An interwiev with Eli Main – an American student studying abroad in Prague, talking about schooling, traveling, the comparison of the USA and Europe and about how the American president is apparently undermining his own country.
Alright, I’m gonna ask you to introduce yourself first. Okay, my name is Eli Main. I’m from Washington state in the United States. I’m studying abroad here, and at home, I study physics. Here, I am studying mostly history.
How old are you?
I’m 20.
Physics and history are quite different things. How did that happen?
I enjoy history a lot. I find it very interesting and fascinating. I always notice it when I am doing a lot of physics because all of my free time afterward is spent on history. Like, I’ll go on a walk and listen to podcasts about some historical topic. So it’s very interesting because, yeah, I definitely like physics more, and history is a very different thing from physics. Therefore, it’s a kind of a break for my mind in that way, but it still uses my mind in a different way.
What about history are you studying here in Prague?
I am taking one class that’s on Central European history as the general subject, and I have one film class on propaganda in European film. I also have a Czech language class, which isn’t history, but it’s part of Czech culture. And a class on humor resistance and Czech culture. It’s a very funny title, but I really love that one. It’s fascinating.
What’s that one about? We talk about jokes, really. I did a presentation on The Good Soldier Švejk, and I talked about how he’s presented as this hero, but he just wanders around and drinks a lot. So, it’s interesting to look at history through a humor lens and how humor is used. We were talking about jokes under communism and how they both serve as resistance but maybe these jokes are an outlet for people’s frustrations, meaning they make jokes instead of protesting.
The school you go to in America, is it a college?
Yes, it’s called Whitman College, a small school in Walla Walla, Washington. We would call it a liberal arts school, where you still take classes in a variety of subjects instead of focusing on just one.
So, how does the American school system work? I don’t think it’s well known around here. Can you tell me how the schools go one after another?
You start with elementary school after kindergarten, which goes up to the fifth grade. Then you have middle school from sixth grade through eighth grade, about ages 11 to 13. After that, there’s high school, from ages 14 to 18. Then, if you choose to continue, you can go to college or university. I think of them as equivalents.
So, when do you finish Whitman College, and how long is it?
It’s four years.
Four years. Okay. So, when you finish, what can you do? Do you have a plan?
I don’t have a specific plan, but I am interested in further schooling, which would be getting a master’s degree. I’ll finish with a bachelor’s degree, and I can go further and get a master’s. Originally, I was planning on going into engineering. But I was taking a lot of physics classes and really enjoying them, so I pivoted to physics. Part of me is still very curious about engineering, though. So, my plan after graduation is likely something in physics or engineering, and honestly, the most important thing is probably deciding where my focus will be between those two.
Could you get a bachelor’s degree in something completely different from a different school if you wanted to after you graduate?
Yeah, I could.
But you would have to pay.
Yes. And that’s the problem with US higher education—it’s very expensive. That’s how it’s set up.
Okay. So you pay for your college, but do you pay for any other schools?
No, but all colleges in America are paid for. There are cheaper options, though, like community colleges, which are smaller schools and usually much cheaper.
Right. And you live in…?
In Kirkland, Washington. It’s close to Seattle, Washington. There’s Seattle, west of Lake Washington, and on the east side of the lake is where Kirkland is.
How big is Kirkland?
I don’t know the numbers… Kirkland itself is definitely smaller than Prague. I don’t know about Seattle, though—Seattle might be bigger. It’s hard to compare in my head because the cities are so different in style. Prague really stretches out and doesn’t have as many tall buildings, whereas Seattle has a lot more. It feels very tight here.
How far is Whitman College from your home, Kirkland?
Whitman College is in the southeast corner of Washington, and Kirkland is on the western part. So it’s about a four and a half to five-hour drive across the state.
Alright. I know you’ve traveled quite a lot around Europe about two years ago. Where have you been?
I traveled with my dad in Denmark and the Netherlands. Then the rest of my family, my mom, sister, and brother, joined us in Spain. After that, we continued our travels. We were in Europe for two months. Let’s see, my dad and I were in Denmark, and we cycled around, which was really wonderful. Then we went to the Netherlands for just a few days. After that, we started in the southwest of Spain, in Sevilla, and slowly made our way across Spain to Barcelona. Then we went north, staying in small towns in Spain, before crossing into France. From there, we went to Switzerland for a little bit, did a bunch of hiking, then back into France, and a bit of time in Germany. Finally, we ended up in Normandy, where there’s a lot of history.
How was it? What stood out the most?
Well, one thing that stood out to me was Switzerland, specifically hiking around the mountains. It’s absolutely beautiful, and I can see why people travel so far to get there. But at the same time, it was interesting because the mountains I live next to in Washington state are just as grand as the Alps. It made me really appreciate living so close to beautiful mountain ranges. Also, there’s a difference in wilderness here—small towns are just everywhere in Europe. In the US, there’s a lot of fairly open wilderness. Hiking around the immense mountains in the US is completely empty. I really enjoyed the small towns in France. Those were probably my favorite places. They were friendly, and people were happy to have me try to speak French. It was very interesting going from Spain to France, because my entire family can manage in Spanish. But then we crossed into France, and my mom took French in high school, which was a very long time ago. So, that was our only French experience, and it was tough, but very rewarding when we could communicate.
And how is Prague?
I really love Prague. I tend to think of myself as not liking big cities much, and Walla Walla, where I live for most of the year, is a very small town. But I like it there, and I definitely shy away from the hustle and bustle of busy cities. However, I feel like there’s a little more space in Prague than in some other cities, and I felt this in Paris as well. There are nice parts to walk around, and walking along the river is great. The buildings are tall but not excessively tall, and there’s a feeling of openness. I wonder if part of why I like Prague so much is because it’s one of the first cities I’ve really made an effort to explore.
Yeah, I think that’s really the case when you live somewhere. Exploring the city you live in just doesn’t come up as much as when you travel somewhere new. It’s a shame. When you grow up, your perspective on the city narrows to moving from point A to point B.
When are you coming back home?
My program ends at the start of May, and then my student visa will end. But I’ll be on a travel visa after that, so I can be in the Schengen area for 90 days. I definitely want to do more traveling. I haven’t decided exactly when I’ll return home, but it will be sometime after May and before my school starts in the fall.
And how are your classmates here?
That is one of the most surprising things to me: what the other American classmates are like. I think part of it is realizing that the kind of people who choose to go to Whitman, and the people Whitman chooses to accept, are generally really great people. I also think part of it could be that the Czech Republic is known for its beer. There are quite a few students who came here specifically to drink beer. That’s not my mindset, though. I’ve certainly met some very nice and interesting people who are also in the program. But talking about the students as a whole, that’s something that has struck me.
You already talked about American cities being different. I know both are very big and diverse, but could you compare European and American cities in some way?
Yeah, that’s what I was going to say. When I tell people I’m from the U.S., they often ask if I’ve been to New York. Nope, I’ve never been to New York and have no idea what it’s like. From talking to people who have been there, it sounds like it’s very different from any city I’ve ever been in. So, yeah, there’s a massive variety of cities, but Europe has that too, of course. But there have been small things I’ve noticed, just differences in habits and things like that. Tell me what you think about this: I feel like sometimes, in a restaurant or a café, people will ask to join you at your table if you have extra space. Have you experienced that here?
I haven’t experienced it myself. I have seen it happen, though. Not specifically at a restaurant, but at this café I really like. It’s connected to a really old cinema. I saw it happening there for the first time, and I thought it was wonderful.
Okay, so it sounds like it’s not a super common or standard thing, but I’ve seen it here. I’ve seen other people do it, and I’ve had multiple people join me. That probably happens more to me because I’m often alone with extra space, but I’ve also done it to other people a couple of times, and I really like it. I just think that wouldn’t happen where I’m from, in Washington.
I was wondering because I think there is a big misconception about American cities. I feel like most Czech people think there are crazy tall skyscrapers, big roads full of cars, and then a crazy Florida man.
I feel like in cities specifically, there are more skyscrapers. And at least from the time I’ve spent in cities, it depends on the part of the city, but they tend to feel more crowded. Part of that might also be because there are more cars, due to worse public transport in some places, or none at all, which is a problem. American cities were largely built after the car was invented, so they were built around the car, whereas European cities integrated the car into the existing city. Also, Prague specifically is a pretty incredible city with its many towers and spires. You don’t find that in most American cities. When you do, it’s all relatively new, because American cities—especially on the West Coast—haven’t been around for very long.
I suppose all the towers and churches have a lot to do with religion here in Europe.
In America, how different is living in a city compared to living in the countryside? Would you say America is polarized in this way?
Yes, I would say there is a massive difference between living in a city and living outside of a city. But there’s not a hard line between the two. You have the city, then you have suburbs that sprawl out, and generally, these areas are fairly connected. Part of the polarization in the U.S. is because it’s just so big. For example, between Washington and Florida, those are completely different worlds: different weather, different culture, different everything. But even Washington state by itself is twice the size of the Czech Republic, which is crazy to think about. You can think about political struggles in the Czech Republic, and that’s half the size. When you open it up more, there’s more space for people to be separated.
In Washington State, we have the Cascade Mountains running down the middle of the state. On the west side, it’s rainy, green, beautiful, and fairly populated. But if you cross the mountains, you almost immediately enter dry, rolling fields. So, in Washington specifically, there’s a literal line in the form of the mountains that separates these two spaces.
I’m very interested about how you’re feeling about going back to your school, considering what is happening to American colleges now because of Trump’s administration. I don’t know all the details, but is anything happening with your college? Well, I’m curious how strongly I’m going to feel things have changed when I come back.
With my school specifically, I don’t know. I don’t think we’ve had funding cuts directly affecting us. We’re also a small, private institution, so it’s a very different situation than, say, Columbia. Columbia University is a very good example of a school that is massively impacted by everything going on right now.
Our school is surrounded by wheat fields in a very agricultural area. There’s also a large Mexican population there. One of my friends works with kids and was telling me how she came into school one day, and all the kids were sitting at the lunch table saying, “Oh, do your parents have their green card?” A green card basically means you’re allowed to stay in the U.S.—you’re not a citizen yet, but you have legal residency. Just hearing these little kids talk like that—kids who shouldn’t have to worry about things like that—is heartbreaking. Some of the kids she works with have even stopped coming to school because their families are afraid of immigration agents. That’s terrifying. And that fear is definitely felt in and around my school.
I know there are protests at Columbia, but I don’t feel like there are huge numbers of people protesting Trump elsewhere. Why do you think that is?
It really depends on where you are. The harsh crackdowns at Columbia and everything happening there are terrifying, and that didn’t happen at my school, but we did experience significant conflict. Our school has a lot of money in endowments, which is invested in various companies—some of which are involved in making bombs and are directly connected to the war in Gaza. The students want that money moved elsewhere.
The school pushed back, offering reasons why it couldn’t happen—mainly that when money is invested, there are contracts that lock it in for a certain period. But overall, it just felt like they didn’t really want to make a change.
It’s interesting because Whitman is generally a very liberal place. And because it’s such a small school, the voice of the students—both collectively and individually—carries a lot of weight.
Also, what the Trump administration is doing right now—removing people who have spoken out against the war in Gaza—is genuinely terrifying.
I’ve heard that part of why the protests against Trump aren’t bigger is because of this ingrained belief that the U.S. is the world’s longest-standing democracy, and that we’ve always been okay, so we’ll continue to be okay. Is that really a thing?
I think it is. I think part of the problem is that America has never experienced something quite like this before. There’s this mindset of, “We’ve gotten through everything else; we’ll get through this too.”
And also, the idea that, well, he won the presidential race—he’s the president—and that’s just how it is. I do think a lot of people have a kind of passive mindset about it.
But also—this isn’t America. Things like Elon Musk paying people in Wisconsin to try to get them to vote for a conservative judge—that is anti-American at its core. And Trump saying he’s going to run for a third term, even though the U.S. Constitution—the very thing that defines the country—specifically says you can’t do that? That’s outrageous.
I have a follow-up question. Do you think Trump would win if he could run for president again?
No. But that’s also what I thought before this election. So maybe I’m just too hopeful.
But also, if he keeps doing what he’s doing for another four years, the bigger issue is that the country will be fundamentally different by the end of it. And I don’t know what an election would even look like in that new version of the U.S.
If he continues down this path, he’s actively destroying things. And not just from a subjective, opinion-based perspective—he’s really messing up the economy in so many ways.
I’d expect both people who voted for him to realize, “Okay, that was terrible,” and people who maybe didn’t like Kamala Harris very much to say, “My goodness, just not that guy again. I don’t care who else, just not him.” And in that case, I think the outcome would be clear.
Well, it seems like he’s trying to undermine the country he’s leading. So why is he doing that? Is he crazy? He obviously wants attention as well, but what is he trying to achieve?
Well, it’s not that I feel like he doesn’t do the things he says he’s going to do—but the amount of outrageous ideas he comes up with is fascinating. I think there’s a big problem with people not taking him seriously when he says extreme things. But a lot of what he says seems aimed at winning support from certain groups in the U.S.—groups that, for example, are very anti-immigrant.
So is he just trying to connect more deeply with people who share his beliefs?
I think that was definitely true when he was running for president. But now that he is president, it feels like he’s not really doing that anymore. It feels like his motivations are more personal. Maybe he does have some kind of ideal vision he’s aiming for, but to me it seems much more about his own interests.
Like when he talked about things like, “Oh, the U.S. is going to buy Greenland,” or “Canada should become another state”—those are imperialist, conquest-driven ideas.
He’s also been attacking institutions like government agencies and education. And with education specifically—higher education in the U.S. tends to lean liberal. So when you cut funding for education, it feels like an effort to suppress institutions that often produce more liberal citizens. But then the real question becomes: Why do those places produce more liberal people? Maybe it’s because when you learn more about the world, liberal ideas start to make more sense.
And from what age can you vote in America?
Eighteen.
So… is he trying to overthrow democracy?
I think so. Most of his actions are explicitly anti-democratic. And like I said earlier, the selfishness of his goals and actions—that is fascism. Fascism is the ultimate form of selfishness. And I think Trump is an extremely selfish person.
Many Zionists are also extremely anti-democratic and anti-American, which is fascinating—because that exact phrase, anti-American, is being used by Trump and his supporters to silence people who protest the war in Gaza.
To me, America is supposed to be a place where you can say things like that. If you can’t voice opposition, then it’s no longer the United States.
So yes, I do feel strongly that he’s trying to dismantle democracy. I don’t know if it’s a fully conscious goal, but that’s the effect of his actions.
I also heard that Trump seems to be at war with institutions. But since he realized it’s not that easy to dismantle them, he’s trying to build new ones for his own interests. Is that true?
Definitely. And I know this sounds too casual—it might even make him seem less dangerous than he is—but it really feels like he’s acting without any long-term plan. He’s literally done things like firing someone, then realizing that person actually had an important job, and trying to hire them back. But overall, he’s just reshuffling things to make sure the people he wants in power are the ones who stay there.
We were talking earlier about how it seems like people aren’t protesting. But I think that’s going to change—especially as things keep escalating. I mean, right after he took office, he immediately pardoned people who had attacked the Capitol. Sending the message that you can attack your country and get away with it—that’s incredibly anti-democratic and anti-American. But now we’re seeing some pushback. Like the filibuster a few days ago, when Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours straight.
In the U.S., there’s this strange rule in Congress: if you’re invited to speak, no one can interrupt you—you can go on as long as you want, but the moment you stop, you’re done.
So Booker just stood there and talked for 25 hours and 5 minutes. He laid out everything Trump is doing, how dangerous it is, how fast it’s happening. He started with a quote—I think it was from John Lewis—about how we should all get into “good trouble.” And after all that time, when he finally gave up the floor, he ended with the same line: “We should all get into good trouble.”
It was really powerful. And honestly, I do believe that what’s happening right now goes so deeply against the ideals of the United States that Americans won’t accept it.
Mám nad sebou rád Ježíše, dohlíží na mě.