JR Moreau is a Worcester, Massachusetts native and takes great pride in being from Worcester, a very different city than Boston. Educated in the ways of Public Relations at Suffolk University in Boston and Literature Philosophy in Univerzita Karlova in Prague, JR diversified his working interests after college to include, but never to be limited to marketing, copywriting, creative writing and sustainable economic development projects. While holding a day job at a media analytics software company, JR is always looking for new and interesting clients to work with on a freelance basis as well as other writers, entrepreneurs and adventerous people to trade stories with.

In the Winter of 2005 I sat in my Boston apartment watching foot traffic walk by my noisy North End location when I heard my roommate mutter to himself “what the fuck is this? Why would I go to Prague? I don’t even know where that is.” I got up and expressed my curiosity at the letter he held in front of him. He said he had been invited to attend a semester long study abroad session in Prague, Czech Republic because of him being on the Dean’s List. My roommate was smart, almost too smart for his own good. He was able to stay up late, party hard and barely try at school and still managed to keep a 4.0 grade point average his first two years of undergrad before transferring to Georgetown in Washington, D.C. I was silently jealous of him, but my silence was broken when a burst of frustration came forth as I shouted, “you’re not even going to consider it? What the fuck is wrong with you John? I’d kill for something like that to be offered to me!”

He shook it off, I did not. This was my first year in Boston after I had barely completed two very unsuccessful years at UMass Dartmouth. I had opted to change my life around as much as a 20 year old could by getting in great shape, cutting back on the booze and taking a new lease on academic life by placing myself in a great city like Boston. However, I knew that I was going to be in great debt due to Suffolk U’s high cost of tuition and Boston’s high cost of living. I accepted that I wasn’t going to be spending any time abroad during my undergrad and that I was going to be as grateful as I could be for living in Boston.

As I went and sulked on the futon after I watched John scoff at my outburst and throw the letter aside, my cell phone rang; my mom was calling her usual once a week call. I answered and immediately answered her question of “how you doing?” with my story about John ungratefully disregarding the letter about studying about and how I wish I was on the deanís list and got invited. I also complained about how I wish I had thought about studying abroad because I couldn’t afford it. After about 5 minutes sitting through my self-pity monologue, my mother interrupted me and said, “Well by the way, you have mail from the dean’s office. Do you want me to open it?”

My heart sank and I went cold and then my heart rebounded off of my stomach and jumped into my throat. Excitement, denial, elation and nervousness all came over me as my mom read off the contents of the envelope (which she had clearly already opened and read before calling, typical mother). She said she thought I should do it which helped quell some doubts I was having. She also was the one who gave me the idea to move to Boston. I was going to ride her lucky advice again.

I went to the information session and it didn’t take much to sell me on this trip. I was told that everything would be drastically cheaper than my current living situation and that I would be among the “elite” intellectuals in Prague taking graduate courses at the Philosophy faculty at Charles University (up until that letter, I had no idea I was carrying a 3.7 GPA, imagine my surprise). So, I eagerly agreed to go as soon as possible, knowing that if I put it off for too long I wouldn’t go and I packed my bags a short 3 months after signing up.

Choosing to study abroad in Prague or choosing to study abroad at all is probably among the best decisions I have ever made in a lifetime. I have no reservations in telling you that there were some pretty rocky moments when I was over there, such as having things stolen in my dorm room, blacking out from excessive drinking and being extremely homesick during Christmas and Thanksgiving. But, even with such things happening to me, I’d say it took my experience from 100% down to maybe 98.5%. Barely even worth mentioning.

I couldn’t begin to start listing all of the great things I was able to do while there that meant so much to me because I would likely go on all night. Just to name a few memorable moments, I sat in on classes with the first person to ever translate Shakespeare into the Czech language. I found a cafe where nearly no one spoke English and spent most of my free time there drinking beers, espresso shots and searching for native conversation. I was invited to a film school party and had an amazing time with some of the most talented and creative people I’ve ever met. I traveled to Vienna, Austria, many small towns in the Czech country side, saw the grim and sobering Terezin concentration camp and missed my train to Dresden, Germany when I came down with a bad case of the flu (or the Czech common cold, as my boarding mates teased me). I wandered through the dark cobblestone streets late at night with friends I made for life talking about how we were going to figure out a way to stay and finish our degrees there. At some points I wanted to come back more than anything and for the last 2 months of the 5 months total I spent there, I swore I’d never leave.

I’m over-come with emotion and fond recollections when I think about Prague. I don’t quite know if I’ll ever be able to go back or spend significant time there or anywhere else in Europe for that matter, but the memories I have won’t fade from my consciousness for a very long time I don’t think. For me, faces and names fade, but the sense of place that I am able to achieve so rarely leave my bones and heart no matter how hard I try to move on.

For anyone looking to study abroad and is doubtful about how they’ll do independently, financially or socially, I say just take the jump. It’s not for everyone, but if you’ve considered it a few times, it’s probably for you anyways. Prague, because it is not on the Euro (yet) is very cheap for Westerners. I suggest you go while it stays that way.