In our final theatre show, Valentina played an NYU student who didn’t want to leave Prague. I played Hanuš, the clockmaster who built the Prague Astronomical Clock, helping her stop time.
I received my acceptance to NYU Prague last October. At the time, I was in the middle of final exams. You might wonder why I had finals in October—well, I come from the University of Sydney in the Southern Hemisphere, where the academic calendar is different.
Before the final exam, I flew 12 hours from Australia back to China to apply for my Czech visa, then flew back to take my finals. I barely made the deadline. My friend asked me, “Do you really need to exchange there in your final year?”
I was both excited and panicked about moving into the Osadni dorm. There is no dorm culture in Australia, and I was used to living alone. I didn’t expect this kind of close relationship to bring me so much joy.
Just five days after arriving Prague, Cynthia and I organized our first event. It was my first time celebrating Chinese New Year abroad. Honestly, we had no idea how it would go. It didn’t seem like there were many Chinese students in the program, and we weren’t sure if the school would approve the celebration. We went to the Blue Building and stepped into Yveta’s office for the first time to share our idea. To our surprise, she immediately said yes—and generously approved the budget.
I missed all the school trips in February and March, but I got the chance to explore other European countries instead. If you’re reading this, please don’t book all your flights before the semester—leave some space for spontaneity. That said, the trips I took at the end of the semester were amazing.
I remember all the tiny moments. I just finished class and need to set up for the photography exhibition. However, in 40 minutes, I had to perform in the vocal ensemble, and I needed to buy a black dress for the performance. I printed the sheet music for the performance, but the printer is broken. Feeling helpless, I went to the reception RA. She said not to worry and assured me I could focus on other things. Then she kindly helped me print all 58 pages using her account.
Even in the middle of the semester, I had trouble finding my way back to the dorm, as every alley seemed similar to me. Plus, the routes in Prague are different during the day and at night—sometimes certain paths close at night. One time, Kella walked me back to the dorm and joked, “I’m taking you somewhere—guess if this is the way back?” I was lost. Later, when I finally got familiar with the routes here and didn’t need to check Google Maps, it felt as easy as taking a walk downstairs from home. That’s when I realized the moment of departure was approaching.
We’ve come a long way from the freezing days of orientation to this warm and sunny summer—Europe at its finest. There’s a phrase called the “summer camp effect”—like joining a summer camp in a foreign city, where you briefly but intensely burst into each other’s lives and become close friends in a flash. Then the summer camp ends, everyone returns to their own lives. You may not stay in touch, because in the end, everyone has their own journey.
At the end of the theatre show, Hanuš didn’t manage to stop time. Valentina and we all know we need to move on, but I believe we’ll meet again. The Earth is round, and so is the track—when we head in opposite directions, we’re actually running towards each other.
