eXpress14

Read about:

SocialErasmus ESNcard Stereotypes

European Identity 14th Edition Summer 2012

ESN COUNTRIES

:

ESN SWEDEN ESN GREECE

Editor in Chief Josefin Svensson Text and Photo Damien Lamy-Preto Ania Burtan Evita Purzale Carmen Cuesta Roca ESN Trondheim Cindy Deronzi Dominique Montagnese Jennifer Carlsson Stefan Jahnke Nils Petersen Igors Skute ESN Iceland Michel Erlandsen Caroline Thurmann Morand Oscar Boije ESN UJ Krakow Orestis Vlahos Alexandros Vigkos ESN Greece ESN UE-Varna Anja Pletikosa Katharina Ma Kenny Ho Alicia Macanás

Language editor: Sien Monbailliu Design: Josefin Svensson Cover picture: Thomas Lavin

Dear Reader, When I was elected as Communication Manager in March last year I would have never expected to have a year like this. I have been back and forth to many corners of Europe, I have met wonderful and inspiring people from almost every country of this continent, I have learned so many things about this organisation we all love, about Europe and so much about myself.

This also brings us to the topic of this magazine, European Identity… what does it mean? For me it is identifying with this amazing continent. When before going abroad, meeting people from so many places I was merely identifying with my own country (Sweden), now I feel that Europe is my home and that I despite our differences would not mind living outside of the borders of Sweden. Even if I have always been curious about the world and its people, I had not quite grasped what Europe had to offer and how much I love this continent. We have the history, we have the nature, we have the diversity. Unity in diversity, diversity in the unity is one of the values of ESN and I think that it clearly illustrates what we learn about others and ourselves through ESN and how it contributes to a European Identity.

More practically it is clear that I have become influenced by other cultures and how I clearly have become more “southern”. When in the north we tend to strictly follow the rules in traffic, for example waiting minutes on a deserted road before crossing because the little green man is not yet shining bright, in the southern people tend to walk out in the street even if there is traffic.

Through manic mental and physical training from my southern friends, even if almost hit by a car in Athens I have learned to successfully cross a street even with some traffic.

Even if it is learned to cross a street, tasting the food of your neighbor at eurodinner, learning more about the history of another country, going on vacation to somewhere new or simply taking part in this organization we have come to love they all contribute to the feeling of being European and thus the European Identity.

In this magazine you will read about stereotypes, about ways to see ones identity, the identity of ESN and SocialErasmus a project which contributes to the European Identity. I hope you enjoy our choice of topic and I wish you a pleasant reading!

Hope to see you around somewhere in Europe, Josefin Svensson Communication Manager ESN AISBL

express@esn.org ESN International Rue Hydralique 15 1210 Brussels, Belgium

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS The story of your ESNcard

4

Corporate Identity of ESN

6 17

SocialErasmus Diaries SHOW YOUR COUNTRY! 9

22 Greece

Sweden

23

ESN GREECE

ESN SWEDEN

10

ESN GREECE CELEBRATES THE 25TH ANNIVER-

ON EXCHANGE IN SWEDEN!

11

SARY OF THE ERASMUS PROGRAMME!

24

SEABATTLE

12

THE CRETE TRIP 2012

24

EATING, SWEDISH STYLE

12

SHEEP ATHENS

25

PRIME - THE GREEK CASE

25

ESN AUTH - MOVIESTAR

25

SECTIONS OF GREECE

26

TRIPS TO THE HIGH NORTH AND THE MYSTERIOUS EAST 13

European Identity ALSACE: AN ABERRANT EXAMPLE OF EUROPEAN IDENTITY

7

ESN Experience 8

ESN TWENTE AND THE COUNTRY PRESENTATIONS! 13

TOUR THE FRANCE ERASMUS, CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

STEREOTYPES IN EUROPE, WHO ARE YOU?

ESN UE-VARNA – IN THE TRADITION OF SOCIALERASMUS 27

32

MUSING ON AN UNEXPECTED EXPERIENCE ABROAD 32

A COMPLETE AUSTRIAN MEAL

30

EUROPEAN IDENTITY AND THE WILLINGNESS TO KNOW

PHOTOS

34

FAR BEYOND THE DOORSTEP

33

SECTIONS IN THE SPOTLIGHT ESN TRONDHEIM

7

ESN LUND

12

ESN UJ KRAKOW

15

EXCHANGE YOUR LANGUAGE! ENGLISH: THE LAND OF FIRE AND ICE

14

ICELANDIC: LAND ELDS OG ÍSS

15

ENGLISH: BETWEEN THE EARTH AND SKY

28

CROATIAN: NI NA NEBU NI NA ZEMLJI

29

3

Projects

The Story of your ESNcard

by Damien Lamy-Preto Once upon a time.. during the year 2003-2004, the biggest national networks of ESN presented the idea to develop a common membership card for incoming students during a CNR meeting. Back then, the Polish and Italian networks were the only ones which had a national membership card, still without the ESN logo on it. Other national networks such as Austria, France and the Netherlands were planning to create their own national card. Christof Graf (NR of Austria) heard about the plan to merge the two national cards. He raised the idea of a European implementation of the project for all 60.000 students helped by ESN. The ESNcard-project was proposed to the whole network during the Annual General Meeting of 2004 in Helsinki. Christof developed the plan together with Luca Laudiero (president of ESN Italy) and Michal Zasada (NR ESN Poland). The concept was simple and clear, the expectations were huge. Some of the reactions by the audience: “This would be an important step to making ESN more famous, as well as it would for sure strengthen the network – strengthen the identification of the local sections with ESN International.”

“The main goal of the common ESN-card is to increase the benefits for our members – exchange students and mentors. Most of them travel a lot. Using the same card in every country would entitle an ESN member to all benefits negotiated on local and national level in all countries. If in the

future an exchange student plans to go to another European city he’ll find on a webpage the benefits he can get from his card in a particular city. The data should be managed with a content management system, in order to keep it easily updated.”

“The card would be a tool to strengthen our network. It will for sure enhance the feeling in all our sections of belonging together.”

In 2004-2005, the first ESNcards were created. ESN produced 6.650 cards which were distributed in 7 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. Like with every huge project, the ESNcard story began small.

In 2005-2006, ESNcard welcomed a new design responding to the Corporate Identity of the network, while new data fields were added. The card quickly gained in popularity and became the ID of a new generation of mobile students belonging to the Pallomeri community. 35.000 cards were distributed in 15 countries. Growth continued so that in 2006-2007 ESN issued 40.000 cards in 20 countries. Meanwhile, the International Board, National Boards and Local Boards were developing their partnerships to offer more and more discounts and services linked to the ESN card.

In 2011, the Finance Committee picked up the by then sleeping project again.

It created the marketing team, in which two members became responsible for the ESNcard project: Elodie Carme (ESN ASER Toulouse 1) and Magda Porazinska (ESN UG Gdansk) developed the project together with Damien Lamy-Preto (IB treasurer).

They created new tools for the ESNcard,

updated the design and worked on the project ESNcard.org.

By 2011-2012, ESN already produced 100.000 cards. ESNcard now is linked to thousands of discount all over Europe and is a pass used for almost all ESN events.

It covers 31 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom.

ESNcard.org?

The official story of ESNcard.org starts in the beginning of December 2010. Although the concept was not new, Damien LamyPreto (Treasurer 2010-2012) presented a whole new project plan during CND Milano.

He proposed to build a database, accessible to the exchange students, of all discounts given to ESNcards; an idea picked up from the brain stream during the creation of ESNcard.

In 2006, an earlier version of this had already been built. Originally a database where students should register and activate the card to access, it grew out to become ESN Galaxy, the online ESNCommunity.

However, as this was too complicated to use for the cards, the ESNcard database project failed.

The new platform esncard.org has been built in cooperation with Nuvole, a youth IT company created by the 2005-2007 webteam of ESN. The goal of the concept is to make it easy and welcoming for ESNcard holders. The creation started in October 2011, when ESN decided to allow a bigger budget to the project. Ever since,

History of the ESNcard 4

Projects the platform has been developed, tested, ameliorated and retested before launch.

Finally, the platform released the 15th of May 2012. From now on, all the sections using ESNcard can promote their partners and ESNcard services to the whole ESNcard community. Pay the platform a visit at www.esncard.org and discover its perks for yourself!

Find discounts from all over Europe

What’s next?

The revived ESNcard project started its second part in May, after the launch of ESNcard.org. The objective is to create a database of all ESNcard holders, allowing the sections to manage their local members in a more convenient way. Among many other possibilities for the network, this tool will offer barcodes usage, member management and event registrations and management.

If all goes well, the new tools should be ready by September 1st, so stay curious and in the meanwhile go out and discover www.esncard.org!

Inter

natio

nal d

iscou

nts

Offers close to you

Today!

5

Projects

Corporate Identity of ESN

by Ania Burtan & Evita Purzale If you are one of those ESNers who wonder why you have to know all the rules regarding the proper use of the visual identity of our Erasmus Student Network, then this article is definitely for you. If you know them already, you should still consider reading – it´s always good to strengthen your knowledge!

Why is it that important to use the ESN logo correctly? Why can’t you change it any way you want, as long as it still is visible that you’re a part of ESN? Some of you may think “I know the rules, but nothing bad is going to happen if I cut the bottom part of the logo”. We want you to realize that by doing so, you are harming not only the ESN logo, but also the identity of ESN.

a Dutch leading design agency based in Amsterdam, and was adopted on the 1st of June 2006. It is registered at the EU Copyright Office to avoid that unauthorized third parties can use it or interfere with ESN’s use of it.

We all know that a picture says more than a thousand words. The logo of ESN tells us about ESN’s values and qualities which unite us all. Therefore, how we use our logo and how we present ourselves to external partners is important. The ESN logo has been designed by Koeweiden Postma,

Since the logo was approved we have been recommended to use it in our daily activities, and of course to use it in a correct manner. Unfortunately, we sometimes tend to misuse the Corporate Identity of ESN. This means the identity of our network suffers, and who would want that?

Below you can find the most common mistakes 1. Cutting the logo – removing the text: “International Exchange Erasmus Student Network”

The only part of the ESN logo that can be used separately is the ESN Star!

2. Using the font of the logo (letters “E-S-N”) for titles or other type of text

Color is a strong part of the visual identity.

The same way we recognize that a yellow car might be a cab, we want people to recognize the light blue as the ESN color.

In the same way that we recognize the Coca Cola bottles even if there is no label on them, we want people to recognize the shape of the ESN Star. Neither the ESN star nor the ESN logo can be skewed, twisted, tinted or cut. Can you imagine the McDonald’s logo in a different color?

Or Facebook’s logo in a different font? Of course not! A good and consistent use of the logo helps to reinforce ESN’s visual identity and supports its recognizability.

If you ever have any doubt, you can always check the Visual Identity manual (http:// esn.org/content/esn-visual-identity) or write to the Communication Manager (communication@esn.org). If you realize that your section logo infringes the visual identity of ESN and there is nobody in your team who is able to correct it, you can always request the Graphics Team to do it for you! Simply send an email to graphics@ esn.org with the image of your section’s current logo and it will be taken care of.

This article is dedicated to Rasmus Aberg from ESN Sweden – the biggest fan of proper CI usage :)

The ESN font of the letters “E-S-N” does not exist as a full font. 3 single letters have been created and they can only be used in the ESN logo.

3. Using the ESN logo in the wrong colors

6

The ESN logo can only be used in its original colors, grey scale, or in full white or black color.

„The

ESN logo is the face of our organization; let’s make it visible and recognizable. Let’s build one strong ESN brand!

“

European Identity/SITS

Alsace: an aberrant example of European identity

by Carmen Cuesta Roca My time in Strasbourg is not quite how I imagined life in France.

Perhaps this is because Strasbourg is not quite French. With omnipresent German architecture, street signs often supplemented with the Alsatian equivalent, and every restaurant advertising meals such as “Sürkrüt” and “Flàmmaküacha”, it is safe to say that the town of Strasbourg (a name derived from the German language) appears to owe more to its Germanic heritage than to the Republic.

In brief, Alsace changed hands four times between the years 1870 and 1945, and despite the 57 years that have occurred since, the effect is rather noticeable. Architecture ranges from grand white facades displaying French neo-classism to black and white timberframed houses, typical of the Rheinland. When the sun shines you are more likely to need German rather than French to ask for directions and the food here lacks the expected délicatesse of French food, mainly consisting of fatty meat and carbohydrates.

In the past eight months, I have learnt that identity can be shaped not only by something as important as the language spoken, but also by something that seems to have little profound significance, such as what food appears on your menu or the aesthetics of your

surroundings. Strong identities are created amongst communities that have distinct and recognizable commonalities, and in these, Alsace is certainly not lacking.

Moreover, Strasbourg is also the heart of Europe, home to many European institutions including the European Court of Human Rights, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. The city displays an obvious “double culture” due to its turbulent past, but a vaster multiculturalism is now present here in Alsace with the influx of students and workers from all over Europe. Strasbourg is truly a European city, demonstrating a strong European identity, perhaps because this unique region does not pertain completely to one sole nation. Alsace‘s detachment from France seems to have allowed multiculturalism to thrive.

In the past 20 years Alsace has stretched its horizons far beyond its stereotypical French-German fusion. The city is a safe haven for people of all nationalities, from all different backgrounds, and provides a place where all can feel “at home”. To me, that is the essence of European identity: being part of a community that isn‘t dictated simply by your birthplace or origin, but is rather the formation of new communities based on shared values.

Section in the Spotlight May ESN Trondheim

by ESN Trondheim ESN Trondheim was established in 1995. It consists of 23 active members, where five of them are in the board. All active members have a weekly meeting to update each other on the activities.

One of the best things Norway has to offer is its beautiful nature, which for many international students is like nothing they have ever seen before. ESN Trondheim therefore tries to organize trips to explore this. Once a semester, they bring 50 international students on a 6-day trip to the stunning archipelago of Lofoten, where the students get to taste Viking food, wear Viking armor and helmets, and row a Viking ship while being surrounded by great mountains.

Furthermore, they have trips to explore the Geirangerfjord (on the UNESCO World Heritage-list), Åre (the largest ski-resort in Northern Europe), and surfing trips to Stadt. On the local level, ESN Trondheim arranges activities like international and national dinners, theme parties, curling, football challenge, speed dating and quiz nights. They also take 100 students each

semester to the Swedish national event, Sea Battle.

During the fall of 2011, ESN Trondheim recruited 500 local students to their Buddy program, which means that they had more than one third of the international students covered. Many of them attended Buddy activities together with their international buddies. This was a huge achievement and improvement for the section.

Every semester, the Board organizes a workshop where the main goal is to share knowledge and motivate the members. In order to create a good social atmosphere they also arrange a lot of fun social activities just for ESNers. This year they did a cabin trip, tapas night, tex-mex night, parties, and last but not least a weekend trip to Riga in February.

As far as national involvement goes, two out of four members in the National Board are from ESN Trondheim. Next to that, they actively take part in the National Platform, where they sent 10 members last January.

On the international level they send as many participants as possible to meetings (3 to NEP, 2 to NBM, 3 to AGM, 1 to BEST) and in January 2012 they arranged the SocialErasmus Coordinator Meeting!

7

25th Anniversary

Tour the France Erasmus, Celebrating 25 years

by Cindy Deronzi & Dominique Montagnese For the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus Program, Erasmus Student Network France wanted to organise something huge. The first questions they had were: “What do our students need? Do they have enough information about mobility? Is the scheme of Erasmus clear enough in their minds? Do they know how to participate in this program?”

ESN France decided to create the very first document that would give the answer to every question students can ask themselves about mobility. Based on the results of the PRIME report, ESN France wanted to among other things reassure its students that going on Erasmus is not that complicated, and leaving the country for an Erasmus year still allows them to keep their French scholarship. In short, the actual unfulfilled need of the French students is to be informed!

However, after creating this kind of document, ESN France felt it would be a pity not to meet those students in their own cities to answer all their questions while in the meantime promote the role and values of the ESN Network.

As this was a big project, they decided to divide it into two parts, and tackle it step by step.

With the help of several sponsors such as the National Agency Europe Education Formation France, Education First, Fondation Hypocrène, Eurodesk and Touteleurope.eu, ESN France was able to produce 45.000 copies of the “Passeport Erasmus International”.

This document is the heart of the French 25th anniversary of the Erasmus project and was made to help French students find answers to their desire for mobility. It introduces all the possible ways to study or work abroad, such as Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus, Erasmus internships, CREPUQ and ISEP. The document explains how to register for a program, how to apply for a scholarship, how to find an apartment abroad and how to meet people that already have this mobility experience.

ESN France next to that wanted to present all the ESN sections in France, so that French students have the opportunity to meet ESN volunteers, take part in the activities and meet international students. Cédric Klapisch, the director of “L’auberge Espagnole”, (famous French movie about the Erasmus life which allowed many people to hear about the Erasmus mobility program), turned out to be the perfect godfather for the project.

Following the example of the celebrations of ESN International for the 20th Erasmus anniversary, ESN France imagined its own Erasmus Tour. The main goal of this tour was to be there for and visit French students. By organising an “Erasmus Day” in several cities of France ESN could be the one to introduce the different ways of mobility to local students.

In order to promote mobility and distribute as many documents as possible, ESN France went on the road from the 28th of February

8

to the 17th of March 2012, passing by conferences, testimonies and international dinners. In these 20 days, ESN France was able to cover more than 6000 km and 25 cities. The celebrations involved High Schools and Higher Education students and were managed by local ESN associations.

Even though the French ESN Network only counts 22 sections, the organizers chose to visit 3 other big student cities as well. This because they have potential for future ESN sections and it gave an opportunity to meet some local associations or International Relations Offices.

ESN Besançon lent its minibus to the team and finally they could set off on the road to promote mobility all around France. There were 2 permanent drivers, Florian Chapey (President of ESN France) and Cindy Deronzi (National Coordinator of the event), and some guests who decided to join during the trip for one or two days.

Throughout this project, ESN benefited from impressive media coverage. In each city the Erasmus Tour visited, at least one news article was written about the project and the network. Institutions and public organisations got to discover ESN as an association full of committed people who on a daily basis work to make the international students feel good in France, help them with languages and promote international mobility everywhere.

Conclusion: the French network clearly needed this project to continue developing.

The National Board noticed how important it is to visit sections in their own city.

Meeting them in their own environment offered the possibility to meet each local volunteer and discover the real strengths and weaknesses of each section. Now they know how strong, creative and full of ideas the Network really is; it is young and has great future ahead!

Show your Country

Passport

Capital Stockholm Language Swedish Currency Swedish krona (SEK) Area 449 964 km2 Government Representative democracy EU Member Since 1995 Situated in the north of Europe and squeezed in between Norway and Finland, lies Sweden. Sweden is the third largest country in Western Europe, but is only populated by about 9.4 million people.

There are about 23 people per square kilometer. That leaves a lot of space to forests, lakes, islands and of course elks.

The biggest cities of Sweden are Stockholm, which is situated on the east coast, Gothenburg in the west and Malmö in the south of Sweden.

Because Sweden is so far up north, there is a big contrast between its long days in summer and long nights in winter. That is why the Swedes treasure the warm months and try to be outside as much as possible while they last. In summer, almost everyone goes on holidays and head towards the

The country of IKEA, ABBA and Absolut

by Jennifer Carlsson

countryside. Swedish traditional festivities such as “Valborg” and Midsummer are celebrated to acknowledge that the days get longer and winter is finally over.

Sweden has succeeded in creating a balance between social equality and economic success. Education is free (except for nursery schools and higher education, which are partly funded by the government), healthcare is cheap and childcare is universal— but there is still the opportunity to control your own economic destiny.

Sweden has been part of the EU since 1995, but the Swedish people chose not to start using the Euro. The currency is because of that still the Swedish Krona (SEK), which the Swedes are very fond of.

When it comes to culture, Sweden is really prominent in the world market. The music industry in Sweden exports names like Swedish House Mafia, In Flames and Robyn. In literature, authors like Astrid Lindgren, Selma Lagerlöf, August Strindberg and of course Stieg Larsson have had great international success. The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded in Stockholm

by King Carl XVI Gustav each year. And yes, the Swedish people are still proud of ABBA.

10 Facts about Sweden!

1. Almost everything comes in toothpaste tubes (mayonnaise, cheese, caviar,…).

2. When a Swede talks about „the system“, he‘s not talking about beating the establishment; he‘s talking about buying liquor (which is only possible in a store called “Systembolaget”).

3. You can camp, hunt and pick berries on private property, thanks to the “Allemansrätten” (the right of public access).

4. There is an island called „Island land“ (Öland).

5. The first thing Swedes do upon entering a bank/ post office/chemist etc. is looking for the queue number machine.

6. They accept having to queue to get to the queue number machine to take a queue number.

7. Seeing a young woman with candles stuck to her head is normal on the 13th of December (celebrating St Lucia).

8. In Sweden it is completely natural that otherwise sensible people dress up in silly hats on several occasions during August while they’re eating crayfish and drinking as much vodka as they can.

9. In Sweden you can use “bra”, “fart”, and “slut” in the same sentence without giggling (as it means “good”, “speed” and “end”).

10. Sweden has the highest number of McDonald restaurants per capita in Europe (although that is only about half of the US ratio).

9

Show your Country

ESN Sweden

by Stefan Jahnke We are having a national board of 8 people.

- President, Vice-President, Treasurer, National-Representative, Vice-NationalRepresentative, Webmaster, ProjectCoordinator and Sea-Battle Coordinator.

sections, maintains our google apps and email system and is taking care of ESN Sweden‘s own Infocenter which is used to store all documents that are important for ESN Sweden.

The task of the President is to keep track of the tasks of the board and to lead the board in it‘s work. He is responsible for the representation of ESN Sweden within Sweden. The VicePresident is together with the Treasurer responsible for Sponsorships and Partners and is together with the Vice-NR responsible for Public Relations e.g. Writing Press-Releases and taking care of the Social Media.

The Project Coordinator takes care of our National Trips. At the moment we have Trips to Lapland and Russia which we organize together with a traveling company. We are planning to have a joint Stockholm trip with multiple sections in the beginning of Autumn as well and we are constantly checking for new opportunities to cooperate on national level.

The Treasurer is managing the financial situation of ESN Sweden by creating a budget together with the board and taking care of all the transactions during the year.

Last but not least we have our Sea-Battle coordinator who takes care of our National Event – the ESN SeaBattle which is a cruise between Tallinn and Stockholm with more than 2000 students and takes place twice a year.

Our National-Representative is taking care of the communication between ESN Sweden and the International Level of ESN. The ViceNR is helping to fulfill this task and is also responsible of staying in close contact with the sections to help the NR to represent their opinions about ESN‘s international issues.

Both are trying to promote international projects as much as possible.

The Webmaster is responsible for hosting all websites of ESN Sweden and it‘s

10

All board members are having equal rights and everyone is helping out the others with their tasks and is taking on smaller tasks that lay outside of their own responsibility.

The board is elected every February and is having it‘s mandate until the end of the AGM. This year we had already two physical meetings. The first one a couple of weeks after the election with the main purpose of having a good knowledge transfer during

the transition period and the second one in the end of spring to start setting our goals for the year and start working in a more professional way. This year we met in a summerhouse of one of the board members at the west coast of Sweden and spend 3 productive days with working hard and getting to know each other better.

We are having 6 National Platforms per year.

One is during AGM and one during the NEP (Northern European Platform). The other four are throughout the year organized by different sections. The next NP in Autumn is being organized by ESN Växjö and ESN Kalmar which are two ESN sections from the same university but from different cities which lay 100km apart from each other. We are always welcoming guests to our NPs so don‘t hesitate to contact us in case you want to join us!

ESN Sweden works in close cooperation with their National Agency and we are at the moment establishing a cooperation with the Ministry of Education as well. In terms of professionalization ESN Sweden took a big step already and more is to come!

The Swedish National Board sends greets to all ESNers out there and wants to thank every single one of you for your effort and commitment to move Europe closer together by supporting student mobility and by giving all international students the best time of their lives.

Show your Country Sections of ESN Sweden from south to north

• ESN Malmö • ESN Lund • ESN Kristianstad • ESN Kalmar • ESN Växjö • ESN Borås • ESN CIRC – Gothenburg • ESN Jönköping • ESN Linköping • ESN Skövde • ESN SUS (Stockholm University) • ESN KTH (Stockholm - Royal Institute of Technology) • ESN Örebro • ESN Luleå Funny fact: The distance between our most southern and our most northern sections is 1.511km

On exchange in Sweden!

by Nils Petersen Hi, my name is Nils and I‘m an exchange student from Germany. At the moment, I am studying and working at the Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden, a small but beautiful and busy city with a lot of students. I started my year abroad in late august 2011. As soon as I arrived my ESN mentor, who contacted me a couple of months before, picked me up and guided me through the city and to my apartment.

The introduction week had a very intense program waiting for us exchange students, with team-building activities, sports, sightseeing, a couple of parties and a very memorable international dinner with food from all over the world! After the introduction the ESN Kalmar team organized a lot of other activities, trips and sightseeing tours in Sweden and neighboring countries. For example, a trip to a moose park and the Astrid Lindgren World as well as a sauna night and a sightseeing tour to Copenhagen.

Although studying in Sweden is a bit different from home, it was easy to adapt to this style of studying. Swedes in general are very friendly, easy going and nearly everyone can speak English rather well, which makes it easy to communicate. I really enjoyed the first semester and the ESN Kalmar team did a great job in keeping us busy and entertained!

a mentor and then a buddy for ESN Kalmar.

The buddies are supporting the board members and are responsible for planning the program for the fall introduction.

Being a member of the team is a great experience and opportunity to get involved with an international organization. I got to know so many people from different countries all over the world by now, even though there are not that many exchange students in Kalmar. With around 75 to 140 exchange students per semester, ESN Kalmar is a relatively small section. The good thing about this is that you get to know all of the other exchange students quite well.

I already know that I will miss all my friends I got to know during this time as well as the city of Kalmar itself.

I can say with all my heart that this year abroad is and will be one of the best times of my life! Thanks to everyone who made this year an incredible experience!

Hej då!

Also ESN Sweden is organizing different trips, like the Lapland trip or the Sea Battle, a (party) cruise on board of a big ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn and back. Organizing trips like these is hard work and I really appreciate what the board of ESN Sweden is doing.

The second semester started in January with the introduction for the new exchange students and the beginning of my internship at the marine biology department of the Linnaeus University. As one of the few old exchange students I became more involved in the ESN. I first applied, actually became

11

Show your Country

Seabattle

by Jennifer Carlsson Imagine seeing the beautiful islands of the Stockholm archipelago silently float by outside, the sky is slowly getting darker and soon the horizon disappears from the view. It feels like the ship is moving forward through sheer nothingness.

But fear not, the lights of the clubs will never fail to lead you away from the railing.

Back to your friends, to the bars and to a dance floor filled with exchange students

from all over Europe who now are lucky enough to study in one of the northern countries that participate in Seabattle: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.

Seabattle is not just a trip, it’s a phenomenon. Twice a year the cruise ship Baltic Queen, filled with Erasmus students, makes way from Tallinn to Stockholm and then back to the harbor of Tallinn, where

the students get to experience the culture of the Estonian capital for a few hours before leaving back towards the shores of Sweden.

The trip is extremely popular and really is a once in a lifetime experience. It’s one of the biggest student parties in Europe. The ship holds everything you can desire for two nights of party: a tax free shop with food and drinks, different kinds of restaurants, two dance floors, pubs and even a spa area where you can go relax in the pool or the sauna. On board, a lot of activities go on as well: learn to dance salsa in the starlight palace, find the love of your life at the speed dating or be a star in karaoke.

And don’t worry, there are no icebergs in the Baltic Sea, so the trip is completely safe.

ot

sh tle snap Seabat

Eating, Swedish style

by Jennifer Carlsson The most well-known Swedish food must be the meatballs (“köttbullar”) which are served all over Europe in IKEA stores, traditionally together with lingonberry jam and potatoes. But of course that’s not the only thing the Swedes eat.

Due to the fact that there is such a large distance between the north and the south, food cultures differ between the regions. In the south, fresh vegetables play a big role in the Swedish cuisine, while the northern food is inspired by the Sami culture and therefore traditionally includes a lot of meats such as reindeer and game.

Fish has always played a big role in Swedish cooking. It was salted and cured for preservation reasons. The long winters in Sweden are also an explanation to the lack of fresh vegetables in traditional Swedish

dishes. Instead, plants that could stand the harsh temperatures were the cornerstones of recipes: various kinds of turnips, rutabaga, cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

Some common Swedish pastries are cinnamon buns (“kanelbullar”), chocolate cake (“kladdkaka”) and different kinds of pie. These are often included in a common social activity called “fika”, when the sweets typically are enjoyed together with a cup of coffee or tea.

Some of the more weird kinds of food you can find in Sweden include “Surströmming”, which is fermented, pickled herring, and goes under the topic of a specially acquired taste. Another speciality is “Lutfisk”, which is made from aged stockfish (air-dried whitefish) or dried/salted whitefish and lye.

Its consistency is gelatinous and it has to be soaked in cold water before cooking.

Make your own Swedish meatballs!

Ingredients: • 1 pound ground beef • 1/2 pound ground pork • 1/2 cup chopped onion • 3/4 cup bread crumbs • 1 egg • 1/2 cup milk • 2 teaspoons salt • 1 teaspoon pepper In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, chopped onion, bread crumbs, egg, and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands. Shape into walnut-size balls and fry in a pan until golden brown.

Smaklig måltid!

SYC/EU Identity

Trips to the high north and the mysterious east

by Jennifer Carlsson Some other national trips coordinated by ESN Sweden, apart from the Seabattle, are trips to Lapland and Russia. These take place every semester. ESN Sweden has a partnership with the Finnish travel company Aikamatkat Oy/Timetravels Ltd. which has a lot of experience in this kind of travels.

time in the Finnish capital Helsinki. Some of the trips that only go to St. Petersburg don’t even require a Visa. There are professional tour guides on the trips who know the cities well, and most of the important tourist attractions are included in the trip. Some can be bought extra if the student is interested.

To Russia there are different kinds of trips students can choose from. The trips visiting cities go to St. Petersburg and Moscow, some trips also include some

The trips to Lapland are a must for exchange students in Sweden. It gives them the chance to see the country in which they study from a completely

ESN Twente and the Country Presentations!

by Igors Skute ESN Twente is the local section of the University of Twente, located in Enschede, the Netherlands. The city of Enschede is the biggest city in the east of the Netherlands and finds its place directly on the German border. The city counts about 160.000 citizens and radiates a cosy atmosphere, because of the great mix of incredible places and inhabitants with a wide cultural diversity.

The University of Twente recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and experienced a tremendous public interest by welcoming well-

known guests like Queen Beatrix and Adam Savage. Hopefully this fact will support a new trend established few years ago, when the number of international students started to grow constantly, thus raising the importance of the local ESN section.

The ESN Twente association is taking care of more than 500 international students each year by making their Erasmus life as good as possible. Together with Dutch people and other internationals who are willing to enjoy all the benefits of new cultures, ESN Twente has a great and very active community with a passion to share and learn new things.

Could you imagine a better way to explore new cultures and their habits than by learning from the native representatives?

Except for visiting the country, there

different perspective. The north of Sweden is spectacular and mystical, with wide open spaces, loads of snow and reindeers wandering around all by themselves. The trip gives students a chance to try dog-sledging, going by snowmobiles, see the northern lights, the Ice Hotel and to sit in a sauna in the beautiful valley of Abisko.

The Lapland trips have until now always been organized to the Swedish Lapland, to Kiruna, Abisko and a trip to Narvik in Norway. However, there are plans to go to Finnish Lapland from now on, as it is cheaper for the students and the travel time would be shorter. And most importantly, the students would have the opportunity to meet Santa!

is no better way! And that’s what one of the most famous ESN Twente activities is about.

The section wants to give real and very attractive insights into the cultures people hear a lot about, but never experienced closely before.

The ESN Country Presentation is a presentation evening organized in the famous Campus bar which always attracts a large audience. Every Country Presentation evening two countries are presented by their native students. The content of the performance is really flexible, therefore every presentation is unique. The manner, style and presentation itself depends on the imagination of the co-hosts of the evening. Stereotypes are being broken, unknown facts are spilled out and participants taste the real flavour of amazing countries.

The entertaining presentation is supplemented with traditional snacks and drinks, performances of native music and an excellent atmosphere. Everything is prepared to allow participants to get a real impression of how different and fascinating the world could be. Any reader who is interested is always very welcome at the University of Twente to join the ESN activities. Stay tuned and hope to see you in Twente!

13

Translation

The land of fire and ice

by ESN Iceland Welcome to Iceland. A country inhabited by 320,000 people. Where you can walk through downtown Reykjavik within 15 minutes passing different café’s, bars, restaurants, and shops on the busiest and longest street in Iceland (Laugavegur).

Outside of the capital is a world unlike any other. Filled with numerous ice capped mountains and volcanoes, glaciers and lava fields covered in moss you’re guaranteed an adventure everywhere. Iceland has become very visible thanks to movies being filmed in the country and with the awesome “Inspired By Iceland” campaign.

If you have not yet seen the video check it out at https://www.facebook.com/ pages/ESN-Reykjavik/120940034703394.

Icelandic music is becoming known on an international level with artists such as Björk and Sigur Rós having a worldwide fan base, not to mention their newest group Of Monsters and Men. The people of Iceland are very friendly and welcoming and boy do they know how to party. The legendary Laugavegur which is home to many tourist shops becomes a jungle from Friday night to Sunday morning with clubs open until 7am. The nightlife just like the landscapes of the country are one of a kind.

ESN Reykjavik the “big” section in the north, located on the tiny island of Iceland has come a long way since it became an official section in 2007. Even though it’s the only section in the country, the parties and events really makes it a dream section.

The section was put together by a group of students at the University of Iceland and had 40-50 ESN’ers at most. Over the years the number of incoming students grew as did the section. In 2010, University of Reykjavik became part of ESN Reykjavik which now is expected to have 600+ new members for the upcoming year.

We are fortunate enough to have a number of partners through the ESN card which enables ESNérs to enjoy Iceland at an affordable price.

During the fall semester we take a trip to Þórsmörk. ESN’ers experience 3 days of adventure; involving water rafting, and hiking. In the spring semester we have a 2 day Ski trip in Akureyri, located in the north of Iceland, ESNérs have the opportunity to snowboard or ski on the crazy slopes of the north. Our ESN’ers become so ambitious that they undertake their own adventures

14

to the Golden circle, Vik and its surrounding mystical areas, Snæfellsnes, and the beautiful West Fjörds.

Last May, ESN Reykjavik was fortunate to host the CNR and with an OC of 7 members we were able to provide an unforgettable experience for all those who participated.

Being well organized allowed the OC to provide the participants with an incredible experience that involved the Blue Lagoon which has become the biggest tourist attraction in Iceland. VIP treatment at the trendiest club in Iceland known as ‘B5’ as VIP members they were entitled to the VIP lounge and discount prices on drinks.

A “Eurovision” Eurodinner at club Iðusalir where after 23:00 the party became a responsible party. On the final night the CNR had a grill party which featured some fantastic Icelandic burgers and ice-cream at Brokey located next to the ocean and then enjoyed the rest of the night partying at club Esjan. Few of the participants went on a journey outside of the city after the CNR to experience some crazy adventures on the rugged terrains of Iceland.

So what are you waiting for? Come visit us in the “land of the midnight sun and northern lights”

c i d n a l Ice

Translation

Land elds og íss

by ESN Iceland

English

Velkomin til Íslands, lands með rúmlega 320.000 fjölda íbúa. Að ganga um miðbæ Reykjavíkur tekur ekki langan tíma. Þekktasta gata bæjarins, Laugavegurinn, er full af menningarlífi og ferðamannabúðum á daginn en breytist yfir í frumskóg næturlífsins á nóttunni þar sem margir staðir eru opnir langt fram eftir. Íslensk tónlist verður stöðugt þekktari á heimsvísu en listamenn eins og Björk og Sigur Rós njóta töluverðra vinsælda út um allan heim, svo ekki sé minnst á hljómsveitina Of Monsters and Men sem hefur söðlað undir sig Bandaríkin á síðastliðnum mánuðum. Þegar gengið er út fyrir bæjarmörkin bíður hins vegar annar heimur. Landslagið, líkt og næturlífið, er alveg einstakt. Hér er má finna svartar strendur og fjölda jökla og eldfjalla. Það er ekki að ástæðulausu að Íslandi er kallað land elds og íss.

ESN Reykjavík er ,,stóra” deildin í Norðri, staðsett á litla Íslandi. Deildin hefur vaxið á ógnarhraða síðan að hún varð opinber hluti af ESN árið 2007. Þrátt fyrir að vera eina deildin í landinu gera öll partýin og viðburðirnir þetta að drauma deild. Hún var sett saman af hóp nemenda í Háskóla Íslands og hafði í mesta lagi 40-50 meðlimi. Í gegnum árin hefur fjöldi meðlimi farið vaxandi á sama tíma og deildin hefur stækkað. Árið 2010 varð Háskólinn í Reykjavík hluti af ESN Reykjavík og nú er gert ráð fyrir um 600 meðlimum fyrir næsta ár.

ESN Reykjavík er í samstarfi við fjölmarga mismunandi samstarfsaðila sem gerir meðlimum kleift að njóta Íslands á viðráðanlegu verði.

Á haustönn fer ESN árlega í ferðalag til Þórsmerkur. ESN-arar upplifa þriggja daga ævintýri með fljótsiglingu, fjallagöngu og öllu tilheyrandi. Á vorönn er tveggja daga skíðaferð til Akureyrar, sem er staðsett á Norðurlandi. Þar er farið á skíði eða bretti niður hlíðar norðursins. ESN meðlimir eru síðan duglegir að uppgötva Ísland á eigin spýtur með ferðum á vit ævintýranna í Gullna hringinn, Vík og nærliggjandi dularfullu svæði, Snæfellsnes og hina gullfallegu Vestfirði. Í maí síðastliðnum hlaut ESN Reykjavík þann heiður að halda CNR ráðstefnuna. Með góðri skipulagningu undir in sjö manna skipulagsnefnd tókst að skapa ógleymanlega upplifun fyrir alla þá sem tóku þátt. Nefndin skipulagði heimsókn í Bláa lónið sem er einn helsti ferðamannastaður á Íslandi. Við komu í bæinn lá leið ráðstefnugestanna á einn flottasta skemmtistað landins B5. Sem VIP gestir fengu þeir aðgang að einkastofu ásamt því að njóta afsláttarkjöra. Evróvisíon Eurodinner var haldinn á Iðusölum þar sem partýið varð ábyrgt eftir klukkan 23:00.

Lokakvöld ráðstefnunnar var ekki af verri endanum en þar beið gesta flott partý með íslenskum ís á Brokey. Hægt varð að njóta útsýnis yfir sjóinn, Hörpuna og Esjuna, en seinna um kvöldið var einmitt förinni heitið á skemmtistaðinn Esjuna. Að lokinni ráðstefnu fóru nokkrir ráðstefnugestir fóru í ferðir utan borgarinnar til að upplifa allt það besta sem Ísland hefur upp á að bjóða.

Eftir hverju ert þú að bíða? Komdu í heimsókn til Íslands, lands miðnætur sólar og norðurljósa.

15

 5% off any EF language course

Start here.

Get the most out of your Erasmus exchange year with a language course abroad

EF is the world’s largest language school. We offer personalized courses in six languages at state-of-the-art study centers in 42 cities around the globe. Erasmus students and ESN Section members are entitled to 5% off any EF language course. The perfect way to start your exchange year in style!

• 42 schools in 16 countries • Start any Monday • variable-length courses 2-52 weeks • Semester and year programs

UK / USA London Oxford Cambridge New York Miami Los Angeles – and more!

Spain Madrid Barcelona Malaga

France Paris Nice

Germany Munich

Italy Rome

Contact us today! erasmus@ef.com

www.ef.com EF offices in over 100 cities worldwide

16

Projects

SocialErasmus diaries

About SocialErasmus

by Michel Erlandsen

From the 4th to the 11th of May ESN launched its first international SocialErasmus event “SocialErasmus Week”, involving thousands of international students in social activities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus Program.

During these days a video crew followed by the international project coordinator travelled across Europe to capture the social feeling and special moments of these events. This story takes you behind the scenes and follows their nine day journey with visits to seven countries.

Day 1: Teaming up in Bucharest arriving from three different countries On the first night we met in Bucharest – the video guys Thomas and Armin flying in from Iceland and Germany – and me flying in from Brussels. It was a late arrival as the last guy arrived around 2 am. We spent a few hours getting to know each other and discussing the production plan. It all looked like it was going to work out well. The only problem we faced was that one suitcase holding important sound equipment didn’t show up in the terminal upon arrival.

Day 2: Extreme heat and ecological bicycling In Bucharest we were invited to participate in the local event “Eco cycling”, organized to promote a healthier life style and greener transportation. The event took place in the biggest park in town and the air was filled with excitement when we arrived – green t-shirts everywhere and people standing ready with their bikes; even a few roller-bladers had decided to show up. The weather was perfect! 30 degrees and a clear blue sky. The event was organized as a “quiz quest” where participants followed a route leading to several stations facing them with environmental questions. The winner would be the person with the most correct answers.

We waited at the finish line and every one to pass the finish line carried a huge smile and clearly had fun. The winner was announced and received his prize, but no one went home empty handed as local sponsors had provided prizes for every participant. As a surprise the organizers had planned a boat trip on the park lake, giving us a good opportunity to get closer to the people who made it all happen. When the

boat returned we went out for a traditional Romania dinner before rushing to the train station to catch our ride to Budapest. We still hadn’t received news about the lost suitcase.

Day 3: A colorful day in a Budapest kindergarten The train ride to Budapest was a bit sketchy, having to deal with corrupt trainpersonal trying to get as much money out of our pockets as possible and reluctant to present us with a receipt. However, we managed to arrive in Budapest without other problems. We had to take a taxi from the train station to meet with the local coordinator and unfortunately the corrupt people from the train were replaced with a corrupt Hungarian taxi driver who charged us 20 Euros for a three minute drive. We cleared out our minds with strong, warm coffee before taking the bus to a local kindergarten where the event “Color up” was going to take place.

When we arrived we were met by a moist smell of wet paint escaping through the open doors and windows of the building.

The event was organized as a paint action, decorating the walls of a local kindergarten as a surprise for the kids and their parents.

Several students were painting already and had been decorating the walls since the day before. We spent the whole day together with the students and the organizers filming, making interviews, painting and eating lunch on miniature kindergarten furniture.

In the evening we checked in at our luxurious apartment with a large bed room, a huge living room, a fancy kitchen and a first class bathroom for just 20 EUR per person. When we went to sleep Thomas still had no suitcase!

Day 4: Rain in Budapest – Sun in Vienna The previous day’s sun was now replaced by a wet rainy Budapest. We left the “wondersuite” and headed to the train station to catch our train to Vienna. Before leaving we managed to catch some images at the rainy entrance of the train station.

We arrived to a sunny Vienna and checked into our hostel in a not very spacious room with bunk beds for the same price we paid in Budapest for a mansion. What a

SocialErasmus is an international project of ESN with the aim of involving international students participating in a university exchange in social and volunteering activities in their host country. This project promotes a social attitude among international students and facilitates their social integration into the local community while exploring the added value that resides in diversity.

The aim of the SocialErasmus project is to complete the stay abroad with the original values of the Erasmus Program. Erasmus is supposed to be an opportunity to get to know new cultures and education systems as well as to make new unforgettable friendships; but also it should be a kind of inspiration for a future life. Moreover, the SocialErasmus project enables to experience something new. As a consequence, Erasmus program participants will get a new perspective which would be beyond their cognitive abilities if they did not take part in the Erasmus program. Taking into consideration the above factors, the main slogan of the SocialErasmus project is: Reach higher! Go further! Go Social! difference! It was time to back-up all the materials and discuss the work plan, including the dilemma with the missing equipment which was becoming more and more apparent.

Day 5: Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic – the road trip is ON! In the early morning we checked out from the hostel heading for the airport to pick up a rental car to go on a two-day road trip. Arriving in the airport Thomas finally received the news that he could pick up his suitcase in Vienna airport. Thomas (and the rest of us) was happy about the fact that clean underwear was just minutes away.

Picking up the suitcase meant access to all our equipment, improving workflow and allowing better quality sound recording.

We picked up the suitcase and set course for Prague, crossing first the AustrianSlovakian border, then crossing over the border into Czech Republic. The Slovakian landscape was beautiful with rounded hills dressed in forest green stretching beyond the field of sight.

We reached Prague in the afternoon with the sun slowly setting over the old city. We had to rush to catch the last hours of sun and get atmospheric golden images from the old bridge and the high castle grounds.

17

Projects When the we lost the daylight, we went out for a traditional dinner in a typical Czech restaurant filled with drunk Metallica fans setting the scene and giving an authentic dinner experience. Afterwards we checked in at the dormitory provided by the local SocialErasmus coordinator – it was now time to get rest and prepare for the next day. The weather forecast promised sun and plenty of heat – perfect for the planned international day in front of the public library.

Day 6: Prague, Brno, Bratislava – A day of constant rushing to keep up.

Breakfast before driving to the event place was busy like a nest of bees; preparing to celebrate and welcome the public to a day of international activities carried out by international students from all over the world.

Just few minutes after arrival Thomas and Armin were already filming, excited to get some new footage. Koreans, Americans, Mexicans, Taiwanese, Greeks and many more nationalities were represented on this day, each with their own little tent presenting their country and culture in an interesting and entertaining way. Half way through the day we allowed ourselves a cup of coffee before going back to work –it turned out to be the only break of this day!

In the afternoon we packed the car and rushed two hours south to Brno to catch the “Erasmus Run”, taking place on the same day. We managed to arrive just as the last team was sent off on the run; running up a large hill stopping at different stations, each symbolizing the steps you have to take to go on Erasmus Exchange – the video guys were happy! They got the “money shots” as they call it when you get exceptionally good images capturing a moment at the right time.

After a couple of interviews and a fast dinner we rushed west to check in at our apartment in Bratislava, Slovakia before midnight.

Day 7: Bratislava, Vienna, Sofia & loosing the car before an important press conference We arrived at the European house in Bratislava a few minutes before a planned press conference. However, we couldn’t find a place to park the car so we left it parked illegally to go look for another spot.

We only left the car for 10 to 15 minutes, but when we returned the car was gone, including most of the equipment!

We contacted the police and found out that they had removed the car because it was

18

parked illegally – two of us will spend the rest of the day retrieving the car, visiting three police stations and negotiating for the release. In the meantime, Armin stayed put and attended the local event “International Children’s day”, taking place in the local mall and inviting local kids to take part in entertainment activities of international character. With only one camera and no sound equipment our work of this day is unfortunately very limited.

We finally got the car back and arrived at the event a few minutes before closing time, so we managed to still get a couple of interviews before rushing towards Vienna airport to return the car and catch our flight to Sofia, Bulgaria.

Arriving in Bulgaria around midnight we took a taxi to the “Be my guest” hostel 10 EUR per night, including breakfast and a spacious room. Exhausted we crashed on our bunk beds (one bunk bed per person), happy about the fact that the following day’s event was starting in the afternoon, giving us time to sleep and recharge.

Day 8: Entertainment talents, salsa dancing and famous musicians – Sofia is a welcoming place with smiling people.

This morning we were particularly lazy and felt hung-over, even though we didn’t have a single chance to go out yet. Coffee helped, so we moved out with the gear and a positive mindset. We met up with the local coordinator and got access to the event place, where we were met by a room full of busy people preparing for the evening event called “Erasmus eXchange Talent”.

The official event started at 17.30 and the concert hall was packed! Thomas and Armin managed to position themselves in front of the audience providing a clear view of the stage. Many nationalities were represented and their performance turned out to very entertaining. Good material was collected and more “money shots” in the box!

The evening ended with a concert of a famous Bulgarian musician performing Latin music and inviting the audience on the dance floor to move their hips to the seductive salsa rhythms. Around 22.00 the event was over and we returned to the hostel after a long and very exciting day.

Day 9: Eras mus picnic The following morning we checked out and headed for the airport – destination: Warsaw, Poland for our last event “Erasmus Picnic”. We were met in the airport by the

national coordinator who had arranged pickup and transportation to the event which had already started. We cruised through the streets of Warsaw ending up at the university hosting the event in a big open outdoor space.

The past days we had gotten used to 30 degrees and sun, but Warsaw was cold and cloudy, so for the first time long pants and a jacket were needed. 10 minutes after arrival the video guys were again already filming. It was a big event planned for about 500 visitors. A big open space in front of a stage, flanked by tents all around,

Projects

where local organizations and educational branches were hiding from the weather but yet inviting people to enter a world of entertainment mainly aimed at the younger generation. They could visit the teddy bear trauma center, get a closer look at a crime lab or take a ride on a donkey; the Erasmus picnic had it all‌ Clowns, ice cream machines, candy floss, Disney songs performed live and even an air-filled jumping castle! A truly magnificent event!

At the end of the day we were invited to spend the night in the local coordinator’s home. This being our last evening we

started evaluating and realized just how intense a week it had been. We celebrated the end of a perfect week by attending a local Erasmus party.

The aftermath Filled to the top with our new experiences and intense travels caused by an ambitious production plan, we realized that it was time to go home. Having visited seven countries in a little more than a week we were exhausted, but yet happy to have experienced so many unique events and having met the sweetest and most motivated people across Europe. In our

hearts we knew that this trip would be one to stick to our minds for a long time, and despite the hectic schedule we still managed to make new friends in every place we went. To conclude: it was a truly amazing week; the expressions on the faces of the people affected by the activities carried out by international students will not easily be forgotten.

Thank you to all the people we met during our travel and a big thank you to the people who supported and helped us along our way! Let’s all continue to reach higher, go further and go social!

19

Section in the Spotlight

Section in the Spotlight April ESN Lund

by Caroline Thurmann Morand & Oscar Boije In the city of Lund in southern Sweden we can find April month‘s Section in the Spotlight - ESN Lund! Lund has one of Sweden’s leading and oldest universities founded in 1666, today with 42.000 students. ESN Lund consists of a Board of six people as well as an Activity Committee consisting of 35 members which are in total of 20 different nationalities. During the last year the section has expanded a lot, it has gone from being only around 10 members to today’s 35 members.

It is as well on a daily basis requested for cooperation with other student organizations and partners.

In the fall of 2011 ESN Lund was among the first sections in Sweden to start using the ESNCards, now selling around 1.200 cards per year. ESN Lund as well organized the first Responsible Party in Sweden last January.

The section organizes trips to Lapland (northern Sweden), Russia, Stockholm, Sea

Battle (Estonia), Prague, Gothenburg, and occasionally trips to Gotland. Moreover the international students have the possibility to join traditional Swedish dinner parties, international balls, monthly theme parties, salsa courses, football tournaments, bowling, small trips to Copenhagen and Malmö, visits to local museums, Erasmus in Schools, cottage weekends and much more during their time in Lund.

ESN Lund will continue to work on the professionalization of the section and aims to continue as one of the most active sections in the network by providing the National and International level with professional and motivated ESNers. You will keep hearing about ESN Lund in the future! ;) Contact information: http://www.esnlund. org, http://www.facebook.com/ESNLund, http://www.twitter.com/ESNLund, http:// www.vimeo.com/ESNLund.

ESN Lund has always been very involved in the network. Former National Representatives of Sweden and Denmark have been originally from ESN Lund. The section also has people in the National Board (the former NR and Vice President, and the current President) and moreover, our newly elected International President, Emanuel Alfranseder, belongs to this section. Worth mentioning is that ESN Lund has members in four of the five International Committees as well.

Section in the Spotlight May ESN UJ Krakow

by ESN UJ Krakow

In Collegium Novum, the main building of Jagiellonian University in Cracow you can find the heart of Erasmus Students’ life – ESN Crakow’s section‘s office. Every international student is welcomed very warmly at the beginning of each semester by their staff consisting of 45 members and around 30 freshmen. They can also rely on a team of 160 mentors. The tradition is to have Orientation Week – a time where students can get to know the city and integrate, which ends with a trip to Zakopane, a picturesque city located in the mountains.

20

During the year ESN Cracow organizes a lot of events provided by its Teams. The Travel Team offers trips to big and small polish cities (for instance Warsaw, Sandomierz, Poznań) and abroad (Prague, Lviv, Budapest). The Party Team organizes theme parties every Tuesday and Thursday. The Culture Team has museums sightseeing, popular communism tours and much more.

The Sports Team makes sailing trips and the opportunity to attend football matches happen, next to football tournaments every weekend. The Social team looks at the Erasmus Hall, Dream cup and ESN Santa Claus and IT takes care of our website and fan page. Among them the Challenge Wrecking Team, which solves the most extraordinary problems. The section’s new flagship project is the ESN Band, a music band consisting of one ESN member and international students. They play covers of well known songs and give concerts during ESN events.

The ESN UJ Section is lead by the Board: the President, Treasurer, PR, HR and Secretary. Various teams have meetings

every week, and on top of that there is a general meeting of the Board and Coordinators where strategic tasks are being discussed and future plans for the section are arranged. Other than that ESN UJ Cracow uses mailing lists and Facebook groups for communication. To ensure proper knowledge transfer, the ESN Angels project was established. Each experienced ESNer can get up to three newbies to take care of and explain all parts of the section work and what ESN is about. There also is a newbie camp every semester, to integrate new members and share knowledge.

ESN UJ takes part in a lot of international events. They organized the Central European Platform and visited SEEP and WEP. Next to that, they are very proud of their cooperation with ESN sections from Prague and Dresden, which grows from semestrial Section Meetings. Moreover they won the STARlight award during AGM Granada 2012! In March ESN Cracow celebrated its 10th anniversary, which was an occasion for an alumni meeting and summary after 10 years of volunteering.

Show your Country

Passport

Capital Athens Language Greek Population 11.3 Million Currency Euro (since 2001) Area 131 990 km2 Government Parliamentary republic EU Member Since 1981

Greece is a country with a great past and an ever turbulent present. Surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Greece lies at the point where Europe meets Asia and Africa, offering countless experiences, landscapes and activities.

From the breathtaking Santorini and the nightclubs of Mykonos, to the greatness of theAcropolis and the beauty of Crete, Greece has it all.

There is a reason why the Greek table is among the most popular ones in Eurodinners. Souvlaki, tzatziki, feta, Greek salad and mousaka are only some examples of how unbelievably tasty food can be. This is the result of a Mediterranean culinary tradition of centuries, a touch of spice from the middle east and some Slavic influences.

With 15.000km of coastline, sea has always had a major role in Greece’s history and everyday life resulting to a great marine tradition and the development of sea tourism. Greek seas are safe and warm and there are 6.000 islands to discover during an endless summer since Greece enjoys more than 250 days of sunshine a

22

Greece - The crossroads of history and culture

by Orestis Vlahos year. Mountains, waterfalls, forests, lakes, beautiful beaches and mighty rivers make a perfect combination for nature lovers.

Greece is a true paradise for history lovers introducing them to a large journey into history and art. Traces of important history can be found in every corner of Greek land.

Traces of all the great civilizations that came through these lands and left their mark. Ancient monuments that coexist with current constructions and modern works of art create a unique landscape waiting to be discovered. In recent times the modern Greek state founded in 1830 Although most people tend to think that Greek culture is “all about the past”, it takes only a few names to remind them of the contrary. For those who admire literature the name of Stratis Tsirkas, or the names of our two Nobel prize laureates George Seferis (1963) and Odysseas Elytis (1979) are certainly familiar. Silver screen enthusiasts will always remember the 1998 Palme d‘Or winner, Theo Angelopoulos and Melina Mercouri and of course that ancient Greece was the birthplace of theater. Finally, everyone recognizes the distinctive sound of bouzouki and even more so when they hear some of the works of Manos Hatzidakis, or Mikis Theodorakis that have also marked the cultural and political history of Greece and other nations in the 20th century.

Nevertheless, a country is made by its inhabitants and Greece wouldn’t be as

pretty without its people. Greeks are enormously generous and friendly when inviting others or being invited themselves and always consider having guests an honour. This tradition of hospitality dates back to the ancient times when treating guests better than one would do one’s own was though to be the will of Zeus, him being a patron of hospitality among other things.

Facts about Greece! ● Greece is currently the most sexually active country in the world. (Durex Global Sex Survey) ● Media in Greece lie too! Athens has not destroyed by riots. Care to pay a visit and see for yourselves? ● Serving the army is obligatory for adult men. ● Greek has been spoken for more than 3,000 years, making it one of the oldest languages in Europe and about 12 million people around the world speak Greek. ● Greece has more archaeological museums than any other country in the world. ● The first Olympic Games took place in Greece in 776 B.C. ● 55% of the youth in Greece, graduate from at least a 4 year university course. ● Greece has the highest smoking rates in Europe. ● Athens is the oldest city in Europe, and the birthplace of democracy. ● The word Lesbian, was derived from the name of the island of Lesbos. ● There are as many as 63 different folk dances in Greece. ● 13% of the English Dictionary is derived from Greek words. If a word has a “ph” in it, it is probably Greek.

Show your Country

ESN Greece - STARland 2012

by Alexandros Vigkos How great is the feeling of being involved in a network at the moment of it’s evolution and growth? That is for sure the case for a lot of ESN countries and definitely for ESN Greece.

Great motivation, volunteer spirit, long meetings, hard work, lotsof fun, friendship, inspiring and i nspired people, cooperation and much more are the ingredients our network consists of…

But, what does growth mean?

Let’s make a comparison of ESN Greece 3 years ago and today!

2009 Number of sections: 3 National platforms: What is that?

National board: Eh?! We have an NR! National event: What?

Obviously, when we mention evolution, it has to be more tha numbers!

ESN Greece is proud to be active in all ESN projects (SocialErasmus, ExchangeAbility, PRIME e.t.c.) as well as taking them further by implementing ideas and initiatives on a national level, in order to bring quality improvement, offering a wider range of activities and services to exchange students. At the same time, our members are more active on the international level tha never before, IB members, international coordinators, committee members.

Simply, Greeks are more and more involved and contributing to the work of ESN international!

Today 12+1 candidate 2 per year 3 members 400 students met in Crete this May

…and we have to keep the same ingredients for the FUTURE! Even though we don’t have a concrete plan for the coming years, we are continuously receiving applications of interest from potential sections, and we are happy to welcome more members, as we are far fromcovering all Greek universitiesor even all cities with Erasmus students! At the same time, we have to assure that growth will not be only quantitative, that new sections will respect and share our values and way of working, and will contribute to our effort.

respond better to our needs at every moment, for example we are now planning to add two more position in our National board and only a few months ago we formed three national working groups for communication, IT issues and fundraising.

Flexibility is essential at this point, and we have no other option but to continuously adjust every point to suit better our own needs. We hope to keep enjoying this smooth growth in the next years, we wish to preserve our “spirit”, keep working for the quality of exchange in Greece and remain a big group of friends enjoying being ESNers!

Did we mention that our country is in crisis?

We tend to forget that sometimes…

Statutes and gossips - Best practices Have you ever felt exhausted from the procedure of discussing and voting on your national statutes? Would you like the procedure to be much funnier and faster?

Here’s a tip for the chairing teams of ESN events: Take a small box, and ask people to write any gossips in small papers and hand them in the box at any point - For every discussion closing or proposal being accepted (or even rejected), read out loud a gossip!

This works as an energizer between important debates, and gives motivation to participants not to gabble! Established at NP Thessaloniki summer 2010!

Moreover, as the network is developing we are continuously making changes to

23

Show your Country

ESN Greece celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus programme!

By ESN Greece The Erasmus program is celebrating its 25th anniversary, triggering numerous special celebrations from Institutions of Higher Education, National Agencies, and most importantly, students all over Europe.

It goes without saying that Greece participates in these special celebrations.

Between the 14th and the 17th of May, various events will take place throughout Greek Institutions of Higher Education.

Thematic cinema afternoons, various events and information fairs about the Erasmus program will take place in many of the aforementioned institutions, where the sections of ESN Greece will have the opportunity to participate and inform the students about Erasmus as well as ESN. ESN Greece, in collaboration with the Greek National Agency (I.K.Y.) strongly participates

On the 18th of May, we will co-organise with our National Agency the culminating event of the celebrations for the 25 years anniversary of the Erasmus Program, where talks on Erasmus program, photo/video/ poster exhibition, and many surprises will take place. Αmong the guests will be

By ESN Greece Event for ESN Greece took place in Crete with 200 participants and this year we have managed to double the number and we also added one extra day to the schedule. The adventure for 350 of the participants will start from the port of Piraeus, where they will meet and begin their overnight ferry trip to Crete. On Thursday morning they will arrive in the port of Herakleion where about 50 erasmus students

24

Finally, sections of ESN Greece in Ioannina and Crete have organized during April and May some very special flashmob with flying lanterns, to celebrate, what else, the 25th Anniversary of ERASMUS!

in the organization and promotion of these events. We have already co- organised two competitions; the Photo, Video, Poster Competition and the Erasmus Story Competition. The winners of the latter (two Greeks and two foreigners) will participate in a round table discussion that will be held on 18th of May concerning the effects of Erasmus. All their travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the National Agency. As for the winners of the first one, money awards will be given to the first three winners of each category.

The Crete trip 2012

This year ESN Greece is organising it’s second National Event also known as “The Crete Trip”. From the 10th to 13th of May, 400 exchange students and ESN members will meet in Herakleion to enjoy four days full of activities and fun and of course, they will have the chance to enjoy the natural beauty of the island . Last year the first National

representatives from the political leadership, the Heads of the Institutions, professors, personnel and students.

will join them. This would be the beginning of a great trip where participants will go for a “boat cruise barbeque”, visit to the hippy beach of Matala and have fun at a water park . But what is a National Event without parties? Boring! So here is few of the parties that will take place: party on the boat, party at the beaches and foam party at the waterpark!

The Crete Trip is a joint effort from all the section of Greece. The motivation for such

a big team to work together lies in their will to organise a big event and bring together the erasmus students who study in different Universities in Greece. For over four months this team is working, some times overnight and during holidays, in order to make sure that everyone will have a good time and enjoy the island as much as possible.

Half of the team is working on the spot, in Crete trying to arrange the best for our erasmus students while at the same time the other half of the team is working from every section around the country making the event known and accessible for all the erasmus students.

This national event is not only a nice opportunity for erasmus students to see the best of Crete with the minimum cost, but it is also a reason why ESN Greece is proud for the good collaboration established among it’s sections.

ESN Greece is very happy to have overcome expectations in terms of participation and would like to thank all the participants of this event together with the amazing OC.

Show your Country

ShEEP Athens

PRIME The Greek case

By ESN Greece It was a lazy Saturday afternoon back in June when some of ESN Athens AUEB members were casually hanging out at the office discussing how we could make the upcoming year amazing!

By ESN Greece The national PRIME team was founded in order to promote the PRIME 2010 questionnaires and disseminate the results of this study. After successfully finishing with the international survey, some of us decided that we should present the Greek results to everyone that helped us with the project. We asked Justyna Pisera for the excel sheet with the Greek data and we started the analysis. Firstly, we produced all graphs of the international booklet, using the Greek data. Then we translated all the titles and the data inside the graphs. The official language of our publication is Greek, since it aims to inform Greek students about the situation in Greece.

Afterwards, we conducted interviews concerning the DS as well as the ECTS label, with several HEIs and with our National Agency.

It is after all our section’s birthday, we are turning 20 and we are determined it will go down with a bang!

As we messed about on facebook we came across our pictures from SEEP in Veliko Tarnovo it was then when it hit us! We shall celebrate our birthday with our european friends!! It was perfect!

We quickly informed the NP and sent out our application in fall. It was November before we knew it and we were presenting our candidacy at SEEP Istanbul- and then again at the AGM in Granada!

So here we are 7 months before the event trying to make our ShEEP the best it can be!!

Interested??Well there is loads to expect!!

A nice hotel, spacious plenary room, awesome parties and a great gala!! Sounds good to you?? Well make sure you apply in time, registration is expected to open early in September!

Then put on your smile, pack your national delicacies for the eurodinner and your finest clothing and just come to Athens!!!

Will you miss ESN Athens AUEB’s legendary 20th birthday 4 day celebration???

For more info : https://www.facebook. com/SeepAthens2012 seep2012@aueb. esnathens.gr

Our team conducted regular skype meetings in order to organise our actions.

ESN AUTH movieSTAR

By ESN Greece It was a day like any other and we were preparing for a week of receiving Erasmus students in Thessaloniki when one of us had the idea to make a video with all of our ESNers. What would be simpler than gathering answers from everyone within a sentence „Why Erasmus“? The question was a little trap. Everyone gave their own meaning, and the result came out very nice; it was beautiful! Why did I go to Erasmus?

Why should somebody experience Erasmus?

Why and how Erasmus made me the person I am today? More other interpretations of the question, filled the 5 minutes of the film.

To make it, we had to organize ourselves in 3 different groups during a week. The laughter was infinite ... In my opinion the failed videos are worth more! 151 videos, totaling over an hour! We sweated, but we did it!!!

The proceedings and many other material can be found on our google site that we built especially for our project. During the whole process, every member of the team was checking each others work, so as to ensure the quality and the precision of our publication.

Now our project is over and our report “PRIME 2011:The Greek case” can be found online on http://esngreece.gr/content/ prime It’s hard to tell what the impact of our efforts will be but we are proud because we feel we did something important for the Greek Erasmus students and ESN Greece too.

25

Show your Country

ESN AUTH So we had this idea: flying lanterns for the celebration of 25 Years Erasmus! We bought them, we invited everyone, the media, the local Authorities and notified the Fire Service. There was someone, however, with a different opinion: the airport. “We are sorry to announce you that our event is cancelled due to air traffic safety reasons” And now? Let’s go to the seaside and light them up!

ESN UoM Thessaloniki How a mountain excursion ended as we hadn’t imagined! Our destination at the ski resort was blocked by snow walls, leaving us at the foot of the Mount. However improvisation saved us! A coffee at the landscape, a sponsorship of wines, delicious food , traditional dances and sleighs of bags turned the day into an experience. Because unexpected situations connect us!

ESN Athens AUEB Back in 1992, when it all started. A group of Greek students from AUEB were searching for their European Identity after their Erasmus. The result?

20 years later, ESN Athens AUEB during the AGM celebrating with our international friends for SEEP Athens 2012 election! That huge hug is our common identity!

Bring it to Athens!

ESN Ioannina While reading an article of an Erasmus student in our city we discovered with great pleasure that our efforts are not going to waste. We saw that our traditional city makes them feel at home and thanks to any type of activity they joined, they were able to form a big family. We can say that this characterizes ESN Ioannina, one BIG FAMILY!

26

ESN Kapa Athens On the 4th of February, in cooperation with the International Relations Office of the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens, we organized an informative seminar about the Erasmus program and all the associated procedures. Among the key speakers were members of the International Relations and European Educational Programs Committee, representatives of the Greek National Agency and former Erasmus students – currently ESNers. The turnout was fairly satisfactory and the outcome quite promising!

25th Anniversary

ESN UE-Varna – in the tradition of SocialErasmus

By ESN UE-Varna ESN Varna officially became a part of ESNBulgaria and Erasmus Student Network in February 2010, when a group of enthusiastic students decided to give the foreign students in Varna the opportunity to get acquainted with the local culture. In July 2011 ESN Varna was renamed to ESN UE-Varna and began the active cooperation between the section and the University of Economics in Varna.

As a member of an international organization and the university, and as a cultural institution, they stand for the integration of the exchange students into daily life.

Following the international SocialErasmus spirit, they decided to celebrate two of their most famous and favorite holidays in a different way.

they divided all the children and students in 4 groups and made a competition. The children didn’t speak English very well, but they were very communicative and tried

Easter is a holiday when you should be with your family, when you should feel loved and happy. That’s why ESN UE-Varna decided to go once more to the kids from the orphanage “Knyaginya Nadezhda” and share this spirit of Easter with them. Of course together with the Erasmus students, whom they wanted to show the Bulgarian way to celebrate Easter.

ESN UE-Varna built a new level of cooperation with two foundations in Varna.

Grandma March The first event was Grandma March, a Bulgarian tradition related to welcoming the upcoming spring. A Martenitsa is a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn and worn from March 1 until around the end of March. When someone gives you a Martenitsa you should wear it until you see a stork or a fruit tree in blossom for the first time in the season.

In order to celebrate the holiday ESN UEVarna did a unique Martenitsa workshop. The project aimed to be their first SocialErasmus event and wanted to bring together Erasmus students and children from the orphanage “Knyaginya Nadezhda”. Later the idea came to sell the Martenitsas in the university and to buy presents for the children.

In the orphanage ESN UE-Varna found around 15 wonderful kids waiting for them and ready to make Martenitsas. Because they already knew how to make them,

to speak to the students in all kinds of languages. It was funny and amazing to see how they worked together.

After 3 hours, the groups had made 230 amazing Martenitsas full of love and hope.

On the next day ESN UE-Varna spent 4 hours selling them. The Erasmus students talked to the Bulgarian students explaining them about the event and what the collected money would be used for.

Everyone donated a small amount of money and presents were bought for the children.

Easter Egg painting After the successful Martenitsa workshop, ESN UE-Varna continued with Easter egg painting. The Bulgarian way of celebrating Easter is a bit different. There is no Easter Bunny and egg hunt around the garden.

However, their Easter cake – “Kozunak”, egg fights and the family gathering definitely make Easter one of the best holidays in Bulgaria! Egg fight is a traditional Easter game: you hold a hard-boiled egg and tap the eggs of other participants to break them but keep your own undamaged.

International volunteers from Balkan Kids Foundation helped them with organizing the event and painting the eggs. Foundation S.O.S – Families in Risk donated clothes for the kids.

At the event, they played games in the back yard of the orphanage and colored around 40 eggs. The most important thing was that everybody laughed a lot and felt the Easter spirit. It was a week earlier than the date eggs should normally be painted, because this year in Bulgaria Easter is celebrated one week later. However, it fitted perfectly to the Catholic Easter so the international participants had the opportunity to celebrate it on time. The eggs were so colorful and beautiful that the children didn’t want to leave them aside. But as the tradition enjoins, the eggs were left until Sunday, when the kids were supposed to do the Easter egg fight.

After organizing these two and many more events, ESN UE-Varna will try to keep this Erasmus spirit until the semester ends and do a lot of social projects together still.

27

Translation

Between the Earth and Sky

by Anja Pletikosa

English

Few centuries ago, when Turks were still the Others (today they stop us from getting into the semifinals of the European Championship), and Austria territorially was the biggest country in Europe,“Antemurale Christianitatis” was a common expression that certain politicians and public persons used to give to Croatia. As such, Croatia indeed is a part of Europe, that fundamental civilzational circle synonim for what is considered to be “Western” – culturally, economically and, if you like it, ideologically dominant.

And suddenly, the 20th century has come, followed by a series of it‘s regimes and permanently lumed us together under the term of “Balcan”. Socialism communism Tito partey youth action! They say that the vampires are the only export product of the possocialist East, but simultaneously “locus communis” in the Western pop-culture.

They say that the people from the West are affraid of the savage people from the East, just as they are affraid of the vampires.

At the end of the year 2011 Croatia has signed the Accession Contract of the European Union. In the same year I‘ve entered my 25th jubilee and now I‘m waiting for the response of the authorities weather they‘ll finance my further education in Europe or not. The only problem? Currently I belong to the category of the Western Balcan and Turkey, and by the end of the programme I‘ll be a real citizen of Europe.

28

Few centuries ago the reputable statesmen called us tenterance to Europe, nowadays we‘re, as one of our neighbours once singed, in-between the earth and sky.

What‘s up next? They say we‘ve got touristic potential, but the advertisment “Mediterranean as it once was” doesn‘t mean anything, and the promotion of sun and sea isn‘t a marketing trick, because Greece, Turkey and North Africa all have almost the same sea and sun. They say the best way to sell something is using humour and sex, and then the naked bottom was kicked out of the promotion video because it‘s allegedly being sexist. What to offer to the exchange students so they could feel “conditioned”?

Everything! A thousand years spent in the same community with Austrians and Hungars has left, even though someone would like to deny it, the markings on the north of the country. When it comes to food, Czech students could assimilate to this new context as if their mom is cooking, but the beer isn‘t that good! And Viennese could, if they miss their architecture, walk around the Zagrebian cementary Mirogoj, it‘s already been designed by an Austrian. Sanguinics from the South could use the already mentioned sun and sea they have at home and there for there is a recommondation on accomodation: from Zadar to Dubrovnik. Through the centuries this was a safety zone under the Venetian

authority, linguistical and cultural fully orientated towards Italy. And what about Scandinavians? Well, we could at least say that here in the winter days last until 4 p.m.

Few more words according to my personal opinion, just to make sure our European identity won‘t swallow everything Croatian we have. First of all, beautiful people.

Sometimes they may not understand your language, be polite or calmed, but they will surely overrun you with their charm (especially in Dalmatia). Or with their bottom. Or with their cuisine! And naturally, food makes the love go around! After they have fully fed you, sail the islands. Party hard! On Brač, Hvar and Pag, and for those of you who are more spontaneous and easy-going, the recommondations are Korčula, Vis, Lastovo or Šibenik‘s archipelago. Considering the fact summer is yet to come, there are Dubrovnik Summer Games, Film Festival in Oula or Šerbedžija‘s theatre on Brijuni just waiting for you. And wherever you go or whatever you to, check out this keywords: Marko Marulić, Knežev dvor, majstor Radovan, Marin Držić, Tvrdalj, Dioklecijanova palača, Grožnjan Vodnjan Motovun, veli Jože, Vladimir Nazor, Ivan Gundulić, Vlaho Bukovac, 1895., 1991., Miroslav Krleža protiv Milana Begovića/ Ranka Marinkovića/Ive Andrića, Surogat, Alfi Kabiljo, Markov trg, Johnny Štulić, Vjekoslava Huljić, Ivo Sanader.

Tell me, where are we – between the earth and sky!

Translation

Ni na nebu ni na zemlji

by Anja Pletikosa Antemurale Christianitatis bio je uvriježeni izraz kojim su pred nekoliko stoljeća, dok su Turci još uvijek bili oni Drugi (a danas nas zaustavljaju u četvrtfinalu Evropskog prvenstva), a Austrija teritorijalno najveća država u Evropi; stanovite osobe iz političkog i javnog života označavale Hrvatsku. Kao takva, Hrvatska uistinu jest dio Evrope kao početnog civilizacijskog kruga, sinonima za ono što se smatra „zapadnim“ - kulturološki, ekonomski i, ako hoćete, ideološki dominantni.

zapjevao, ni na nebu ni na zemlji.

A onda je došlo 20. stoljeće s nizom svojih režima i bacilo nas u ladicu naziva „Balkan“.

Socijalizam komunizam Tito partija omladina akcija. Kažu da su vampiri jedini pravi izvozni proizvod postsocijalističkog Istoka, a istovremeno opće mjesto zapadne pop-kulture. Kažu da se ljudi sa Zapada boje ljudi s Istoka jednako kao što se boje vampira.

SVE. Tisuću godina s Austrijancima i Mađarima ostavilo je, ma koliko neki sumnjali u tom, traga na sjeveru zemlje.

Student iz Češke moći će se divno snaći kada je riječ o prehrani - kao da mama i dalje kuha, samo je pivo malo lošije. A Bečani neka, ukoliko im nedostaje domaće arhitekture, prošeću do zagrebačkog groblja Mirogoj, ionako ga je projektirao Austrijanac. Sangvinici s juga za to vrijeme mogu iskoristiti ono gorespomenuto sunce i more koje doma imaju te im se za to preporučaju gradovi na potezu od Zadra do Dubrovnika. Stoljećima sigurnosni pojas te mletačka vlast s jezičnom i umjetničkom kulturom izrazito orijentiranom prema Italiji. Što sa Skandinavijom? Ako ništa drugo, onda činjenica da zimi dan traje skoro do 16 sati.

Krajem 2011. godine Hrvatska je potpisala Pristupni ugovor Evropske Unije. Iste sam godine ja ušla u jubilarnu dvadesetpetu te sad neko vrijeme čekam odgovor nadležnih o tome hoće li stipendirati moje daljnje školovanje u Evropi. Jedini problem do kojeg može doći? Trenutno pripadam kategoriji zapadnog Balkana i Turske, a pri kraju programa bit ću prava Evropljanka.

Pred nekoliko stoljeća renomirani su nas državnici nazivali prozorom u Evropu, danas smo, kako je jedan naš susjed nekada

I što dalje s tim? Kažu da imamo turizam, samo što reklama „Mediteran kakav je nekad bio“ ne znači ništa, a promovirati sunce i more nije neki marketinški trik jer ih imaju i Turska i Grčka i čitav sjever Afrike.

Kažu da se najbolje prodaju seks i humor, a onda ogoljela stražnjica bude izbačena iz promotivnog spota jer je navodno riječ o seksizmu. Što ponuditi stranim studentima kako bi se osjećali klimatiziranima?

A kako nas evropski identitet ne bi progutao, još par riječi prema osobnom nahođenju za

pomoć promociji turističke ponude. Prije svega, lijepi ljudi! Možda neće uvijek znati vaš jezik, biti pristojni ili smireni, ali će vas sigurno dobiti šarmom. (op.a. pogotovo budite oprezni u srednjoj Dalmaciji). Ili stražnjicom. Ili kuhinjom! A ljubav, naravno, ide kroz želudac. Nakon što su vas dobro nahranili, zaplovite otocima. Party hard! na Braču, Hvaru, Pagu, za one smirenije svakako su preporuka Korčula, Lastovo, Vis ili šibenski arhipelag. A kako je sada već ljeto, očekuju vas Dubrovačke ljetne igre, Filmski festival u Puli ili Šerbedžijin teatar na Brijunima. I gdje god bili i što god radili, provjerite sljedeće ključne riječi: Marko Marulić, Knežev dvor, majstor Radovan, Marin Držić, Tvrdalj, Dioklecijanova palača, Grožnjan Vodnjan Motovun, veli Jože, Vladimir Nazor, Ivan Gundulić, Vlaho Bukovac, 1895., 1991., Miroslav Krleža protiv Milana Begovića/ Ranka Marinkovića/Ive Andrića, Surogat, Alfi Kabiljo, Markov trg, Johnny Štulić, Vjekoslava Huljić, Ivo Sanader.

Kaži mi gde smo- ni na nebu ni na zemlji.

n a i oat

Cr

29

Recipe

A complete Austrian meal

By Katharina Ma Only very few dishes are more famous than the humble Wiener Schnitzel. The preparation asks a lot of gentleness and attention, since it is a pure declaration of love to a dish with a lot of history. Kids love it, adults love it, sometimes even the dog likes it. And it’s super quick to prepare as well.

Preparations

First comes the workout: you tenderize the Schnitzel by hitting it hard with a hammer. Obviously there exist special devices such as meat mallets. You can also use encyclopedias, but I recommend to wrap it in plastic before. You can put a kitchen towel underneath the cutting board to keep the good relations with your neighbors (with the hammer comes the noise). Then you massage them with salt and pepper on both sides to spice them up.

Ingredients (for 4 people): 4 cutlets of veal (traditional); you could use chicken, turkey or pork if you prefer flour breadcrumbs 2 eggs salt and pepper oil or lard (traditional) for frying

Now, the Schnitzel is super relaxed and needs to stay like this. It needs a coating.

Turn the Schnitzel in flour, so that it’s well covered on both sides. Afterwards, it goes for a bath in whisked eggs and then up into the breadcrumbs. The more careful you are, the better the bread crust will be!

Do not press the bread crumbs into the meat. The crust should not adhere completely, but form a loose shell around the Schnitzel.

The finals: We say that the Schnitzels have to “swim” in fat. And you don’t put it in the pan unless the oil is very very hot. No, you don’t need to touch it. The duration of the “swim”‚ aka. frying process depends on the thickness of the meat, but usually, if the Schnitzels have a golden-brown color, they’re done.

Let it drain on a paper towel and serve it with a slice of lemon, French fries, fried potatoes, potato salad or for the not-so-potato-lovers like me, with rice.

Additional remark: In Austria, you don’t put any sauce with it. Full stop.

If you’re not done with the Schnitzel yet and due to a full day of work and you’re still hungry, but you want to save money as well – Kaiserschmarrn is here to save your day!

It sounds fancy imperial and trivia says it was the favorite sweet dish of our former emperor. There are

For enough meals to satisfy the needs of the board girls you need: 240 g flour 250 ml milk 125 sparkling water (makes it fluffy, but you can spare this and use milk instead) 6 eggs 100 g sugar (half of it can be vanilla sugar) 120 g rum-raisins (but you can spare them as well if you don’t like them) pinch of salt bit of oil

30

The easiest and quickest way is to put all ingredients together in a bowl and stir them to a smooth dough.

Heat butter (or tasteless oil) in a pan and pour all the batter into the pan. Cook it for a few minutes, or until the pancake has set and the bottom is golden brown.

Turn the pancake and bake it until the other side has this nice golden color as well.

Now, use two forks or spatulas and tear the pancake into bite-size pieces and let it roast a bit. I always put some extra sugar on it and wait until it caramelized. Serve it on a big big plate, add some powder sugar as a finish and let the battle in the ESN House begin. Maybe provide forks only after everyone took a seat.

It can be served with apple sauce or plum compote. Or, as last weekend, I had strawberries with it.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy!

31

European Identity

Stereotypes in Europe, who are you?

by Kenny Ho There is no denying that before you set foot in another country, whether it is an Erasmus adventure or a simple holiday, we will always hold an expectation of the food, the prices, the weather and of course, the people of your host country. It is inevitable that we have a stereotype viewpoint before we travel, so what better destination to test our stereotypes than in the wild, wonderful and weird continent that we so proudly call Europe?!

Let’s have a look at France first, perhaps one of the weirdest countries in our geography books. Where the French men always wear scarfs even in warm weather, their unhealthy obsession with wine and cheese and their rich history of surrendering to their enemies has made us fascinated of “les bleus” for centuries. Sure they’re described as chauvinistic, but consistently losing battles is not something to be hugely proud of. But of course it’s that sexy and super romantic French accent that keeps us seduced and just a simple French phrase as “J’ai le Tour Eiffel dans mon pantalon” can make our knees crumble; and we can’t thank them enough for their greatest invention, the French Kiss.

Then there’s Germany and the Netherlands, both nations famous for being excellent football penalty takers and their uncanny approach to jokes. Combined, they’re

perhaps the most perfectly efficient country in all of Europe, if not the world.

What’s their secret then? Is it their love of hair gel and all things that involves the € symbol? The answer is their aggressive approach. It’s evident in their culture, in their drinking, in their music and of course in their beautiful language. This essential element is what makes the Germans and Dutch on time, precise and powerful… perhaps too powerful.

This is a major contrast to the laidback approach adopted by the lovable Spanish and Italians. They bring a whole new meaning to the expression “taking your time”. If you ever plan a group trip with Spanish and/or Italians, make sure you lie to them about the time of the meeting point, preferably an hour before the actual time. But we forgive them for they provide us with their gorgeous food and produce the most beautiful people on the planet with their sexy accents and tanned skin and with “ciao bella” that guarantees a 100% strike rate with the ladies.

What about our northern counterparts in Scandinavia? They always seem to keep to themselves up there. What are they hiding? Why is everything expensive? What is the secret to a good sauna? Is there really a Swedish Mafia? More importantly how do they keep making such ridiculously good looking blondes!?

The same cannot be said for the great islands of Ireland and the UK, where standards are much lower than the European average which most likely explains why they’re so fond of alcohol. But it’s important to remember that what they lack in physical attributes, they make it up through their charm, charisma and friendliness. These qualities and their perpetual interest in the weather forecast make us forgive them their mistakes, shenanigans and debauchery...well, almost.

Finally, last but not the least, we have Eastern and Central Europe. But to be honest, I’m not sure if they’ll be ever be able to read this article anyway as their internet connection is almost non-existent, let alone have any cars on their “roads”.

But if you ever plan on venturing out to the unknown, your money will go very far and it is guaranteed that you will not need to splash more than €10 for that dream wife/ husband of yours.

It is important to understand that stereotypes are merely expectations. With them it makes us slightly oblivious but more significantly it paves the path for us to be surprised and appreciative. When we actually do touch down in a foreign country, everything you knew or thought you knew about stereotype cultures becomes irrelevant and when we are exposed to new and exciting elements, it ultimately changes our personality and our perspective. We take great pride being unique in our cultural differences, our distinct history and in our traditions that we carry, but we are bonded by the sense of community between our fellow Europeans. That’s the very beauty and essence of possessing the European Identity.

Musing on an unexpected experience abroad

by Carnen Cuesta Roca I knew my experience in France would be utterly distinct from my classmates‘ the second I stepped off the TGV all the way back in September. No midnight strolls along the Seine complaining about the ever-increasing price of the baguettes in my favourite boulangerie, or drinking wine in Bordeaux in a friend‘s candlelit apartment. Instead, my days have been filled with peculiarities that are home only to Alsace.

assistant in Strasbourg, was that I would effectively be moving to Germany. I‘m sure most people don‘t have the feeling they ended up in a completely different country when they first arrive at their destination abroad. However, despite my initial scepticism, I saw this as a grand opportunity to experience the best of two cultures simultaneously. The combination of German beer and French patisserie has certainly left me with nothing to complain about.

working just 12 hours a week and with high hopes for learning the language. At the same time, my thoughts were also clouded by fears concerning the spotty and moody teenagers I would be teaching (turns out I was half right as French high-schoolers are not far from aesthetic perfection, but this is of course levelled with an extra helping of impertinence), plus the anxiety of finding a flat, opening a bank account and generally being a responsible adult, only all in French.

What the British Council failed to tell me when I applied to be an English language

So I arrived in Strasbourg in September filled with optimism about earning money,

Retrospectively, my eight months in France have been a bit like a whirlwind romance,

32

European Identity

European identity and the willingness to know far beyond the doorstep

by Alicia Macanás I was about to finish the draft of a song the other day. It was driving me bananas because I wanted to do something simple, and every time I try to keep something simple I end up overcomplicating it. I guess it’s like moving somewhere else: you don’t really know what it is until you do it.

Living in Europe is definitely like driving all over a never-ending highway. Regardless the direction, you’ll always have a million choices regarding gesture, food, physiognomy, folklore, housing - and ways of wearing sandals: “to sock or not to sock”. Once you start the trip, your whole world changes all of a sudden; the more you see, the more you want to keep discovering. Don’t get worried if you feel confused by some sort of travelsick feelings: Europe is also a place to call home. You may have not heard about the “home-abroad-sick” syndrome; thousands of former exchange students and ESNers suffer from it every year. To calm down, I tell myself “Rome was not built in a day”; therefore, think there are many ways you can make Europe yours!

with lots of ups (mainly involving patisserie and cheese) and a few downs (primarily concerning the aforementioned teenagers and injuries inflicted after treacherous bike rides in the wee hours of the morning).

Regardless, every day I spend living abroad is a new adventure. Which new beer can I sample? What new words can I learn and actually use? Who am I going to meet next week? It‘s unbelievably easy to strike up conversation with strangers who are charmed by your accent and intrigued by your very presence in their country. New experiences occur every day and once the exhaustion of speaking in another language wears off, plus the paperwork is all signed and sent, there is no excuse but to live, breathe and completely consume the new and foreign (in more ways than one) environment you now call home.

The Erasmus programme has joined the continent, no one can deny it. From Cartagena to Trondheim, from Reykjavik to Istambul, students and staff keep on moving both geographically, culturally, professionally, personally. “Exchange” is that valuable yet priceless concept of giving and receiving, regardless the place and the differences. Experiencing other cultures in your hometown or the marvellous feeling of sharing your own one abroad makes people come together and gives a point to the union, just like the one we are building in this network.

I feel European because even the furthest culture feels close to mine. Not only lowcost companies have contributed to it, but also the various trips around the continent (ESN events OCs, thank you so much!).

If you are reading these lines is because you are another European like me. If you are not that convinced yet, I guess I could just stop the speech and sum the whole concept up in four words: Go and see yourself!

Song for the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus Programme

“25” Written and recorded entirely by Alicia Macanás

Starting again doesn‘t mean to start over: Starting a way we could build a better place.

And we‘re all starting here now standing here and all over And we‘re all starting here now standing here and all over Do you know...

25 ways to say hello?

Oh! If you knew what it mean to me, maybe...

You will pack and pick up the first plane or train.

And we‘re all starting here now standing here and all over And we‘re all starting here now standing here and all over Do you know...

25 ways to say hello?

Listen to it from the 23rd July http://soundcloud.com/alicia-miau

Do you already know 25 ways to say hello?

Czesc Halløj Salut Hola Szia Ciao Sveiki Hallå გამარჯობა Hallo здравей Hei Merhaba Hej Olá Hejsa Ahoj Γεια σας Kaixo Hi Pozdravljeni Здраво Tere Dia duit

33

Photo

DO YOU WANT YOUR PHOTO HERE? Then send your photos to:

34

photo@esn.org

We need you!

We need you!

Do you have a lot of creativity but nowhere to use it? Are you a talented writer? Do you have an amazing story? Are you a funky photographer? Then we have a challenge for you!

ESN publishes three issues of the eXpress magazine each year, normally it is 32-36 pages long and contains articles about projects, countries and experiences. We are already looking into making the next issue of the eXpress magazine and are looking for articles and photos from brilliant ESNers such as yourself.

Article • ½page 350 words • 1 page 6-700 words • Also, please attach high quality pictures Find more infromation at esn.org/magazine or contact us at express@esn.org with your idea or finished article!

Photo For photographers we have a little twist, we are looking for the next cover picture!

The photos should • Be of high quality • Represent the European identity, ESN, Erasmus or other relevant topic.

• Be taken by you Send your submissions before the 10th of August to photo@esn.org . The winner of the photo competition will be announced with the next issue of eXpress. By submitting photo and graphic material you agree to giving ownership and the permission to reproduce, edit and adapt the submitted materials to ESN AISBL.

Social & Green esn co

untr

ies:

esn Fr esn h ance unga ry

in this issue:

ESN COUNTRIES

:

- exchangeabilit y - youth ForuM - esn goes gree n

ESN SPAIN ESN BELGIUM

IN THIS ISSUE:

SUE:

IN THIS IS

RASMUS - SOCIALE IGHTS R - YOUTH MITTEES M O C - ESN

9th edition 0 September 201

ESN COUNTRIES:

ESN MACEDONIA ESN ITALY

Time Travels express10.indd 1

- PRIME 2010 - NEW ESN PROJECTS 11th edi

tion

May 201

10th edition January 2011

1

26-Mar-11 16:48:36

35

This project has been funded with support from the European Comission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein