With the excitement of recruitment and a brand-new New Member class, of course Ontario Alpha Meagan Lo was thrilled to be back at school with her Pi Phi sisters. But something lingered in her mind, as Meagan had quite an exciting five and a half weeks studying abroad this past summer.

Meagan is a student at Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto (UT) and she just participated in a Summer Program on “Strategy in the European Context” at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. The students would attend classes Monday through Wednesday in the mornings, learning strategies in European Cultures. In the afternoons they would go off to cafes and tour Brno.

Furthermore each week, the students would participate in a field trip to a nearby region to learn about local industry. On Thursdays, the class would leave early to drive or take transit to another country. Meagan has fond memories of these visits: touring the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz in Poland, taking a tour of the city Prague, Czech Republic, discovering museums in Vienna, Austria, and exploring underground salt mine tours in Krakow, Poland.

On one of her visits, Meagan experienced the café culture – and that’s where she saw the difference between European culture versus North American culture. In Europe, patrons are expected to take their time. Not only do guests take their time, but the servers do as well. You’re expected to sip your coffee, have a leisurely visit with your friends and be there for at least an hour. Oh, and never ask the waiter for your check – it’s considered rude. For Meagan, it was really good to see how Europe has a more laid-back atmosphere. “They take time, meet people, ask how you’re doing,” describes Meagan, “They ask ‘how was traffic’ and then talk business.”

This is different to what Meagan is used to in Canada, where she describes people as always in a hurry to do the next thing. I feel similar. We schedule every part of our lives. If we say a meeting is at 9 a.m., we want it to start at 9 a.m. and make sure it is complete by 10 a.m. But the more relaxed and chill atmosphere of Europe is attractive to Meagan, so much so that she will consider working there after graduation. “It seems like a nice way of living,” she says.