Julia Enge, in summer 2011 married Neumann, arrived to the Charles University in the frame of the Erasmus programme in the winter semester 2010/11 from the German University of Erfurt. By the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus programme, we have asked her to share with us her experience with learning Czech as well as her voluntary year in Uruguay, in one of the German ‘colonies,  as the local settlements of Germans are called.

Mari Jannetäynen (a graduate from the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi) is, similarly to Tanja Amtmann and Daniel Kortschak, a former Erasmus student of Charles University. She studied at the Faculty of Education in winter semester 2009/10, and on her return to Prague in the beginning of the year 2012, she decided to join the Erasmus Club at Faculty of Arts as a tutor after her return to Prague for work, after having spent several months in Leipzig as Comenius assistant.

There are many languages spoken around Europe and the world, making it sometimes difficult for us to understand each other. Yet, there is one universal way of communication – music and dance. If the music is merry, we all feel it that way – and similarly, if the music is sad, it’s sad for everyone. This was why we were really happy when two of our Erasmus students, with whom we prepared this interview to the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus programme, decided to approach the children in four partner schools of the Europe Meets School programme of the Faculty of Arts in this clearly very universal way.

Lisa Schulze and Nina Müller both joined the voluntary teaching programme “Europe Meets School” while they were studying at Charles University Prague. One being a History of Art student and the other studying Art Education, they both decided on an Art Education project and opted to introduce the bright, unmixed colours and simple shapes of German Epressionism, focusing on the Blue Rider (Der Blaue Reiter) group to the children.

It´s again the same time in the year and the date of the University marathon  is approaching  by leaps and bounds.  There is no time to procrastinate the preparation for a running contest which is becoming a prestige matter not only for university students from all over the republic.  This contest  has gained a renown also abroad.  The Oxford students´ interest in participating in this relay race has proven this. Now I´m going to proceed to the most important dates.

A map, good shoes and a clear head: all that will be needed by competitors during the Juristical adventure game. It´s a game prepared for students from the Faculty of Law and their friends, prepared by the Juristi Club under the support of Department of Legal History of the Faculty of Law at Charles University. The contest, testing knowledge as well as the participants’ sense of orientation, will be held on Friday, March 30th.

The “Student Marathon” was a student team competition at the annual Prague International Marathon on 13th May 2012. The two largest Czech universities, Charles University in Prague and Masaryk University in Brno, were each offered a free start number for one team. This team was formed out of three Erasmus and one Czech student.

It’s often the neighbours that we know the less. This is true when speaking about the countries and regions bordering on the Czech Republic with the possible exception of Slovakia. When picking a place for our holidays, we mostly deem the border regions simply not exciting or exotic enough. For us they are only transfer areas leading us to the skiing or seaside resorts further to the south; places not very different from our own country.

Grass growing, flowers blooming, and new life suggest the awaking of nature and the official start of spring.  Springtime is the season in which life is at the centre of existence, it allows the idea of rebirth, rejuvenation, and regrowth. Not only is spring a celebration of new life, it is also a time of celebrating festivals and historical traditions.

As an Erasmus Student I was unaware of the traditions of the Easter celebrations in Czech Republic. Fortunately, the Erasmus Club of Faculty of Arts organised a Czech Easter Afternoon where over 50 Erasmus and other exchange students were able to learn about this seasonal event and the traditions it holds.