Fear, nervousness, joy, and in a way also peace and anticipation are mixed in me... Feelings that I would definitely not expect all together. And certainly not just because I'm sitting on a bus enjoying a cheesecake strudel.
In fact, I may be sitting on a bus, illuminated by the sun that has just risen over the horizon, looking out over Paris. I'm looking at my big dream. I can't believe I'm actually here. In a few minutes, I'll be getting off the train in Paris, saying hello to my correspondent Clara, and strolling the bustling streets below the Eiffel Tower. In a few hours, I will look into a house that will be more like a small castle, and in which I will spend more beautiful days. I will be greeted by my family, my lovely parents and my cute siblings. In a few days I will go to school... a French school, where I will not understand a word of literature, but where I will also experience wonderful maths or biology lessons, meet great people, learn a little and have a great time.
We asked...
01
Why would you recommend your classmates to participate in the Erasmus+ programme and what advice would you have for them?
Why? I probably won't be too original if I say that it's simply because you get to know a new country in a completely different way than if you were just going on holiday. You'll probably see the same things that you see in my photos - Paris in all its glory, a few other sights, if you go into the woods you'll see some nature, maybe have a pancake in a cafe... But at Erasmus you have the amazing opportunity to see all this from a slightly different perspective. And there's something more to it. You get to see a French family, a French school, the French world, and you not only get to know the country in a completely different way than just biting into a baguette under the Eiffel Tower, you not only expand your horizons, but probably your vocabulary too - and that's worth it! :)
02
What were the biggest challenges you overcame during your stay?
It may sound strange, but the biggest challenge for me (if I consider the stay itself and not the trip, which I was quite nervous about) was that I couldn't be quite independent :) I often hear that Erasmus is supposed to make you independent, and yes, for me it probably did to some extent :) But I think I was quite used to being independent from home, and then every day when someone prepared breakfast for me, walked me to the bus, showed me what, where and how, picked me up from my last class, walked me slowly to the toilet at school so I wouldn't accidentally get lost... It was very nice in itself, but for a person who likes to arrange everything by himself and needs to be in control of things, it was kind of binding. :) And I don't want to forget to mention that I also missed my two most beloved beings during my stay - my boyfriend and my little sister. That was actually by far the biggest challenge, but that's all I have to write about :)
03
How would you describe your typical day?
I get up at 6:30 in the morning to have a breakfast in peace. An hour later, after about a million hugs from her little siblings, Clara and I leave the house and embark on an adventurous bus ride. We have a morning at school, some literature, English, history... and at twelve o'clock a fight for a place in the lunch queue. With the exception of Wednesday, we have afternoon classes, when I sometimes have extra lessons with Clara, or maths, which I have chosen and where I have the opportunity to meet other people. When school gets out on time, we still go into town for pancakes or sightseeing. Otherwise, we go home where the rest of the family is waiting for us, maybe some board games and a long dinner together. Afterwards, I usually go to my room in the attic, where I slowly drift off to sleep with tea and a book.