DIFFERENCE, CHANGE, NEW WAY OF LIFE: FIVE MONTHS AWAY FROM OPEN GATE

Living separately from parents might seems as a dream, however it also embrace many negatives. It completely differs from living in dormitories, where you pay fix amount of money. Nevertheless, living in a flat, where you need to take in account the use of electricity, water and heat plus considering also the other expenses for food, service, school equipment, free time … the situation is a bit different. In this situation a job might seem as an easy solution. However, it’s not that easy to combine it with school, hobbies, duties, and then have some time to relax. This all require the skill of time management. It’s a change, nonetheless useful for the life, maybe even unavoidable. Therefore, I can say that I am actually happy that I am in the process of getting to know my new life that would be from now on more or less the same. Of course, there will be some aspects changing; however the number of tasks is surely not going to decrease. I would have to wait for that till retirement.

It’s not surprising that I faced the fear from unknown environment after long time isolation within incredible classmates, teachers and all the employees in Open Gate. Even so, the new environment of Anglo-American University did not disappoint me. Maybe I was just lucky, but it seems to me that the incredible people from all around the world gathered into the same year as me. The distance that separates them from their homes varies. Starting in Slovakia, then to Spain, Netherlands up to Norway, then leaving EU to Georgia, Russia to far away Indonesia to Fiji and crossing the Atlantic to the US.  Simultaneously, following question might pop up in your mind when considering the range of countries – Why to study in the Czech Republic? To answer the question, I included answers of few of my classmates.

Nodar (Georgie): “Firstly, because of its location (it is a central hub in the Europe), secondly due to the fact that the foreign languages that I know are well-known in the Czech Republic (English, German, Russian) and lastly it‘s cheaper here than other European universities and a good quality of education.”

Torika (Fiji): “Also in terms of education, the quality is better here and that was also a very large contributing factor. The environment that Prague provides is what made me want to study here. I needed a city that I would be able to get use to and know within a short period of time.”

Colette (the US): “I wanted to originally stay in Košice or in Slovakia in general but I couldn’t find an American school situated there. When I found AAU it seems like a perfect fit.”

The first half of the semester is over and the study of International relations is opening my eyes even more. I took part in a humanitarian congress, which made me thing about possible change in the future job choice from comfortable office in an embassy to enter the field of humanitarian organizations. I don’t know where the future will guide me to go, however I know that I want to participate in this field, even if it would be the employment for the rest of my life. Just now I am preparing for humanitarian mission on Bali – successfully handed in my motivation essay and passed the interview. If I will be able to financially manage it, you can look forward to get to know some details from the one month full of experiences in Indonesia.

Facing the difference and coping with the change in my life have been huge topics to me in those days. I think that I am not talking just on behalf of myself… nevertheless it’s important not to give up and try to go over these new things and get use to them, accommodate to them and find within them an order.