While Prague is the largest city in the country, it is more likely that you will be placed in a family elsewhere in the country. Your host family will welcome you as another member of the family, so you will get the unique opportunity to experience Czech culture up-close. Host families come in all shapes and sizes, so you may have many siblings, older or younger, or no siblings at all! You should be prepared to fully become a part of the family, including following their rules, helping around the house, and sharing big moments of your life with them.

It is common for Czech families to live in apartment buildings, even in smaller cities, but you may live in a house as well. Often, multiple generations or extended family members share the same house; usually, the grandparents will live with one of their adult children and their family.  A lot of Czech families also have a cottage or summer home, where they enjoy spending time on the weekends and during the summer holidays. Czechs remove their shoes when they arrive home, and usually change into slippers or house shoes.  

There are several types of high schools in the Czech Republic. We place our exchange students mostly into so-called "Gymnázium". In your Czech high school, you will be part of a group of 20-30 students that spend every day of the school week (Monday - Friday) together. The core of high school studies is to attend obligatory subjects such as Math, Czech, Physics, Languages etc. Czech students and teachers change their shoes upon arrival at school, and you should be prepared to stand whenever a teacher enters the classroom. Attending a Czech high school will leave you with tons of unforgettable memories.

After school hours, Czech students have the opportunity to participate in many activities. At the age of 16, they attend basic dance lessons with their class – you may get the opportunity to learn to dance as well! Other popular activities include sports clubs, music lessons, and drama. We are sure you will find an activity you enjoy during your exchange year, something new or something you already know that you enjoy! If you open yourself to new people, though, you will soon find good friends who will be more than willing to help you when you need!  

Czechs are partial to greasy, heavy, and filling meals. Czechs people enjoy their traditional meals very much. Czech cuisine is greatly influenced by surrounding countries. For example, dumplings and sauerkraut (our staple dishes) come from Germany, schnitzel (breaded and fried chicken or pork patties) was added to Czech menu from Austria, goulash (gulas) is from Hungary and other additions to our cuisine such as pickles, sour cream, or vinegar come from Eastern Europe. Many meals are based on starches and meats and a side dish (potatoes, dumpling or rice).

Other than that, we cannot forget the traditional desserts – kolace (kolaches), apple strudel, or a special type of pastry filled with cottage cheese, poppy seeds or plum jam. Czechs also have a few certain dishes that they eat only during religious and holiday celebrations. In general, we can say that Czechs enjoy food very much. The national beverage is beer; Moravia is proud of some good domestic wines and a domestic plum brandy called Slivovice (Slivovitz). 

Your arrival point to the Czech Republic will be Prague airport or Prague main train station. The main train station connects with all neighbor countries and many of these connections are a very comfortable and time efficient solution. For domestic travel within the Czech Republic, there is a well-developed railroad system, as well as intercity buses. Other than public transport Czechs rely on their cars a lot. In facts, there is a huge car factory in Mladá Boleslav called Škoda Auto. This company is working for over a century and is well-known in the world.

The Czech Republic is a member of the EU, but the currency is Czech Koruna/Crown (CZK). In the Czech Republic major international credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc. ) are accepted almost everywhere, and it is also possible to pay in cash. Bank machines/ATMs are widely accessible throughout the country, though it is never a bad idea to change a little money before departing your home country. 

• Rrecommend 2500 – 3000 CZK per month recommended
  
• Movie ticket :  200-240 CZK
• Hamburger : 100 CZK
• Shampoo :  50 CZK
• Tram ticket (Prague): 30 CZK single ticket
• Student monthly prepaid tram/bus/metro ticket: 130 CZK
• Stamp : 25 CZK (EU), 39 CZK (Europe), 45 CZK (outside of EU)
• T-shirt : 150-200 CZK 
• Paper Back Book : 200-400 CZK