Letter from Abroad | Re:Views Magazine

Living a Teenage Dream, or a Semester in the USA

Published on September 19, 2022 in Current Issue/Posts

by Mariia Minaeva

When I started writing my motivation letter for Juniata College, I did not think that I actually had a chance to go there. The United States looked like a faraway dream, a place from films and magazines but not from real life. Not from mine, at least. And I think if I had known that I was starting one of the most awesome adventures of my life, I would have gotten nervous and spoiled everything. But I didn’t know it, and I took the opportunity. And so, my journey into the world of a movie-like college in a small town somewhere in that big-big country began.

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A Corona Diary from Denmark: Two perspectives

Published on October 5, 2020 in Views

by Anna Jílková and Michaela Medveďová

The early months of 2020 saw the start of the global pandemic and caused an unexpected halt on life as we knew it, locking people in their homes for a good portion of the spring. But for us, the lockdown took place in our home away from home – Denmark, where we both moved to do our Master’s degrees. Both Danish society and the education process were impacted. So, how has the land of the Vikings handled 2020 so far? Keep Reading

Languages, Cinema and the Fire of Revolution: Erasmus in France

Published on September 15, 2019 in Other

by Mariia Minaeva

THE CITY OF CAEN. VIEW FROM THE CASTLE SITUATED RIGHT NEXT TO THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS.

There were two things I had heard about the Erasmus programme – international students do not have a responsible attitude to studying and have crazy parties that prevent locals from sleeping. There were two things I had heard about France – French people like complaining a lot and do not speak English (or, if you are lucky enough, they do, but only with their famous French accent). Are these just long-standing stereotypes claimed by the people who have only seen it from the outside, or simple facts noted by someone who has experienced it firsthand? Before the beginning of my Erasmus stay in France, I was prepared for both options. And – maybe at least a little bit – I was eager to prove them wrong.

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Greetings from Central Pennsylvania

Published on December 12, 2018 in Other

By Anna Mária Pisoňová

The United States has never been on my bucket list. I have never dreamed about visiting the country of President Trump, eating hamburgers, or living the American dream. I happen to be here, because of an email from Dr. Tomkova that we all got last year in December in which she presented a last-minute offer to study abroad for a semester. There were no motivational letters and no interviews needed, just a genuine interest to go. It took me a thirty-minute-long googling of Juniata College, its location and options, to make a decision. Hasty? Irresponsible? Undigested? Definitely. But so far also one of the best decisions of my life. Keep Reading

Aggie for a Year: Yet Another Letter from Texas

Published on December 12, 2018 in Other

By Tereza Walsbergerová

Me and my CEFT guardian angel Lynette in front of the Kyle Field football stadium before my very first Aggie football game.

Dear reader,

I thought that since this is supposed to be a letter, I would treat it as one and address y’all properly. I have only been in College Station for a couple of months and it feels like I have been here for years. Yet – even though I have been burned by the Texan sun, soaked through by the Texan rain, licked by Texan dogs, fed Texan kolaches, and learned Texan slang… I do not believe I will ever stop feeling strange about being on a different continent, almost 9.000 kilometers away from Brno. Let me start from the beginning, though; who am I and what am I doing in Texas? My name is Tereza and I am currently in the PhD program (Literatures in English) at the Department of English and American Studies, MUNI. I have been given the opportunity to relocate to Texas for a year and attend the MA in English program at Texas A&M through the William J. Hlavinka Fellowship at Texas A&M University in order to experience American culture and interact with the local Czech Texan community.

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