by Yveta Kenety (Assistant Director of Student Life)
“Would you like more tea?“ asked Shae, an NYU Florence student in a cozy Airbnb apartment a few steps from Charles Bridge, the most beautiful historical sight of Prague. She and three other students were hoping to complete a semester in Prague after NYU Florence shut down, as it seemed like a better option than returning to their homes in China. They were spending their first two weeks in the Czech Republic in quarantine outside of the NYU dorms.
I am not a big tea drinker but I was on my fourth cup (at least!) that night.
It was Friday, March 13th and we were trying to do the seemingly impossible: purchase plane tickets for four Chinese students and get them out of the country before the borders were shut and all flight connections to Asia suspended. A day before, we had bought tickets for more than 100 other students so they could fly home as soon as possible after the Czech Republic declared a state of emergency.
Most flights to China were going through Taiwan, for which the girls apparently needed a special ID. Other tickets cost an absolute fortune or were gone before we managed to complete the booking.
Good warm tea, along with fresh strawberries and spicy pork ribs, came in handy that night. After several hours we managed to find reasonable flights.
After we were really sure that their tickets were confirmed and they could start packing, I found myself in a taxi with two bags of groceries that the girls wouldn’t manage to eat and which they insisted I take home. A taxi driver wearing a respirator FFP3 (who knew this terminology a few months ago?), looking like he just arrived from Mars (at least that was my feeling back then), picked me up on a deserted street, normally packed with tourists day and night. He took me home in complete silence, making me feel like it really was the apocalypse.
I had a long bath when I got home to process my feelings from the past few days. By Monday, March 16th, all but one student had left for home, cutting their semester short by over 10 weeks. Many with tears in their eyes, not believing what was happening to their dream semester abroad. Telling them they had to leave the city they’d just fallen in love with was one of the most difficult things I had to do at NYU Prague.
This was the shortest amount of time I’ve ever spent with a group of students at NYU Prague. Still – when I read the beautiful letters which students wrote me on the plane or after they got home, I realized that I had never felt more connected to a group, and that I would never forget the spring of 2020.
In the bag of groceries that I took home, I discovered several packages of unlabelled seeds. I planted them with my son. Several weeks later, we discovered radishes in our garden – the most delicious radishes we have ever eaten.
