Prague is a fun, relaxing, and exciting place to live! Past Review

By A student (Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies., Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/28/2013 to 05/24/2013 with

New York University: Prague - NYU in Prague

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

It was definitely worth while! I learned that who you travel and spend your time with is the most important thing. And that studying abroad is the best time to go out on a limb and be uncomfortable. Make as many friends as you can while abroad.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?
* Food:	Czech food is very heavy and relatively unhealthy. Very delicious but difficult to eat all semester. Finding vegitarian food is possible but not easy.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	Seeing a doctor was easy and the program provided health issurance so we did not have to pay for doctors visits. We did have to pay for medication/perscriptions on our own but they are pretty cheap in the Czech Republic.
* Safety:	Prague is a safe city, and you just have to watch out for pickpockets and cab drivers who rip you off. I never felt unsafe in any part of the city, even late at night.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	No

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)	Food and beer are extremely cheap in Prague, but traveling is more expensive and flights hard to get.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	$50

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language	Most people in Prague spoke English
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	None
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Beginner

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	the campus how well we were taken care of the dorms
* What could be improved?	it was almost all NYU students some of the teachers were not great
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	A lot of the students on this program are going abroad with friends and most are froom NYU. And NYU Prague is not as strict as they try to sound.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.	The Outright Urbanite A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Gender in Transition in a Post-Communist Society
Course Department:	Sociology
Instructor:	Jaroslava Gajdosova
Instruction Language:	English (second) Czech (first)
Comments:	THis course's name was extremely misleading. It turned out to be similar to an intro women studies class with mostly Western readings and had little to do with women in Central Europe. I was very disappointed and the professor was poor at facilitating conversation and allowing dialog to take its course.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Elementary Czech Language
Course Department:	Language
Instructor:	Ilona Sarsonova
Instruction Language:	English (second) Czech (first)
Comments:	I loved this class and found it fun and useflu to know a little Czech. It is a very difficult language, but I am poor at languages and did well in the class. Ilona is an amazing professor and I would recommend her to anyone. The class was largely based on participation and there was not much homework.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Collective Identity in a Totalitarian Regime
Course Department:	Sociology
Instructor:	Vanda Thorne
Instruction Language:	English (second) Czech (first)
Comments:	This was an amazing class and extremely useful. It really gave me a better understanding of the country I was studying in and the people and their custons. Vanda was interesting and fun. She tooks us on a handful of enjoyable and educational field trips to place in Prage we otherwise would not have seen. There were readings once or twice a week, sometimes not at all. They were interesting and on topic. The papers assigned were short, and the tests were extremely fair, and anyone could do well if they paid any attention during class. I would strongly urge anyone going on this program to take this course. I got a lot out of it and had fun at the same time.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Media and Cultural Analysis
Course Department:	Media, Communications, and Culture
Instructor:	Tomas Trampota
Instruction Language:	English (second) Czech (first)
Comments:	This course was very easy and required minimal work. However, it was pretty boring and I didn't really learn much. The professor also taught at Charles University and put that work above his teaching at NYU Prague. He was not dedicated to the class and so the students found it hard to pay attention and attendence was often low. He was an easy grader though, and the assignments were fair.
Credit Transfer Issues: