Hello everyone!

Hello everyone! My name is Bety and I am from the Czech republic. (Actually, my full name is Alžběta, but nobody calls me by that name, except for my mom when she is mad at me.)  I grew up in a big household in a small town in the suburbs of Prague, a city in the heart of Europe, mostly known either for its stunning historical architecture or for its vibrant nightlife. Two very different points of view, both equally worth experiencing.

Prague is also the place where I have decided to study university and experience student life in a big city.  I am now in the third year of my Bachelor’s studies at Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in central Europe. I started my degree in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and I have spent almost half of my studies online, which was quite challenging for me, an outgoing extroverted person studying Communications.

The moment I started University I knew I wanted to grab the opportunity presented by the Erasmus program and study abroad, and I have been looking forward to these few months for over two years. Choosing Germany, specifically Bavaria was very easy for me. To be honest, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität was not a key deciding factor, although I am now really excited and proud to be a part of it. I was mostly drawn to experience the Bavarian culture, which is so different from my own, even though I am now only 370 kilometers far from home. The Czech and German cultures share love for beer (and the top positions in the highest consumption rankings), borders, and some parts of history, but not many more. I am really excited to discover the differences while I´m here.

More about me. I am a big city person, I love the energy I feel in different cities, I spend a lot of time in Cafés, also walking and looking around. But I am also a big fan of the mountains, mostly in the winter. I inherited my love for the mountains from my parents and we spend a lot of our time during the winter together in the Alps (in all the different countries). I am very glad I get to spend my semester in a city with such beautiful energy (fulfilling my big-city personality trait) but also so close to the Alps (making my travels to the mountains so much easier).

Apart from skiing, I like going to 80s and 90s-themed parties, I love romantic comedies from the early 2000s and my guilty pleasures are reality shows from the 2010s. I am also a big fan of ABBA music or any other music which fills me that kind of with positive energy. I am an Aquarius (for those of you into astrology) as well as the middle child, which made me the outspoken but rebellious child – hence the immediate connection of my full name with my mom being mad at me mentioned at the beginning.

My goals for this semester are to meet as many people, get to know all the different cultures and personalities, enjoy student life in a big city, and go home with great memories. I would also like to figure out if living outside of my home country suits me and find more self-confidence outside of my comfort zone.  But no pressure. I will be happy if I´ll leave with nothing more than memories of some great moments. <3 I am really excited to meet you all.