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| Olomouc is the historic capital of Moravia
and lies in the Moravian plains, in the east of the Czech Republic. It's a
quiet town, like Loughborough in so far as it is dominated by students,
but with architecture very similar to that of Prague.
Olomouc is an experience, not a place. The friends that you will meet and the memories that you will make will last forever. It is very hard to find the words to describe what my time in Olomouc was all about … the people, the lecturers, the course, the cheap beer … No, more than this: more like feeling that I was my own person for the first time in my life. Studying abroad is not like studying at home. As a second year student, I was used to living away from home. But in Olomouc I felt, for the first time, that I had nowhere to run. Thrown together with approximately 20 other foreign students, I was with my friends from Loughborough, but felt that I had to take responsibility for my life and sort out the inevitable hassles which come with living abroad. My life in Olomouc can be divided into two sections. The first the academic side, the second, real life. The layout and the way in which you learn are completely different to that of Loughborough and England. The amount of students per class is reduced dramatically, with lectures getting busy with 20 students. This leads to a much closer relationship with the lecturers, which is hard to get used to at first. In time, however, you will almost certainly find yourself in the cellar at Osa chatting to Jiri about the life and times of the country's President and hero, Vaclav Havel: I did. You will also quickly get used to sharing an absinthe or two with your lecturers. In order to really experience Czech culture you must frequent the local haunts. As any other student, I am not always as dedicated to my studies as I should be. I have a real passion for politics, but I also decided that to benefit from the experience of studying another country, I should take myself outside the beautiful University. Living in Olomouc made me realise how narrow my perspectives of history were. I had no idea how the people 'behind the iron curtain' had responded to their situation. Living in Olomouc gave me a whole new perspective on the pitfalls of Communist society; one that has completely regenerated my passion for academic work. In the end, Olomouc is really something that you will have to discover for yourself. But for the time being here is a taster: You arrive at your favourite bar where the landlord has already reserved a table. First of all it will be yourself, Jack (ever present in my experience) Ronnie, the Dutchman and TJ another Englishman. As the night goes on your table will grow not only in size but also in nationalities. Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Slovene, Austrian, Italian, Czech and Germans all join in the fun. When you are finally thrown out, head for Envolopa, the best of the nightclubs that Olomouc has to offer at the weekend. Pay your 60Kc admission and proceed to the Anglicky (English) Bar for a few gin and tonics (of course, the bar is not English, otherwise we would not have gone there). Hit the dance floor where and find yourself being uplifted by the cheesy Eastern Europop - the pick of the tunes 'Life is life', a Berlin Wall classic. It's nearly three months now since I left
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