Study Abroad in Prague Past Review

By (History And Political Science, Austin College) for

AIFS: Prague - Charles University

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

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Charles University
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.

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.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

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:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

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. <br /><br /> 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:

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.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I have something called a 'pre and post-Vienna' experience in Prague. I didn't have any friends before AIFS' trip to Vienna, but as I was filling out in what room to stay in in the hotel in Vienna, the girl sitting next to me in the bus told me I could room with her and her two friends. I was pretty shocked by this and I, of course, accepted. I had wanted to be friends with her anyway and she was actually the first person I spoke to on the program. She was interesting, and her two friends were genuinely good people who liked interesting things. I knew I wanted to be friends with them. We hung out every day in Vienna and after Vienna, hung out nearly every day in Prague. We went to restaurants, went exploring, to concerts, etc. It was from them that I met interesting people from various countries and cities. We all helped each other in this way, I think. We hung out with mostly Czechs and foreigners. We very rarely hung out with other people from the program. I went to many concerts in Prague and this is how I became very good friends with a girl from Slovakia, who was a part of a collective of a concert space and art gallery. She's a very good photographer and one of the nicest people I've ever met. We still talk today. I've been to more concerts in Prague than I have in a long time.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

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.

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? I don't want to think about that.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Oversized/added luggage kills you at the airport, so pack very wisely. Ship things home. I did this three times and my packages got home safely, though it was very expensive and the post office was sort of scary to go to.

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 because Czech isn't offered.
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

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.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students
  • Americans
  • Local Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? There's not a 'type' of student that would benefit from this program more than others.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

The Attraction of Communism

Course Department: CUFA ART/LIT 368
Instructor: Pavel Černovský
Instruction Language: English
Comments: 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.
Credit Transfer Issues: 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 Name/Rating:

Czech and Central European History

Course Department: CUFA HIS 318
Instructor: Petr Svobodný
Instruction Language: English
Comments: 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.
Credit Transfer Issues: Not that I know of.
Course Name/Rating:

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

Course Department: CUFA LIT 322
Instructor: Bernie Higgins
Instruction Language: English
Comments: 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.
Credit Transfer Issues: Not that I know of.
Course Name/Rating:

Contemporary Central-European Politics

Course Department: CUFA POL 311
Instructor: Jiří Holub
Instruction Language: English
Comments: 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.
Credit Transfer Issues: Not that I know of.