Six students of the enjoyed an unconventional summer: thanks to the international Lautenschläger Azekah Excavation Project, of which the faculty is a member, they travelled to the newly opened archaeological dig of Tel Azekah, not far from Jerusalem. Amongst the group was RNDr. et Bc. Jana Křížová, who had previously studied, and also works in, physics; however, as she is also active in her church, she decided to study theology. Studying in places mentioned in the Bible was a great challenge.

My Erasmus time in Prague began in a very unusual way: I got to act in a real Czech movie by Alice Nellis. I received an email saying they were looking for two Scandinavian people to play small parts in a film, so I let them know I was interested and sent them a picture of myself. After that I got some phone calls and information about the film shoot - we were to be in the shoot only for one day.

Elizabeth Preece from the University of Leeds joined the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University for the period of the winter semester 2011/12. Similarly to other students she enjoyed exploring Prague. But there is also something different about Elizabeth – she is also (a bit) older than the regular Erasmus students. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus programme, we have asked her to share her experiences of the Erasmus study stay with us.

Loreta Abidini from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens joined the Faculty of Education of Charles University for the Erasmus Practical Placement in the period of summer semester 2011/12, the time when the European Commission set the core of the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus programme.

The programme of the International Week (organized at Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Arts with the biggest number of the Erasmus incoming students) or enrollment sessions (offered at other faculties with smaller number of incoming exchange students) do usually not include enrollment and orientation in the important libraries in Prague and at Charles University.

Over the years, there have been many remarkable students who have visited the Charles University in Prague as part of the Erasmus programme. One of the bravest ones has undoubtedly been the first wheelchair-using Erasmus student whom we were able to host, Concetta Giansiracusa from the Universit? degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", who came to the Faculty of Arts for the summer semester of 2010/2011.

The CU has been fortunate to host some very active Erasmus students, who has – next to the obligatory attending classes, socializing with their Erasmus peers and exploring Prague and the Czech Republic – found also the time for an internship or voluntary project while studying in the Czech Republic.

As an Erasmus student I expected to meet international as well as Czech students in the Erasmus and International Clubs and to make new friends. For me this was a great opportunity to get to know people from different countries. Moreover, I really appreciated the perfect organization of the trips.

There are many activities organized for incoming Erasmus students at Charles University. We will hear about some of them in our series of the Erasmus articles and interviews to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus program, which will be celebrated in all participating countries in May, regardless of when they joined the program.

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.

Our new interview is with students who arrived to the Charles University in Prague from the University of Regensburg and the University of Passau, two seats of the Bohemicum specialized in teaching Czech language.

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.

The Erasmus programme is the easiest way to spend one or two semesters abroad for the majority of students from the countries of the European Union, the EEA/EFTA and the candidate countries of the European Union. The rules of the Erasmus programme ensure participating students don’t have to pay any tuition fees, and usually, they also have top priority in receiving university accomodation.

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.

A 4-day-trip in the Šumava Mountains to a snow-covered village of Prášily. Here can Erasmus students meet new friends in a number of different ways. Either through the shared rooms, group cooking or trips to the local pub for a beer or two. They also have the opportunity to take small trips to the snow covered Šumava National Park.

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.