Slovenia

Land of mountains at a cultural crossroad

Slovenia is at the crossroads of the Balkans, Southern, Eastern and Central Europe and offers a very diverse landscape—the Alps, beautiful forests, the Mediterranean coast and the Pannonian Plain. This is a country that loves sports and recreation all year round: Skiing, snowboarding, swimming, hiking and cycling.

Whether through school or community centers, teens like team sports: basketball, football and volleyball, Other popular leisure options are theater, choir and dance. On weekends you will find young people gathering at cafes and bowling alleys.

People & Community

AFS students are placed all over Slovenia, mostly in the cities Maribor and Ljubljana. Nuclear families are more common in bigger cities, while extended families usually live together in rural areas. Punctuality is appreciated. Your host family may have set times for dinner and when you are expected to be home in the evening.

A photo posted by Axelle (@axellevankeirsbilck) on

School

There are many different types of secondary schools, and you will attend a grammar school, with subjects like math, Slovene, English and a second foreign language (French, German, Spanish and Italian), sciences and social studies. The school day usually runs from 8 am to 3 pm, (September through June) divided into two semesters. Every two months or so there is a week long holiday. 

Language

The official language is Slovene. Hungarian and Italian have the status of official languages in the ethnically mixed regions along the Hungarian and Italian borders. Many people in Slovenia are also proficient in German or English, so having a basic knowledge of these will help you in the beginning. AFS will also support you in learning Slovene by sharing links and materials.

A photo posted by Axelle (@axellevankeirsbilck) on

Photo by Amanda Slater
Photo by Amanda Slater

Food

Slovenian food is rather simple: most common are potatoes, meat and warm thick soup. In the morning, Slovenes usually have a small breakfast (cereal or a piece of bread with jam or some other spread), followed by a snack—a sandwich and a piece of fruit or a yoghurt during weekdays while in school or at work. Otherwise they enjoy lunch as their biggest meal of the day featuring a main course and a salad; some also have soup as an appetizer. Dinner is a lighter meal. Typical Slovenian dishes that you should try include potica (a delicious nut roll pastry), štruklji (cream filled dumplings), or čevapčiči (a minced meat dish).

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 AFS 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.