Jay DeYonker

NYU alum ditches Manhattan for Máchova

By Tori McCarthy

Jay DeYonker spent the Fall 2009 semester in Prague as part of New York University’s study abroad program. Two years later, he’s back – not as a student, but working as a residential assistant in NYU’s Máchova dorm. Jay talks about his experience transitioning from Times Square to Wenceslas Square as well as his experience as a member of the LGBT community here in the Czech Republic:

The Prague Wanderer: How did you come to be an RA?

Jay DeYonker: Well, I had spent four months here like you … It was a life-changing experience. I had never really lived anywhere else besides New York or New Jersey and I was loving it. I went home after my four months to finish school but I never really got back into my groove in New York. Something always felt a little bit different than the way it used to feel. After I graduated, I tried being an actor in New York, auditioning like crazy for six or nine months. And meanwhile I kept thinking, “Damn, it would be so nice to go back to Prague.” So I figured it was a time in my life I could do something different … Why not go back? I slowly planned and was like, “Oh, I have an idea! I’ll work for NYU. Maybe they’ll give me a job.”

What was it like returning to New York to finish school and graduate?

Something didn’t look the same when I got home. New York didn’t look the same. It’s hard to explain but I felt this phoniness about New York culture that does not exist in Prague. There’s something very dressed-up about New York and about New Yorkers. Maybe it’s not just New York, and it’s myself included, but I think the way we Americans are … very accustomed to putting something on for strangers. I kind of enjoy the gritty, real, no-mask culture here.

Speaking of which, how were you received as a member of the LGBT community when you first came to the Czech Republic?

My first week in Prague, I got punched in the face because I was kissing some guy in the street. But for some reason I wasn’t angry, I was more like “Holy shit! I’m in a new place – here we go.” However, I’ve asked a lot of Czechs and that [violent behavior] does not seem to be normal. It was really some kind of a fluke.

Do you think attitudes have changed at all since you’ve come back?

I got to Prague again in February and I heard that in August there would be a Pride Parade. I found out [Prague] was the last European capital to have a Pride Parade. Then I was asked to create a show for Pride and be a part of it. It was amazing. But I was wondering, “How are Czechs gonna respond?” I was nervous. I was really nervous. But I did it anyway and, from my experience, Czechs were not terrified, were not angry, were not grossed out, were not mean. They were amused and entertained. Everyone was laughing and smiling. The protestors looked foolish and angry. Prague embraced it. It gives me chills. It’ll give me chills for a long time.