Making the most out of your Erasmus experience

Making the most out of your Erasmus semester abroad

Trying to make the most of your Erasmus semester (or the whole academic year) abroad can be both exciting and incredibly difficult and stressful. I was lucky enough to be able to participate in an Erasmus student exchange twice, and I would like to share my tips for enjoying your stay abroad as much as possible.

Make a bucket list before you leave

My first Erasmus experience was in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. One of the Erasmus organizations in Lisbon published a list of things that you really need to try in Lisbon during your semester abroad. It included must - see places, food that you must try, bars with the best drinks and things you must do to be officially proclaimed a successful Erasmus student in Lisbon. I am a little bit ashamed to admit that I did not finish the list during my year abroad. Well, I only missed three things. And I promised to myself that I will do them when I visit Portugal again.

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Making a bucket list in advance can be very useful.

Even if you are a very spontaneous person and you do not like to plan things too much, do yourself a favour and research a little bit about your Erasmus destination before you go there. After all, imagine the sadness you would feel after getting home from your Erasmus semester or year abroad, and realizing that you had no idea there was a must - try ice cream shop in your Erasmus city, and you did not go there.

Speaking from a personal experience - I apparently missed the best ice cream shop in Lisbon and I am still mad at myself because of that. You can also talk to former Erasmus students that were in the same city, and I am sure that they will be more than happy to suggest some of the places they loved.

After I came back from Lisbon, I attended a meeting for future Erasmus students and told them what to expect and answered their questions. Two of them picked the same Erasmus host university as I did so I was able to answer some pretty specific questions they had.

Take advantage on Erasmus student organizations and the buddy system

Every Erasmus city has an Erasmus student organization. In fact, Lisbon had more than one. To become a member of each one, you had to pay a small fee (usually ten Euros) and you got a membership card, which allowed you to attend a lot of events and trips for a discounted price.

Even if you were not a member of a certain organization, you were still allowed to attend their parties and events, you just had to pay the full price. The best part of those Erasmus student organizations were definitely the welcome parties. Every time a new group of Erasmus students arrived, they would organize a big ‘welcome party’, which allowed you to meet other Erasmus students and make some new friends.

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One of the most famous and helpful Erasmus student organizations is the Erasmus student network.

Erasmus student organization in Lisbon also had a thing, called Buddy system. Long story short, you had to register on their website, and they would assign you a local student, in most cases someone who attends the same university as you, to show you around and tell you what to expect in your new temporary home.

This Buddy system was free, and those students were volunteers, so every time I met up with my buddy, I bought her a drink or a snack for her time. And the best part is that we were taking three same classes at the university and we became really good friends. In fact, she visited me a few months ago in the United states of America.

My second Erasmus experience was in Barcelona and unfortunately, they did not have the buddy system. But their Erasmus student organisation was awesome, they provided me with a welcome package, and they were organising a lot of amazing trips and cool events, including some of the best rooftop parties I have ever been to. Did I mention that all those events were free?

One of the most useful websites for both of my Erasmus experiences was this very website - erasmusu.com! What I found especially useful is the forum, and believe it or not, I found my roommate for the first semester in Lisbon on there!

Do not be afraid to spend money on food and experiences (well, and alcohol).

I know that, as a student, you do not have a lot of money. I have been there, and all I can tell you is I actually regret not spending more money during my Erasmus experience. Take advantage on your Erasmus scholarship and take that trip or attend that dinner party or open bar. You will have fun, you will meet new people and hopefully make new friends, and it will not cost you a fortune.

And we all know that Erasmus students like to party. Duh! Some cities with a lot of Erasmus students have open bar Erasmus parties. And Lisbon was not an exception. A few times a week, a couple of bars would host an open bar party. The concept is quite simple. You have to pay five Eurosto get in, and you can drink as much as you want. Cocktails are usually excluded from that offer, but hey, five Euros for a whole night of drinking? Sign me up, please!

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During your Erasmus experience, you will encounter many parties like this.

One of the bars in Lisbon would host special open bar parties - once a week, students of a certain nationality would have free entry - if your country was participating, you could drink for free. All night, that is. And once, for the Spanish open bar party, we finished all the alcohol before midnight. Needless to say that this resulted in the absolutely worst hangover in my whole life so far (! ), and I had classes the next day, but it was totally worth it.

Some people say that if you have savings in your twenties, you are not living your life to the fullest. I am not saying you have to spend all your money. Always have some savings as an ‘emergency money’. But do not feel bad about spending those five Euros on a cocktail. Trust me, you will regret more not trying it than you will regret spending that money.

Another wise advice - spend money on food, drinks and experiences rather than on clothes and kitschy stuff. Why? Firstly, because you will have to bring all that material stuff you bought back to your home country, and secondly, because you can buy clothes anywhere, but Eyescream Barcelona is the only place where you can try ice cream with googly eyes on it.

Do not forget to also focus on study (or work)

After all, the primary reason of your Erasmus exchange is to study, or to gain practical experience in the workplace, depending on which type of exchange you choose. Speaking from a personal experience, if you are an Erasmus student, teachers will not be as strict about your work and attendance as to other students, but that absolutely does not mean you should skip school and not study for your exams.

After all, you do not want to fail the semester, do you? Also, I would like to point out that if you do not complete enough credits, you will actually have to give back your Erasmus scholarship!

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It is not that hard to combine parties, travelling and studying during your Erasmus experience.

If you are doing an Erasmus work experience, you will have to be a little bit more serious. After all, this will be your job for a few months. And if you are doing a good job, the company will be more than happy to write you a positive reference or a recommendation letter.

I was working really hard during my Erasmus work placement, so the company wrote me a very positive recommendation letter, and that letter helped me get a job in the United states of America. You will most likely not be paid, but the scholarships for Erasmus work experience are usually much higher than Erasmus scholarships for studying.

Travel out of the city

Most of the Erasmus student organizations organize weekend trips out of the city. And these trips are well worth the money. For example, when I was in Lisbon, I took an Erasmus trip to Algarve, which lasted two and a half days, and everything was included, even transport and food, and I paid seventy Euros. Another good example was a day long trip from Barcelona to Andorra for thirty Euros.

You can also travel on your own, or with your Erasmus roommates or flatmates. It will be more expensive, but you can travel at your own pace, and see whatever you want to see. The only bad thing about it is that you have to plan everything by yourselves. If you take a trip through an Erasmus organization, the biggest worry is to be at the designated bus stop on time.

Make new friends

This is perhaps the most important part of any Erasmus experience. Well, to be honest, not just an Erasmus experience, but of travel in general. It might seem hard at the beginning, but making friends with other Erasmus students is very important. After all, they understand the best what you are going through, and if you have a hard time or you are missing home, they will be the ones who will make you feel better, because they have been there.

Also, what is the point of moving to a new country for a few months, if you just want to spend all your free time in your room? Go out and socialize.

Do not leave everything for the last minute

One semester might seem like a long time, but trust me, time flies. And two weeks before I had to go back to my home country, I started to realize that there are so many things that I still have to do and want to see, and I became really stressed out and sad because of that. Of course, I tried to fit as many things as possible into my last days, but it was just not the same. And there were quite a few places that I wanted to visit again because I liked them so much, but I unfortunately ran out of time.

And I learned from that experience, because when I finished my second Erasmus experience in Barcelona, I saw more than I thought. And I basically made a new bucket list during my second month there because I saw everything I had on my original bucket list during my first month there. Yes, we do learn from our mistakes, at least I do.

A few words for the end…

I have to say that both Erasmus experiences that I participated in, completely changed my life. And while I do regret some things that happened during them, I never regret going.

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