At the Fortress Hohensalzburg, a big fortress at the top of a hill overlooking the city and the alps.

Author: Emerson Kaiser | Major: Public Health

I chose AIFS Summer in Salzburg as my study abroad experience because my study abroad advisor pointed it out to me and explained how other U of A students had been and had great things to say about the program. I had still not fulfilled the humanities course requirement for my major, public health, so I was excited when I found out the course titled “Austrian Folk Art and Customs” offered at AIFS in Salzburg would count as humanities. Upon further research, I became super interested in Austrian culture and wanted to experience it for myself, so I decided to apply. I took the Austrian Folk Art and Customs course, as well as a course titled “Contemporary Austrian Culture”, which counted toward my degree as an upper-level elective. These two courses seemed sure to provide me with a new perspective and exposure to a new academic culture, which was what I ultimately wanted to walk away with from my experience abroad. As a future healthcare professional, I knew my time spent learning about and immersing myself in a new culture would translate to me being able to better listen to and treat future patients coming from differing perspectives. I loved my professors. The professor for the Folk Art and Customs course took us on excursions multiple times a week, such as to experience a procession on the Austrian holiday Corpus Christi or to the Salzburg Museum. This allowed me to get so much out of my education there; it was so valuable to get out of the classroom and experience the customs firsthand. My professor for the Culture course kept the content very engaging and did a great job of comparing Austria to the USA for us to really see the differences in culture when it comes to healthcare, government, education, and media. The classes differed from those at the U of A in that the class sizes were very small (one of mine had 4 students and one had 7) which allowed for tons of conversation. On a similar note, the environment was very laid back and much of class was spent in discussion, which I loved.

One of my favorite experiences in Salzburg was taking a gondola up the Untersberg Mountain. You can see both Austria and Germany from the top, and the views were insane. One of the main attractions in Salzburg is the fortress that sits on the top of a hill overlooking the city, so that was interesting to visit. The food in Austria that I enjoyed most was goulash, kasespatzle, and any and every soup! It was also fun to try the sausages and pretzels because those are such a big part of their culture. It was so convenient to have a Salzburg bus pass, because we were able to get to everywhere we needed to by using public transportation.

I would recommend this program to other students because the city of Salzburg is beautiful and the culture is extremely interesting. It was a very well-organized program and I felt safe and had the resources I needed to succeed inside and outside of the classroom. We also got to stay in an amazing location right in the center of the city. Something I wish I knew beforehand is to bring your student ID card from the U of A, because there are so many student discounts offered at museums, attractions, and even restaurants. I also think it would have been helpful to know a few basic phrases in German before coming, although English is pretty widely spoken there. I had an amazing time in Salzburg with AIFS, but am excited to get back to America to drink some (free) ice water and reminisce on all of the experiences I had this summer with new friends in new parts of the world.