Czech Pepublic: A Different, yet Amazing Life Changing Experience Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

It was great because there wasn't too much work to complete outside the classroom however I still felt like I learned as much if not more than I do in a semester at my current university. It was much more hands on learning and it made the experience even richer. It was also nice not to be spending so much time inside working on homework when you are abroad with some many things to see and do. It was a nice balance. One thing to note is that you have to ask the professors specifically what they expect from you, they don't hold you hands like many professors in America do nor do they outline every detail they expect from you. You must be proactive.

On-site administration of your program

The two women who organized everything for us were very intelligent and capable. I really liked them and thought they did a lot for us to get us more acclimated to Czech culture. I thought the classes were great as well as the professors. Things that could be improved is integrating us more into Charles University so we could have had more opportunities to mix with the local students. Our classes were held in the basement so we rarely saw other students. I only got a few chances to meet and chat with local Czech people and I felt very much distant from them because of that. It was more like an extended vacation than an immersion experience, though this wasn't entirely a negative thing. It may just be the Czech culture to be more distant at first and then warm up over time. The program size was good for the most part, however the diversity of students was not. I don't know if there was a way to control this, but out of 28 students in our program, 16 were from DU and 6 were from CU. Such a monopoly of DU students was really a negative thing for me. They all seemed like they were solely there to get drunk and party most nights, and would complain when we did cultural learning things. The group dynamic because of this type of student (again mainly the DU students) was very negative for me and really affected my experience. I do think that if the student distribution had been from all over the country the clicks wouldn't have formed as quickly and there might have been a more positive vibe.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I did like living in an apartment, however not many Czech people lived there. It was a lot of British people who owned them and lived in them half the time. This made it quiet, and hard to get to know any locals. However the apartment itself was very spacious and nice. We had to buy sheets and cleaning supplies but everything else was provided. We roomed with three other people of the same sex from the program and it was fine. It was really convenient to get to class and to go out at night. I felt extremely safe there and the public transportation was literally a block away. We all had grocery stores nearby which made daily shopping for food easy.

There were good restaurants near every apartment and they gave us a handbook on the best ones in Prague. Otherwise there were grocery stores nearby each apartment and it made cooking no problem. They do eat a ton of meat there so vegetarians sometimes have a problem eating an entree in a restaurant, luckily they do have meatless sides.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I loved all the excursions they set up for us to go on. Though it was a whirlwind tour anytime we went somewhere, it was still cool to go to places like Germany and Austria I wouldn't have made it to on my own. They also take you to other places in the Czech Republic so you get a taste for the whole country instead of just Prague. They arranged several special events for us and if the group had been more culturally inclined these would have been fantastic. As it was only two or three of us would attend, but I still liked what they did for us.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not have a personal experience with healthcare, however my roommate got a hundred bedbug bites from a hostel in Hungary (this doesn't mean it's dirty, bedbugs are a problem everywhere in the world) and the doctors didn't really have much advice for her on what to take for her severe allergic reaction. She was fine, but had a few painful days. Also several people went to the hospital over the course of the semester (usually for falling injuries-- don't wear heels here) and though the doctors knew what they were doing, they did not communicate with the patient about what was going on, even though we had our group leaders were there with us and could translate. They also really didn't explain how to take care of yourself after leaving the hospital (i.e. with stitches). Again you have to be proactive here and ask questions if you want to know. Other than that I felt extremely safe in Prague and none of us ever had any issues at night. Even though I probably shouldn't have, I (as a girl) would walk home alone some nights and though I was very aware of those around me I never felt unsafe. Just let people know where you are going and when to expect you and be smart. There weren't any health issues there that we don't see here and food contamination wasn't an issue either.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

There were limited opportunities to practice with people who spoke the language as the locals would tend to switch to English if they realized you were American. However after the two week intensive language course the group leaders did offer a weekly course so we could keep up with and learn more Czech. Since Czech is a difficult language it didn't really help me become better at speaking with the locals, but it was nice to be able to practice anyway and it made me a little more confident in using the language.

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• Apartment

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• Americans