Erasmus Münich

1. Make a presentation of yourself.

My name is Francesca, I come from Italy and I am 23 years old. I study Medicine in Milan, I am really fond of what I study and I am a really friendly and open person. I like travelling and visiting new places but I like also sleeping and chatting with my friends.

2. Describe briefly the place you are from.

I was born in a little city near Milan, where I`ve grown up. It`s a provincial city, it has 90 000 inhabitants, but it`s quite big and has everything that is needed in a town (2 stations, swimming-pools, schools, every kind of  schools, a university faculty, etc). Moreover, it takes only 30 mins by train to go to Milan. Unfortunately it`s an old city, full of old people, and it doesn`t offer much for students or young people in general.

3. Tell us how the city where you study is.

I study in Milan, that is a big and really nice city. It`s full of bars and pubs and discos for young people, but it has also parks and cultural events all the yearlong. The city in itself is beautiful, I think it has some churches and museums (like Brera) that are worldwide known for their beauty. I like the feeling of living in an international city, whereyou can meet people from everywhere in the world and always find new things to do or to enjoy.

4. What do you think about your home university? (Before you go on Erasmus) Be honest ;)

University system in Italy has some problems, well-known problems. Because of the lack of money, a lot of services can`t be offered. In my faculty we don`t have a school canteen or even a room in which we can have lunch, books are really expensive and the university doesn`t offer you any help with the money, because the only studentships are for people with a very low income. Sometimes the people that are working for the university are not really competent and experienced, but maybe it was only my experience. Teachers and the level of the classes are quite good and quite high, this is the most important positive point.

5. What encourage you to go on Erasmus? Reasons, etc..

I`ve always wanted to live an international experience and for a student the Erasmus program is the easiest way. I had been told by a friend of mine, that went there one year before me, that it was totally worth and I was sure it could be useful for me to learn a foreign language and to improve my social skills and my ability to live on my own.

6. When you decide that, what countries / destinations you had in mind and why?

I wanted to go to an English-speaking country, but unfortunately there weren`t any, so I had to choose between the countries in which classes are in English. My first choice was Maastricht (in the Netherlands) because I knew that they had a really good medical school and that their system is totally different from mine, that could have been a great challenge for me. Then I had some problems with the Learning Agreement and I had to choose another city, but all the English-speaking ones had already gone. That is why I chose Munich, as I know a little of German before.

7. Once you know definitely the destination

a. How did you feel?

I felt happy and satisfied with that. I`ve always liked Germany and German language and even if English would have been easier, I was excited about trying to improve my German and living in a rich and modern country.

b. What did you think about the place?

I had never been to Munich before, so I expected it to be a big city, well-organised, rich, full of services, that is what it actually is, in the end.

c. What your closest people (family, friends, colleagues ...) told you or thought about it?

My family was quite skeptical about my Erasmus, because they were worried about me wasting time and not passing exams, because of the language and because of the Erasmus-party-mood. All of my friends were excited for me, my boyfriend as well, because they knew it would have been a great experience.

d. If you had a choice to choose another one, what would have been?

If I had had the choice of going somewhere else, I would have probably chosen England.

8. For how long is / was your stay? Do you think that's enough? Would you have liked to have stayed longer? / Would you like to stay longer?

I`m staying on Erasmus only for one semester. I actually was sure that it could be enough, but it`s not for many reasons. First of all, the language is too difficult and I wish I had more time to practice it. Then there are a lot of things to do and see in a new city and the first months are always wasted in orienteering and knowing other people. I would love to stay longer, but unfortunately I can`t because I have too much work to do in my home university.

9. How did the paperwork, formalities, etc..? What do you think about all this?

I`ve had a lot of problems with the papers, because I had to change my Learning Agreement and I had to make tons of copies of it, everyone signed by the responsible people in both of the universities.

10. How is the city where you live or you used to live during your Erasmus?

German people call Munich “the big village”, because everything is close and the atmosphere is really familiar. It`s not a big metropolis, it`s a big city in which you can feel like home, because people are really friendly and it`s not as multicultural as for example Berlin can be. The part that I love most is that it is not dangerous at all, everyone feels safe and can go around the city without worrying even if she is a girl alone at night.

11. Where did you stay (residence, apartment, dorm)? Explain how it is.

Finding an accommodation in Munich is crazy. Even German students can`t find it easily and for foreign students it can only be worse. After one-month-research I found a room in a WG (shared flat) with a German boy. I find it cool because it`s well-positioned and the flat is well-furnished and familiar, even if it`s a rented flat. My flatmate is nice and friendly, so I think I´ve been really lucky with that.

12. Well, what about the Host University? How it is? What do you think?

The host University is very famous here in Munich and I`m doing all my practical activities in one of the most famous hospital in Germany. I`m really proud of that and I`m trying to get the more that I can from this experience. Their system of teaching is different from ours, so I have a lot of free time that I can spend improving my German and studying for exams.

13. Compared to your home university,what advantages and disadvantages do you get when compared to the host university?

My home University guarantees more full-immersion-study, working hard all day, 8 hours/day split into practical activities and classes. Moreover, we have more than one shot for passing exams, so that everyone is independent and can choose which subject has to be studied before and which one can be left behind. In my host University practical activities are less, but very well-organized, with more interaction between teachers and students. They only have one choice of passing exams pro year, that sounds quite strange to me, unless the exams are really easy to pass.

14. During Erasmus, it iscommon make trips taking advantage of the staying in other countries and places. Did you already make a trip? Got one in mind? Where do you want to travel? Where have you gone?

I have been on some one-day trips, to Nürnberg, Salzburg and Kloster Andechs, and on a longer one to Prague. I still want to go to Wien after my exams and maybe to some other tiny towns here close, like Regensburg or Ausburg.

15. Finally, the most important. Tell us as Erasmus generally is in the place you are or were (as applicable). How the partys, the other Erasmus, social life, student organizations, associations Erasmus, are and so on (The more you can write, the better!).

The Erasmus life here is quite good, we have two main organizations that provide our events, one for each of the two big Universities in Munich (TUMi for Technische Universität and MESA for LMU). Every week there are at least 3 events and a lot of trips. Every month they plan a bigger trip (like three-day trips) in which only a few people can take part, chosen randomly. There are people from all over the world here, so the Erasmus people are really open and international with each other. It`s really common here to have parties in the students-hall because drinking is cheaper and there are a lot of dorms in which people set up their own parties. I think that it would have been better if the two Erasmus associations had joined together, because they would have gained popularity and could have shared the work of planning everything.