It is very hard to feel lonely in Brno

I found it very easy to travel around Europe from Brno, because of Brno’s central location. The Czech Republic also has a national student travel service, called Student Agency that provides discounted bus, plane, and train trips for students in Czech Republic to various destinations in the Czech Republic, Europe, and all over the world. When I lived in Austria and when I stayed in Germany, I didn’t know of a company equivalent to Czech Republic’s Student Agency within those countries, and that made traveling around Austria and Germany extremely expensive since I had to rely on trains. While there are incentive programs and discounts for students through the rail companies in Europe, Student Agency has much better discounts for students by far and their tickets are just cheaper anyway.

When you’re not traveling, Masaryk University offers a lot of afterschool activities through the International Club. The International Club and various other student organizations are also always coordinating events and get-togethers for international students and internationally-minded Czechs. For example, the International Club hosts a board game night once a week every week at Club Wash, a club that is exactly as it sounds—a bar/night club that also has a 24-hour Laundromat. There are other events throughout the week at Club Wash organized by the International Club too. You can also take a variety of different language classes taught by s tudents (and you can also apply to teach one of these courses if you are in the International Club) on weekday evenings. There are also travel excursions around Czech Republic and sometimes outside of Czech Republic through International Club, special themed costume parties at popular local spots around Brno, and a tandem program to find other exchange students to partner with in order to take turns teaching each other a new language.

It is very hard to feel lonely in Brno. international students like to have parties nearly every night.

It is very hard to feel lonely in Brno, especially if you live in the Vinaršká dorms in Old Brno. This is where all of the international students and a good portion of Czechs live. The international students like to have parties nearly every night in the basement of the well-known A1 building, as well as special cultural potlucks and get-togethers. Also, since this is where all the international students live, it’s a good place to find assistance like if you need to borrow something or need help finding your way around town because almost everyone in the building speaks English… well, except for housekeeping. But if you’re feeling down in your dorm, you can just knock on the door next to you and I guarantee you’ll meet another exchange student who is probably feeling a bit homesick or overwhelmed too. There’s  also so much fun going on in A1 that it’s hard to feel lonely or down in the first place.

 

The food and beer in the Czech Republic are amazing. Now, I may be a little bit biased on this subject, but I’ve sampled a lot of European cuisine during my travels and I’ve determined that so far Czech is probably my favorite European cuisine. Czech food is very heavy and sauce based with lots of meat, dairy, and dumplings. It is really not good for you to eat a hearty Czech meal every day, but while in the Czech Republic, you might as well try to sample as many different kinds of Czech meals as possible. Dishes popular in the Czech Republic you may be familiar with include goulash, various kinds of sausage, crepe like pancakes called “palačinky” (pronounced like pal-uh-chinky), potato pancakes, and schnitzel. Personally, my favorite Czech dish is svičková na smetaně (pronounced like svich-ko-va nas-me-tawn-eh), which is tender beef sirloin smothered in a creamy wine and sour cream sauce, cranberry preserves, and whipped cream, with white bread dumplings served on the side. If you can get up early enough to go to a local bakery right when they open, Czech bread is very tasty, but warm fresh-baked Czech bread for breakfast with butter and jam is an experience all people should have.

Drinking beer is an important ritual in the Czech Republic.

Drinking beer is an important ritual in the Czech Republic. The dorms for international students happen to be down the street from Brno’s biggest brewery, Starobrno (“old Brno”, named for it being in the old part of Brno), so on the way home, you smell beer in the air in the late afternoon and early evenings. They have Starobrno on tap in nearly every pub and restaurant in Brno and chances are, it’s cheaper than the water. Czechs are very patriotic when it comes to their beer and oftentimes when you’re meeting new friends in the Czech Republic, one of the first things they’ll ask you to do is come to a pub and have a beer with them. That is just polite and how Czechs break the ice.

 

 

Studying in Brno would be a great experience for anyone because there are numerous travel opportunities, the food is good, and if you like beer you’re in paradise. The international students and Czechs alike are all very friendly and helpful, as long as they speak English. Masaryk University has a lot of interesting courses taught in English and their international club is very well-organized and presents a variety of opportunities to get to know others and have fun lots of fun in the process. Sure, the language is hard and you probably won’t learn much of it, but Brno is a very fun, gorgeous city surrounded by other fun, gorgeous cities and you can get away with not having to know so much Czech there. If you have the opportunity to travel to or study in the Czech Republic, you should.

 

 

Super fotky od Zuzky Kubíčkové

Článek od STUDY ABROAD UMSL