Literary Evening “My Country is the Czech Republic”

On May 30, 2013 literary evening “My Country is the Czech Republic” with the participation of PetrSU students and town residents was arranged in Petrozavodsk State University. Special guests were Barents EU Centre coordinator Anastasia Kuznetsova and the participant of international exchange program “Erasmus Mundus”, student from the Czech Republic Eva Hejnisova. A. Kuznetsova presented information on the activity of Centre, perspectives of its development and opportunities it gives students, post-graduate students and lecturers of PetrSU. Eva Hejnisova told about the first president of Czechoslovakia Thomas Masaryk, prominent representatives of culture and art (John Amos Comenius, Franz Kafka, Alfons Mucha), reminded about the history of dissolution of Czechoslovakia into two independent states. “People often confound us and say that the Czechs and the Slovaks are alike but there are two principal contrasts: firstly, Slovakia has mountain landscape and many mountain peaks; secondly, 70% of inhabitants are Christians. In the Czech Republic there are few mountains and all people are atheists despite the fact that we have many churches. But it is hard to find operating churches”. – noted student from the Czech Republic. The video film about the Czech Republic was also demonstrated to the audience. The film was devoted to the best architectural monuments and sights which have become pilgrim places, plenty of which are of great historical and artistic value and are under UNESCO protection.

The participants of the evening had the opportunity to ask foreign students about her first impressions of Petrozavodsk, surprising moments in the town, impressions of our country. “I was surprised by Russian trains, food in the student canteen and by fact that Russian students have a rest with songs and dances. You have many singing people. Czech people don’t sing a lot”, - that was Eva’s observations. There also was a question: “Does the system of education in the Czech Republic differ from the system in Russia?”. The foreign student said: “Yes! In Russia it brings me more pleasure to study as here professors and lecturers are interested in their students, they try to give them more knowledge and are distressed personally for each student. In the Czech Republic people attend universities just to get to know what they should read!”.
“The meeting was very emotional and dynamic largely thanks to the amazing sense of humor of our guest from the Czech Republic. Eva is a nice, smiley, honest, very communicative girl. It is not surprising that she has found friends in Russia very quickly who gave warn encouragement to her during her tale about her country helping to find more suitable definitions,” – Elena Yagich, head of the sector of humanitarian and educational work, said.