What Erasmus really is about

I guess there are two types of Erasmus students: First, the guys who don’t want to get in touch with other Erasmus students, instead they prefer to have local friends. And second, the type of Erasmus student who wants to get to know people from many different countries. I was one of these guys!

After I found my flat on a student rent room and flat platform, I was ready to move to Istanbul. The first semester was the craziest one: Every week I went out 2 or 3 times to Taksim, the party place in Istanbul. The nice thing about hanging together with Erasmus students is that you meet new people every week –including girls! Let's get a little bit deeper in that topic. Why is it so easy to hook up with Erasmus girls? Because girls always have that social pressure to "behave good“ and "not being a slut". At home they always need to take care about their reputation. In Erasmus they can be free and have fun as much as they want. I love Erasmus girls! But hey, there are also the local girls, in my case the Turkish girls. Why is it so easy to hook up with Turkish girls? Well... I guess its only because they like European boys. I love Turkish girls! But I can also tell you that after one semester of having one night stands all the time, this is also getting kind of boring.

"So what is Erasmus about? Is it only about partying and having sex? " I would say... yes, most of it is. However! It is also about other things.

You get to know the attitude of people from many different countries: the Spanish who seem to be always happy, the crazy Italian party people, the disciplined Germans and the fluent English speaking Dutch guys. I guess that was the original intention of the European Union to start the Erasmus program: to get the European people together.

At the same time you have to handle everything on your own when living abroad. Did you ever get seriously sick and needed to explain your health problems to a doctor who doesn't speak English? Well that's a kind of life experience that makes you stronger and more grown-up.

There are many other things Erasmus is about. Of course it is also about getting a more open mind, being more prepared to meet new people, getting more social and all that kind stuff the modern world nowadays knows as "social/soft skills". But to end this post with my personal opinion: Erasmus is mainly about leaving the boring daily routines at home, having fun abroad, partying and having sex.

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