... AND ALL THIS IN ONE YEAR

For most students it is a challenge to start an academic adventure combined with travelling around Europe. Constant movement from one place to another has sometimes tricky, but mostly interesting and exciting events. The tricky part that will put at test your personal capacity to act responsibly is related with the constant changes in terms of moving from one country to another for a year, finding an apartment there, going through all the administrative procedures, and trying to adjust to the new system of education and everyday life. Just try to imagine what that feels like if you have to change three different countries in a year. There is a student I talked to who went through such a process. Nearing the end of her studies she can now look back and say what it felt like to be a student in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy.

Elena Ignovska is a Master student of Bioethics on Erasmus Mundus Programme. She arrived in Leuven last September, went through the Orientation Days, like most other newcomers, and then the real student life began. Coming to Leuven, it takes some time to figure out the different locations of your lectures. Looking for accommodation takes up a lot of your time and energy. Even when you find a room, you can be faced with a lot of problems, like the some noisy students who change day for night. Finally, you manage to settle all the basic things: You have your residence permit, your health insurance card, your newly found satisfactory room. Three months is enough to find your favourite restaurants and bars which you visit with the newly formed group of friends, and if you are a bit more eager you can travel around Belgium and discover its sightseeing jewels. Of course, within three months, you can grasp a bit of the Belgian history, political environment, culture, and their daily life.  As soon as everything settles in its place it is time to leave for another university town.

The second home Elena had to change to was Nijmegen, in the Netherlands. It is not to far from Leuven. Still, it is a well-known fact that although the Dutch are neighbours, the country is very different. And the story starts all over again. New introductions, new professors and coordinators, similar but different methodology and approach to the studies, new favourite places, cuisine, weather forecast, likes and dislikes, new towns in surrounding to visit, new people to meet that became part of her story and she became part of theirs. She tried to organise her time as best as possible, so after the hard work was done, she went through the new possibilities to travel. According to her, Amsterdam with all its controversy is a must see, then there is the administrative centre - The Hague, also a very contemporary Rotterdam, or maybe the carnival that traditionally takes place during February in the southern part of Netherlands.
The last destination of this year long programme is Padova, an Italian city which again tells a new story. Apart from the big change in weather, the country is Mediterranean and that means that the life there is different. The first things you can associate to Italy are probably noisy streets, lot of people enjoying good sunny weather. What should definitely be mentioned is the variety of Italian food, especially pastas in all shapes and flavours.  Although this is a common stereotype it is up to a point a true one. The one thing Elena noticed though is that although Padova is noisier during the day, in the evening the town is calm, it resides in its tranquillity among beautiful piazzas and narrow streets, seated in between beautiful old buildings.

It is very difficult for Elena to put together all her impressions now. She will be able to do that only once she has returned to her home country. One thing is certain: this is an experience which can be described as everything else but monotonous and boring. From academic point of view this is a very interesting study because you get a very interdisciplinary overview of the topic you are studying, you go through three different ways of studying, different methodologies at universities. Although the programme itself was very busy and demanding still she had two weeks free in between of every transfer she had to make, so this was a good opportunity to travel through Europe.

“A wonderful experience, which can be hardly compared to anything else. It colours your life, fastens your hart beat and opens your mind. At the same time, it makes you appreciate what you have and makes you sensitive and tolerable towards differences of the cultures and people. I will keep the memories of this year for a long time”. |