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Queer Prague & Pangea

Hello Crumpets,

My name is Mathilde, I am 22, and from Denmark. I am a full-time feminist, book-geek, funky socks lover, and aspiring activist. I am also gayer than a group of unicorn swingers at Eurovision.


I have lived in Prague for the last two years, studying International Relations at Anglo-American University, so I know Prague and the queer community quite well. In addition to founding AAU Queer-Club, I am the founder and executive director of Pangea.


Pangea is a feminist & queer non-profit organization operating in Prague.

We meet every other Tuesday evening at 8 to 10 pm at the Prague LGBT+ Centre. Here we take turns presenting and debating feminist issues such as women in war, queer politics, polyamory, ecofeminism etc. We also host and engage in other events such as workshops, poetry evenings, demonstrations, and fundraisers. Everyone is welcome to join (yes, we even let in the scary straight folks.)


Prague is a safe and fun space for queer people.

I have been here for years and I have never experienced any discrimination or homophobia. (And I am clearly gay as hell). I have kissed my girlfriend in public and talked loudly about vibrators on the tram. I am female presenting, however, so I acknowledge it may be different for queer men and trans people.


People in Prague are open-minded but older Czech people (especially older Czech men) are generally not that progressive. (Are they ever?) It will be harder to be trans or a “gay-looking” man (whatever that is) than a gender-queer woman.


There is a long range of spaces for gay men though. Prague has gay cafes, bars, clubs, spas, and fetish hubs. This does sadly not apply for queer women or female presenting people. There are currently no bars or clubs specifically for queer women. I am hoping to change this, however, and am planning on opening a dyke bar and club in fall 2023. Please stop by when we open. ;)



Prague also recently opened its first LGBT+ Centre.

It is open every Thursday (and Tuesday for Pangea) and is general a great space to meet other queer people. Prague also host pride in August every year and have great events like the queer movie festival Mezipatra, weekly drag and burlesque shows, gay Halloween balls, and other gay parties. This makes Prague an entertaining and easy space to be queer in.


Just don’t walk down a small Czech village in full drag – and please don’t cross the border to wave your rainbow flag in Poland. (This will get you into some real trouble for sure.) When you're in the mood to travel and wear your sexy harness or your sparkly-diamond-dragon costume (as we all do from time to time) take the bus to Berlin instead.


Prague is in the centre of Europe and close to all other European capitals. You can go pretty much anywhere with public transport in a matter of hours. This also makes Pride month incredibly fun as you can run the metaphorical Pride Marathon – provided you don’t die from alcohol poisoning or excessive sex (though to be honest, there are worse ways to go).


If you want to learn more about queer Prague, you are welcome to contact me on my Insta: @mathildekjeldbjerg or you can follow Pangea on the Instagram: @pangea_prague.

I hope to see you in Prague.


Gay hugs and banoffee pie,


Mathilde F. Sandahl Kjeldbjerg

(Pronouns: she/her, he/him, they/them, my dragon lord, your majesty).



Scholarships to Study in Europe

Updated: Mar 16, 2023

At this point, we've definitely established that university in Europe is far more affordable than in the US. From tuition to living expenses, making the move is well worth it. But even universities that are affordable when compared to the US are still out of reach for many. So here's your game plan for getting your degree in Europe for free.

In case you don't know me...

I'm Liza, an American student who took my education abroad after graduating high school. My initial motivation was avoiding the crippling student debt that has, unfortunately, become so normalized in the US.

Four (debt-free) years later, I have graduated from Anglo-American University in Prague with a Bachelors in Humanities, Society and Culture, and have just started grad school at Vrije Universiteit Brussel studying New Media and Society.


Skip ahead:

Before I explain how I did it, let's look at some numbers;

Undergraduate Degree: $ 25,700 total ($ 4,283 per semester)

Graduate Degree: $18,338 total ($ 4,584 per semester)

Definitely read my whole blog post about this (linked above) but here's an uber brief overview.

Rent: 10,000CZK ($428)

Food: 2,400-4,000CZK ($100-$181)

Transportation: 120CZK ($5.15)

Drug Store Stuff: about 500-750CZK ($21-$32)

Entertainment: 400-2,400CZK ($17-$100)


Non-EEA Undergraduate Degree: € 3,247 - €3,850 per 60 credits (one year)

Non-EEA Graduate Degree: € 961 - € 3.850 per 60 credits (one year)

and keep in mind you may have to take a few preparatory classes which might add €10 to €40 per class.

Living Expenses per Month in Brussels:

As far as living expenses go though, I have been here exactly one month and can't accurately say the total costs but heres what I know so far.

Rent: €410 plus €100 in utilities

Renters Insurance: about €100 for the year depending on your coverage options

Transportation: €1 (students get a €12 pass for the year!)

yup thats what I know for sure thus far (but sign up for emails so I can notify you when I write the full updated blog!)


Okay so now that you know how much it costs to live abroad for uni...

Let's talk affordability.

I paid my tuition and living expenses three ways:

Student Jobs:

Throughout my time in Prague and Brussels, I have always had a job or two. In Prague, I was an ESL teacher at Kids&Us. I loved every minute of it and it paid higher than most student jobs in Prague. However, hours were limited in my first year so I was thankful to have savings and working definitely helped me stretch my savings out much longer.


Savings:

Savings are absolutely essential before moving abroad. I am privileged to have parents who set up a 529 college savings plan when I was born. However, any interest accrued on your savings will be lost if the money isn't spend on tuition at a college in the US. Still, we decided it was worth it to pull the money out of that account to fund my education abroad. Thanks to this account and my savings from high school jobs, I moved to Prague with $12,000.


Scholarships for International Students:

There are so many scholarships out there that will help you cover the whole cost of your degree. So, here is the list of scholarships I have found (and let sit in my notes app) over the years that are available to international students.

Skip to the section you need:

Non University Specific Scholarships:

  • Merit-Based Scholarship

    • 100% off tuition

    • Available starting your second semester based on your performance in your first semester

      • you must complete 5 courses before qualifying

    • GPA > 3.9 or UK numerical GA > 68

  • Afghan Refugee Scholarship

    • Full cost of tuition and fees and an additional 60,000czk support allowance

    • Afghan citizens evacuated from Afghanistan in August 2021

    • No deadline

  • Milena Jesenská Journalism Scholarship

    • Tuition for the program’s 4 core courses

    • For a dedicated member of the school newspaper

    • June 1st

  • Ministry of Education Accommodation Scholarship

    • 540czk per month in cash (about $300 a year)

    • Literally every foreign student gets this, you apply in like two seconds on your computer and it's just given to you twice a year

  • Bring a Friend Program

    • $500 for every student who enrolls and references you on their application

    • p.s. if you don't know anyone to write down feel free to write me :) I'm not a student anymore but because of my blog and TikTok and all that I'm technically a recruiter now so I'd appreciate it <3

  • Master Mind

    • Reduction of tuition to that which is paid by Flemish scholarship student (I think this is only like $300 but I'm not certain)

    • Deadline: February 25

    • Granted to 20 students

  • VUB Scholarships for Master of Science in Photonics Engineering

    • 10.000,- EUR/academic year

    • For the Master of Science in Photonics Engineering program

  • VUB B-PHOT Excellence Scholarships

    • 5.000,- EUR/academic year

    • For the MSc. in Photonics Engineering

  • VLIR-UOS

    • Award:

      • Waves International student fees reducing tuition to about $1,000

      • Health insurance

      • Pays for your flight to Belgium & return home

      • Logistic allowance and indirect travel costs

    • Requirements:

      • For students from countries in Africa, Asia and Latin-America

      • For MSc. in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management

      • For Interuniversity Programme in Water Resources Engineering

And don't limit yourself to this list! Your nationality, as well as the country and school you study at, will change what you qualify for.


Edited by Sophia Pedigo

Emergency Second Passport

Updated: Jun 21, 2022

In the event that your travel date is approaching and your visa still hasn't been approved, you can apply for an emergency second passport.


Not just anyone can apply to have two passports, it's actually usually illegal. But, if you meet certain criteria, an exception will be made for you.


This passport will have limited validity, usually one or two years (mine was issued for four years. I don't know why - possibly because they wanted it to last for my entire degree? not entirely sure, but I appreciate it!) It will also have fewer pages than a normal passport. Otherwise, it acts the same as a normal passport.


What are the requirements?

The Department of State specifies four situations when it is allowed.

  1. "A foreign country will deny a visa or entry to you because your passport has stamps showing travel to certain countries."

  2. "You need multiple visas on an ongoing basis because of frequent international travel."

  3. "You need a U.S. passport for urgent international travel but your application for a foreign visa is delayed or cannot be processed in time for your travel."

  4. "When you need a special validation for travel to a restricted country or area."

Mine was issued because of the 3rd situation. My visa was still processing, but my travel date was in less than 3 weeks. I guess school was considered "urgent travel," so the Department of State allowed it.


Also, I almost had a second passport issued when I lived in Malaysia because of situation 2. The Malaysian government required that I hand in my passport to cancel my visa a month before leaving. However, at the same time, I had to be applying to renew my Czech visa. (It ended up working out that I didn't need it, but I'll make a post about that mess of a situation another day.)


Customs & Immigration

This is totally legal, but when you're going through immigration in the airport and they ask you your purpose of travel, they could be thrown off when you say to study because you don't have a visa (it's illegal to study in a university abroad without having a visa).


There are two options:

  1. This is totally legal, so just tell the truth. When they ask where your visa is, refer them to the last page of the passport where there will be a stamp that says, "This passport expires [date] and was issued by the Department of State under 22 CFR 51.2.B." Explain that it was issued because your student visa is still in processing, but your studies start soon. I would keep on hand your confirmation of visa submission, confirmation of study at your university, and any other official documents that they might ask for. And tell them that once your visa is approved it will be mailed to you and you will check in with the foreign police after its arrival.

  2. I probably shouldn't give this advice, but you can lie. Sometimes it's just easier to say you're a tourist visiting for less than 90 days. Usually, it's no questions asked and they let you go. But, lying to the immigration police is illegal so, pick your battles.

Getting the Visa Once it's Approved

Once your visa is approved, you are only allowed to pick it up in the specific embassy or consulate that you applied in or from your address in your home country. Unfortunately, they will not mail it to you abroad.


Again there are two options here, both legal this time.

  1. Have a family member (or maybe a close friend if you tell the embassy/consulate in advance) pick up the visa and mail it to you. Mailing a passport is kind of sketchy, but this is the cheapest option. I recommend sending it with a really secure service (I used DHL) and have it overnighted.

    1. Also, don't miss the package! It will more likely get lost if you do. I spoke to my university reception and they agreed it would be okay if I sent it there since it was important documents. Since someone is always sitting at the reception desk, it was very unlikely that the delivery would be missed.

  2. Go back to your home country to pick up the visa and passport. This is the safest option so I guess if you have the money for it, go for it. But, overnight shipping with DHL is $90 and a round trip flight is about $500, so it's up to you.

How can I apply?


Edited by Sophia Pedigo


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