By Týna Čermáková (Building Manager, Machova Dorm)
Nobody expected it.
By the end of the second week of March, all of the NYU Prague buildings had gone quiet – including the Machova Dorm, which has been my home for the last several years.
On Friday March 13 – one of the last days when students were in the dorm – a student promised to make us all dinner: his mum’s signature tomato sauce. He brought all the ingredients to the kitchen of suite 6. Some of us were assisting him with the cooking, the rest were packing. When the food was ready (which could be easily noted thanks to the delicious smell around the building), we all gathered in the top floor study lounge to enjoy this last meal together, listening to music and chatting about what life would be like for each of us from now on. I will remember this evening for a very long time, and not just because of the pasta sauce.
The Spring 2020 group of “Machovians” created a vibrant atmosphere in the dorm, especially the last couple of days before everyone went off to fight the virus in their corners of the world. We all felt how close the group had gotten – perhaps because of the crisis.
Now, instead of that permanent buzz, a sudden empty silence.
I am used to being the only person in the building during the breaks between the semesters. This time is different though.
I try to take care of the empty building: cleaning, fixing, taking inventory… my favorite part of this solitary time is tending to the Machova garden in our back courtyard. The lilacs are currently in full bloom, and the seeds that I planted about a month ago are starting to show tiny green leaves. Seeds that would have been planted by the students, had the semester run as planned. Some herbs are poking up – oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, even coriander.
I am grateful to have at least the garden to keep me company – growing, staying healthy. I hope that in the fall, I’ll have students here again with me – and who knows? Maybe even one or two who will use my herbs in their own signature tomato sauce recipe.
