“I have never regretted coming here. The first Czech I met was my student buddy. Since we started communicating through emails, I felt her enthusiasm. And when I arrived here, I found everyone here is very passionate. I remember when I first joined the party held in the park. I usually don’t show up at the parties. But lots of people invited us, so I decided to go. Even though I don’t drink alcohol, I felt more than happy at that time. As you can imagine, it’s difficult for us to communicate with the natives, so our buddies and others are helping us. I celebrated my birthday here. On that day, I received many gifts and sincere wishes and also a kiss - which surprised me a lot. The life pace here is much slower than in China, with the wonderful weather. I enjoy living here more. Everything is new but familiar, especially when encountering the Chinese elements. There’re also lots of tourist attractions that are a must-see. Definitely, Prague is No.1! I am addicted to the scenery of the Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge. Also, it’s very convenient for us to travel around the Czech and other European countries. Everything here makes me satisfied, from life, school to the infrastructure… Without the big crowds, it’s more comfortable to live. All in all, staying here makes me happy. Everything is fine! Just enjoying! ”- Boyu Cheng

“I am so glad to be here because since I came here, I have had a lot of activities. What I enjoyed the most was the dinner with our student buddies. We prepared a Chinese dinner and invited them to enjoy it together in order to thank them for helping us with our luggage and taking us to the dormitory. Our buddies all liked our Chinese food very much and also shared their favourite Czech food with us. That night, we introduced ourselves, got to know each other and learnt that the lifestyle they live is much different from ours. It was an unforgettable night of meeting new people and listening to funny stories. I also like the parks here in Karvina. The park in autumn is like a fairy tale world. The golden leaves and gurgling water fascinated me.” – Lin Zheng

“The people in Karvina are honest and warm-hearted, and not just to fellow students, but also to foreigners. I like living in Karvina. The blue sky, white clouds, fresh air, short houses, trees and grass as far as the eye can see. From time to time, you can see people walking with their dogs. There is little litter on the ground except for fallen leaves. It is a very clean town.” – Shuwei Zhao

“In addition to daily study, my friends and I have gone to many other places to experience the sceneries we can't see in China and learn about different cultures. There are many differences between our cultures. The first is the diet, which is very different from China, but it is also very delicious. The second is beverages. In the Czech Republic, beer is more popular than water, but I still prefer to drink hot water. The architecture is completely different from the Chinese one. What impressed me the most was the Charles Bridge in Prague. I would stay on the bridge for the whole day. Life is beautiful, and I am really honoured to study and live here.” – Shuhui Zhao

“When I was in China, I always thought there is hardly any chance for me to become an exchange student one day. But how lucky I am!!! I got the chance to be among the first Chinese students to ever visit the Silesian University. This school is amazing and teachers, schoolmates - everyone I meet in this town is friendly and nice. Many interesting things happened during this semester. Once my roommate and I cooked a Chinese dinner for my student buddy but I couldn’t translate how special this food was, because of the language barrier. But it didn’t matter, because she told me it was yummy. Once I went to Tesco, an old lady came to me and asked me for help to find a shampoo for her – not a shower gel! I couldn’t speak Czech and she couldn’t speak English! Finally, thanks to the buddy language, I found a shampoo for her, haha. The teachers are so patient and teach us well. They give us a lecture first and then ask us to do exercises or we just exercise together. The seminar is great. Sometimes we have a small chat with teachers here during the break time. We talk about family, job and so on, but the break time is too short! I have been to Prague and Vienna. Europe is beautiful. By the way, what a surprise for me when I found some Chinese sauces in a supermarket - I never thought I could buy them here, it is amazing. Good thing is that my cooking skills are getting better and better, because of daily cooking. Lastly, the sky here is so beautiful. Watching the sunset is the most romantic thing. I am enjoying my exchange student life!” – Ludi Wen

“I am a student at the School of Finance and my major is insurance. I am honoured to be an exchange student at such a young and creative university, that Silesian University surely is. I think I made the right choice because I find this place so enjoyable and everyone here is so enthusiastic. I have visited many places in Karvina with my Czech friends, including the castle, Masaryk Square, The Leaning Church etc. I have also tried many traditional local foods, such as “trdlo”, “vepřo knedlo zelo”, “smažené vepřové kotlety” etc. We have even watched a football and handball game here in Karvina. The atmosphere during the match touched me deeply. In Czech, beer is widely popular - we can find bars on almost every corner, but this is not typical for China. In China, scanning code payment is widely used which means we don’t need to carry any cash or card when we go out. So I keep forgetting to carry cash with me which results in many embarrassing situations. I have been to the capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague. As Kafka said, “When I seek another word for a mystery, the only word I can find is Prague”. This beautiful city has left a deep memory inside me; its beautiful castle, its magnificent square, the Vltava River, the Charles Bridge - all of these are so grand and unbelievable. All in all, I enjoy my stay here and hope to explore more interesting places and things in Czechia.” – Shijie Tan

“This semester has been a very happy one for me. The most charming point is how friendly the locals are. :) Thank you all. Of course, I have travelled to different places such as Vienna and Warsaw and the journey was wonderful.” – Chenyang Liu