Long way to Warsaw and I mean long...

So, every journey has to start somewhere.

Then, I think I should start with the ending, because the ending was happy and lets be honest, who does not like a happy final to o story? Me, I am a sucker for the “dreamy and rare endings”. The result of my story is that I managed to arrive in Warsaw, Poland. The part that tells you how I got here goes like this…

It was the end of my first second year semester and they just announced at the university that there was going to be an Erasmus selection. My first thought was, "yes, can’t wait!". I applied for a scholarship in my first year as well, but I did not get it because in the country that I wanted to go at that time, respectively Spain all the places were occupied.
What do you need to know when you are an Erasmus Student that is going to Romania? Not so much, the procedure for the students that come to our country is quite simple, but that is not the same with the students that want to leave the country.
In Romania I study Journalism, at the University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” in the wonderfull city, Iasi. Also called the city of students because, here, one can find Italians eating pasta and pizza in the restaurants, Spanish people talking in the bus stops, Turkish boys dressed in white coats (most of them come to us to study medicine), German boys in the cafeteria, African women with ravishing hair styles, French girls in love with Romanian boys, Moldavian beauties and the description could go on. But it is time to come back to my main subject. How does a student from my country get an Erasmus grant?

Well, first you need to prepare a file that contains, a motivation letter, a presentation letter, a copy paper after your electronic grades, a health certificate and a diploma that says that you can speak English, at least the B1 level. To get this certificate you have to take an exam exactly like Cambridge. You must pass an interview, a written exam (that is formed from writing / listening and writing). And yes, you have to pay for the exam.
After you have done all this, you enlist your file and wait for the e-mail in which the university is calling you for another interview. Here they asses your file. They look at the grades, one must have good academic results and even extracurricular activities to get more points. They ask more questions about what you are interested in, what will you be doing in the country that you applied for and so on…After this quite consuming process you get the result. A tiny list is posted in the main hall of the university and you are either on it, or not:)). 

Even now I remember how happy I was to see I got it. I think everybody felt the same. Going to a new place always makes the mind imagine what everything would be like. You make hopes, dreams of the best and then make do with what you find.

Time flew away so fast I could not belive it was September. I came home after wondering off all summer  just to prepare my luggage to leave again for more than 4 months.  We had to be in Warsaw on the 14 th of September, but I couldn’t pull myself to make my baggages. All my friends were sad, they didn’t want to see me go, my parents were worried and I was in between. I mean, who does not love traveling and seeing new parts of the world? But when you go on a trip it is usually for a week, maybe a month if you go in Global / Europeean / American/ what ever, tour, while being away for a long time means you will miss a lot of the memories that your loved ones will make. I found myself thinking last week that I wished that all my friends wouldn’t do nothing until I come home:))). Selfish , I know. I threw the thought away. I am doing things here and the world doesn’t stop if I am not in it, although that would be nice, just from time to time . Joking.

Coming back to my story.

I said my goodbyes and got on the bus. I left Iasi at half past 8 P.M. I was going to Bucharest (the capital of Romania), the plane was supposed to leave at 6 A.M., next morning . The journey with the bus was horrible and not because I could not stop thinking about the things I was leaving home, but because…

It will appear really silly, but I can not stand buses or cars.  I get sick, my face becomes as white as a walking ghost, my eyes go in the back of my head, my insides are singing strange songs and I breathe slowly, like an old man or sometimes if it gets worst, like a woman in labour:))). Why didn’t I take the train? Easy answer, there was no train that could get me there before the hour that my plane was leaving. I survived my nine hour ride through the depts of hell. Now I think that when I die, if I go to Hell, than the Devil will make me ride the bus all day :)) (Hope not!)

I check in and got on the plane. My reality was about to change. From up there, it felt like I touched the sky, I could count the coulds and soon the sun came to caress my face. All the worries went away…

We landed. (I mean "we", meaning me and a friend of mine, Giorgiana, but about her you'll hear latter)

We arrived at the "Frederic Chopin" Airport where a friend of yours, a polish, great girl was waiting, Kasia.

Now a bit about her – Kasia.
She is a polish student that came to Romania for a semester. We met her through a friend and we immediately fell in love with her personality. After we found out that we got the Erasmus grant we contacted her and she made everything easier for us. She was like a gift. Why? Well, for various reason, but one needs to be told.

In the begining we were supposed to take a flat through a polish imobiliary agency, but just two or there days befere leaving home, they told us the flat was no longer available. Great… We talked with two more agencies, but no luck. In the end Kasia saved us. She went all over the city looking herself for apartments, talked to different owners, spent her own money on buses and all of her phone credit and found us not only a great flat in the city centre, but also a great landlord. A polish guy, Krzysztof. We were fortunate to find something so quick, many Erasmus students spent a lot of time and money to find a decent flat and nice owner/s.

Glad you read how the story ended in the beginning? I’m sure, because the details of the trip may have killed you:)). This being said, I’ ll make my post shorter:). See you in the part where I tell you about school and about the places I saw since being here…

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