Best Erasmus year ever

I've been studying at Coimbra University from August 2012 to August 2013. It was a real life experience. I was really happy there and I made very good friends for life.

One of the things that I loved the most about Coimbra was living the university experience in a very different way. Their university culture is extremely strong and I had the luck of experiencing parties with my friends, course dinners and of course, the two biggest traditional parties: "Latada", which occurs in October, and "Queima das Fitas", which occurs in May. The first one is a party for the freshmen students, while the second one is a party for the seniors. But there's no fun in telling you more about it; you must live it.

There's also one more thing that the year as an Erasmus student changed about myself: I grew up a lot. A year away from your home seems more than just one year. You may learn just basic things like how annoying it might be to have your parents around all the time, but at the same time you may also learn how essential it is to have someone familiar that knows you and respects you for the way you are. The growth comes not only because you have to do everything on your own, but also because you learn that if you don't do something, nobody will do it for you.

Despite having good and bad moments, I believe that being an Erasmus was the greatest experience of my life. In the end, I learnt that I can build things, moments, friendships and knowledge on my own, without anyone helping me. Living abroad is being on your own. And being on your own is a challenge, it's building a strong side of yourself that is problably unknown, but that you certainly have it. And I'm quite sure that Coimbra has all good qualities as a city to live and to discover yourself.