were mentioned in the first question about Czech personality traits. For example: “It has no real impact today, but it means some people are afraid of new things and foreigners.” “It has no real impact today, but people still have no trust in other people and are jealous of others’ accomplishments.” “It has no real impact today, but few people believe in God because of it.”

The Czech Republic has been renamed Czechia. What would you have called it instead?

Sixty percent of students said they hated the name and preferred “The Czech Republic.” Only 5 percent said they liked the new name. Other responses included “I don’t know, this is a strange question,” “I don’t care about the new name, but I hate that the government didn’t ask our opinion about it,” “No one outside the country knows the name has changed anyway, so it really doesn’t matter,” and “Both are fine.”

Ideas for a new name included “Česko,” “Bohemia”, and “Czechlands.” One student suggested The European Union (which would get very confusing very quickly). Another suggested “Beerland,” which made me smile. Imagine the ambassadors of Beerland trying to be taken seriously at an international meeting … whilst simultaneously distributing copies of “Beer and Becherovka” during the breaks.

*I asked a similar set of questions to foreigners living in the Czech Republic. To see their answers click here.