Comparison of the Erasmus life of Mundus vs Sciences without borders

Aaaah.... what good times with Sciences without Borders (SwB)! It was a year full of new experiences (friendships, knowledge, culture, languages, places, etc). Only the people who've experienced this will know!

(CsFs em Vigo)

And as much as I missed home, it hurt a bit to return. Going back home is the hard reality. But no, I didn't spiral into 'post SwB depression' (that's to say, it was only two weeks... I tried to see my return as an opportunity to make the most of the affection of my family and old friends).

In reality, almost a year after returning, I've already completely adapted to my city (Fortaleza, Ceará). This meant that, when I got a positive result for another Erasmus exchange, I was hit by a little sadness. Humans, who understands them? But I was going to leave all that behind me. I would embark into the unknown (well, this time not so much, huh? ). But it was different: I was going to do a Masters.

In spite of the bad reputation of many SwBs, I took the exchange very seriously. I didn't disapprove and did a very cool internship that offered me a job at the end of the course.

So, the idea of taking my academic life seriously, I was apprehensive. Was doing a Masters a good idea anyway? And if I didn't give an damn?! And afterwards, what will become of me? Because if I were to return to Brazil, there was the question of the revalidation of the diploma (if you want to use it in the public sector). At the same time, my fond memories of life on the exchange motivated me to go ahead with it. I had this romanticised idea of the SwB... I wanted to prove that it's great, once again.

One year on, I can confirm: I'm still not sure whether it was a good idea! But I don't regret it! I learnt that we don't have control over our own future. The world turns, with it hesitation. Carpe diem.

(We don't need wings to fly... )

The best I could do was to make the most of the present to improve my knowledge and to indulge my curiosity to get to know this planet. After all, who can say that it wasn't worth it?!

But returning to the theme of my post, I want to tell my experience as an Erasmus Mundus exchange student, post-SwB.

Attention! This post contains my point of view. It might not apply to your experience with SwB.

At the time of my SwB there were around 100 Brazilians studying in Vigo, in Spain. On Erasmus Mundus I was the only Brazilian (actually, the only representative of the Americas in my class). And yes, this made a huge difference. At this time I was lonely. In this first year of Erasmus I had very little contact with Brazilians. This wasn't good nor bad. It's just different.

So, I was forced to make Gringan friends. I thought that was great! But a little detail... in general, Gringos and Gringas are more reserved at the beginning of a friendship. I remember that the friendship between Brazilians in SwB was almost love at first sight!

Ah! At times you miss speaking your own language (European Portuguese doesn't count). If I was on the street and there were Brazilians close by, sometimes I would get closer to hear a little (KKK 'crazy', judge me). But now that I'm in Finland, this happens if the speakers are Spanish or Italian too.

In general, in the Mundus Erasmus groups, there are people from various parts of the world. My group is made up of people from Brazil (me), Spain, Italy, Holland, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Eritrea and Ethiopia

(My groupe: 2nd year of Masters in Maritime Space Planning)

In such a multicultural group, it's obvious that there are going to be lots of different ways of thinking and acting. Moreover, in my group there were people from different subjects (social sciences, exact sciences and natural sciences). It's interesting, but it's a challenge. Group work, imagine!

Another difference is doing everything in English. If your SwB was in an anglophone country, congratulations! Mine was in Spanish (congratulations if yours is too! ). I'm not going to say that the Spanish was easy - it wasn't! I only managed because I had studied English to an intermediate level. But things change when you have to do and present work in English. It's harder work, yes!

Luckily, I survived and learnt a lot. I don't regret anything. But I feel a certain disadvantage when I compare myself to those who are fluent (native) in English, when it's the case of a debate/argument of a technical theme (the nervousness of not being able to express yourself soon goes).

Outside of the class, maybe the life of Erasmus exchange vs SwB isn't that different. Everything depends on your style of living

(A little bit of propaganda to end on haha)

See you soon!

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