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Austin Waeghe
Professor Speckman
EN 219
December 8, 2019
First Experience in Europe

Planning a Study Abroad Trip

There are five things to consider when finding a study abroad experience.

1. Find the ideal location

2. Find the program

3. Find the cost

4. Find additional resources to help plan the trip

Planning a study abroad experience can be very stressful. Last summer, I studied abroad in

Prague, Czech Republic and I had to consider all five steps while making my decision. I chose

Eastern Europe because it is located in a central location and it is also very cheap there. I could

stay within my budget while seeing nearby countries at a low-cost. Next, I found a class called

Operations Management that was approved by Dean Templeton and counted it as an elective. It

was an easy process, but everyone knows that study abroad is not about the classes. It is about

experiencing a new culture while navigating through an unfamiliar environment. I found a month

long program which was the perfect amount of time. It allowed me to have an amazing

experience, but also play summer baseball when I got back. Lastly, the next two steps can be

interchangeable. I spoke with others who studied abroad, and they gave ideas on what to see and

I based my budget from others experiences. Unfortunately, study abroad can get very expensive

so it is difficult to do everything. Planning a trip before can ensure a more positive experience for

you or anyone else you are with. It worked for me and I had the greatest adventure of my life.
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For example, here is an example of the cost costs while studying abroad.

11-Jun-19

Food $ 30.00

Train Ride to Vienna, Austria $ 25.00

Schonbronn Palace Tour $ 60.00

By planning the trip beforehand, it can ensure the best possible experience. Now, it is

important to see what I accomplished in Europe and what I learned being in a different country.

Arriving at the Prague Airport

First day in Prague was definitively a new scene for me. I studied abroad with my

girlfriend Kayla. She had once been to Europe before, but she was excited to experience a new

culture without a tour guide and her family. We both knew we were going to be very

independent this trip and had to plan everything for ourselves. We arrived at the airport and it

was easy to navigate since there were English titles on almost everything. The airport was

somewhat new with tourist information all around. There were stations to exchange money, get a

sim card, and get Prague souvenirs. After we got out of the airport, I had to call an uber to the

hotel at Hotel Theatrino. It cost 300 crowns which converted to 15 US dollars. After twenty

minutes, I started seeing what Prague looks like it and compared it to the pictures. It was almost

identical. The roofs were reddish/orange, the buildings were short, extremely crowded, and tiny

narrow ways in between the buildings to walk.

The first stop after the hotel was Old Town. It is the main square of Prague and has

buildings all around it including Tyn Church, hotels, and the famous astronomical clock. Kayla

and I decided to get lunch in Old Town. During lunch, there was a large group of people who
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started gathering outside of the astronomical clock. We were unsure why, but at 1:00 pm, we

found out. There was a show that had four moving figures that were despised at the time of the

clock’s making. In addition, there were twelve statues of Apostles appear above the clock. It was

interesting to see how people from all around the world gathered to see a clock show for only

one minute that is also posted on YouTube. Everyone brought their phone out and waited to

video tape the show. I also videotaped the show.

Later that day, we went to a Sex Machines Museum. I was unsure if I wanted to put this

in my story, but it is part of my trip so it had to be added. It was one of the highest ranked things

to do in Prague and it was heaving with people. It was definitely an eye opener. Some of the

machines looked like work out equipment and definitely made me bite my tongue. Everything

was wooden and seemed more like a place of torture. There were naked pictures of men and

women all around and a video of the first porn video ever made. In addition, I was with my

girlfriend so it was definitely odd experiencing this museum with her. However, we made the

most of it. It is a place that I never need to go again, but it was part of the experience to learn

some of the culture in a different country. Sex was seen as something more casual in Europe

compared to what it means in the United States.

Also, the first day in Prague was really when I started to see the price differences. In Old

Town, everything was very expensive because restaurants and stores know tourist will pay a lot

of money to be in the middle of town. After I found this out, I started to go to restaurants a half

mile out of old town and the prices were cut in half. The more local you go, the cheaper and

better the food is. US money in Prague can go a long way.

First Time in Vienna, Austria

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Vienna, Austria had beautiful buildings and everything seemed like it was out of a magazine.

Some of the attractions I saw in Vienna were:

1. Schönbrunn Palace

2. The Hofburg

3. Vienna State Opera

4. St. Stephen’s Cathedral

5. Rahaus

6. Palmenhaus Schönbrunn

7. Stephansplatz

8. Volksgardten

9. Naschmarkt

10. Danube Tower

All of these attractions were amazing to see, but the one attraction that stood out to me was

the Naschmarkt. It was about a mile long and it was in the middle of the road so traffic was

flowing on both sides of the market. There were meat markets, restaurants, and other shops that

were all very appealing to me. It was very colorful and lively. All the locals shop for their food

and it was so much different compared to the United States. I am used to shopping at Walmart,

Target, or Costco, and people who live in Vienna shop at this market in the middle of the street

that was extremely long. On every menu, there was wiener schnitzel. Unfortunately, I did not try

it, but I wish I had. It was a huge piece of pork that was fried and every worker on at the

Naschmarkt said, “We have the best wiener schnitzel and we got voted the best.” I heard that line

from more than five restaurants.

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My second favorite attraction was the St. Stephen’s Cathedral. It was located in the

Stephansplatz. It was in the main part of town and the detail of the cathedral was unbelievable. it

had four towers with colorful roof. The tallest tower was the south tower and it was 448 ft in

height. It was the one of the highest points in the city.

It was a beautiful city, but it was my least favorite city from the places I went to on my

Europe study abroad trip.

First Week of Class

We studied at Prague College and it was a small school located in ten minutes from the

apartment. However, the small class size made a comfortable environment. There was only

myself, Kayla and two others in the class. My professor was from Texas and he loved that Kayla

and I were from the United States. On the first day of class, he took us to a beer garden. It was

right across the street from the school and there was a bunch of people sitting on the hill which

looked over all of Prague. It was a beautiful scene and the professor bought us beer and pickled

sausage. Pickled sausage was on every pub menu in Prague, but it was disgusting. It was literally

just a thick cold hot dog with peppers. I had bite of it, and had to force it down so my professor

wouldn’t feel bad. Throughout the first week, my professor tried to get to know us and

introduced the class to us. My professor was near 60 years old, short and stubby, but always had

the happiest personality. The class was called Operation Management and focused on the Six

Sigma and Just-In-Time technique. It was an interesting class, but our professor was a lot more

interesting than the class. He had lived in Prague for thirteen years and would tell us the best

places to see and eat in Prague or around the world. He was a frequent traveler and appreciated

the beauty in everything. His name was Larry and showed us there is a lot more to see in the
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world than the United States. Throughout the week, We would attend class 1:00pm-5:00pm then

go explore Prague, eat dinner, then go to the bar with my study abroad group.

The first few days of class is when I started to get to know my study abroad group. There

were five of us including me and Kayla. There was a girl named Kate who went to school at

Northern Kentucky. She decided to study abroad because her school paid for half of it with her

scholarship package. She was easy going and always wanted to see new things. The other two

people were named James and Mike. They were both from Connecticut and they were best

friends. They decided to study abroad for the same reasons as me. They wanted to experience a

new culture and see how it was different from the United States.

In addition to meeting my study abroad group, I also met some other people living in the

same apartment complex. There were two people from France named Gautier and Claire who

came out with us often. They were both college students, but they were required to get an

internship in a different country for the summer. They were both extremely nice and I

appreciated every moment I had with them. As a group plus the two friends from France, we

would go to the bar across the street and just talk for hours. We would learn the school system in

France and how it was somewhat similar to the United States. We would learn how much the

French students knew about the American government. They were frightened by Donald Trump

and believed that the United States is a very scary country. Once Claire got comfortable with us,

she started asking more questions on where I was from.

Claire: “You are from Chicago you said?”

Me: “Yeah, a suburb of Chicago, but only 40 minutes away.”

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Claire: “You are not scared being in Chicago? We hear about shootings that happen there every

day and how it is such a dangerous place. People from France are scared of the shootings and

Donald Trump.”

I was a little caught off guard when she said this, but she wasn’t wrong. There were a lot

of shootings that happened in the south side of Chicago, but I explained to them that along as

you are in the city center, it is safe. Gautier and Claire both had a goal to visit the United States

when Donald Trump wasn’t president. It was interesting to hear how much they knew about the

US even though they never have been there. I told them all the best places to visit in the US and

they want to visit New York and Chicago the most.

Another interesting point they brought up was college athletics. They did not agree with

college athletics and how some kids receive scholarship for playing sports. They thought that

was stupid and believed students should only be rewarded if they were smart or can contribute to

a college in that sense. I didn’t agree with their viewpoint considering some football athletes

raise millions of dollars for their school. I tried to explain the viewpoint, but they never

understood especially because they thought American football was boring. Gautier and Claire

definitely had their stubbornness, but they were fun to talk to.

First Time in Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary definitely surprised me. When I arrived at the airport, it was

extremely small and outdated. I got in my cab with my girlfriend and we were going to our

hostel in downtown Budapest. Looking out the window, Budapest seemed dirty and somewhat

sketchy, but I was wrong. I woke up the next morning and saw the Parliament Building. It was

massive and the detail the building had was extremely sharp. Also, there were thousands of

tourist which made me feel more comfortable. Budapest was a huge city and all of the attractions
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were miles from each other, but I enjoyed the walk because the city was so pretty. Budapest is

separated in two by the Danube River. Both sides of the river have a lot of attractions to

experience.

In Budapest, Gautier and his friends happened to be there at the same time. Kayla and I

met up with him at the bar on a Saturday night. He had five friends who were with him and they

were all from France as well. His friend, who lived in Budapest for the summer, took us out to

the best places. First, he took us to a ruin bar. It had four bars on each side, and the ceiling was

open. It was raining at the time and it was weird being inside, but getting rained on partially. The

second place we went was a night club that had five different rooms. It was dark and each room

had a different genres of music such as EDM, rap, or country. I couldn’t believe that I was in

Budapest at a nightclub with a group of friends from France. It was surreal.

Second Week of Class

The second week of class was similar to the first one. The professor continued teaching

us about supply chain and he took my class to a pub at the end of the week. Basically, we went to

a restaurant called, “The Pub” and each table had beer taps. On the screen, it tracked how much

beer each table drank. There was a table to the right of us and they were celebrating a birthday.

They were from London and drank the most beer. It was a sad moment considering that my study

abroad group was in last place, but we were focused on getting to know each other, not getting as

drunk as we could. It was a different culture in Prague. Everyone wanted to drink a lot of beer

and our professor drank with us. It was fun experiencing the laid back feel that Prague had to

offer.

First time in Rome, Italy

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Rome, Italy was one of my favorite places. We stayed at a villa 45 minutes outside of the

city. Kayla had a family friend in a small town and they hosted us the whole weekend. It was so

peaceful in a quiet area and looking out at the green landscape.

During that weekend, I saw the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Castle Saint Angelo, and the

Trevi Fountain. The Coliseum was by far the coolest attraction I saw in all of Europe. It was the

size of three football fields and walls surrounding the middle where gladiators used to fight. It

was crazy to think about people fighting to the death and the animal cages under the main stage.

It was a must see and gave me a different perspective compared to seeing cities in the United

States. Everything was so historic and allowed me to get a hint of the past.

Third Week of Class

The third week of class was similar to the beginning, but it hit me really hard that the trip

was coming to an end. Kayla and I decided to hang with the group a lot and continued going out

to the bars with them. We went to Old Town for our grand finale to a night club that was five

stories high. It was similar to the bar in Budapest.

At the end of the week, I graduated from Prague College. The president held a small

ceremony telling us how much they appreciated students from other countries. It was a really

great experience and I hope to go back to Prague soon.

First Time in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Our last part of Europe was the trip to Croatia. The first trip spot in Croatia was

Dubrovnik. It had an Old Town that had fortress walls covering the whole town. It definitely had

an old town feel, but it was so crowded. There were small alley ways to walk through, but it was

good to see the history of the town.

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The second place we went to was Split, Croatia. It had a bunch of nearby Islands. We got to see

the Blue Cave that gave off a blue florescent light inside of a cave. Also, we went to Vis Island

and that was where the second Mamma Mia was filmed. Surprisingly, they filmed Mamma Mia

in Croatia and not Greece. It was extremely peaceful and quiet. I understood why they filmed

Mamma Mia there. Croatia is a beautiful country.

Ending of Europe Trip

My trip was coming to an end. I had one last night in Prague and ironically, my last meal

was at an American BBQ place. Prague was a great experience. It really taught me how to

navigate in an unfamiliar environment and see the cultural differences. It gave me a drive of

motivation with my life back at home and how I went to get a solid job in order to travel to new

places. I loved studying abroad and I hope I can go back soon.