In Four Months, Learning the Music, Arts, and Language of Prague Past Review
By Claire L (Visual Arts, Fordham University) for
SIT Study Abroad: Czech Republic - Arts and Social Change
I am so much more mature, confident, and independent after spending four months in a foreign place.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Heavy workload but valuable information, prefer round-table open discussion rather than lectures |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
My academic director Sarah Brock was extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and responsible. She assisted all of us greatly during the entire duration of the program. Strengths were SIT's small size (13 students) and SIT-led excursions to other areas of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was extremely close to the city and my school which was fantastic. My host family was splendid and supplied me with all my needs bedroom to daily dinner. I was treated at first like an American guest but grew in time to be another daughter of theirs. |
| * Food: |
i hope you like bread and cheese |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Excursions out of Prague to rural Bohemia, to Slovakia, to Poland, to Dresden were outstanding and really broke up the program nicely. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt safer in Prague at 3 AM alone on the streets than I do in the Bronx at 2 in the afternoon on a sunny day. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Prague is cheap, especially if you're living with a family who'll feed you. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you plan on traveling to other countries everywhere else uses the Euro and it's quite expensive. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Spoke Czech with Homestay family, Czech friends, Czech teachers, American students Learned as much as possible in four months, people speak English but you will have a much superior experience if you try and speak Czech |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Absolutely do it, you'll learn so much about the Czech culture, people, and history and you will feel a part of something bigger than yourself. |
