Motivation
Travelling has always been a huge life goal of mine, however I found this difficult to do while studying full-time. I had undertaken UQ supported internship overseas for 2 weeks in 2024 and loved it, so thought exchange would be the perfect next step to seeing more of the world while working towards my degree. Central Europe was the perfect place to do this, as it allowed for easy travel to both sides of the European continent.
Personal Development
The intangible things I gained from this experience are truly immeasurable. Most impactful are the friends I made. That may sound cliche, as I'm sure anyone who has been on an exchange would say the same thing- but it is absolutely true. I was apprehensive at first at my ability to make friends completely on my own, but what started with "where are you from" ended with lots of tears and a promise to visit each other in our home countries. Exchange places you in a very unique position where all of your peers are living the same life as you for 6 months. You often live in the same parts of town, all take the same classes and, in Prague at least, not many students worked while studying which gave us plenty of free time to become incredibly close.
Prague is also the perfect central location in Europe to travel while studying. I was able to get cheap flights to many cities and saw a lot of the "less popular" towns with the extended time that I was overseas. The freedom to travel so easily and with so much flexibility is something difficult to replicate outside of an exchange setting.
I can also say with certainty that this experience has had a huge impact on my self confidence. I had previously assumed I might have struggled to break out of my shell and make friends, but looking back meeting people was the easiest part of my whole time overseas.Having said this, living in Central Europe, especially through winter, has also helped me return to Australia with a new appreciation for our incredible weather and very friendly people!
Academic Development
I really enjoyed the class discussions that emerge from having an internationally diverse group of students in class. While UQ has plenty of international students, the exchange setting is really on another level, as many classes at Charles University were reserved for exchange students only. This helped me to learn first hand about the history and culture of many European countries, as well as compare the Australian legal system with the likes of the UK and the US. The language and cultural barriers occasionally made communication difficult, especially when trying to translate legal jargon or complex concepts, but this really refined my ability to break down concepts into their most necessary bits of information!
Professional Development
Studying overseas opened up what I perceived to be achievable in my career. Previously I had been comfortable with the idea of rooting my career in Australia, however after my exchange experience I have become much more determined to seek opportunities overseas. Employability wise, my communication skills have definitely been refined, as has my ability to approach new cultures and systems with an open mind. I have been working towards shifting my perspective from seeing the way of being at home as the default, into one of many ways to reach the same goals!
Costs
I did not track my expenses as much as would be necessary to do an exchange on a budget. Travelling was a major priority of mine, which I knew would be a massive expense, so I had worked full time for 6 months prior to exchange and saved around $10 000 of my own money. I was also able to receive just over $8 000 from my OS-Help loan in addition to funding from UQ. I was also lucky enough to be able to receive youth allowance while on exchange- something I would highly recommend looking into while in Australia, as you can't apply while overseas.
Living in Prague is reasonably cheap, about 60% of the overall costs you might encounter living out of home in Australia (although this is a very rough guess). I stayed in the University dorms which was around $80 AUD a week; I shared a dorm with 3 other girls, although there are options for single rooms for a higher price. Groceries were approximately $50-$70 a week, although I noticed certain products were more expensive in Prague than in Australia. Things like cheese, yogurt, eggs and muesli were much cheaper than at home, while I found cosmetics quite expensive. 
Transport is very affordable, I paid $30 AUD for a 3 month pass that allowed unlimited travel on Prague's metro, trams and buses, all of which run very reliably and regularly. If I did need to order a bolt for any reason, these were also cheap. A 25 minute ride into the centre of town on a Saturday night would be less than $20 AUD, which I often split with my roommate. Going out is even less than half the price you might spend on a night out back home, may say that the beer here is cheaper than water! I didn't use too many budgeting techniques to be honest, as I knew my youth allowance was enough to cover my weekly living expenses. I mostly just kept a close eye on my monthly spend, to make sure I would still have enough cash left for any big trips or bucket list items I wanted to check off before heading home. I will say doctor visits can be quite expensive without using your insurance, and even if you can naviagte making a claim with insurance, booking appointments can be tricky! I was unlucky enough to injure my ankle just before Christmas, but was able to go to the hospital and get scans for free as I was in the UK at the time!
Accommodation
The option for university accommodation was made known to me upon my application to undertake exchange at Charles University. This was also a significant factor in my decision to study at Charles, as it alleviated a lot of the pre-depature stress that can come with exchange. I lived in a dormitory which consisted of two bedrooms, each with two single beds. Myself and my 3 roommates shared a bathroom and kitchenette, while the laundry and gym were shared with the whole building.
The main pro of the accommodation was the affordability, and how easy it was to arrange. Accommodation is guaranteed to any student who indicates they would like to be allocated to a room. The cons are that the rooms are very basic; we had no appliances aside from a 2 burner stove and a kettle and each ate at our desks in our bedrooms as there is no dining table/space. The dorms also can be located far out from the city, however most are very close to public transport. My plan originally was to stay in the dorms until I could find private accommodation in the city, but my roommates ended up being my best friends so I chose to stay!
Highlight
I could write a book full of highlights honestly! The amount of travel I was able to do across Europe was incredible, but what made it special was being able to do it with friends from across the world, often with very little to no plan and very last minute! Visiting some of my friends in their hometowns was very special, and not an experience you can get as a regular tourist. There are a few stand out moments of course; seeing Paris covered in snow, having the mountain to ourselves while hiking in Lauterbrunnen, getting a personal tour of London from a local friend, visiting in friends at their home university in Galway, booking a trip to Rome on a days notice and wandering around Prague castle after the first snow of winter!
Advice/Top Tips
Do it. I look back at any hesitation I had prior to going and wonder why I ever doubted myself. 6 months sounded like a long time before leaving but it really flew by! For Prague in particular I would strongly advise arranging a visa as soon as possible. My Australian roommate had to fly back to Sydney within the first month to collect her visa, a complete nightmare! The Czech consulate in Australia is notoriously difficult to communicate with, so I would recommend gathering all your documents as soon as possible; noting that some of the required appointments can be booked out a month in advance!
