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Study Abroad Program Review of AIFS: Prague - Charles University

Submitted by mh. (History, Political Science,female,Austin College) on August 8th, 2010

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Academics
Language
Housing & Food
Culture & Health
Final Opinion

Personal Information

Start Date:

Jan 26, 2010

End Date:

May 22, 2010

If you enrolled at multiple foreign universities, please list them here:

Charles University

International exposure prior to program?

2 weeks-1 month

Academics Overall

**Overall educational experience:

**Comment:

The workload in general was tolerable, though I only had to read things for class the next day and show up and pay attention to lectures. Towards the end, I finally had to write decent sized papers for three classes. The teaching methods, overall, weren't that different from my college. One professor, I felt as if I could not approach at all, and generally, the professors were not that eager to get in touch outside of class hours, except for one who was very email-interested and liked to take frequent trips with his students.

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Course Title:

The Attraction of Communism

Course Department and Number:

CUFA ART/LIT 368

Instructor:

Pavel Černovský

Language of Instruction:

English

Please comment on the course:

This course was not really challenging at all. The professor didn't expect you to purchase the reader for the class. He asked us a lot for recommendations for the class. I felt like the classes overlapped a lot, and this was one of the main topics that was overlapped- Communism. What I liked about the class a lot was that we saw a lot of art and watched films. I wanted this because I wanted to take both an art class and a film class and I got this here without a 'critical' view of that, because I hate that. We just looked and watched and enjoyed them, the way things should be done. Also, we had a focus on poetry, which was nice too. I enjoyed writing my final paper for this class, which the professor called it the best paper he's ever received. The professor was extremely laid-back and took us to local cafes and parks to discuss our classwork that day.

Please rate the course overall:

Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

Not that I know of. I think people are just confused as how to classify this class- is it an English class, a Sociology class, a History class...?

Course

**Course Title:

Snapshots of a Changing Landscape: Currents in post 1989 Czech Literature

**Course Department and Number:

CUFA LIT 322

**Instructor:

Bernie Higgins

**Language of Instruction:

English

**Please comment on the course:

This was the most specialized class I took. I could not take this class anywhere else. I enjoyed mostly every story, poem I read. We lacked on class discussion, which was kind of disappointing, especially for those of us who read the texts. We didn't analyze, which was good since that's what English classes do. I was lucky to take an English class, finally, without any prerecs. I wanted to get into more worldly literature and I definitely did with this class. The professor is very involved with poetry in Prague and Czech Radio as well, so I really admired her for that.

**Please rate the course overall:

**Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

Not that I know of.

Course

**Course Title:

Contemporary Central-European Politics

**Course Department and Number:

CUFA POL 311

**Instructor:

Jiří Holub

**Language of Instruction:

English

**Please comment on the course:

This was my favorite class by far. I learned so much more than I expected to. I became interested in subjects I never thought I would be interested in- Austrian housing policies, the EU, etc. This class blew my mind. We covered the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and the EU, though I would have liked if we studied Slovakia as well. The professor was so interested in the subject and made sure we understood it. We took a field trip to a Czech village and then to a pub.

**Please rate the course overall:

**Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

Not that I know of.

Course

**Course Title:

Czech and Central European History

**Course Department and Number:

CUFA HIS 318

**Instructor:

Petr Svobodný

**Language of Instruction:

English

**Please comment on the course:

I felt like I could not approach this professor at all. The first part of this class was quite boring (for the most part, I can't stand ancient history) and then it became interesting. Like I said before, the classes tended to overlap, and it was especially evident in this class where we went in chronological order, of course. It was just a good class, but nothing I couldn't find out about elsewhere.

**Please rate the course overall:

**Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

Not that I know of.

Language Overall

Foreign language component?

Yes

**Language acquisition improvement?

**Comment:

I practiced language with my American and Czech friends. It was easier if you knew the language, so I tried as best as I could from what I could remember at the time. Helpful especially during busy lunch hours. Most people did not speak English, but a good deal of them did or knew a little bit of English.

Host Country Program Administration Overall

**On-site administration of your program:

**Please explain the program's strengths and weaknesses:

The program directors were very accessible and helpful and if I had trouble with anything, I knew I could send them an email and they would respond very quickly. They provided a good packet with all the information that we needed on our first week. They gave us their contact information. I didn't have a Czech cell phone, so I had to email them. They were very knowledgeable about Prague, the Czech Republic, and surrounding countries. My expectations were exceeded.

Housing Overall

Living arrangements? (all that apply):

Dorm

Who did you live with?

Americans

International Students

Local Students

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

**Housing satisfaction:

**Comment:

Masarykova kolej, in Prague 6. It was a dorm with American students from our program, Czech students, and international students. It was also a hotel.

The dorm I stayed in was a 5-minute walk to the Metro at the end of the green line, so that was very, very helpful and convenient. It was three stops to the main building and four stops to the other school building. It was near restaurants and the post office. The neighborhood was very safe and I never felt like I was in danger. I didn't need to buy any sheets, pillows, or cookware because that was provided. Many people chose to do so because it made them feel more comfortable, but I didn't. The staff at the dorm were not very friendly, however. The downstairs restaurant at the dorm was very good and I would eat there about 2-3 times a week.

Food Overall

**Food satisfaction:

**Comment:

I never went to the university's cafeteria and ate at restaurants frequently. It's a good thing that Prague is a cheap city to live in, otherwise, I would have had a problem. I wasn't a vegetarian then, so eating in restaurants was easy. My vegetarian friend had a problem with this, however. I rarely cooked in the dorm because we didn't have a toaster or microwave or a stove and had to rely on the hotplate. Overall, the food selection in restaurants was very good. Typically, Czech food is heavy and unhealthy, so I tended not to eat a lot of it. You can find plenty of familiar foods Thai, Chinese, American, etc. food. Since I'm from Houston, I am used to very good Tex-Mex food, and there was only one restaurant I found that could pull off a successful Tex-Mex dish.

Safety and Health Overall

**How well were health issues addressed through your program?

**Safety:

**Comment:

Prague is very safe as far as crimes and things like that go. I read a very good statistic that I can't quite remember regarding the lack of crime in this city. The only thing to worry about was pickpocketing and I was nearly a victim of this as I was going up the escalator to class in the morning. My backpack was unzipped. A lady behind me pointed this out and I said thank you in Czech and rushed to the main building of the university and made sure everything was still there. I was panicking, but luckily, nothing was missing. I had a big health problem the first month I was in Prague (I had a respiratory infection) that caused me to miss a week of class. I went to the doctor that AIFS provided in the same building and got medicine. I paid for it with my money then was reimbursed later. I was reimbursed two weeks ago, actually, so it is an inconvenience if you're in need of money, but the program director made sure the check was sent to my home.

Money Overall

**How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

General Assessment Overall

**Words of wisdom:

There's not a 'type' of student that would benefit from this program more than others.

**If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program?

Yes

**Overall satisfaction with your study abroad experience:

**Was your study abroad experience worthwhile?

It was worthwhile. Of course it changed me and increased my cultural awareness; it would be silly if it didn't. I learned that Central and Eastern European History and Politics are two of the most interesting subjects I've encountered and plan to study them in the future. I thought I wanted to, but I was very unfamiliar with them.

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Study Abroad Program Review of AIFS: Prague - Charles University

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