Slovakia

A beautiful setting at the geographic center of Europe

From the scenic roads winding through the northern mountains to the modern cities of Bratislava and Nitra, Slovakia has many adventures to offer right in the geographic center of Europe. A true “café culture,” cobblestone streets and delicious pastries paint the picture of Slovak towns, while beautiful mountains, plains, forests and famous hot springs and mud pools define the countryside.

Teens in Slovakia spend a lot of time outdoors, playing sports, especially soccer. There’s at least one soccer team in every village and town. Ice hockey is also popular. Slovakia is very mountainous and perfect for skiiing.

People & Community

You will probably live in a smaller town or village. Family activities include the movies, hiking, camping and attending  local festivals and other cultural events. 

Photo By Kurt Bauschardt
Photo By Kurt Bauschardt

School

You’ll likely attend a gymnasium, a highly competitive school that prepares students for university. School in Slovakia runs 8 am to 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday. You might find school to be more formal than in your country. The curriculum will include Slovak language, two foreign languages, history, art and culture, physical education, mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics.

Language

Slovak refers to an inhabitant of Slovakia, as well as the language. It is closely related to the other West Slavic languages, (primarily Czech), but also has been influenced by Latin, German, and English. AFS will provide language-learning materials in the beginning of your stay.

Photo by Dushan Hanuska
Photo by Dushan Hanuska

Food

Slovakian food tends focus on meat served with dumplings or potatoes. The national dish is bryndzove halusky, dumplings with cheese and bacon. You can also expect to have lots of bread with most meals and vegetables like cabbage and potatoes. Try the delicious pastries and sweets. Vegetarianism might not be very common but it’s possible to get by without eating meat.

Let AFS guide your intercultural adventure

Go abroad with AFS to discover who you really are, make new lifetime friendships and immerse yourself in a fascinating intercultural experience.
TEEN PROGRAMS (UNDER 18 YEARS OLD)

Our learning program will prepare you for an amazing AFS intercultural experience. The program begins at your home country with a pre-departure orientation and continues with orientations and other supported learning activities and facilitated conversations will help you maximize your experience, cope the challenges of navigating a new culture and community and gain knowledge, skills, and a global understanding, throughout your time abroad, and as you return to you home country. AFS volunteers will be there to support and guide you and your host family through your learning journey abroad.

ADULT PROGRAMS (18 YEARS OR OLDER)

The Global Competence Certificate (GCC) program will support your intercultural learning experience. This state-of-the-art program prepares you to successfully navigate new cultural environments—during your AFSNext experience and long after you finish the program. Online intercultural learning modules combined with in-person sessions help you develop practical and global skills, knowledge and attitudes that employers need and mission-driven organizations believe will help achieve their social impact goals. You will receive your certification upon completion of the training program.