Shannon JohnstonParticipated in 2018Study Abroad | Austria
Shannon Johnston is from St. Louis, MO. She goes to Webster University as a Film, Television, and Video Production major with two minors in Cultural Anthropology and German. She’s a junior this year, but when she went abroad she was a second semester sophomore. Before going abroad, she had never been out of the United States. Once she was there, she went to Slovakia, the Netherlands, Germany, England, France, and the Czech Republic.
What inspired you to go abroad?
Webster provided many options from programs in Africa, Asia, and Europe, which made for a difficult decision to choose from those options, but I was inspired to go abroad to Vienna because I have always been interested in the German culture and language. As a minor, I study Cultural Anthropology, so the idea of integrating into a culture that is not my own is fascinating to me.
Why did you choose Webster University?
I chose Vienna because Austria is a German speaking country and, because of my long-standing interest in the German culture, that was a good fit for me. My second minor is German, so that was a good opportunity for me to be exposed to the German language first-hand. Vienna not only fit that criteria for me, but the art and history of the beautiful city was enticing.
What was your favorite part about Vienna?
My favorite part of Vienna was the culture. With rich, deep history ingrained in every corner, the city is captivating. Just a few blocks from the Webster Campus, and one street down from the dorms, is a wonderful part of the city that is piled with Jewish history. From synagogues, to Hebrew schools, to Jewish markets, the area is absolutely beautiful.
Delving deeper into the city, Vienna has done an excellent job at incorporating modern technology with the historical aspects of their city. The buildings in the city center reflect the city from its earlier days and the cobblestone streets make one feel as though they are walking through early twentieth century Austria.
Besides the architecture, the social aspects of the Austrian people was interesting to me, and their culture was much more captivating to me. Seemingly cold on the outside, the Austrian people are very friendly and down-to-earth once they know you. A people that are straightforward to tell you what is what, but also extremely helpful when you need it.
What made your experience abroad unique?
My experience abroad was unique because of the friendships I made. I made friends with many Webster Vienna students and also Austrians that I had met on outings. These people have helped me to develop myself in ways I didn't even realize I was doing. Learning to interact with people from around the world and be successful with my communication has aided me in becoming a better, more well-rounded individual.
How did local staff support you throughout your program?
Not only was I supported before I left through the application process, but also once I arrived in Vienna. From the moment we stepped out of the airport the local staff had scheduled for us to be picked up and dropped off at our dorm.
Once in the dorm, RA's were readily available to answer any questions we had and showed us to our rooms. We were taught how to navigate the Austrian legal system and how to get to the Webster Campus.
The local staff also led us to Bratislava to get our visas and once everything was sorted out, they were extremely helpful with everything we needed academically and personally. They provided academic counseling, personal counseling, and financial counseling. I never felt in any situation that I was totally alone.
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently?
One thing I wish I would have done differently would have been going to more events in my host city. Vienna has amazing events and something is always going on, but I did not take advantage of those opportunities. So, next time, that's what I will do.
Describe a typical day in the life of your program.
I personally do not feel as though there was a typical day in my program. Every single day was different and exciting. I only had classes Tuesday through Thursday, so on those days I would wake up and go to class, depending on the time and day, I would leave school around 9:00 p.m.
However, I spent a lot of time with my friends going around the city, hanging in the dorm, watching movies together, and one of our favorite things was going to the grocery story and cooking a meal together in the dorms.
A lot of our time was spent talking with each other, eating, and listening to music in our dorm's lobby. Of course we traveled on the weekends together, as well, so we would walk into the lobby and announce a place we'd like to visit and make plans right there.
What did you enjoy doing in your free time?
In my free time, I enjoyed spending time in my room watching movies. I'm an introvert, so spending time alone was also very important for me, just as much as spending time with my friends.
I would go to the vending machine in our lobby and get these local cookies that I thought were absolutely amazing, even though they were probably just generic cookies, and I would sit and watch Netflix. It was important for me to feel like I was at home in Vienna, so I really tried to make it a similar experience to what I would do in my free time if I was in St. Louis.
What was your accommodation like? What did you like best about it?
The accommodation we had was a dorm in an old Austrian hotel called Hotel Am Augarten. Once you walk in, the front desk looks exactly like what you would meet if you walked into a hotel with a glass window and a counter space. A beautiful chandelier hung in the front room and a marble, spiral staircase led us up to our rooms. If you lived on the 5th floor, which was also the top floor, an old elevator was also there.
Our rooms were large and we all had our own bathroom to our room. My bathroom had a bathtub, which I was very excited about. Heading back downstairs, the lobby area had a bar and a lot of seating space where we all hung out. In the lobby was also a Foosball table, which was our main source of entertainment, which doesn't sound very exciting but for not having previously played before going to Vienna, I became a huge fan of Foosball. We would play matches against each other, and it really connected us as a dorm. There was also a TV room with couches, as well as a full hotel kitchen that they had actually used when the dorm functioned as a hotel.
What is one thing every participant should know before participating in your program?
One thing every participant should know is to be open minded. Being open minded is going to be extremely helpful in many situations while abroad. It's going to allow you to participate in activities you normally wouldn't and probably really enjoy them. It's also going to help with your problem-solving skills to solve issues in a new way that will be more effective in an abroad situation. Being open-minded will also help you connect with people outside of your culture and perhaps develop a new perspective on life.
Now that you're home, how has your program abroad impacted your life?
Now that I'm home, I believe studying abroad has made me a more well-rounded person. Not only am I more open to different cultures and issues around the world, I also developed much more problem-solving skills. Going abroad puts you in some difficult situations that you have to personally figure out how to solve. Of course, there is always the support of the local staff to help, but for myself, it was fun for me to figure out how to solve these new issues. Going abroad really made me think and consider my own life, so I feel like I have overall become a better person because of my experience.
Would you recommend Webster University to others? Why?
I would highly recommend this program to others because it is such a unique opportunity. It is not everyday that a program allows you to go abroad and give you so much accommodation. Now, while in college, is the perfect time to see the world and do things that are out of your comfort zone, and meet new people, have so many different opportunities that you may not have thought existed. I would recommend to put the fear behind you and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity while it is presented to you.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qLvAm6momZRjsLC5jqKlrZ2iq7amw9JoqqGZnqO8r3nJqJ%2Bnq6Sku25%2Bj2pvZqiipLSzrcxmp5qqpJ6wqrzAp6s%3D