You're more of a partier, a flirty, a drama person... What kind of Erasmus student are you?

During Erasmus you will meet students of all kinds, some of them more peculiar than others, but all special in short. And you, have you ever wondered what kind of Erasmus student you are?

Erasmus is a great opportunity for most students, not only to get to know different cultures, but also new skills such as self-management and stress tolerance in an unfamiliar environment. However, most people who want to participate in this program have a rather idyllic picture of what their stay will be like. There are those who come to write lists of objectives to be accomplished that obviously don't carry out; as announced by the inscription in the temple of Delphi, we must know ourselves, that is, what are our limits, virtues and defects. Knowing this, it is easier to deduce what kind of Erasmus student you are.

And while we're at it: do you already know what kind of Erasmus student you are? If you don't know and you are thinking of going abroad for your Erasmus or you are already preparing your bags, read on to find out. If you want, I even encourage you to take note and consider it as a test or a game to laugh with your friends. In any case, we leave you some examples of what types of students you can find while doing your Erasmus semester.

What is being an Erasmus student?

I imagine it goes without saying, but an Erasmus student is a student who receives an Erasmus mobility grant (acronym for the European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students). With this scholarship you can go one or two semesters to one of the many universities that participate in this program. You will surely know this, because, since you set foot in a European university, everyone is talking about it, from the professors, to your colleagues. What you may not know is that, in addition to the countries within the European Union, you can also select universities from outside, all this depending on the Erasmus modality: Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus and Erasmus+.

Another important fact is that the Erasmus grant provides you with an amount of money; the first part is effective midway through the course and the second when you return. So, if you organise yourself well, you won't have to struggle. Usually, before you are awarded the scholarship, you will have to attend an interview with a tutor to discuss your motivations.

If you want to know more about the requirements and the steps to follow, you will find the information in How to apply for your Erasmus scholarship step by step.

Test what type of student you are

The partier

First, we have this specimen of nocturnal habits, and whose habitat is usually the area of clubs, discos and any type of bar. Rarely seen in class, they are usually recognised by the deep dark eye circles and the gesture of discomfort when the sunlight hits them or when someone next to them raises their voice. Apart from spirits, in the morning they consume Ibuprofen in high doses. If you see them again at the university after the first day of class, you may be lucky enough to hear their morning song: "I won't do it again, I won't go out again... " or " today I am going out for just one drink... ”.

After 17.00 or 18.00, however, their voice tone changes into a more lively one and a little wiggle head is the reaction to their friends' question: "What are you doing today? Are you coming to the party they organised at the faculty...?”.

They said in the interview with their tutor that they wanted to learn more about the culture of their host country and, certainly, in viticulture they are all an eminence. Their first Google searches about the university were "Erasmus parties in... ” and "bars near... ".

Try to have one of these always close by when you need to release some stress and your body wants to party; these creatures are the best company for parties.

The social traveler

In this category we have a sophisticated collector of friends and of personal relationships. As the best and most obsessed collectors, this person dedicates all his energy and time in his hobby: meeting new people. They know everyone, even you, so you don't have to look for them because they'll end up finding you. If you want to identify them, ask them the name of any random person from the faculty and most likely they'll have their Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and of course, their Linkedin. If you want to stick to a partier to go out and have fun, ask them: they'll have three contact at least and they won't mind giving you one.

There is not much more to say about this person, except that their tutor, on the day of the interview, was told that they wanted to form bonds that would work as communication channels for future collaborations and projects... or something like that.

The Disney fan

Here we put those people who are fans of Disney movies and are eager to make their own movies. It is not only that they want to flirt during Erasmus—something very natural, on the other hand— but that they want “the impossible love of Erasmus”. They want to live in their own flesh the plot perfection of the typical soap opera. Because it is not only about meeting someone they like, but someone with whom to share a Shakespearean tragedy where love takes precedence over distance at the end of Erasmus. Don't ask your friend, the social traveller, to introduce you to this Disney fan, even when you are with a crazy desire to flirt. If you come from the same country as this character, they will feel very little interest in you because, in addition, the language difficulty is like a dressing too tempting for their palate.

The explorer or tourist

This type of Erasmus student is a passionate lover of culture and history, and before you set foot in the country where you are going to spend your stay, they have already made a plan with all the monuments, museums and historical landmarks that they must visit.

They are usually fanatics of history; they ask questions about their country to every native person they find as if they were in front of an expert archaeologist, sociologist, historian, etc. They can get to harass any passerby with questions about the history of any spot of the city.

A subspecies of this specimen is the tourist. They live with a camera in their hand, as a prosthetic member that also helps them to spot everything. As a peculiarity, they are fans of uploading to their Instagram photos of burgers, and plants, and animals of public parks...

The bookworm

This person only cares about their academic record and that their marks don't decrease. Although this seems ideal at first, it becomes a problem when we realise that the only conversations they can have with another human being are about homework or tests, when it's just the first week of the first semester.

If they ever say to meet with mates out of class, it's to prepare a presentation that they have to do in group. They don't get their heads out of books, not even to eat. It's like they've never seen one in their own country!

The one with the head in the clouds

More than a type, this would be a stage that almost all those who leave on Erasmus go through. To a certain extent, Erasmus seeks to get students out of their comfort zone and have a small sample of what their professional future will be. For this reason, learning to manage bureaucratic procedures is so important, or at least that is what they say to make it easier for you to do the procedures for your Erasmus stay. Some manage to overcome this first stage and realise the bureaucratic nightmare in which they live, making them, by the way, better people.

Others, however, do not overcome this bureaucratic shock and spend their entire stay in a state of deep introspection, that some confuse with a state of meditation, uninterrupted as if they were monks, though it seems that it has more to do with them not being fully aware of where they are. It can be said that these people have their head in the clouds; they go to Venice for their Erasmus and continue living in the clouds; they spend two semesters of Erasmus in Lisbon but don't come down to Earth. They are illustrious citizens of a floating city up in the sky and represent it with pride, perhaps with excessive pride. They don't remember the times, the dates on which they have to deliver the papers and take the exams, the name of the bar where they have to meet with the partier... In short, they are on another planet. How they managed to get everything done to access the Erasmus scholarship is a mystery that is available only to the greatest sages. Perhaps, those bookworms may one day unravel it and, by the way, may also answer the most common question about partiers: how would they get home after getting that wasted?

The baby bird jumping from the nest

Like the previous one, this is also a stage that most students go through and refers to the insecurity and shyness of those who leave home for the first time and who, gradually, are gaining confidence.

Some, however, are a bit extremist and behave as if they had never gone out and take the experience with so much desire that then the return is very difficult for them. They almost never call home to tell their parents they are well, and any advice they give them is felt as an attempt to disrupt their newly attained freedom. Of course, they will continue to need from time to time a loving bank transfer to stay during the stay.

The baby bird falling out of the nest

Here's the opposite case. These people, being thousands of miles from their families, it's like they're more tied up than ever. They suffer from a terrible insecurity and are barely able to do anything without seeking the approval of an authority figure. They are always calling their parents for every bump that crosses their path and, in general, they spend the stay in a constant state of anxiety. They almost call their teachers dad or mom and bother their tutors even when they want to party.

The moaner, aka the old person

Here we find the type of person who is often said to walk with a wry face and is always complaining; we mean the one who has been born with the soul of a nonagenarian.

Sometimes it's very cold, or it's very hot, sometimes there is a lot of humidity, others the climate is very dry... They complain that the language level is higher than they asked, or that it's lower and they studied hard before coming... They may say they do not make friends, but also that people are too sticky... and so on.

—Look how many people! What a party. Cool, huh? —you tell them that thinking that they will get in the mood, until you hear their cynical and dry voice.

—The music is too loud here.

It would almost be no surprise if you find them in a room wearing a wool coat with the heating on in the middle of summer while they crochet, and that they ask you to sit by their side because they want to tell you about their story during the war.

Let's be clear, being a critical person and complaining when something bothers is okay, but being constantly complaining about everything, is also not healthy.

The will-o'-the-wisp type and the acrobat

Here we put those who want or aspire to be part of all the above groups and intend to do everything with the same energy. One can only feel sorry for them: the weight of the world and its own foolishness, sooner or later ends up crushing them. If you have any friends in this group, do them a favor and introduce them to a partier to take them with them.

Then, on the other hand, there is the acrobat, who is the one who successfully achieves what the will-o'-the-wisp type wants and can't get. Maybe we should rename this category as the unicorn type; it is so rare to see that it could be perfectly a mythological being.

So, what kind of student do you think you are?

As you see, all the categories have been taken from the data collected by the University of My House... Now, getting serious, keep in mind that excesses are not good neither for your personal projects, nor for your well-being. The problems of adaptation, the management of study time, work and leisure, the difficulty in creating personal bonds, meeting new people, stress, anxiety, anguish... All these are problems that any normal student has to learn to manage; even more so an Erasmus student, who finds himself in a strange environment, culturally speaking.

Most Erasmus students have had so much fun during their stay that, when they return, they find it extremely difficult to leave everything behind. Just enjoy the experience to the fullest even if things don't go the way you thought they would be. In any case, try to go to class and, above all, find a good place to live and share your experience with the rest of your classmates, because it will be your new home.

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