A relatively small body of research has been conducted on the near- and long-term effects of study abroad (SA) to date. This existing research suggests that SA effects on language skills tend to be volatile, while the impact on various aspects of learners' personal, academic, and professional development may be longer-lasting. Yet, learner perspectives on the dynamics and durability of such effects, in particular in the context of short-term SA programs, remain largely unexplored. This study hence investigates the near-term impact of short-term SA programs as experienced by students within the first months and years following their sojourns. A qualitative case-study design is employed to examine the accounts of four American students of German, who studied abroad in Austria for four weeks and were interviewed repeatedly over a period of up to 40 months after their sojourns. The results suggest that, from the students' perspective, many effects deteriorate in the near term, although the overall sojourn experience still appears influential.