CET Prague

The CET Prague program could not have been better tailored to my academic interests. As a History and Political Science major on my home campus, I was constantly amazed at the political and historical significance of everything around me. On the first day of class for Refugees, Minorities, and Migrations, our professor took us on a walking tour around Prague. All within walking distance of the CET Center were significant landmarks, monuments, and sites. I was especially fascinated because Central Europe had been so neglected in my historical education.
In addition to the myriad of historical sites to take in around Prague, CET took us on a traveling seminar around Central Europe, where we visted Krakow, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Brno, Mikulov, Vienna, and Budapest. Easily the best part of the program, the traveling seminar balances lectures with educational outings and free time to explore.
Additionally, I can't speak highly enough of the CET staff - our resident director and student life coordinator both made the program amazing for everybody.

I loved my semester abroad. Prague was a beautiful city, and CET did a great job of having classes that taught you about the history and people of the place you were living in. Most of the professors were excellent and knowledgeable, and incorporated cultural and interactive components into their lectures. The course load was interesting but not so heavy as to prevent us from exploring the city and learning by doing. The staff members were PHENOMENAL and made me feel safe, cared for, and helped introduce us to different aspects of Prague we might not have otherwise discovered. I also had an amazing Czech buddy as a roommate: we became great friends and she helped us adjust to the new experiences and was also just an incredible person to talk to. I also bonded with my flatmates and fellow students in my building, and we had a great time trying out new restaurants, visiting museums and points of interest, and even traveling outside of the country together. CET's traveling seminars were also and unbelievable opportunity to visit many other countries along with the program, which was great because it provided some structured learning and also gave us the freedom to explore on our own. While no abroad experience is perfect, CET gave me a chance to learn by doing, make new friends, and adapt to a new cultural atmosphere and I am so glad to have had this experience.

CET offers each student a lot of freedom in their abroad experience. There is a healthy variety of topics in the courses offered. The housing they provide is pretty unique for an abroad program: apartments in great locations. And they don't hold class on Fridays, leaving weekends open for travel. On top of all of this, the program takes you on a few prepaid travel seminars which include sightseeing, lectures, meeting interesting people, and free time to explore on your own. Being in Prague is amazing in it of itself. The city is beautiful, the people are reserved but kind, and the history is fascinating. I had a wonderful experience with CET. I will cherish the memories and friendships for a long time.

My experience in Prague was incredible! Not only did everyone who visited me tell me that it was easily one of their favorite cities in Europe, Prague's central location made it easy and cheap to travel to and experience almost anywhere in Europe. A specific benefit of the CET program was that our required traveling seminars gave us the perfect opportunity to explore places in Central and Eastern Europe that I probably would have never thought to travel to. The biggest challenges I faced while living in Prague were the linguistic and cultural barriers. Things we take for granted everyday such as shopping for groceries or asking for directions became a much more complex ordeal. The CET buddies that we lived with became fantastic resources for tackling these challenges. Besides traveling, Prague was great because it was one of the few cities in Europe to not be leveled during WWII. This means that almost all of the cities rich cultural, historical, and artistic treasures have been preserved.

Studying abroad in Prague was the best decision I have ever made! Originally, I wanted to study abroad in Paris because I am a French major, but changed my mind last minute because I wanted to go somewhere more unique. The culture in Prague is so different, it is hard for me to articulate even now. CET pushed me to do things I never would have on my own. For example, traveling for ten days on the traveling seminar with a large group of people who I had only recently met was one of the most fun and memorable things I have ever done, even though it sounded intimidating at first. I made friends with people I never would have had I gone through a bigger study abroad program, and am still in touch with them now. The love and support I felt from the staff and teachers was also a huge bonus, and not something that students who went elsewhere experienced. CET Prague was the best semester of my life!

CET Prague was an outstanding program! Living just outside the center of town enabled us to get to know many different areas of Prague and have a neighborhood that truly felt like home. The public transportation is incredibly easy to use and CET provides you with a pass for the semester, allowing easy access to all of the things the city has to offer. Paddle boating down the Charles, picnicking in Jiriho z Podebrad, and traveling to Poland, Austria, and Budapest on the Traveling Seminar are some of my finest memories from the semester. I would encourage everyone to do CET Prague who loves to learn by experiencing the place where there are living.

CET Prague really lived up to all of my study abroad expectations. From the housing placement, to the Czech buddies, to the travelling seminars, to the small program, I really could not have asked for more. I really feel like I got more out of my time in Prague than a lot of the other Prague programs because of CET. I appreciated that our public transportation pass was included as well as all of the activities on the travelling seminar that took us to Budapest, Krakow, Vienna, and Mikulov.

As I had never traveled out of the country before, I was very concerned about how living abroad would be, from both an academic setting as well as a general adapting to life not in America. But CET was very helpful in all aspects, from ensuring proper equivalencies would be acquired at my home institution, to knowing where to buy groceries. I also loved how they organized trips to places like Cesky Krumlov that I never would have even considered going on my own.

Choosing to study abroad with CET Prague was one of the best choices I've made!

CET itself is a really unique program which offers opportunities that few other programs offer. When talking to my friends on other programs, they could not believe all the opportunities we had with CET. The traveling seminar to Poland, Austria, and Hungary is incredibly unique and one of the best weeks I've ever had. A perfect balance between lectures, planned tours, and activities, and free time. And when there wasn't anything planned, CET gave us the opportunity to visit museums and reimbursed us for our tickets-- they go above and beyond with things like this! Throughout the semester, they also plan several day trips to places like Kutna Hora, Jáchymov, Terezín, etc. Finally, they also gave us the opportunity to attend an opera and sports event (soccer, hockey, etc.) which I have never heard of other programs doing. CET made sure that we had every opportunity to get to know Prague, the Czech Republic, and Central Europe as a whole.

There is a really wide variety of classes offered so you can find ones you would enjoy and I really learned a lot over the course of the semester. Often, my classes included excursions to various areas in Prague which I may not have gone to on my own and added a nice variety so we weren't always just sitting in a classroom.

Finally, the staff in Prague is absolutely incredible! Maggie (the student life coordinator) was always suggesting great places to go and was really helpful in answering all my questions about Prague. You can really tell she cares about the students here. Kim, the director, is very approachable and easy to talk to. The rest of the resident directors are really great and knowledgeable!

Overall, I'd recommend this program to anyone!

Going abroad through CET was the best decision I have made throughout college. Not only has the staff been extremely supportive and friendly, they care a lot about us personally and our academic development. The traveling seminar opportunity in which CET takes us to Poland Austria and Hungary and plans a full itinerary was unparalleled; there was the perfect balance of academics, history, social events, adventure and free time. The program gives us a lot of independence, freedom, and leeway as well as providing the option for structured and set activities. To give two personal stories which showcase the staff's support and flexibility.

1) My first night in Prague I was having trouble acclimating to the environmental changes. Being that I am a severe asthmatic I asked if CET could change my sheets and blankets to be hypo-allergenic. Within 30 minutes of this request Maggie, the student coordinator had delivered a new sheet blanket and pillow set for me really speaking to the program's responsiveness and commitment to student comfort.

2) Not knowing the rich Jewish history within Prague and Eastern Europe more generally, I chose to go on the business track instead. Having learned of the depth and darkness of Jewish history in this country thereafter, I expressed my interest to the program leader as I explained that my grandfather was a Holocaust survivor and I wanted to learn more about my roots. Since expressing this interest, Petra, the coordinator, has accommodated for me to go on every Jewish event, tour, activity, guest lecturer which has truly enriched my experience here like no other. It has reshaped my Jewish identity and opened my eyes to so much. Thank you CET !

My semester with CET Prague in the spring of 2013 has influenced me in ways I never could have predicted! I initially applied to and went with CET for my semester abroad as a means of fulfilling a requirement with my international studies department. I learned about Central European history, the Czech language, nationalism, the memory of the Holocaust, and so much more. I traveled on weekends to incredible cities across Europe, and gained a true sense of independence as I learned to navigate Prague.

4 years later, I ended up at an internship with an organization that shares an office with CET, got the chance to reconnect with my old resident director Jiri, and as a result am now starting out my career in international education. We never know how certain experiences may end up shaping our future, and my semester with CET started it all!

The prospects and opportunities that the CET Prague program offer never failed to disappoint. There's something magical about meandering the streets of Vienna and perusing the Easter markets or sailing down the Danube at night, gazing at the beautiful skyline of Budapest. I think that the Travelling Seminar provided me with the ability to explore places that I never would have made it to. And if I had, I likely would have missed some incredible things. Any time you go some place new, you always want to make sure you see all the big sites. For the most part, any travel I did outside of CET sponsored travel was structured that way. But CET was able to bring something different. We saw all the major sites in the cities we went to, but we also explored the life and culture of the city as well. Many students who visited Krakow probably never got the chance to attend Friday Shabbat services, or those who visited Budapest likely never ventured to the picturesque town of Szentendre. And then there was Prague itself, a city with such a myriad of hidden gems and secrets. The CET staff was so helpful in helping us find those places so we could try something new and explore such a fantastic city. I appreciated all the time and effort CET put into planning our seminars and excursions because they never failed to disappoint!

One of my all time favorite experiences from the past semester was going to Mikulov, a small resort-type town near the border of the Czech Republic and Austria on CET's traveling seminar. Mikulov was something out of a fairytale-- it had a small adorable town square and was complete with a beautiful castle that had some of the biggest wine barrels I have ever seen! The most amazing part of the whole experience were the views-- I stayed in a loft suite with a few of my friends, and the views from our suite were absolutely breathtaking. Our program director also led us on a hike to a really nice viewing spot where we watched the sunset. It was a really excellent experience.

It was my birthday. After a quick weekend in Bratislava, where I learned there aren't really many bars open past midnight and where I slept in an Air BNB that rented out the space under their restaurant and bar and next to their unpopular nightclub, my roommates and I found ourselves in a second class cabin on a train back home, to Prague. The trams had been down in Bratislava, so we ended up walking from our Boat-el to the train station. Sweaty, stressed, and a little unhappy, we were at least on the train, headed back to our beds that didn't rock. While everybody was a little upset with each other, I was fine. It was my 21st birthday, I was with new friends, we were on the train. That is, until we got to Brno and a man told us that he had reserved this cabin.
I still don't know if actually had reserved the cabin, but nonetheless, we were out. He kindly let us know that there are foldout chairs in the aisles. So we moved. And nobody spoke to each other.
Here we are, coming to the next stop. I'm doing my reading for class the next day, when I look up as I notice the train slowing down. What do I see? None other than my roommate's suitcase rolling straight at me!
Thankfully, and unsurprisingly, I lived.
As funny as I thought that day, and that weekend for that matter, was, I think what I took away from it was more important. It doesn't matter if your boat doesn't have heating, or if it's blasting bass-heavy music until 4 AM, or if you walk over three miles to the botanical garden just to learn that it's closed. What does matter is learning to roll with the punches and have a good time regardless! Who knows? Maybe your airBNB host (who is also the bartender) will give you a free birthday drink after forgetting you live there for the weekend. Maybe you'll laugh until you cry when you keep getting knocked over on the train by hungry Slovakians headed to the food car. With a bad attitude, you miss out on the subtle, hidden gems that make abroad life so much more beautiful and memorable.

One of the best parts about this program is their dedication to connecting you with the history and culture of the country. They believe it is not just studying abroad but living abroad and becoming a local. I was able to teach English lessons at a local elementary school. Others volunteered for businesses or retirement homes or after school programs. Coming back I not only miss the beautiful city of Prague, but also the amazing people I met who call Prague home.