Erasmus Feeling

TO LEAVE OR NOT LEAVE?

A moment will come in your monotonous university life, when, either for curiosity or for distraction, you will apply for Erasmus. Your application will be received and you will need to complete a test of your knowledge of your foreign languages. You will pass that too and after a week the lists will be out and... there it is, your name is on it! And this is the moment when you will be overwhelmed by thousand of feelings and questions: how will I cope by myself in a city that I don't know? And what if there won't be any other Italians? Am I ready to be away from my family and my friends for all these months? Will I be able to integrate myself? Oh gosh, my English is so bad! Well guys, don't worry because I'm here to give you an answer: don't hesitate, just leave... everything will sort itself out! Do it, it's the right choice. You can't even imagine what kind of experience is waiting for you. Erasmus is a once in a lifetime opportunity, don't miss it! Try it, have a go, test yourself! It's a new opportunity to grow up and maybe to know a new yourself! There's no time for more questions, start packing!

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR DESTINATION?

Actually my choice wasn't a consequence of a long deliberation. I was supposed to go to France, that's what I wrote as my preferred destination, then two minutes before submitting my application I deleted it and I wrote instead Szczecin-Polond, just following my feelings. I must say that my intuition was right, because it went all very well. I don't know how it would have been if I went to another city but I personally believe that it would have been great anyway, the Erasmus is Erasmus everywhere! The city, the places, bars, trips are just the tip of the iceberg, but what will remain is the friendships you will make, the new traditions you will learn, the mix of different cultures, sharing moments that you will never forget! This is Erasmus! Having said this, if you continue reading on, you'll understand all the reasons for which I don't regret my choice and maybe those will convince you as well to also choose Stettin!

IS IT BETTER LEAVE IN THE FIRST SEMESTER OR THE SECOND?

It's better stay for the whole year. Actually there's probably no difference between the first and second semester. In both cases there are pros and cons. If you arrive in the second you will probably suffer less the freezing temperature of the Polish winter, but if you go in the first semester you have the possibility to ask for an extension in case 6 months wouldn't be enough. If you leave in the first semester is also nice because you will arrive all together and everybody would be disoriented, and there won't be any "group" yet; if you leave in the second don't worry anyway, you will be fantastically welcomed or you won't be the only one as well to arrive later and you will find someone to stay with. Maybe the only restriction could be the exams, if those you want to enter are in the first or second semester in your hosting university; here in Stettin you won't have this problem because you can easily find an agreement with your teachers.

HOW TO GET TO STETTIN

If I can give anY useful advice to reach Stettin from Italy and everywhere else, it's convenient to get a direct flight to Berlin and from there take a bus which will bring you directly to Stettin in about 3 hours. The bus ticket is around 20 euros and because these buses are quite small, you should book a seat in advance before to avoid waiting hours for the next bus available. The company I used was Interglobus and it was quite good. Reservations are easy, you just have to send an email to the given e-mail address in the website. It's important to be punctual because abroad is not like Italy, and the the reliability of their service implies that they will depart on time, therefore whoever's there is there; even if you have reserved, nobody will wait for you if you are late. As far as I know there are other bus companies which are cheaper but which don't start directly from airport, like Berlinex that you can take from Alexander Platz. Anyways you can always take the train or if you have money a direct flight.

THE CURRENCY

Guys, in Poland you will feel rich with euros! They use zloty so 1 euro is about 4 zloty, according to the last months exchange rate. The difference is small anyway, but if you are thrifty you can benefit from an advantageous rate and then exchange your money. I wouldn't advise exchanging your money at the airport, of course, as it will cost you much more. In town you will find plenty of the so-called "Kantor" located in every corner, so bring cash with you and exchange it there. If you want to use a card, you should ask first consult with your bank. For example with my Unicredit Genius Card (Mastercard) for shopping purchases I don't have any added costs, but if I withdraw money from any ATM there's around a 5 euro commission.

Source

WHAT'S THE COST OF LIVING?

When clubs have free entry and where the cocktails cost only 4 zloty (1 euro) is going to be hard for you to stop drinking. By mentioning this detail I wanted to give you an idea of how cheap Poland is. Of course in city like Warsaw and Krakow prices are a bit higher because they are more touristic places comparing to my small city of Stettin, for example. For students there are many public transport facilities, discounts on trains, buses, tram tickets, etc. At night, we sometimes treated ourselves to a taxi, something impossible in Italy and dividing the cost we wouldn't spend more than 2 zloty (50 cent) each, can you imagine?! Showing your student card you can get discounts also in some bars and restaurant. I was given a 230 euros scholarship by my university in Bari, Italy, on a monthly basis, and I'm not saying it was enough but with a little extra help from your parents you can live well!

DID YOU LIKE THE CITY?

Yes, I liked Stettin. To be honest, I don't really like living in a big city, I prefer small cities where everything is more controlled. There's nothing really touristic to visit, that's true, but in my opinion it has everything that a student needs. At night there's always something going on from Monday to Sunday, I remember we had a regular place for every night, from Tuesday to Friday. On Saturdays we'd go wherever something was going on. Monday instead was reserved for Karaoke or the guys would organise football matches, whilst Sunday was our weekly day of rest! My favourite place was Patio Club followed by City Hall, but the others are also fun. They are not as big and if you don't want to dance you can always spend the night chatting with your friends. Let's say that every club had a different kind of music, but regardless of musical tastes we always preferred to stay together because we were having fun anyway.

There are also many pubs and if you want to eat out you should go early because at 10 almost every kitchen will close. In Stettin there are many Italian restaurants if you are a bit fussy, but trust me, to taste some good dishes is better try their traditional food, like soups, pierogi, gulasz ecc. I'll never forget the "PizzaKing", where we went every Monday because everything was 50% off.

Often I spent my afternoons in shopping centres like the Kaskada or the Galaxi or chatting and drinking something hot in some bars. Our favourite was the Columbus, which is a bar chain like Starbucks which prepares lots of delicacies and offers free WiFi and comfortable sofas that, once you sit on them, you never want to get up from them again.

Source

It might sound strange but one of the most visited attractions of Stettin is the graveyard, it's very big and characteristic. People often go there just for jogging or having a walk. During nice sunny days, you can take advantage of it and go to the park, which you must explore far and wide. There is a section dedicated to all kind of roses that, if visited in the right season, will leave you speechless. In Stettin there is no sea, so in summer if you don't want to travel far, there's Glebockie Lake, which in winter is completely frozen.

THE UNIVERSITY

I must be honest with you, I didn't go so much to university, but for what I've seen I can't complain. They are big and well organised. Their offices are efficient and will give all the information you need. I was surprised by the promptness of their responses, as in Italy I became used to waiting endlessly for a response from the University of Bari. The exam I had to take took place in three different buildings, the faculty of Theology, the faculty of Economy and the faculty of Law, so it was a bit tiring. Also because they were far apart. The teachers though were very kind and available and they always tried to help us Erasmus students. They were organised in a different way: some wanted us to follow the lessons in English (easily understandable), some were giving us the study materials to take the exam directly, and then some gave us the freedom to prepare ourselves for the exam and then evaluated us. You shouldn't be afraid to fail, because the teachers are very appreciative our efforts to learn a new language.

The only thing I regret is not having attended a Polish language course because it's always an advantage to know one more language, and probably would have make my life easier. For example if you get lost and you want to ask directions, forget about speaking English with adults, they will hardly ever answer you, whereas younger people probably would.

THE ACCOMMODATION

Erasmus students in Stettin usually stay in halls unless you want to pay the rent for an apartment. What are halls? It's something very cool! It's true, maybe the first impression isn't the best, but the best part will come after.

I still remember my first day when I arrived in the night, tired and hungry after my journey, and I ended up in this miserable little dusty room that I had to share with another person. The toilet and the kitchen were shared with 4 persons every two double rooms were adjoining and the spaces were very small. Well, I was ready to go back home to my comfortable bed. From the day after everything changed, two rags and some detergent were enough to fix things up. We just divided our duties and organised our spaces and then enjoyed living together, discovering how easy can be to make friends of strangers. It's unbelievable how useful you can become to someone else, especially from a human point of view, I found in my roommates a family, sisters, friends but above all some amazing travel companions! Of course there will be some fighting, but that happens at home too, so you just need to be civil, count until 10 before responding and everything will be sorted out.

Anyway, speaking again about accommodation, concerning costs, per month I was spending just 365 zloty (about 90 euro), so it's really cheap! The payment was done by postal transfer. We were only provided with sheets and blankets, then we had to find and buy everything else like mugs, dishes, glasses, cutlery, racks etc but you share the expenses with your flatmates so in the end won't cost you a lot. My dorm, my dear Dorm no. 3 in Kordeckiego is an eleven floor building just for students, the Erasmus lot were more or less all on the first three floors. In the underground floor there's a laundry with washing machine which works with tokens that you can buy from the machine. There's also a small market which was really useful in emergency situations when was too cold to go outside and by something in the supermarket (even though it was only 200 metres from the halls).

In my opinion, even if the dorm doesn't offer the same comfort as an apartment, it's the best option anyway, because it gives the chance to integrate yourself, you have the possibility to go out of your room and visit your friends who are just a door away. I will never forget the lunches in the corridor where everybody was trying to provide something for his own country, and then we'd all eat together; I'll never forget the Turkish coffee and their delicious biscuits in the afternoons; the jokes and teases at every time of the day; the improvised Harlem Shake in the corridor and I could go on for hours remembering all the nice moments I spent there.

Source

THE WEATHER

Well guys, I can't deny it, what they say about the Polish winter is true, it's cold!. The winter is freezing and this January 2013 we had reached almost to -14 degrees. I must admit though that, despite snowing all winter, because the country is used to it and well-prepared, I never encountered any inconveniences. Maybe I'm a bit biased because I love the cold, but I had no problems going outside wearing shoes and no socks. Honestly, the weather can't stop you, come on, we are young and we can't be afraid of cold. In houses, shops, bars the heating is always very high so be careful of the temperature changes.

Of course we won't spend the winter on the beach like in Spain, but also Stettin has something to offer. When will you ever see a lake completely frozen over, where ducks, instead of splashing around in the water, are walking fearlessly on the ice? Not even mentioning the trips in the forest, the snow sculptures that you can have fun building everywhere and the beautiful Christmas atmosphere that you can feel all around December.

TRIPS

Poland is really beautiful, of which not many people are aware. It offers unique views of postcard-like landscapes. It's a country rich with history that is visible in all its cities. If you decide to do your Erasmus in Stettin, you should make the most of it and visit the other Polish cities, because travelling by train is very cheap. You can't miss the beautiful capital Warsaw, divided in two parts, the modern part with amazing skyscrapers and the traditional old town; you can't not visit the deportation camps in Krakow and see with your own eyes what was the tragedy for the victims of Nazism. You should also visit Danzica and Poznan which are very small, but colourful and lively. I was particularly impressed by the small towns that are facing the Baltic Sea like Miedzyzdroje and Swinoujscie, well, who would have said that in Poland I'd find such beautiful beaches?

Source

ESN SZCZECIN

The Erasmus Student Network is an international student NGO that promotes student mobility and helps the students interested in experiences abroad like Erasmus. About the ESN Stettin I can only say it was wonderful and perfect. For everyone of us was assigned a tutor which we could contact for any doubt we had before arriving, and for advice and help once we'd arrived and during our experience. The tutors are Polish students of similar age to us, with an excellent level of English. Most of them were students who did Erasmus in the previous years. They have been amazing, always available and there for us. The organised every kind of event for us, to make us feel more integrated and have fun. I can consider myself more than satisfied.

MY ERASMUS

You've probably already gathered from my comments and advice, but I must say that for me this experience has been fantastic. My name is Nicoletta, I'm 22 years old and I'm from Bari. I left in September 2012 and despite my 6 months were finishing in March 2013, two days before coming back I called my mum and said that I would have stay in Stettin for another month. I lost 82 euros on a flight to stay for other 30 days and if I come back I would do it again. When I come back to Bari, it hasn't been easy getting reaccustomed to everyday life, like everybody I suffered the so-called "post Erasmus crisis" until the end of that summer. During this experience I grew up a lot, I experienced how to manage my life by myself, from budgeting my money to preparing my own lunch. I found out new positive and negative sides of me and learned to live with them. I had fun like never before, I challenged myself and I started to open myself completely to the people that surrounded me, from my roommates to all the friends I met from all over the world. I already knew how funny and noisy Spanish people are, who never miss the opportunity to sing whilst walking in the streets, carrying you away with their joyfulness; but I didn't expect to discover the kindness, friendliness and generosity of the Turkish people; the "cold" Germans were a bit reserved, but not opposed to socialising; the Romanian girls with their overwhelming sensuality, and what can I say about the French savoir-faire. I left Bari alone and I came back aware that now I can travel to France, Spain, Turkey where many families are ready to welcome me as if I were a part of them!

I hope I have been enough clear and complete, if you have other questions do not hesitate to contact me. I'm here to help you. Bye everybody, Nici!