MICHAELA: I LIVE IN CZECH REPUBLIC...

Have you ever wondered what life is like in other parts of the world? We asked reader MICHAELA what it's like to live in Czech Republic...

Michaela says:
My home country is Czech Republic, a small country in Eastern Europe. I live in Prague, the capital, but not in the centre - there are some great parks and forests where I live. We are not so different from the UK - for example, we love football too. The difference is that you are good at it! When it comes to schools, it is quite different... we start school later than in UK, at age six, and we do not wear uniform. If you think this is better, you are wrong - children who do not have the money or style to dress fashionably can be lonely, perhaps even picked on or bullied because of this. So perhaps uniform would be better!

At fifteen we go to high school and at eighteen we leave to start work or go to university. I love geography and tourism and I dream of travelling to other countries, to America, Asia, Africa, to go to the opera in Sydney, and most of all to Britain - I would love to live there one day. From my childhood it is my dream - in the picture you can see me dressed as Charlie Chaplin in my bedroom, with union jack posters and a London bus image on the wall!

I am proud of Czech republic for her history - of our queens and kings from long ago and our struggle in World War Two. I am proud of our national foods, Svickova (beef in cream sauce), Gulas (goulash soup made with potatoes) and Knedloveprozelo (roast pork, dumplings and saurkraut - a kind of pickled cabbage). I am proud of our city with its beautiful sights, old houses, restaurants and much more. There are some things I would change about Czech Republic, but not much - our history and traditions are what have made us unique and special.

I started learning English at age eight or nine and now I am learning more still as my current teacher does not speak Czech so everything we do is in English! I love to read and by the age of eight I had read all the Harry Potter books and soon after that decided I wanted to be a writer too. My dream is to publish a book. Another dream was to talk with my favourite writer, and that came true... it still seems funny to me but I wonder now why I was so shy before. I loved Cathy's books and still love them, but I thought my English would not be good enough. Now I am writing about Czech republic for other Cathy Cassidy readers around the world to read! So my message is, don't be shy - try for the things you dream of. It can come true!

Cathy says:
Wow! I have never been to Prague, but Michaela's description makes me want to! Have you ever been to Czech Republic? Or are you a reader living outside UK/ Ireland who would like to write about your OWN country for DREAMCATCHER? COMMENT BELOW to tell all!