Prague; A once in a lifetime experience! Past Review

By Sarah S (PSYCHOLOGY., Middlebury College) for

UPCES - Study Abroad in Prague (CERGE-EI, Charles University)

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

Yes ! Very worthwhile! I learned how to be much more independent and easy going! I am much more culturally aware. I had never really traveled before this and it has opened my eyes. I will definitely be traveling more in the future!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The workload was less than that of Middlebury, but, that being said, I get A LOT of work at Middlebury. The grading system was pretty much the same. I figure this because I put about the same amount of effort into these classes that I do at Middlebury and received around the same grades. The teachers were a little but more laid back in the Czech Republic, and in terms of testing and assignments, were a bit more lenient about what materials we could use.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	I loved this program! it provided great opportunities for the students (field trips, speakers, etc)., which were very interesting! At the same time it gave us a lot of freedom to travel where we want to and when we wanted to. The instructors and program directors were all fabulous! They cared a lot of the program and about giving us a great, enlightening experience! My expectations were definitely met!
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?
* Food:	Czech food is HEAVY and lots of meat, which I didn't really love.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	The night scene in Prague was a lot of fun. Our program orchestrated a lot of great field trips too- To Dresden, Krakow, and Litomerice.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I did not experience any health or safety issues. Our program was great about offering medical help and educating us on what to do when sick or in a bad situation.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

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)

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?
Language acquisition improvement?	I practiced this language with other students and did use the host language in every day interactions. About half the people we encountered spoke English.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Traveling Classes Location
* What could be improved?	Food options
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	This program is great if you want a lot of freedom and don't need a ton of structure. Study in Prague if you want to travel a lot (since it is very centrally located)!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Central European Psychology
Course Department:	psychology/cultural studies
Instructor:	Craig McNulty
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course was challenging for those who have never taken a psychology course before. I, however, have taken many psych courses at Middlebury and, therefore, had learned much of the information that we were discussing. However, since this course was about central european psychology, it took the concepts that I had already learned to a new level for me. I learned about how they pertained to the population in central europe! The teacher was very knowledgeable. I participated about the same that I do in classes at Middlebury!
Credit Transfer Issues:	I am going to need to transfer this credit in order for it to count towards my psychology major. If other psych majors do this program, i would also recommend that they transfer the credit since this was the only psych course that the program offered.

Course Name/Rating:	Elementary Czech Language
Course Department:	Czech/foreign languages
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	Czech and English
Comments:	I really liked this course. It was challenging learning the Czech language. Czech was hard and not natural to me, but it helped a lot. We learned the basics of the czech language which really helped when traveling around prague, ordering at a restaurant, and meeting new people. The teacher was very good and knew how to get the concepts through to us. She was very helpful when we needed help. I tried to participate as much as i could.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I could not transfer this credit.

Course Name/Rating:	Comprehending the Holocaust
Course Department:	Philosophy/history/religious studies
Instructor:	Michal Plzak
Instruction Language:	Enlgish
Comments:	I loved this course! this is the one course, over all the others, that I would urge any student doing this program to take, It was unbelievable. We watched lived footage from the Holocaust, took field trips to concentration camps, and listened to guest speakers. This subject , as it is, is so fascinating and horrifying. Learning about it in Europe was much different that in America. You felt much more connected to the subject and the tragic event, even if you are not Jewish. I had a much greater appreciation for those involved in the Holocaust after taking this class and was truly excited to go to class every week. Additionally, the professor was great! he was very passionate about the subject and the class. All of the assignments were very relevant and interesting!
Credit Transfer Issues:	I could not transfer this credit. Even though it was considered a "philosophy" course, it did not count towards my philosophy minor.

Course Name/Rating:	Central European Philosophy
Course Department:	Philosophy
Instructor:	Juraj Hvorecky
Instruction Language:	Enlgish
Comments:	This course was very confusing and challenging, but enlightening. We studied very difficult philosophers and concepts. The readings were lengthy and hard to grasp, however the professor did a great job at explaining everything so that we could better understand. All of the tests were very relevant to the concepts and truly tested what we knew after studying the readings and notes. Even though this course proved to be one of the more difficult ones, I really learned to like it.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I am going to transfer this credit to my philosophy minor, which i would recommend to philosophy majors and minors.

Course Name/Rating:	Prague as a living history
Course Department:	history/cultural studies/art history/architecture
Instructor:	Ondrej Skripnik
Instruction Language:	Enlgish
Comments:	This course was a great way to learn about the city of prague. We used the city as the class room, which really familiarized me with the city. I learned a lot about the Czech history and how Prague came out of communism. The professor was very knowledgeable and, although he didn't speak much English, was able to really learn about Prague.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No , I did not transfer this credit.