Czech Republic
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Enquire about Czech RepublicEligibility Requirements
- You must be between 15 to 18 years old.
- Enrolled in an NZ school or graduated
- Language requirements: Czech language lessons provided on programme
- Vegetarian or animal allergies hard to place
What's included in your experience
- Airfare
- Airport Pick-up
- Host Family Placement
- Housing
- Meals
- School Placement
- Individual Contact Person
- Medical Insurance
- 24/7 Emergency Support
- School Transport
- Assistance with Application Process
- Visa Application Assistance
- Pre-Departure Orientation
- Orientations during your time abroad
- Continuous Support
- Worldwide Presence
- 70 Years Experience
What you are responsible for
- Vaccinations
- Cultural Tours
- Visa and Passport Fees
- Stipend
- School Uniform
People & Language
Czech people value direct communication, friendliness and modesty. One of the things you’ll notice in the Czech Republic is that people say hello and goodbye to strangers in various situations, such as small shops, lifts or train compartments. A little insider’s tip: remember to take your shoes off when you go into a Czech home.
The main language spoken in Czech Republic is Czech, many people are quite proficient in English and also speak Slovak, Polish, German or Russian. Having a basic knowledge of English will be an asset in the beginning and will help you learn the local language. AFS will organize language courses in the first few months or provide you with materials to learn the language on your own before going on your exchange.
Host Family & Community
You will probably be hosted in the rural areas of Bohemia and Moravia, although AFS students have also lived in Prague and Brno. Czech families rarely have more than two children and will warmly welcome you. . They are usually close-knit, and it’s common for extended family members to live together, especially grandparents. In small towns, people live in apartment blocks but enjoy visiting their country cottages during the weekend.
School
You’ll most likely attend a local public high school called a gymnasium, which prepares students for University. You can expect to spend your school day with a “tree class”—a group of students who attend all their classes together. You don’t need to wear a uniform but it’s typical for students to change from shoes into slippers when entering school.
Food
Czech people enjoy their cuisine, which is a mix of German, Hungarian, and Polish influences. Dumplings, meat, potatoes and rice are very popular. Most dishes are topped with a thick sauce and vegetables or sauerkraut. Caraway seeds, bacon, and lots of salt are common flavorings. While meat is a big part of the Czech diet, vegetarianism is also pretty widely accepted.
Peace Camp Info
The PEACE Programme or PEACE through Exchange and Active Citizenship Education is a secondary school trimester programme which aims at empowering and enabling young people to become active citizens. The participants stay with host-families and go to high school in a European country. At the end of the programme, all participants of the PEACE programme come to Belgium for a five day long camp with a focus on Active Global Citizenship in Europe.