Experience report
Name: Jelmer Overdijk
E-mail: Overdijk.jelmer@gmail.com
Exchange semester: Sixth semester
Academic year: 2013-2014
Host University: Charles University
Country: Prague
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
How was your arrival organized? Did someone pick you up from the airport/station? Was an
orientation or introduction activity organized? How was accommodation organized? Does the
university provide you with accommodation? What kind of accommodation does the university provide?
Did you have to book your accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a place to live
after you arrived?
I arrived in Prague a little over a week before the semester started. I spent the first three nights at a
hostel. I had the option of contacting a Czech student via the buddy system the help me out the first
few days. I didn’t think that was necessary because I came to Prague with another Tilburg University
exchange student. After three days we were able the move in the student accommodation that was
provided by TiU and Charles University. Upon arrival we realized we weren’t going to be staying there
for a long time. The student accommodation was a huge dormitory that was about a 45-minute tram
ride from the center of Prague. This was a big problem for us because there was nothing to do in that
area. For example, if you wanted to go for a beer at night you had to travel to the center for 45
minutes by tram and for about an hour to an hour and a half to get back by bus. Other then the
commute, the facilities at the dormitory were pretty bad. The shared rooms each had their own
bathrooms with hot water but there was only one kitchen for 15 rooms (+/- 30 students) that had only
two small electrical hotplates. In addition to that, there were only two refrigerators per floor (30
students).
However, I would advise you to go to the student accommodation for the first few weeks. I met a lot of
people there. Amongst whom, the people I got an apartment with after two weeks in the dormitory. It
was very easy to terminate our lease contract with the dormitory and our apartment in Prague’s city
center was not that expensive (around 160 euros per person for a shared bedroom).
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Please describe the city you lived in. Where is the university located in the city? What is the best
place to go to eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.? What are interesting things to see and do in your host
city? What was different than in Tilburg?
Prague is a beautiful city. There is a lot to do and to see. I didn’t see that much of Prague other then
the most prominent sights. But if you’re interested in the culture, there are a lot of trips being
organized by the Charles University Law Society in which you can participate. We spent the majority
of our exchange in the bars and beer gardens of Prague. I’m not going to go into all the different
places you can go to because there a just too many but I would definitely advise you to visit the beer
garden at Letna Park or Zizkov park (especially if you’re in Prague for the summer semester, as I
was).
TOPIC: Academics
Which courses did you take and why? Which courses would you recommend? What did the courses
add to your program at Tilburg University? How does the university compare to Tilburg University
concerning the level of the courses, use of extra material, level of English, workload, etc.? Overall,
were you happy with your academic achievements during your exchange? Please describe the
campus of your host university.
If your aim is to be academically challenged during your exchange, Prague probably isn’t your best
option. In comparison to Tilburg University, the courses were very poor. I participated in the following
courses; Czech criminal law, EU en Czech environmental law and policy, Commercial law and
International transactions and EU law in the Czech context. There were no mandatory readings at all.
We were given a few readers at the beginning of the semester but we didn’t have to read them for the
exams. I would advise you to attend all classes. There are only a few lectures a week and they don’t
start before 10.00 and if you pay attention during the lectures, your notes are more than sufficient to
pass all your exams. I did spent about two weeks in the library to write my thesis but other than that it
took me little effort to pass all the exams with good grades.
TOPIC: Social life
Which social activities organized by the university or students? Did you have contact with local
students? Did you have contact with other exchange students? How did you get along with the local
students and other exchange students? Did you travel to other places/countries during your exchange?
I didn’t meet any Czech student during my exchange. You will attend courses together with the other
exchange student at the law faculty. There are several organizations that offer trips and activities for
exchange student. I didn’t participate in any of them so there is not much I can tell you about those
trips. I met a lot of exchange student from my faculty during the first two weeks as I was staying at the
student dormitory. This group of friends stayed together for the entire semester so I had little desire to
meet the other exchange student. We organized our own trips and activities. It is very cheap and easy
to take a Eurolines bus from Prague to every major city in Europe such as Berlin, Krakow, Budapest,
and so on.
TOPIC: Living costs
How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from Tilburg University?
What were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg? What did you spend most of your
money on? What would you advice future students to spend their money on? Please outline your
approximate monthly budget whilst on exchange: housing, food, textbooks, etc.
The student dormitory (Hostivar) is pretty cheap (around 130 euros a month). However, I would
strongly advise you to stay there for only a few weeks. You simply will not get the Prague experience
if you don’t stay in the city center. That is why we got an apartment. We shared rooms to keep the
costs down so we ended up paying about 160 euros a month on rent. If you put some effort in finding
cheap restaurants you can have a good dinner for around 3-4 euros. Altogether, my budget was
around 630 euros a month (Erasmus grant, student grant, health care contribution and the grant I got
for my Dutch public transportation card). Not including the trips to other cities, I could get around for
that amount of money. You can get a public transport card for student for around 10-15 euros a month.
The biggest part of my budget was probably spent in the Prague bars.
TOPIC: Culture
Did you experience culture shock while on exchange? How would you compare your host culture to
your own culture? What did you learn about your own culture while on exchange? What was different
about your host culture than you expected? What did you like and not like about your host culture? Do
you feel you learned a lot about your host culture, and if not, what would you like to learn more? How
would you describe your host countries culture? If you travelled to other cities/countries during your
exchange, were they different than your host city/country, and how?
As I mentioned before, I didn’t spent much time exploring the city or absorbing the Czech culture.
There are a few sights you have to see, such as the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square and the Jewish
cemetery. Other than that the Czech culture isn’t that much different from ours. If you visit some of the
smaller cities surrounding Prague, you might encounter some cultural differences. The same goes for
other cities we travelled to during our exchange. Especially when you visit them for only a few days,
you won’t get much further than the touristic city centers. There is very little culture there. The only
thing that really surprised me about Prague was the amazing architecture.
TOPIC: Personal development
What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange? Would you do things differently if
you had the chance, and what would you do differently? What was your best experience, and what
was your worst experience? What will you remember for ever about your exchange period? What was
the most important lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange period?
The best part of the exchange is the friends I made. We had a really good group of friends from the
start and we had a lot of fun. You are basically together every hour of the day for five months so you
become really good friend in a very short period of time. I didn’t really have any bad experiences other
than some small incidents such as a stolen wallet. If I had to do it over again, I don’t think there is
anything I would change.
TOPIC: Tips for future students
Would you recommend an exchange period? Would you recommend your host university? What
should prospective students bring with them/leave behind? What preparation is required for going on
exchange to this destination? Was there anything you should have done in preparation that you didn’t
do?
I would definitely recommend an exchange period. It was the best semester I had in my academic
career. Don’t worry about the language barrier; you’ll pick up on that soon enough. And besides that,
the English of the majority of the professors in Prague was pretty poor as well. As regards to
preparation, the only things I brought were clothing, toiletries and money. I would advise students to
open up a Czech bank account as soon as you get there. I kept postponing that and it ended up
costing me a lot of transfer fees because the Czech republic does not have the Euro as currency.
Another tip I would like to give you is to keep a journal. You will experience so much during those five
months, it is impossible to remember everything. I kept a journal every day and I’m sure I will be very
pleased I did that when I’m older.