Testimonials
The last spring semester, given the opportunity from our university, my friends and I decided to apply on the Erasmus exchange program. The Erasmus+ experience at University Politehnica of Bucharest was life-changing to me, because it was my first study-abroad experience and also because it took a completely different turn due to the worldwide pandemic caused by Covid-19, although the International Relations Office was there to assist at any time my friends or I needed anything. Further on, let me get on details on what this experience was like for me and how it has affected me.
I was really eager to see how the classes would take place and I was surprised to see that the evaluation was actually pretty different from what we have at our school. Some subjects had a final exam during the exam session and some not. The laboratories were mandatory, and we had a separate grade for them and a separate one for the course. And on top of all these, part of the evaluation could also be an oral exam, which I had in one of the subjects. It was my first time taking such an exam, though having experience in presenting projects at my home university helped me take it easier and I did perfectly well.
Then, of course, going to study abroad on Erasmus is also related to parties, fun nights and days and trips. Well, considering the pandemic that slowly spread to Romania too, we were able to attend a few activities organized by ESN-Poli such as Beerpong at Revenge Club and we also got to visit the Old Town which was full of shops, restaurants and bars.
Other than that, my friends and I went on karaoke one night and we had a great time. We also would gather up with other Erasmus students from the other countries in a room, we would get some snacks and put on some music and tell funny stories. This was one of the activities I liked most, because that way, from the different stories we’d tell, we got to know different cultures and we were able to find similarities also, for example in language, in traditions and in folkloric music or dances. Though what I noticed was that me and my friends from Epoka University were more fluent in English, which I think comes from the fact that we take all the classes at Epoka in English language, but also academically we were more prepared compared to the other students in the classes we took.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to enjoy all the exchange experience while staying in Romania. After being notified that the classes would continue online, I had to return to my home country to get my visa. However, one day before my return flight to Romania, the government decided to suspend all flights from our airport until further notice. Thankfully, the lessons, the laboratories and the exams too continued online until the end of the semester, which was good for me, since I could not return. I was terrified that if the university would reopen, I wouldn’t be able to attend and therefore I would fail my semester. But in the end, everything worked out just fine.
In conclusion, I can say that maybe this Erasmus experience did not go as I expected it to go, but I experienced so much throughout it, that if I had the chance to change it, I would not. I learned that although things sometimes do not go as we plan them or as we expect them to, if we do not give up, everything works out for the best. All we have to do is believe and keep going, no matter what, and we can make a wonderful memory out of anything.
It has been more than a month since I came here in Oradea, Romania, in order to attend the Erasmus+ program offered by my university in cooperation with the University of Oradea.
The arrival here was a good opportunity to enhance my knowledge on Romanian culture and traditions, and more specifically of the beautiful city of Oradea. This city is characterized by the old Baroque style of construction and they were able to continue maintaining it throughout the years, even nowadays. It has become part of Oradea´s citizens culture and they are characterized by this way of living out of the whole region. Nowadays the city is still under construction and everywhere you can see people working to reconstruct the buildings. It is quite interesting the fact that in Oradea you can find more than ten museums that show the history of this city into years.
As it belongs to the people, they are mostly friendly and helpful to foreigners, and when they learn that you are a foreigner they try to be good marketers of their city by giving you directions to all of the places that are classified as beautiful and attractive for the tourists.
It is worth to be mentioned that Oradea is the safest city in the whole Romania and the police or differently called the “Jandarmeria” are always helpful in any case.
Because of Covid-19 even here in Oradea the lessons are suspended, and the university has started the online classes with the students. Until now I have had the possibility to be part of some online classes and learn a little more about the way how the lessons are made by the professors here. A big help for the students is also the library of the university that everyone can access.
Compared with my home university, “Epoka University”, the conditions and the infrastructure in the “University of Oradea” is not as good, but as I mentioned before, these buildings are part of the culture and of the history of this city.
So far staying here has been a personal challenge because of the situation created from this virus that has paralyzed the whole world, but until now everything is going fine and I am using this time to work with my diploma thesis and to fulfill the Erasmus program.
To conclude, this experience in Oradea has been a good opportunity for me to expand my knowledge in the field of International Relations, but also a great value of my experience here is the exchange of culture between me and the other students that have come from different parts of the world to follow the Erasmus program in Oradea.
Hello dear reader!
Well maybe just like you, in the beginning I wasn’t expecting I would be a winner of the Erasmus Experience I had applied for.
To my surprise it all turned out very differently. It all started with an email by Epoka University where it was stated that I among other friends was accepted to be studying in Rome for fall semester. Most probably it was one of the best news I ever got in my entire life. Me, alone in the middle of the grandee Rome, one of the cities I had been wishing to visit for years and now I would live there for five months. It came with chills, fear, excitement and curiosity too. Lost between many questions I managed to get every document prepared which I must say was a bit tiring. However when you get to see Colosseum and take a stroll in Spanish Steps whenever your heart feels like, the stress doesn’t count at all.
During all the time abroad I had the support of both universities, Epoka University and UNINT where I was studying. Classes there were kind of different from here but with the help of the teachers and international staff I managed to adopt and learn new things in a new way. I was a fan of Luxury classes in which I studied different Luxury brands.
The beautiful part was that I was actually getting to see them in the evening in the luxurious streets of the famous fashion country of Italy. I got used to a more urban and busier life which made me see things in some new way. I got to mention that I spent some money on food and clothing, gained some weight but who wouldn’t in Italy. However, the Erasmus Programme provides more than enough.
Coming back here makes me realize that this experience changed me. It gave me memories, inspiration and some new friends from different countries of the world. If you are lucky like me, your best friend can be there with you. Having her by my side made Rome even better than it is. I really hope that someday the coin wish in Fontana di Trevi really does come true and I get to visit Rome again and see how things will have become for me since fall of 2019.
