“Why did you come to
Brno?” The phrase quickly became a familiar sound during encounters in my
premature social life in this city. The question might as well have been: “How
the hell did you end up in this hole?” Its honest curiosity, mixed with a
genuine inability to think of any reason anybody would want to live in
Brno. Why?
Dear people of Brno,
I have gone through a minor crisis. Without accusing
anybody in particular, the crisis was started by “Why (the hell) did you come
to Brno”, the reactions “so then.. you’re just on Erasmus right?” – “no,
I'm here for a full degree”(me), which would then be followed by one of those
meaningful silences (and I am not even mentioning the facial expressions
accompanying all of this). Though, the most problematic aspect was on my side:
I forgot why.
But
now I remember again. Please listen, especially the Brno-ers.
Good study programs and courses. Social Sciences faculty
of Masaryk University rocks. They try hard and good things come from it.
It’s high up there somewhere, sharing the academic hemisphere with most
universities I have heard about.
Affordable high quality student life (CHEAP). Surviving on
instant Noodles and pasta with ketchup is the universal student diet – but
not in Brno – where only the most uninspired cooks have to face this junk.
In terms of eating and drinking for good prices, buying high quality food and
living in the city center: Brno is student heaven.
Student city. Speaks for itself. (Students are awesome
people.)
Brno is a beauty. Impressive architecture, parks, castles.
Daring sexually tainted modern public art. Moravian Karst to the north, three
beautiful cities within easy travel distance.
Really,
if I was not already living here, I would want to move here in an
instant.
And last but not least, the interesting Consonant/vowel
ratio: BRRRNo (it amuses my Dutch friends).
So dear people of this lovely city, try to cultivate that
warm fuzzy feeling in your stomach when you think of your city, its not too
bad. It’s not Prague, I know and you keep mentioning it, but aren’t
we all glad its not?
Author: Roos Derks
This
article originally appeared in HALAS, the magazine of students of the Faculty of
Social Studies. The original version is available at http://casopishalas.cz/clanek/zobrazit/1624
