Czech Republic: Violette Simon (Our Global Classroom)

Monday morning, 8:45 am, and I have my first class of the week with ten students. By 12:15, after three hours of Environmental Engineering, I head to my Hydroinformatics course, which has just five students. One of my friends said last week he was the only one in his entire lecture hall!

The academic environment here at CZU feels drastically different from what I’m used to at Madison. Classes are much smaller but way longer, there’s almost no required homework, and the policies on absences and tardiness are surprisingly lenient—my professors are often the last ones to show up…

There are a few differences I’ve particularly enjoyed about my new campus: the endless supply of coat hangers in every classroom, the more personal and engaging atmosphere of the courses, and of course, Madison can’t compete with CZU’s two on-campus llamas!

The most valuable aspect of my time here, however, has not been anything I’ve learned in a classroom but rather my interactions with other international students. I’ve gained more from these exchanges than I anticipated— whether it’s picking up German slang, practicing French with friends from Lyon, or discussing their different perspectives on American politics. I’ve been consistently surprised by how insightful the casual trading of our unique perspectives has been.

Here are a few of my favorite snippets of conversation from the past couple weeks:

“Wait- you actually don’t pay for healthcare? Are you sure? Even, like, complicated surgery or something?” – me, still in disbelief

“Jeez, Americans have to pay to go to school here? They pay me!” – every Erasmus student when the topic of tuition comes up

Violette Simon

Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Major: Civil Engineering

Program: Czech University of Life Sciences Exchange

I’m excited to learn more about the unique architecture in Prague. I chose my program because the classes incorporate sustainability and engineering.