Adventures in Austria: Learning a Language and Unique Culture Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The bureaucratic system at my university left a number of things to be desired. At one point I was not enrolled in an orientation at the correct date and had to wait a month, at which point much of the information was irrelevant. It was not likely to be an error on my part, since I met three other students that day that had the same experience. In addition, WIST, the student housing organization, is absolutely horrible. It took them a month to get me internet, and in their dorms, the internet routinely goes off and may come back on in an hour, a day, or a week. I recommend students find other housing-ANY other housing. The SUNY program is extremely useful. They offer content courses taught in German for American students. It's free, and the quality of instruction was high. (In two cases-in a third, the "professor" was a media professional who had no idea what he was doing. Classes in the general university are well and interestingly taught, but high level. Some classes are offered to non-native speakers, and these are on par with upper level university courses at Western. Classes for native speakers are much, much harder. I would recommend Graz to students that speak minimal German and will take classes in English, and to students that speak German very well and want a challenge.

On-site administration of your program

In a way, it's strange to rate administration of my direct exchange, because I was very much on my own. The on site administration provides very well for some things. They will arrange where you live, have someone pick you up, and explain some necessary processes to you. But there's nothing like the level of support you would expect from a more structured program. That actually worked out all right for me. Intimidating as it was, the experience was more valuable to me.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I rated my housing satisfaction so low because of my extreme disappointment with WIST, the company that arranges it. The dorm was in a sketchy part of town, where I was verbally harassed many times and actually grabbed once. (Thanks to six years of martial arts, that worked out fine for me. None the less, it wasn't pleasant.) They took a month to connect my internet, and it was spotty once they did. The room was immediately above a party room that had weekly, extremely loud parties from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m.. Hot water supply was barely adequate. I'm not sure why I didn't move out after the first semester. Probably insanity induced by an intolerable living situation.

The food was amazing. If you are homesick for an American style grocery, try Merkur. It's not the same, but it's the closest. The Thai place at the corner of Keplerstrasse and Babenbergerstrasse is amazing and inexpensive. I miss the street food horribly. Donner, wonderful donner!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Auf Steiern, Weihnachtsmarkte, Weinstrassenfaehrte...Graz has the most wonderful festivals you can imagine. All exchange students can sign up with Erasmus and inexpensively go on trips. Very worthwhile!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Graz is a safe city...kind of. I lived in the area near the main train station. I had to deal with a lot of harassment and solicitation. On the other hand, I was never seriously attacked. Health care, on the other hand, is fantastic. I saw two doctors during my time abroad, both positive experiences.

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

In Graz, how much your German improves is very dependent on how much work you put into it. There are opportunities to speak German every day in almost every situation...but if you are lazy, it is easy to get by with English.

Select all that apply

• Apartment
• Dorm

Select all that apply

• International Students
• Local Students

• Graz is amazingly beautiful. I had fantastic opportunities to be challenged and to work, and I experienced a lot of growth.

• WIST. Not staying in their dorms would have improved my stay immensely.