The Magical City of Prague Past Review
By Hannah V (University of Maine at Orono) - abroad from 01/19/2013 to 05/10/2013 with
USAC Czech Republic: Prague - Politics, Culture, and the Arts
I gained a more international perspective. It's a very humbling experience being a non-native speaker of a national language. I gained self-confidence by dealing with situations that were very foreign to me all by myself. It was absolutely a worthwhile experience.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Courses were fairly easy, and would have benefited by the presence of Czech students |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our program director, Jan Stodola, was always very helpful and a pleasure to talk to. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The apartments were great, but were on the fifth floor with no working elevators. |
| * Food: |
In this program, you are responsible for your own food. Czech food was very good though, lots of meat and potatoes. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I met very few Czech people my own age. However, I didn't feel like a visitor in Prague, I felt like a full resident of the city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't have any experience with healthcare, but the process was explained very clearly to us. It is a bit of a bureaucratic process to be reimbursed though. |
| * Safety: |
I never had any safety related issues. |
| 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) |
Prague is very cheap, it's possible to get a full meal and a beer for $5. I only had trouble staying within my travel budget. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 70 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Budget a lot of money for travel. You think you won't need it, but you will. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| 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 |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 203 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | This trip will change your life. You will want to travel a lot, even though you think you won't. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
