Karl Franzens Universität Graz (KFUNIGRAZ)

I was fluent in German before coming to Austria, but had not had to deal with the thick difficult style often used in academic literature here, which meant reading texts and writing papers took me longer than it does in Englad. It was not always easy for me to understand the Styrian dialect.

Go with the single room. Having a roommate is hard enough when you share a common culture...

I found that being here for the year was very good for improving my german, because I was exposed to it all the time. It is always a problem for english speakers however that a lot of people want to speak english with you. You just have to be persistent and speak german whenever possible.

Most Austrian students live in their own flats, but housing for visiting students is arranged by the Austrian Exchenge Service. There are rooms in flats with fellow students or in a hall of residence. I found the service very good, and everything was arranged for me in plenty of time with little fuss.

I was surprised about my ability to speak German. I hadn´t expected to cope that well. At the begin I was a little shy and was affraid to make mistakes but that changed very quickly. I had a lot of contacts with austrian students and therefore I was obliged to speak German all the time. I also had contacts with Englishmen and Frenchmen but we spoke German most of the time. I learned a lot of new expressions and words.

If you don't like cooking go to the Katholische Mensa, the quality is high and the prices right for students.