Hello, this is Heidi Bauer-Clapp (she/her) from UMass Amherst reporting on our activities for Monday, May 20! Today is Whit Monday, a holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost in the Christian tradition—universities, museums, and most shops are closed, so NAFAns were on the move again, this time to Bratislava, Slovakia.
We started the day with some challenges on Vienna’s U-Bahn (subway), which reminded us all that it’s important to be vigilant and take care of each other. We caught our Flixbus to Bratislava just in time and settled in for a comfy journey (a little over an hour from Vienna).
We received a warm welcome from the Fulbright Slovakia, who escorted us to Comenius University, our gracious hosts for the morning. On our walk to the university, we noticed the mixture of old and new in the city—strikingly beautiful historical buildings and more modern Eastern European architecture.
Lýdia Tobiášová from the Slovakian Fulbright Commission shared information about Fulbright opportunities and helpful tips, such as proficiency in Skovak is desirable for Study/Research applicants but not required, depending on the research topic; most ETAs have limited proficiency in Slovak. Slovakia awards 16 ETAs, with placement of two ETAs in each of Slovakia’s eight districts—those placed in districts outside Bratislava should be prepared for fewer English speakers in the local community.
A highlight of the morning was hearing from Caleb Ranum, a current Study/Research awardee, and Sianna (Sisi) Serio, a current ETA. They offered the following advice to potential Fubrighters to Slovakia:
- Say yes to many things but don’t say yes to too many things—Slovakians are welcoming, so there’s always something to do, but it can be overwhelming.
- ETAs in Slovakia get together about once a month (thecountry is about the size of Colorado, so travel is relatively easy on the vast public transportation system). Sisi said they are a tight network, but she recommended finding other foreigners in your home community as an ETA to help with the challenges inherent in living abroad.
- Be flexible—in Slovakia, schedules change and opportunities become available quickly.
- It can be hard to find the right person for something you need locally or related to your research, so be proactive in seeking people out, but once you’ve found the right person they will become very protective and want to help you
We also heard from administrators from four different institutions in Slovakia: The Slovak Academic Information Agency (focused on higher education in Slovakia), Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovak Technical University in Bratislava, and the University of Economics in Bratislava. We learned that educational institutions in Slovakia are promoting internationalization and are enthusiastic about welcoming students from the US, whether through Fulbright or otherwise. All the universities have multiple bachelor’s and master’s programs taught in English, with support services and easy access to inexpensive student housing for foreign students. This was quite a contrast from the other locations we have visited, where campuses do not have their own student housing, and housing in general is extremely scarce!
The overall impression was that Slovakia would be an ideal destination for a US student looking to embrace the history and culture of a lesser-known destination. Our gracious and welcoming hosts made it clear that they want to welcome our students, and the current Fulbrighters we heard from seemed to love being in Slovakia.
After an information-packed morning, we headed to Bratislavska Restauracia for a Slovakian meal—lots of happy NAFAns enjoyed peirogis, sausage, cabbage soup, various forms of sheep’s cheese, and more!
We then had the afternoon free to explore Bratislava and get a better feel for the local area. The historic town center offered multiple options for gelato, which we of course had to sample. And the Danube River was a picturesque backdrop to the historic and modern architectural styles.
The addition of Bratislava to the itinerary left many of us enthusiastic to share this little-known destination with our students and talk up the many opportunities available to them!