Mandatory Blog Post, For You.

PACKING AND TRAVELING:

Ahhh, packing. The dreaded activity of bringing everything you want and need for 3 months in a suitcase. It actually wasn't actually that bad. I packed once, and then went back and removed a few questionable items. I would suggest bringing a comfortable pair of shoes for sure. Cobblestone isn't kind on the feet. I would also suggest bringing a few things that you plan to wear out and then just leave behind, to make room for some of the things you end up buying. There is nothing I regret bringing, but sometimes I wish I would have brought reeses peanut butter cups. But then again, I probably would have eaten them all on the plane. I caved and bought a neck pillow, it made busride naps more enjoyable.
Traveling is awesome, stressful, exciting, and sometimes expensive. I would suggest booking plane tickets, as soon as you decide when and where you want to go. It's a good way to get the tickets at their cheapest. Honestly, you can bring guidebooks for extra reading and if you have space, but otherwise I would just use the internet. I really enjoyed my trip to Italy. I would recommend going to the Cinque Terre for the Seafood and relaxing rocky beach life. It's beautiful, and easy to get to from Rome. 

SOCIAL LIFE:

If you can become friends with the Erasmus students it will open doors to plenty of activities. Plus they speak English and are super nice. The Erasmus students are European students on exchange. You can find them at your dorm, on the tram, and at Belmondo (a club). I spent time shopping, exploring Olomouc, and seeking out local events. One event I enjoyed was Palacky University's Sports Day. Ali and I went to dance-yoga. It was really fun, and we were really awkward. The class was completely in Czech but luckily we were in the back so nobody could really see how awesomely bad we did. There are so many pubs and cafes to try out, if dance-yoga doesn't sound like your cup of tea. 

SCHOOL WORK:

It seems like most study abroad experiences are 10% studying and 90% everything else. Needless to say The classes were pretty good. I can now say that I know more than I've ever wanted to know about the Czech Republic. It's really interesting to get a different perspective on life, our own country, and the European Nations. Grading seems to be pretty similar to the way we do it back home. Study a bit for Czech class and you should be good. Czech class is a nice idea, but it's not easy, and you will find that you would rather be experiencing Czech life instead of conjugating verbs. With that being said, I think the class is a great opportunity to learn about czech culture, get help communicating with the locals, and a great way to conjugate verbs. I did not utilize the library very well. I think the one event that hindered my academic experience was our Czech teacher got quite sick and missed a few classes. As a result we had to make up those classes and learn them within a short time span.

MONEY & COMMUNICATIONS:

I believe that you can do the program with 3-4 thousand dollars, maybe even a little less. You really just have to budget. It also depends on your mindset. If you plan to come back to Europe someday, then you don't need to try to visit every country and you can save money and take your time. If your really want to get out and go everywhere than I suggest bringing a bit more money to be safe. 

I brought a little bit of cash, and mostly just pulled money from the ATM. I brought a notebook from home and didn't need to spend any money on school supplies. I spent the most money on airfare, food, then travel and transportation, local transport, laundry, and last- toiletries. 

Laundry is one thing I chose to spend a little more for. It's about 5 dollars to wash and dry a load of laundry here. There's a cheaper option to wash your clothes (not dry them) at the dorm. However, the machine is significantly smaller than what I'm used to. It also takes about an hour to wash. To communicate with the fam, I just chose to skype and facetime, it's easy and free.

OTHER COMMENTS/TIPS: 

 Seafood, in a landlocked country is always kind of questionable, I would just go with the chicken. Dark beer has a coffee flavour and is delicious. Tram hopping is a good way to get to know the city of Olomouc.

A must list activity to do in Olomouc:

Go to the park, it's pretty.

There's  a May Day/Witch Burning Festival in the square. It's quite fun.

Svaty Kopecek-In just 25 minutes a bus will transport you to a small quaint village with a church on the hill and a forest surrounding it. The forest is great for hiking/walking, and the Olomouc Zoo is near, if you are into that kind of thing.
Alfredo's in Venice has the BEST pasta for cheap (number 1 on trip advisor). Your stomach won't regret this decision.