Thoughts from Far Away: Reflections of an Exchange Student

As my term wraps up here in Prague, I find myself having these weird little moments of self-reflection. Mostly, I find myself asking, why did I choose to come here in the first place? Not because I didn’t enjoy the experience, but because so many people asked me before leaving, ‘Why are you going?’ and at the time, I wasn’t sure how to answer. But now I do, and here are some reasons why I think it was worth going away*.

*Disclaimer: the following article relates directly to my own, personal first-hand experience. Obviously, your experience will vary depending on the school, location of exchange and individuals met while abroad.

• The benefits of studying in a big city

Like most of you, I have only had my post-secondary education, until this point, in Cambridge, Ontario. To me, school has always meant moving from the big city to a smaller town with not much to do. There is something amazing about studying in a city with endless options: there are parks, bars, cafés, clubs, more farmers markets than you can count, the opera, museums, galleries. Obviously you should be studying while studying abroad, but chances are your course load will be substantially lighter and you will get a chance to know the city you live in. And, unlike co-op, you don’t have to work full 9-5 days or overtime. So you can see, and do, A LOT.

• The benefits of a campus

I must admit, this is not one of the reasons I decided to go away. But nonetheless, living and/or studying on a campus is an experience we entirely miss at UWSA. Haven’t you ever secretly wondered what that was like? It does have benefits: a big library, a real fitness facility, student hangout spaces (that expand beyond a student lounge). There is something unique about walking around in a tiny city full of other people the same age as you.

• You get the chance to meet people who aren’t architects

Of course, I miss the discourse. Who doesn’t? But, it is nice to have a friend group that has a wide variety of interests. Also, it is just generally interesting to meet and talk to people who think differently than you do. But, if having to explain to someone who Mies van der Rohe is makes your skin crawl, then maybe exchange isn’t for you.

• You also get to meet people from many different countries.

This factor alone is a valuable one. For example, I am the only English Canadian in my whole university. Not only have I actually used a surprising amount of French here, I have learned bits of new languages. You learn that people think about things differently depending on where they come from. Even just working with architecture students from other countries has taught me that there are things they learn in studio that are entirely different from some things I’ve learned at Waterloo, and vice versa.

• Studio culture

Okay, so I wouldn’t necessarily call this a benefit, especially since I think the quality of teaching is much better at Waterloo than at CTU. However, you may pick a different program with some considerably interesting studio courses, or with an interesting studio professor. Some schools might teach things quite differently from how we do things at home, and maybe you will find said experience more interesting.

• Travel

A lot of students decide to study abroad because they want the chance to travel to a new city every weekend. While I do find that type of travel kind of exhausting, you will be in an environment filled with people who want to go somewhere new all the time. So, if you do want to travel, it’s not difficult, and usually quite inexpensive by bus or discount flights (Also you probably won’t have nearly as much studio work so you can actually go away and not feel guilty about it).

I also would recommend thinking about the following factors if an exchange is something you may want to do:

• It will probably cut into your co-op term. You might have to miss your next work term, or part of your eight month. Foreign schools sometimes have weird schedules, so make sure you are okay with that before you sign up.

• Money, and how much it will cost you to live in that country for a few months (while not being employed). Usually the currency of the country you’ll be going to is worth more than the Canadian dollar. One of the great benefits of the Czech Republic is that 1 dollar = 20 Czech Crown. So a pint being 30 CZK is a dollar fifty, but this won’t be true for most places you go.

• Apply early! Spots fill up, and you need to make sure you can get the right course equivalencies etc. I won’t talk too much about the paperwork kind of stuff as it is probably best to consult Donna, but just make sure that you consider what term you want to go early enough that you get your application in on time.

• You will miss all of the regular, lovely smiling faces you see on a regular basis at UWSA. But fear not, you will see them again soon.

If you have any questions about my experience here at Czech Technical University (CTU), don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected]