PACKING AND TRAVELING:
Specifically, what kind of linens did you need to bring? What are you glad you packed from home? What do you wish you had left at home? Do you have any travel tips to pass on (planning advice, safety considerations, guidebooks, train vs bus, etc)? What places would you advise future students to see and why?
There was nothing that was required. All of the bedding is provided for you at neředín. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, you are able to go to the front dest and switch out sheets for fresh ones. They also provided us with a small towel, but I was very happy that I brought my own from home that was bigger, so bring a towel. I am glad that I brought my light jacket because it rains quite a bit and can get a little chilly. I also brought my heavy duty winter coat and I wish that I would have left this at home. I brought it because the year before us experienced (from what I understood) some heavy snowfall. I have not used mine even once, it has hung on a hook the whole time. I guess it will be a good pillow for the plane ride back?
Traveling tips are something that almost just need to be experienced in order to figure it out yourself. However I will give it my best effort to pass along what I have learned. Bring a hiking backpack, these are perfect for one or even two week travels. I purchased a passport wallet, and it has made my life really easy. It allows you to keep you money, cards, ids, and passport together and it is small enough that you can discretely keep it close to you while also having quick access to the items inside. PLAN AHEAD FOR TRIPS!! I cannot stress enough that you need to book tickets/hostels/plans at Least three weeks ahead of time. Spring break should be booked before you come overseas. Some of us had quite a heck of a time booking things last minute. Lets just say at one point I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to get back home from Rome without spending $600 on a one way ticket. So the sooner you book things, the cheaper tickets will be, and it will be a lot of stress that you can avoid. As far as what type of transportation, I liked traveling by train the most. It is a little pricey, but I was able to understand the trains and they are very quick. Buses are very cheap, but it takes almost twice the amount of time to get to your destination and back. Both are fairly comfortable. Air travel is pricey as well, but it is the fastest and safest way to travel (as long as you DO NOT miss your flight). I also used Student Agency quite a bit to book my trains and busses, very easy to work with. You can find their office right off of the main square.
Traveling tips are something that almost just need to be experienced in order to figure it out yourself. However I will give it my best effort to pass along what I have learned. Bring a hiking backpack, these are perfect for one or even two week travels. I purchased a passport wallet, and it has made my life really easy. It allows you to keep you money, cards, ids, and passport together and it is small enough that you can discretely keep it close to you while also having quick access to the items inside. PLAN AHEAD FOR TRIPS!! I cannot stress enough that you need to book tickets/hostels/plans at Least three weeks ahead of time. Spring break should be booked before you come overseas. Some of us had quite a heck of a time booking things last minute. Lets just say at one point I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to get back home from Rome without spending $600 on a one way ticket. So the sooner you book things, the cheaper tickets will be, and it will be a lot of stress that you can avoid. As far as what type of transportation, I liked traveling by train the most. It is a little pricey, but I was able to understand the trains and they are very quick. Buses are very cheap, but it takes almost twice the amount of time to get to your destination and back. Both are fairly comfortable. Air travel is pricey as well, but it is the fastest and safest way to travel (as long as you DO NOT miss your flight). I also used Student Agency quite a bit to book my trains and busses, very easy to work with. You can find their office right off of the main square.
SOCIAL LIFE:
How did you meet students from you host country? How did you like to spend your free time and why? Is there anything you regret not doing more of in your free time? What opportunities for social, recreational and cultural events that the host university or program offered did you like best and why? What piece of advice would you give to future students regarding their non-academic life while overseas?
Unfortunately, I did not meet a lot of students from the Czech. We are housed in neředín, and most of the other Erasmus students are in a different dormitory across town. I was able to meet a handful by going out to bars and being social. A lot of times, Erasmus students will have small little events that are fun to go to and a great place to meet new friends. They have a Facebook page and most everything is posted there.
In my free time I did a lot really. There is so much to do, even in our “small” town of Olomouc. There is a huge mall, movie theaters, great parks, cafes, and bars. The list goes on, so I would just say don’t be afraid to just go out and explore the town. I personally wish that I would have gone to the parks more.
Throughout my time here, there have been many little festivals/concerts in Olomouc. They are very fun to go to. Its a great look inside the local culture. You are able to see some great live music (most of the time its in Czech, but still good to listen to), try some amazing food, and see some of the local crafts and specialties.
My piece of advice to the future groups that are coming to Olomouc would be don't be afraid to explore and leave your comfort zone. You never know how you will like something until you try it a couple times. So if you find yourself board sitting in your room, go get on a tram you have never been on and see were it takes you. Most likely you will find something new and fun. On your free weekends, travel! Go see whats out there!
In my free time I did a lot really. There is so much to do, even in our “small” town of Olomouc. There is a huge mall, movie theaters, great parks, cafes, and bars. The list goes on, so I would just say don’t be afraid to just go out and explore the town. I personally wish that I would have gone to the parks more.
Throughout my time here, there have been many little festivals/concerts in Olomouc. They are very fun to go to. Its a great look inside the local culture. You are able to see some great live music (most of the time its in Czech, but still good to listen to), try some amazing food, and see some of the local crafts and specialties.
My piece of advice to the future groups that are coming to Olomouc would be don't be afraid to explore and leave your comfort zone. You never know how you will like something until you try it a couple times. So if you find yourself board sitting in your room, go get on a tram you have never been on and see were it takes you. Most likely you will find something new and fun. On your free weekends, travel! Go see whats out there!
SCHOOL WORK:
How did your academic experience at Palacky differ from your US experiences concerning 1) Relations with professors/classroom instruction. 2) Grading. 3) Study habits. 4) Library. Also, what enabled/hindered your successful academic experience?
It is quite different here, academically. There is not a campus with everything in one place. The buildings are located throughout the town. This is because most of the buildings that Palacky uses have been donated to them by the Catholic Church. So it is a little strange at first but you get used to it. As far as the professors, mostly we just had lectures. We had a different lecturer almost every time. As long as you work hard, grading won’t be a problem just like it is back home. The same goes for study habits. I guess I didn't really have to study quite as bit here as I would at UNK.
MONEY & COMMUNICATIONS:
How much money in US currency would you recommend students have at their disposal for their whole time overseas? How much money did you have in foreign currency when you left for the program and was it enough? How did you manage your money (credit cards, traveler's checks, bank accounts, etc)? How and where did you access your money? How much money did you spend on books, school supplies, food, entertainment, local transportation, travel, toiletries, airfare, laundry? How did you communicate with the US? What would you recommend to future students (eg: calling card, Skype, set up email account, etc).
So when we came on our trip, they recommended that one should bring at least $3,000. I think that this estimate should go up to $4,000. I brought $5,000, and I never really had to worry about money. I also have traveled quite a bit. I am sure that one would be able to get along fine with just $3,000, but you would also be very limited as to what you could do. I think one should put aside $1,000 for spring break alone.
I had no foreign currency when I left the U.S., I stopped at an ATM in the Prague airport and that was perfect. Every week I pulled out cash from my account and dealt mainly with cash, it is easier that way. Not all places take cards. I managed my money by making a budget plan before I left and this was one of the best things I did before the trip. It allowed me to keep on track, and if I went over I knew that I would have to cut one week a little bit.
Books are provided for your Czech language class. I did buy a book that we had to read for our history class, but this is a course taught by a UNK professor. I also went to Globus (a Czech Walmart) and purchased two notebooks. In total I maybe spent $20 on school supplies. Food and entertainment for me was a big part of my budget. I guess I typically allowed myself $30 a day to eat out or to go to bars or clubs, sometimes more depending on the week and where we were at. You will be provided with a public transportation pass for Olomouc, but in other towns it is really cheep. Like a couple dollars for a 2 hour pass. Like I said earlier, airfare is expensive. Also the laundry is free if you choose to do it at the dorms, but I chose to pay $10 a week to go to the laundry matt.
Use Skype. It is free and easy to use. Facebook and emails are also nice to use. I guess I did download an app call “Whatsapp” so I could text a few of my friends back home.
I had no foreign currency when I left the U.S., I stopped at an ATM in the Prague airport and that was perfect. Every week I pulled out cash from my account and dealt mainly with cash, it is easier that way. Not all places take cards. I managed my money by making a budget plan before I left and this was one of the best things I did before the trip. It allowed me to keep on track, and if I went over I knew that I would have to cut one week a little bit.
Books are provided for your Czech language class. I did buy a book that we had to read for our history class, but this is a course taught by a UNK professor. I also went to Globus (a Czech Walmart) and purchased two notebooks. In total I maybe spent $20 on school supplies. Food and entertainment for me was a big part of my budget. I guess I typically allowed myself $30 a day to eat out or to go to bars or clubs, sometimes more depending on the week and where we were at. You will be provided with a public transportation pass for Olomouc, but in other towns it is really cheep. Like a couple dollars for a 2 hour pass. Like I said earlier, airfare is expensive. Also the laundry is free if you choose to do it at the dorms, but I chose to pay $10 a week to go to the laundry matt.
Use Skype. It is free and easy to use. Facebook and emails are also nice to use. I guess I did download an app call “Whatsapp” so I could text a few of my friends back home.
OTHER COMMENTS/TIPS: Anything pertaining to your experience overseas not included above. Example: take rain gear and warm clothes.
I guess I would say, before you go anywhere, do a little research about where you are traveling to. Use travel books, apps, or podcasts. Rick Steves has some great stuff for all over Europe. You can download his podcast for specific cities and places to see and he is like your own personal guide on your iPod. Also get the Trip Advisor app on your phone, great maps of towns and places to see, eat, and experience. Oh yeah and you can bring your phone, just make sure you contact your cell provider and let them know that you are going to be overseas. For me, they just deactivated my phone so that way I wouldn’t have a HUGE cellphone bill when I returned home. Also, make sure you go to your bank and tell them where and when you will be traveling. It would suck to get over to Europe and have no money.
Top 6 Must-Do-Activities:
- Go to Budapest: I loved this city, it was by far one of my favorite cities. It is not included in the scheduled course, So I would HIGHLY recommend using one of your free weekends to go here. There is quite a lot to do, and you will not be able to get to everything that you would like in just one weekend. That is ok, it gives you an excuse to come back! :D
- At the dorms you stay at, there are washers (no dryers) and they are not that nice. I actually never even did my laundry here, instead I went right down the street to a laundry matt. Here they have washers and dryers. It is a little expensive (150 to wash, and 50 to dry = $10). The price is SO worth it. It includes your laundry soap, and your clothes are washed and dried in under 1 hour. I would much rather do this than have wet damp clothes hanging all over my room for a whole day. George is the owner of this laundry matt and he is one of the nicest Czechs I have met, very helpful and pleasant.
- Always choose the Free Walking tour in any city you go to! These free walking tours are great. First of pall they are free!! Who wouldn’t like that? The guides also work for tips. So they are usually very eager to be friendly and open to any questions you may have, because if they didn’t do a good job, they would never get a tip. So you are able to pay what you think the guide deserves, and you get to see the best parts of the city. On these tours, you will also meet other cool tourist that are typically younger. So if you meet people here, they can give you advise of their own or possibly go out on the town with your new friends!
- Go off the beaten path! When you are in bigger towns like Prague where there are going to be a lot of tourists, get out of the main attraction. I mean make sure to see everything, but when it comes time to eat don’t stay there. All of the cheapest and best restaurants are going to be the small places hidden from the main attractions. If you just let yourself wonder around, you will almost find a new fantastic place to eat or have a cup of coffee.
- Go to Saint Wenceslaus in Olomouc. It is a brewery that has some great beer and AMAZING food! This place is a fun environment with some of the best Czech food I have had. It is Inexpensive with large proportions. Make sure you go in earlier in the day to make reservations if you are planning on eating there at night. It is a popular place with the locals and it can get quite full. This tip goes with anything in Europe, make reservations ahead of time and you will not have to be disappointed.
- Alfredos in Venice has the BEST pasta I have ever had in my life. It is one of those off of the beaten path places. Venice is hard to navigate, and this place is Hidden. Look it up on TripAdvisor and find it on a map. I don’t care if it takes you all day to find, it is worth it! I went twice in the three days we were in Venice. Both times, Alfredo (the owner) was dishing up our food. He tells you that you must eat it within 10 min. because after this, it starts to loose its perfect flavor. Trust me, you want Alfredos. You know you are getting close when you see people eating pasta out of plain white ‘Chinese take-away’ boxes. Get a #2 for me if you go.
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