If Erasmus were a student, he’d probably be the best Student in the world

The Erasmus experience, in terms of meeting other students from all over Europe and the World, is an extraordinary one. In only 2 months I have not only met a lot of people and made new friends, but I have also met a number of people whom are from places from which I had never met someone from there before, such as Azerbaijan, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Montenegro or Moldavia. Prague seems to be a hotspot of international student exchange, not only because there are many, many, many Erasmus students here, but also because there is a great number of foreign students that come to Prague to do their bachelor’s or master’s. All this youth forms a vast international student network and meet at various events. In some ways, this exchange reminds me of my European School experience: people speaking in several different languages before the class starts, people comparing their countries and having some friendly nationalistic rivalries, people trying to learn a pick-up line in a foreign language, people hang out with a very diverse group of people… And I feel very comfortable in this multi-cultural environment.

I really enjoy the fact that groups of friends here are not as clear-cut as in my home university.  I am pleasantly surprised that students, instead of just sticking to their small closed group of friends, are meeting new people and will try to make an effort to hang out with not only people that are from their home country. At most parties I have been to there were always a few people that I didn’t know, so there is always an opportunity to meet new people, and at the day of the day, it seems that Erasmus students form one huge group of friends. Erasmus students are on average quite out-going, even those that are more reserved open themselves up, and in general they are up for trying new things, going to new places and travelling. There is this kind of enthusiasm and open-mindedness among Erasmus students that I really appreciate and makes this experience priceless.    

I have not quite figured out yet whether Erasmus students are good at balancing work and partying or whether they just do not do that much studying, because they do party a lot. I am learning a lot of interesting things at university here, learning about topics that would never have the opportunity to learn about at my home university and I consider myself very lucky for that. However, I have notice that some of the most interesting things that I have learnt here is from other students. For example, while debating in politic class students from different countries will bring a new light on the matter, or will be explaining something about their home country that even the lecturer didn’t know about. What I find particularly interesting is when students from outside Europe express their views, making me aware of opinions that I knew before. This exchange of ideas among this international youth is stimulating and is broadening my way of thinking and awareness. This exchange is truly a unique life experience. Erasmus students might not be the most studious students but they are fun, open-minded, out-going and international and that’s why they are probably the best students in the world.       

Will try to keep you posted a bit more regularly, 

Helena

About Prague

Prague is by far the most beautiful city I have ever lived in (The others being: Brussels, Dublin and Warsaw).  When I had my first walk around the city I just could not believe how pretty it is. Before moving to the Czech capital I was told by several people that it is a very nice city, at the time I expected a wonderful main square and city centre restricted to a relatively small part of the city, and then the rest to be run-down and not so lovely. It went far beyond all my expectations. I was so surprised to realize that all the inner city, an area that I would estimate to be about 50 km² is absolutely gorgeous. It is has been over a month since I started living in Prague and I still find myself stopping to have a look around being truly amazed. Living in Prague feels like living in a museum, because every thing you look at seems to have a history to it. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how well preserved all the buildings are, how clean the street are and how magical the atmosphere of the city is. Whenever I walk across Charles Bridge I am always enchanted by the beauty of the view. These photos speak for themselves.

A view of Prague Castle from Charles Bridge

Eastern bank of the Vltava river

View on Prague from the Castle

One thing that I like to do whenever I go around the city is to spot details on buildings that I did not notice before. Many buildings in Prague have decorations on them or status or something particular like this one on Wenceslas square.  

Facade of a Building on Wenceslas Square

Another thing that I was really surprised about upon my arrival is the quality of the transport system. Prague has 3 metro lines that work well, many trams and buses and a good number of night trams, so at any time of the day or night it is easy to get around the city. And the cherry on the cake is that the prices are good as it cost less than the equivalent of 1 euro for a single trip and a 10 month student pass costs about 100 Euros for metro, tram and buses! The transport is never as crowded as it gets on the Luas in Dublin at rush time. I have noticed that its only foreigners that talk loudly on the transport system, the Czechs are really civilized as they are very quiet on the metro, they give their seats as soon as they see an elderly person coming in and everyone stands on the right side of the escalators making space on the left for people in a hurry to walk up the escalator. In terms of courtesy in the transports, the Czechs have really impressed me. 

Malostranska Metro Stop

And regarding the climate: It barely rains here, most of the time the weather is sunny, but the down side is that it can get really cold and that it gets dark at about 4-5pm. I can deal with this continental climate. 

How I love my new city!
Bye for now! 

Helena