ESN EVENTS & ERASMUS EXPERIENCES
TWENTY, C’EST LA VIE !! by: Celanie Mazzetto ESN Nancy, France
I’m 20 years old. ESN is 20 years old. What a coincidence! For you guys it’s just useless information, just an insignificant detail about a French girl. For me it’s a bit more, it’s a sign, it means something. 20, two-zero, two like a pair, zero like nothing; the mix of an entity and an abstraction... Lots of things in life work in pairs: humans, lungs, harms, legs, eyes, ears, right and left, North and South, East and West, hot and cold, boy and girl, black and white, Europe and citizens, ESN and exchange students, etc. ESN, this big institution, this family, these people, it means a lot; it means Europe, English, exchange, network, culture or even future. I had just a vague idea of these notions 14 months ago (a short time ago, I filled in a feedback form concerning the NEP in Stockholm and I had to tell how long I have been involved in ESN [in months], 14 months in my case. Yep, as you can see, feedback forms are not only useful for ESN! :D), but now I know, and I don’t want to leave it. Now it’s a part of me, like a new organ (a blue, green, orange and pink organ) which helps me to live and enjoy my life. I started my ESN adventure last year in September when I joined ESN Nancy. At this moment, I had absolutely no idea about the international level, the importance of this association and the number of people involved in this cause. Then, I went to my first international event, the SWEP 2008 in Milan. I was a bit scared to have to speak English (everyone knows how hard it could be for French people to speak English and how weird/ugly can be our French accent…), to meet so many new people, to have to represent my section whereas I was just a newbie in my section, to go in an unknown city, … But on the premises, I discovered what are really ESN, the ESN spirit -the famous PALLOMERI- and the ESN Network. This unbelievable and united network which makes things being possible, which helps everyone to be a better person, which helps thousands international students to enjoy their exchange experience. However, at the present time, I’m not really an active member in my section anymore because I’m making my exchange year in Denmark. I’m discovering the other part of the job, I’m just an Erasmus who wants to have fun, discover new cultures, speak other languages and all of these exchange student stuff lots of you guys already know. Therefore – and unfortunately – I forgot a bit ESN during this last semester. And I only realised how I missed ESN while the last ESN International event I went to (the NEP in Stockholm, the last 5th-8th November). Yes, I miss my section, I miss the fact of having responsibilities, the fact of helping exchange students, the fact of making them discover my city and the French culture: I miss everything. Of course, it’s important for me to be here as a normal exchange student, but it’s different in my case, different as for the other ones. A part of me already uses to know different cultures or different languages (or accent from everywhere in Europe). Maybe I do the things in the wrong way because lots for ESNers join ESN after their exchange year/ semester, but it doesn’t change anything, I’m still sure of something, when you start with ESN, you’ll be an ESNer all your life long! So, now how do I see my future in ESN, good question. I’m just convinced of something, I want to keep talking English in my everyday life and I want to be more active in the ESN international level, that’s in part why I’m writing this article. I don’t want to go back in France, but I don’t want to stay here. As I said few days ago to an other ESN member, I’m not really French anymore, but I’m not Danish either, I’m just an ESNer.
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