When I was
offered a place at Charles University for my third year of study, I had never
been to Prague and I did not have any significant knowledge of the city, or
even of the Czech Republic. I find myself still having to correct my Uncle when
he refers to my new home as Czechoslovakia. For my first Erasmus term I stayed
in the Hostivař halls of residence before moving to Prague 1 for the summer
term, and these were nothing like the accommodation at my Kent (my home
university), they were much more basic but definitely an experience! My
roommate was from Switzerland and luckily we got on very well - I even managed
to improve my French. My Czech on the other hand, despite several attempts,
remains insubstantial, so I am very grateful and not at all offended that my dobrý-dens are - the majority of the
time - returned with hellos.
Kent is a campus
university which means everything is very easy to find and going from class to
class rarely takes more than five minutes. Travelling from Hostivař to Staroměstská meant many early mornings and
an extra cup of coffee, though I could always finish my reading during the 40
minute journey! The transport system in Prague is probably the
best I have ever seen, it is so cheap and efficient – my three month travel
pass here would not even cover one week’s transport in London! Prague and
London are very similar cities as there is a lot going on and a big diversity
of people and cultures, also both packed with tourists. The main difference is
definitely the cost of living, probably one of my favourite things about
Prague; I am still amazed that water is more expensive than half a litre of
beer, a concept that would be ludicrous in my £4-a-pint hometown (the
equivalent of 130kc)!
 |
| Image credits: Robyn Bairstow |
I would definitely recommend a year abroad to
anyone with the opportunity to have one, and I am so grateful that I was able
to spend mine in such an amazing city. Meeting people from all over the world
has taught me about different cultures, languages (and most importantly for me,
different foods), and given me invaluable experiences I would never have had
from staying in Kent for three years. I really have learnt something new every
day - academically or otherwise - and this new knowledge, as well as my new
friends and endless memories, is what I hope to remember from my year in
Prague… after passing some on to my Uncle!
Robyn Bairstow (Erasmus
student of Comparative Literature from Kent)
