Freshers' Week is the most predictable unpredictable event that unwraps the first experience of the first-year students at the Second Faculty of Charles University. Predictable because we know that both upper years and freshers will be there. Unpredictable because we don't know how that mix will react every year, we just know that the outcome will be lots of fun.
The week started on Monday with the introduction of the new students to the Languages' Department where they would attend their first Czech classes until Friday. Actually until third year, but that's a different story. The Dean made his appearance in the afternoon welcoming all the students into the faculty and motivating everyone to step into their first year with passion, but with just the right amount of precaution as well. Following his speech, it was time for our famous ‘Survival Guide’, a discussion about life in Prague including where to live, how to move around, where to eat, and pretty much how to survive a day in the city without our moms. That, although it seems really easy, is much harder than it looks. Bowling was the perfect ending for the first day where students had the time to finally meet each other outside the school environment.
Tuesday arrived and so did ‘Survival of the Fittest’, the most anticipated speech about what books to use, how to study for each individual subject, and which teachers to run to when we need help. Upper year students contributed by talking about their own experiences going through each one of them as well. The Pub Quiz happened in the evening with a few secret prizes and a lot of will to win from our new colleagues. From music, to culture, politics and even medicine itself, the freshers got tested in different areas and the best of the best got a hold of our amazing gifts (and I won't reveal the prizes just in case any future student is reading this. Wait for your turn!).
On Wednesday, and personally the upper year students' favourite day, the ‘Lost in Prague’ tours started in the morning. Small groups were made with a couple of older students that acted as guides through the city of Prague. Smaller groups are great for one-on-one interaction between younger and older students with the goal of showing them where to do the student card, the transport card, how to get to the anatomy building and other important points that will be needed throughout the entire year. Another objective is to scare the freshers, telling them how medicine is going to take up their whole lives from now on (which is actually true) and at the same time giving them the strength to know nothing is impossible, especially when you ask upper students for advice.
The registration on Thursday is the initial step to finally call Charles University their home. The enrolment of the students in the university and the handing of the index is the first official event that allow us to call the new students colleagues from now on. By the way, welcome guys! Over the rooftop of T-Anker, we celebrated this moment that night.
Last but not least, Friday, one of the days that will be forever in the memories of all the people that had the privilege of attending it: the White Coat Ceremony. It's a formal gathering where friends and family come to see their loved ones being handed their first white coat. Accompanied by beautiful speeches from the main heads of our university and hosted by some of our most brilliant students, the afternoon was spent at the sound of cameras flashing and a lot of handshakes followed by a special dinner.
To sum it up, in the name of all the upper year students, I would like to welcome everyone to the Charles University Second Faculty of Medicine. All of us were once in your shoes and we felt as lost as you are feeling now. Years later, we could never picture ourselves choosing a different path and we will help you every day to feel the same way. Welcome home!
Catarina Veira (fourth year, Portugal)
Here we leave some testimonials from our new students:
Frankly, it would be very difficult to imagine adjusting to the new life of a university medical student without the help of the Freshers' Week.
The Freshers' Week, organized by the upper year students of the Charles University Second Faculty of Medicine, was without a doubt an amazing way to settle down for the upcoming weeks of hard work. Not only were we introduced to all the different facilities provided by the faculty and Prague itself, but we had a great time getting to know our new classmates!
Arian Taniwall (first year, Slovakia)
For me the Freshers' Week was really important for two reasons:
First it helps you getting organized in a new country and settled into a new university which is really important for our medical studies. And secondly, and maybe more important, it was awesome to have the opportunity to meet all the new and the upper year students before our classes actually start.
When we arrived here in Prague, we were all in the same situation so it was really important to know people in other context than during the actual classes.
So, yeah! Freshers' week was a really good way to start my studies!
François Perramond (first year, Switzerland)
Freshers' Week was a perfect week for a homesick student like me to get settled into a new country and mix in with my new colleagues/classmates.
The days kicked off with the morning Czech classes which were very helpful (even though they were early morning classes, Ugh!) because it's very hard to get around town without knowing some basic Czech. The evening events were the most fun part of the week. I got to explore the beautiful city of Prague and enjoy the various team building events like Pub Quiz and Bowling planned for us by the upper year students. The best part of the week was surely the survival tips imparted to us by the upper years. These tips ranged from which books to buy, to which pub to go after passing an exam. It took a lot of tension which comes along with the title of ‘med student’.
The last day of the week started with the White Coat Ceremony in which I was handed my first white coat by the Dean, prof. MUDr. Vladimír Komárek, in the presence of my parents. In the evening I attended a lavish interfaculty party at Klub Lavka with my new friends!
Aviral Chandel (first year, India)
So... what to tell you about Freshers' Week? To put it short: it was AMAZING!
During this week, we got to know the beautiful city of Prague, the Motol University Hospital, all the places where we have lectures and seminars, libraries, restaurants, bars and the public transport system. The upper year students explained us how the whole system works, which books we should use and where we can get help in any situation. Furthermore, they've helped us with the paperwork and saved us from drowning in all the things we have to organize at the beginning of our studies.
The Czech classes during Freshers' Week were a good introduction for the real class we have now and they were a lot of fun.
The highlight of the week, the white coat ceremony, was not only a wonderful way to show us that a new chapter of our lives is actually about to start, it was also nice for our parents to make sure that we are in good hands far from home.
All that was great, but the most important thing in my opinion is, that with all the organized activities, they gave us the chance to get to know each other. Being in the same situation makes it easy to make new friends and that is so important since we are basically alone in an absolutely new life situation. It already feels like family and we are stronger together.
To be honest, the upper years won't underplay the challenges during the studies. They didn't hold back from telling us about how hard everything is going to be. But they also gave us so much advice on how to deal with it and you won't feel completely lost and alone.
‘We don't grow when things are easy, we grow when we face challenges.’
Challenges... There are so many different ones coming up in the future, but it's definitely easier to overcome that with friends. And the Fresher's Week prepared us very well.
Thank you, Catarina Carvalho, for all the effort you put into organizing and preparing this week. Dear upper years, thank you SO much for all those useful tips! Thank you for not letting us down. I mean, who could prepare you better for upcoming struggles than the people who already made it through?
Katharina Keller (first year, Germany)
Freshers' Week… There are no words good enough to describe it. It is really a once in a lifetime experience that you need to be involved in to understand how important it will be for you. Even though my expectations were pretty high, I would have never expected this outcome of the week.
First things first, Czech; this year's Freshers' Week started with an introduction to the Czech language, which can be pretty overwhelming due to the language being so unique. But after the initial shock, you get used to the rhythm of the classes and just can't wait for the next day, where you will learn more interesting, and really useful things that will help you out on the first days of living in Prague.
You can really feel that everyone, from your Czech professor, to the upper year students, are 200% ready to help you, with big things such as finding accommodation, to the smallest things such as where to find the best take away restaurants.
Upper years; the amount of time and energy that they provide to help us is extraordinary. During the week, they shared their personal experiences and tried to give us an insight on what the course will be like. They explained to us that we might find some obstacles in our way, but that if we really try our best, it is possible to overcome them.
My favourite days were definitely the one with the city tour where they show you the most important places that you need to know to survive your first year, and of course the one with the White Coat Ceremony where you are given your first white coat, that symbolizes the responsibility that you are accepting.
This week is not just about learning Czech and hearing the advices from the upper year students, it's about getting to know your future colleagues that will be with you for the next 6 years of your life, and there are plenty of amazing activities organized for that purpose. Freshers' Week is really crucial in the process of getting adjusted to the new lifestyle that you will have to go through, mainly because it ensures that you don't take the first steps alone in this new phase of your life.
Thank you to all the upper years that made it possible, but specially to Catarina Carvalho, for making this such an unforgettable experience!
Carolina Carneiro (first year, Portugal)
Freshers' week. Actually I had no idea what this was since I only knew the word ‘fresher’ from American movies. But since I came to Prague a week before the Freshers' Week started, I thought I would just go there and check it out.
The first day began on a cold Monday at 8a.m. with a Czech class. I thought they were joking with us starting classes without any introduction or speech! I wasn't the only one thinking that and that's how I met my new friends. Right from the beginning there was something which connected us all: first the decision of spending the next 6 years of our lives in Prague far away from our family, friends and ‘old life’ and secondly the surprising feeling that we were actually starting with Czech classes straight away.
Even though I was very awed in the beginning, it was probably the best thing I could have done to attend Freshers' Week.
During this week we all got to know each other very well and had a great time. We went to many parties and activities and just had a lot of fun.
Furthermore, it was really nice to get useful tips from the upper year students on how to ‘survive’ at the university. They also took us around the campus, showed us libraries, all the departments and recommended the best medical books. Without those tips and tours some of us, including me, would have been very lost (thank you all so much for that!).
The week ended with the so called ‘White Coat Ceremony’ where every student received his or her first white coat. All of our families were invited to share this unique moment with us which was really nice. That was also the evening when I first realized that it is going to be serious from now on. By choice, every single one of us decided to start a long and hard journey and I hope that we will all be successful at end of this stony journey. Good luck to all of us!
P.S. I did get my ‘Welcome-speech’; the Dean spoke to us on the first Monday right after Czech, so don't worry ;-)
Emma Dieterich (first year, Germany)
