Finally, after a very very very long time I found some time to add a little to make a small final conclusion of this famous Erasmus stay in Belgium. As you can read in my previous posts, there is no question that I had a great time. To sum up Erasmus as such, I would use a sentence with which every student that has experienced it on own hook agrees: Erasmus gives you a lot, but also takes you a lot…Being on Erasmus is a rare thing and not everybody has this opportunity.
Author: Jirka
Plenty of Funny Experiences
In fact, I have plenty of funny moments to share. Do you remember I said you get lots of experiences and experience from Erasmus? I have experienced many moments, I have been in many new and sometimes strange situations, very often full of adrenaline. However, that’s what definitely belongs to Erasmus, doesn’t it? So I’m gonna tell you about some adventures.
Trips – The Important Part of Erasmus
I realized that posts about one of the best things of my Belgian adventure are still missing, so I should fix it right now. Six months is a time long enough to make some trips so I also tried not to waste any opportunity to travel and I’ve made a lot of nice trips with lots of experiences. It’s known that Gent, thanks to the great position it has, is a very good starting point for traveling. No wonder that during my Belgian mission I’ve managed to visit 4 capital cities, namely Amsterdam, Luxembourg, even Paris and naturally Brussels.
2nd Semester – Extending My Erasmus Adventure
Yes, the topic says everything. I mean the topic, not the picture. I have survived the first semester (to wit, I have successfully passed all the exams). Moreover, I’m staying in Gent also for the next semester! Yipee! I should say…. Yes, of course I’m happy. Just……I also realized what all I have to solve and how many things I have to sacrifice at the expense of the prolongation of my Erasmus. I had to postpone my final exams to September so I won’t have the final exams with my schoolmates, among others. And…my thesis, I have to write it here, in Gent, anyway. So this semester I’m going to be very busy with all that stuff for school. But…as long as it’s worth it…okay let’s have a look at it from the better side 🙂
Now A Little Bit About (Hoge)School…Seriously!
During my revisit to my country I had been asked several times by my curious family and friends whether I had been even attending the school there (meaning in Gent), so finally I’ve decided to tell you also something about how it goes at school here – in Gent.
First Days With Intercultural Shocks
When you visit a foreign country, as soon as you cross the border, I’m sure you immediately recognize that you’re abroad, even if you had you-r eyes covered all the time and have suddenly opened them. Each country has something by which it differs from your home country. And it doesn’t matter if it’s in Europe, America or Asia. It has a different style of architecture, landscape, people, language, climate or standard of living. It has a different culture. Different culture means people with different mentality and life approach, different habits, food, and let’s say overall way of living. And once you start traveling, you find out that what works in your country, may not work in another one. Something that’s just a normal thing in your country, doesn’t necessarily have to be common somewhere else. I call these moments of realization “intercultural shocks” and here are a few which I ran into in Belgium.
Arriving In Gent (Ghent)
The arrival
The D-Day is finally here. August 26, the day when I finally set out on the trip to a destination more than 1000 km far from my home. This destination is going to be my home for next 5 months. My trip starts at Prague airport (actually in Ostrava, but a pretty boring journey by train is not consider even to be a trip). The first moment I realize that I’m going to Belgium is when we are flying over the Belgian borders and it starts raining. But I should take into account that this weather is typical in Belgium, shouldn’t I? 🙂
Which One To Choose for Erasmus?
Before I start talking about my first impressions of the city which is going to be my home for next few months – Ghent (Gent) – I should perhaps tell you why I have chosen to spend upcoming months of my Erasmus in this very city.