So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

Today, a month since my final exams, I can say I am very proud of my achievement: not only did I finally get a degree, but I did so with an incredibly little amount of time for preparation. It seemed that the leadership of the Faculty of Arts invited its students to live rather dangerously: those of us who planned to graduate in June were given only three days to pass all the summer term exams and then barely three weeks to revise the materials taught in the previous three years. It did not come as a surprise when only three students from the third year showed up at the exams; some called us brave, but the more common expression we heard in relation to our intention was crazy. Alas, we all passed our literature and linguistics exams and defended our theses. Now we have the whole summer vacation ahead of us with one single goal: to put our feet up and relax. All I can do now is wish all my other classmates who signed up for the September exams the best of luck and join them for the graduation ceremony in October. 
Of course, saying that I have two months of doing nothing ahead of me is a bit of an exaggeration. I will be moving to Groningen, Netherlands, at the end to August to pursue a masters degree in Applied Linguistics at the University of Groningen. It took me months to finally make the choice, being accepted into all the programmes I had applied for, including the exclusive EMCL+ programme in Clinical Linguistics. I can now confidently say I am very happy with the direction I chose. Preparations for my move to the Netherlands, however, are less exciting; it turns out that finding suitable accommodation in Groningen is a task almost as hard as the state exams themselves. 
Besides an endless search for a Dutch room, I cannot complain about my summer. I can finally read books of my own choice, most of which are by Czech authors since I desperately need a break from the Anglophone world. I finally have time (and my parents’ car) to practice my driving skills, which will come in handy in August, in which time we plan to go on a road trip in the north of Spain with my boyfriend. 
Now, of course, comes the time to say goodbye. I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to the Kellner Family Foundation, whose financial support allowed me to pursue the career of my choice and to obtain the best education I could ask for. Whether it is the six years I spent in Open Gate School, my brief time at LSE or during the three years of English and American Studies here at the Charles University, I am indebted to your foundation. I promise to do my best in my future career and to give back the support I received in the past decade. 
To use the words of a literary legend: “So long and thanks for all the fish.”