The thing I miss the most about Prague... is Prague itself ****************************************************************************************** * The thing I miss the most about Prague... is Prague itself ****************************************************************************************** Over the years, there have been many remarkable students who have visited the Charles Univ as part of the Erasmus programme. One of the bravest ones has undoubtedly been the first w Erasmus student whom we were able to host, Concetta Giansiracusa from the Universit? degli "La Sapienza", who came to the Faculty of Arts for the summer semester of 2010/2011. We ce Concetta’s braveness, as despite her personal assistant having to cancel her arrival in Pr last moment, Concetta - known as Ketty to her friends - decided to go ahead with her arriv city and a university she had never been to before.  Fortunately, the Office for Students of Charles University was able to provide a team of assistants to help her settle in.   On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus programme, we have asked Concetta t experiences of living in Prague and studying at Charles University with us. Concetta, you were the first wheelchair-using Erasmus student that had ever attended the C friends can be very difficult even for students without a disability – was it a difficult try to discourage you from coming to Prague? Well, I threw myself into this adventure without thinking twice. If I’d spent too much tim up, but this element of unknowingness allowed me to have one of the most wonderful experie stubborn I am and they were sure that everything was going to be alright. We (the European Office of Charles University) will never forget your email from the end o you told us that your new assistant, who was supposed to join you for the semester in Prag accompany you and that you did not know if you would be able to come. Was it an awful feel that she was unable to come? The girl who was supposed to accompany me is a friend of mine. Everything had been going w University of Rome had given me a grant which I could use to pay the assistant. Unfortunat personal problems which prevented her from coming to Prague and, at this point, it was too for another suitable person to come with me, so I had to ask for help from the Charles Uni want to miss out on my opportunity to study abroad, it wouldn’t have been fair! In the end we were extremely lucky – even at this late point, the Office for Students with you with a group of Czech personal assistants who stepped in to help you. However, it mean in Prague. Were you afraid that the new assistants might not be helpful enough, or were yo Well, I must admit that to start with I wasn't very afraid. I was sure that the assistants first flight to Prague that I realised that I didn’t know what was going to happen, so yes personal assistants and I will always remember and be grateful for their help and for the In retrospect, I can say that it was better for me to go to Prague alone and to have this by myself. Erasmus has been a great opportunity for me to become more independent and for I have realised that I can take charge of my own life. If you can have faith in other peop are strangers, you can live however you want to live.  What were your personal assistants like?  Did they see it as simply a job, or have you bec you still in touch with any of them? My personal assistants were all very nice and I'm still in touch with two or three of them most of them it was primarily a job, but that doesn't mean that we couldn’t talk to each o together.  Your boyfriend was studying abroad at the same time as you. Did you consider going to the or was it clear from the start that you would be going to two different destinations? It was clear from the very beginning that we would be going to two different destinations. the Czech language for my studies and my boyfriend wanted to go to a country which was bet his needs. You studied at the Faculty of Arts and followed lectures in the main building of the facul Jana Palacha and in Jinonice, where you also lived. How satisfied were you with the access university buildings and your flat? I'm sorry to say that I did have some problems with the accessibility of the central build Faculty of Arts. In fact, when preparing my Learning Agreement, I had chosen some courses attend in the end because the lecture theatres or seminar rooms were too far from my flat campus (note from the Editor: the subway station Jinonice, as well as the subway station S are unfortunately not barrier-free at the moment, so Concetta would always have to take mu and tram routes to class). Because of this, when I arrived in Prague I had to change my st attended different lectures which took place in a building which was closer to my flat. Unfortunately, I also wasn’t able to socialize much with the other Erasmus students becaus Charles University hotel rather than any of the halls of residence. I could not be housed residence because there are no places for wheelchair users. You also travelled to other parts of Europe. Did you experience difficulties with your whe everywhere or did you find that some cities or countries are more wheelchair friendly? Yes, I have travelled a lot, all over Europe. I also spent some time in Finland for a proj European Voluntary Service. If I had to compare all of the cities that I have been to, I w Barcelona is one of the most wheelchair friendly cities. I also have to say that in Prague I definitely appreciated the public transport service. T the bus or tram stops always alerted me when an accessible bus or tram was arriving. In Ro advanced, there isn’t even a timetable! What do you miss most about Prague? And is there something you don’t miss at all? The only thing that I don't miss about Prague is the local food.  The thing that I miss th Prague is Prague itself. I fell in love with the city and during my five month study stay know it in a very intimate way. I was often by myself in the city and I was always amazed was around each corner. Even after I became more familiar with the streets and buildings o was still constantly enchanted by it. It was like a spell: to paraphrase Franz Kafka, “Pra you go… this dear little mother has sharp claws.”  I left my heart there and my shoes as w Letná you might spot them hanging there. If you had a chance to study in Prague again – would your decision be the same? Yes, definitely.  Thank you for the interview.