Adventure time

Speaking of travelling, it turns out hard not to mention the Erasmus programme. I am pretty sure every student has heard about it and all of its advantages. I took part in this programme in 2018 when I went to the city of Seville in southern Spain. I spent there almost five months, from the early September till the end of January and I think I won’t exaggerate if I say it has been the best experience of my life so far.

There are, obviously, many reasons why you probably should take part in the Erasmus exchange. As the student of languages, one of the most important aspects for me is improving language skills. Frankly speaking, I think it would be impossible to live in a foreign country and study in your target language (with other native speakers) and not to improve. It happens almost automatically – you can talk with your flatmates, classmates, cashiers in the shops, people on the street, integrate with local community and with that, you become not only more fluent, but also more outgoing, communicative and confident.

The aspect of language is very important, of course – but I would like to mention something else as well. Many miles away from home, you’re learning how to live fully by yourself. In my case, I travelled to Spain alone – none of my friends decided to take part in the programme and I hadn’t met anyone from Poland who would also be coming, so I was there completely by myself. Then, it seemed very difficult and overwhelming. However, in hindsight, I see now how important and beneficial it was for me. Obviously, this is my experience and I can’t say that anyone who also took part has felt the same – and I can’t promise it will be the same for everyone – but I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of people out there who would agree with me. It’s a big lesson of life and it may be hard to find yourself in a completely new surroundings but in the end it can be really rewarding. Besides, you get to see the life from the different points of view - different culture, different people, the way they live open your mind to the brand new perspectives.

Perhaps I’m not writing this post in the best timing – the pandemic is still a big threat in the world. Moreover, according to the recent news, the future of the Erasmus programme in Poland is very unsure and unfortunately it’s possible that Polish students won’t be able to enjoy its benefits because of the unreasonable decisions of our government. However, I hope everything will be good and turn out positive. And if there’s anyone who would like to go and feel insecure or uncertain about it, I can only encourage you to go with the idea – there’s nothing to lose, but a lot to gain.