you ex-change!
ERASMUS EXPERIENCE by: Julie Renaud-Koradi ESN Besançon
I came into ESN thanks to the AGM2008 in Besançon. A student in Besançon, I let myself be tempted by an inviting public notice and took a leap into Pallomeri...Unbelievable ! It gave me the opportunity to meet students from all around Europe but also the french students who organized all of this ! At the beginning of the next school year I didn’t even think about it : I just joined the section ! I still remember the very first meeting, everyone was introducing themselves but I didn’t know what to say about myself so I just said the essentials : “Hi, I’m Julie, 18, a student of international business, I would like to take responsibilities, organize trips if it’s possible...”. I’ve been given the task and I haven’t been disappointed with it! An “older” member helped me for the very first trip; then a weekend for 50 people in Lyon – second biggest city of France- had to be organized : everything was up to me. I had to organize it with just a few notes of what had been done the past year, that is to say from scratch. Reservations, tourist guides, trains, young peoples’ hostels, phone calls, parties, bar, negotiations, prices, cancellations, inscriptions, emails, mails, faxes, letters with acknowledges of reception, handling the budget... This was a lot of things to manage, especially when you are in class ! But when the weekend finally came, it was magical. Amazing times during which I met real friends not only among Erasmus students but also among my team. Then time passed, other trips to organize, parties, getting so many times fits of the giggles during meetings. Taking part in the AGM2009 in Utrecht but also working in teams, helping each others collaborating with other organizations, fitting budgets, to fix oneself new challenges, learning basic law, to work with several different companies, learn to negotiate, to pass on our skills. I put a lot of myself into the organization but I’ve taken more out of it.. I’ve acquired a supplementary formation of my studies, self-confidence, trust from my colleagues, and access to a high responsibility tasks. But the most important is all these unforgettable moments, these extraordinary parties, and overall these irreplaceable friends. Despite my youth I had the opportunity to prove myself. This is the ESN experience : you forget every social norm you used to live in, you change, in spite of the nationality or age of you colleagues you learn and pass on the most possible of your knowledges : you eX-change !
erasmus = EX-Change-ex-perience-exchange
how to beat an mid-erasmus crisis! by: Marge Taivere I’m at the half way point of my Erasmus year and a brick wall hits me. There are many reasons for it: most of my courses won’t be recognized, I’m out of my scholarship money, I’m drinking my time away and my private life went to a round zero. My host country is Estonia, where I was working and studding full time, writing my BA thesis, ESNned for all the free moments and I also managed to train for a marathon. And now… I found my self doing hmm…. Well you know the exchange life. It is very easy to feel depressed and start questioning the entire point of being abroad, especially if you have 2 months of no school at all. Do not get me wrong- for me fun and optimism are like water for a fish, I cannot do anything without them. But just to give you an example of my situation in January (and the people who know me will find it impossible to believe) I went to bed at 10 in the evening, when a roomful of new friends were celebrating the publishing of MY first research paper. I refuse to be sad, I deny depression and I decided to put into action following points. 1. Stop facebooking= stop wasting time= stop feeling useless. Ok I’m realistic-just limit your time there. 2. Read- Open a book. Open your eyes. Open your mind. 3. Travel with your local friends. In most countries it is a challenge to make local friends, but once you are sitting on a Saturday lunch table and eating homemade local specialties and humming a happy birthday in Czech language, you will see why the challenge is totally worth taking. Thanks Linda! 4. New actions. You changed countries for a reason! Try something new, even if you think you won’t like it. I got caught up so “badly” with CZ hockey that missing a Brno Kometa match seems a crime. 5. (re)Connect with ESN. I don’t know many sections who would say “no” to a helping head. The input from an exchange student is mostly valued. If you wanna aim it higher, you can always ask international board for tasks- there are tons of great projects going on. I became a part of the sunniest and largest ESN event, better yet I am actually organizing it. That should help… and if you have no idea what I am talking about then you probable out smarted me, but I am grateful to have hit this brick wall, after all, they are there for a reason… See you on Ibiza, Greetings from Czech Republic, Brno
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