“As the leader of Zimbabwean students who stood up to the regime, I wasn’t allowed to continue my studies at any university in the country. My only option was to leave for the Czech Republic,” says Kurayi Garnet Hoyi, one of the former leaders of the Zimbabwe National Students Union.

As a Pharmacy student at my home university, during my Erasmus traineeship I have been staying in the city of Hradec Králové, where Charles University has its Pharmacy faculty. Here, I have been working in the department of Biological and Medical Sciences, specifically with a group of scientists who are researching endothelial dysfunction.

There is a nice tradition at Charles University faculties to hold faculty annual balls during the winter season. From the beginning of January till the end of March you can attend a number of dance evenings which are either classical balls in the Vienesse tradition or dance events with various themes. I had a pleasure to attend the 10th annual ball of Catholic Theological Faculty this February.

On May the 15th, a lecture was held in the Faculty of Arts by Professor Robert A. Rosenstone from the California Institute of Technology, entitled “What Does the Historian Filmmaker Do (to History)? : Inventing Truth on the Movie Screen”. I must admit, before this lecture began, I had my doubts. As a historian and keen Medievalist re-enactor, I thought to myself, was he really going to try and justify Braveheart?

Some people say that Erasmus life is like marmite: you either love it or hate it. It is the once in a lifetime opportunity, the decision that everybody told you you were ‘so brave’ to make. It is the year that you can’t predict, the year that will always surprise you at every turn.

For many outside observers, the Erasmus exchange programme appears to be a pleasant stay abroad involving a lot of partying paid for by the EU – and, consequently, our taxes. While this may be true of some Erasmus students, there are also hard workers who are aiming to enrich their CVs not only by participating in the exchange itself but also extracurricular activities offered to them at their host university and in their host country.

Prague is s city of contrasts, with modernist buildings and centuries-old cobble streets – every corner tells stories of a past that is still present in the reflection of the windows, in the eyes of the citizens. There are secrets and stories waiting to be told, there are people who remain icons of the city transcending the barriers of time.

It was on one of the few snowy and freezing days in Prague this winter when the Erasmus Club of the Faculty of Arts paid a special visit to the German Embassy in Prague, located in Lobkowicz Palace near Malostranské náměstí (Malostranské Square).

It’s the end of the winter semester at Charles University in Prague and whether you’re heading home or pitching up for another semester, I’m sure you’ve all achieved something: a love for Prague, a slight photography and cheap beer obsession, and dumpling-induced weight gain (this includes myself, as I arrived the biggest beer hater walking the Earth and have left a serial chugger).

We gathered. It was one of those random evenings where nothing special happened, a random evening you used to take for granted and now you would give everything to live one of them again. Someone, I do not remember who, came up with an idea: “Guys, we could spend the next New Year’s Eve together!” And we could only reply: “Of course, all together, for the good old times.”