If anybody still reads this…I had to type this for my sep evaluation form.
5. Please type a THREE to FIVE page report of your personal experience in the host university.
a) Your overall experience overseas (initial cultural shocks that you encountered, lifestyle, about the university, academic aspects)
b) What you learned from the exchange program
c) Your advice and suggestions for future exchange students designated to go to that university
Being on an exchange has got to be one of the best decisions I have made. Before going on the exchange, I was paired up with a buddy who would help me settle in. Thankfully for me (unlike horror stories of how exchange buddies did not respond to emails and were un-contactable), he was really kind and friendly and could help pick my keys up at the housing office. That saved me a day of staying in a hostel before I could collect my keys.
That was my first encounter with the working hours of the people in Austria (and Europe in general).The housing office opens only 2 hours a day in the morning and another 2 hours in the afternoon on specific days. Arriving on a midday which the office is not open would really be very inconvenient so do check the office hours properly. Otherwise, you can also get somebody to pick up the keys for you.
The limitation of the housing office’s opening hours was the least of my concerns (considering you would only have to visit that place twice, once to pick up your keys and another to collect your housing deposit).The first cultural shock I got was to learn about the short shop opening hours during the weekdays. Even supermarkets closed at around 7.30pm on Mondays to Fridays and 6.30pm on Saturdays. The most surprising revelation was the fact that nothing was open on Sundays (not even supermarkets) Under regulations, only 2 supermarket outlets are open on Sundays and thankfully for me, 1 of them was just a 10 minute walk away. Of course, this meant that that supermarket would be super packed on that day as well.
This is a vast difference from Singapore whereby you can expect to find shops open all day long so that you can do your shopping or grocery shopping. At first, I found it really inconvenient because there would be times whereby you are out of food and really need something to cook. Over time, one will get used to the limited shopping hours and I learnt to understand how this actually gave families an opportunity to spend time together on a Sunday so you can see many families hanging out in the nearby parks.
The transport system in Austria is really efficient and I could get by just using the underground. One thing that is really different from Singapore is that it works on a trust-based system. There are no check-points for you to tap your cards or insert any tickets/barriers to the platform so it is possible to not pay for your ride although there are conductors who may come aboard anytime to check if you have a valid ticket. For students, it would be useful to get the student ticket which is valid during the semester period and you can take all the public transport in Vienna. Another good card that you should get is the OBB youth card which allows you to purchase tickets within Vienna for half price while train rides to other countries can be purchased at a 25% discount. This is really quite a good deal because there are so many other beautiful places in Austria such as Salzburg (the birth of Mozart’s place) as well as Innsbruck (good for skiing during winter with its beautiful mountains and slopes) that you can travel to.
Although I did not know any German language before I arrived, I could get around fairly well using English. Most of the people there could communicate well in English and the other time I had problems was with my cleaning lady who could only speak in German. Nevertheless, there are some introduction to the German language classes that are provided by the school and you can even pick up a free small pocket dictionary at the international office when you first arrive.
Besides the usual courses offered by the university,I also had the chance to partake in this “Tandem Learning Programme”. This programme matches you with a buddy and basically you teach a language to somebody else vice versa.I had the opportunity to be matched with a local Austrian girl and we certainly had fun spending time together,with me trying to teach her bits of mandarin while she taught me German. These sessions were really fun and we visited the markets identifying fruits in German or cooking sessions whereby she taught me how to prepare Austrian dishes or shared with me what places I should visit while in Vienna.I would strongly advise anybody going on the exchange to take part in this programme and you can get to make new friends at the same time.
The university system differs from NUS and what I really liked about it was its block class scheduling. While it is difficult to plan because of the random dates of the classes, it was very worth it if you can get slots. One mistake I had was to avoid choosing classes that clashed for a little bit (say an hour or so).However, the school policy allows you to miss up to a maximum of ¼ of your classes so it is still indeed possible to plan classes that can overlap a little. The block class system was something I have never experience before and sometimes these classes can last for only 5 or 6 days of full lesson. That could possibly be lesson timing that ranges from 9am in the morning until 5pm and once I even had lessons that started from 12noon all the way to 9pm.While compact, these lessons usually end early in the semester, allowing you to plan for other activities or short trips out of Austria.
While these block classes were something interesting, what I really liked was the innovative teaching methods some of these professors had. Many of them did not involve regurgitating from textbooks. I remember this professor who actually provided field trips to 2 major companies in Vienna and from our observations and interaction with the company’s employees; we were supposed to formulate our case study reports on what we have concluded from this trips. We were free to explore any issues that we would like to work on and the deal was, we had to complete 3 case studies in a period of 10 days.
While it was a mad rush, it was really enjoyable and the professor actually arranged for an overnight stay at this small hotel at a mountainous place away from the city of Vienna where we made our case presentations. The professor who actually owns his own consultation firm also structured the presentation format such that it actually stimulated the real world situations, giving us an idea of how it really works. I felt that such advices and information he gave us can never be found in the textbook and I really gained a lot from that class.
Besides that, I also had a few classes which consist of only international students and it was really interesting to get to know students from all over the world and working with them. This was a really good exposure and we learnt more about the other countries and the different ideas that they generate.
With the many transportation options available, it was easy to travel within the European Union. For the budget conscious travelers like us students, the budget airlines and its deals(especially if booked early) were certainly very pocket-friendly and I managed to secure a few good cheap travel deals for less than 20euros. For Vienna, there is a limited number of flights and destination that budget carriers offer. However, Bratislava (Slovakia)which is an hour bus ride journey from Vienna, has quite a number of flights and is a good option. Otherwise, the train system in Europe is also very efficient and if given the chance, one can try to take an overnight train to travel within countries. Many of the views during the train duration were simply breathtaking and you can take your time to enjoy the sceneries.
I would strongly recommend students to visit Vienna and it is noted that the university actually offers a 2week orientation cum cultural programme before school starts and costs around 200euros.While it is not compulsory, it is highly recommended by the host university as you will get to meet students from all over the world and they .In my case however, I chose not to attend the orientation programme and making friends should not be a concern as long as you go for the exchange with an open mind and not be afraid to socialize. Despite not going for orientation, I made a few close friends that came from around the world such as Taiwan, Canada, Russia and Austria. Going on an exchange has allowed me to build up my own independence and being immersed in another culture for a period of time allowed me to learn more about the other culture. It has definitely been an experience of a lifetime.
