Greetings from Prague! Although I’ve been abroad for three weeks now, my classes have just begun, therefore a perfect opportunity to share what a typical school day in my life looks like. This semester, I am studying at Charles University in the heart of Prague in the Czech Republic. I am studying within the GW Exchange Eastern and Central European Studies program, focusing on politics, sociology, and history of Prague and the surrounding region.
My day starts with an early wake-up. My first class is at 9:10 a.m., which is earlier than my typical GW class schedule. However, I am motivated to wake up by the free breakfast provided in my dormitory breakfast room. It is a classic European breakfast, consisting of juice, coffee, cereal, cold meats, cheese, hard boiled eggs, vegetables, fruit, yogurt, and bread. I get a strong start to my day with great food and even better company. At 8:30 a.m., I leave the dormitory and commute via tram and metro to my first class: Transformation of Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic. Our courses at Charles University are more intimate and heavily based on discussion, which is a change that I am adjusting to compared to GW-lecture style courses. Despite this difference, I am excited to get to know my professors and classmates better in topics about which I am passionate.
I have a brief break between classes, so I decided to check out a popular student cafe in the area, called Cafe Du. It is a perfect blend of working adults and other European students working and socializing while sipping delicious coffee. Cafe culture here in Prague is unlike the United States, where it is normal to sit and study for hours, so I am excited that I found a cafe that is welcoming to my American studying habits. After my break and lunch, I head to my second class called Kafka in Critical Context. The renowned author Franz Kafka was born in Prague and heavily influenced by Bohemian culture. I feel so grateful to be able to study such an influential novelist in the city in which he lived and wrote! Again, this course is very-much discussion based, but a challenge about which I am excited.
After my two classes of the day, I head back to my dorm via metro and tram around 4 p.m. Some days I would stay out in Prague 1, the center of the city, but today I am feeling tired and want to head back to my dorm in Prague 6. After all, It is the first day of classes, and I have had almost a two month break from school! While on the metro and tram, I reflect on my day and my classes and how excited I am to study politics and history within a European university.
I finish the night off with dinner in the dorm with our common kitchen space. This experience has really offered me a communal style of living, one which I was not able to have at GW due to the pandemic my freshman and sophomore years. My neighbors in my dorm are from all over the United States, which gives me even more exposure to different universities’ cultures. After dinner and relaxing with friends, I get started on my initial readings and get ready for bed. Overall, my first day of classes was a success and I am ready to take on the semester ahead of me in Prague!
Colleen Harless
Charles University - Eastern & Central European Studies
Spring 2023
Columbian College of Arts & Sciences
Political Science