My Erasmus in Brno
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For my Erasmus city, I chose Brno, a city I had never heard of before but now holds a special place in my heart. I love telling everyone how special Brno is to me. I arrived in Brno in the middle of September, in an empty dorm room which felt very scary to me because I had always studied in my hometown and never experienced anything like this before. The first two days were the hardest because I didn't know anyone in this new town; it was just me and my Google Maps. But on the third day, I was already sipping coffee in someone else’s room.
I attended Masaryk University and took classes in the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Social Studies. In Brno, I studied a lot more because I could choose classes that I found interesting, and I really enjoyed studying in the library, which has four floors and is huge. I study cultural studies, which is a very broad field and encompasses aspects from various disciplines, so seeing things from different perspectives was very valuable in shaping my worldview.
A big part of Erasmus is interacting with and getting to know different cultures. The first people I got to know were Slovenians; although our cultures are similar, I had never known anyone from Slovenia, so it was as new as any other culture. They taught me Slovenian words like “opica” and “metulj,” and we enjoyed drinking Barcaffe coffee together. Additionally, since I was in the Czech Republic, I had to learn some basic Czech words like “Děkuji” and “na shledanou.” While these words are very different from Croatian, both languages are Slavic, so I could understand a lot but didn’t always know how to respond.
During my Erasmus, I made so many new friends from all over the world. My roommates were two amazing girls: Alena from the Czech Republic and Noa from Japan, and I was very lucky to have them. I also met my two best friends, Oscar from Spain and Sevin from Azerbaijan, with whom I spent almost every day. I plan to visit them soon and can't wait to see them again. In these five months, I traveled more than ever before in my life. I visited many different cities in the Czech Republic, including Prague, Olomouc, Karlovy Vary, and Telč. I also traveled outside the Czech Republic to Krakow in Poland, Bratislava in Slovakia, Budapest in Hungary, and, unexpectedly, Riga in Latvia.
My Erasmus experience helped me grow as a person and become more confident and independent. It was my first time living by myself in a different city, alone and without knowing anyone, which allowed me to really explore who I am and how I want to present myself. I faced situations that made me anxious, like going to a coffee shop alone and being alone in public in general, but I overcame them.
The hardest part of Erasmus is leaving, but the city you chose for your Erasmus never leaves you; it becomes a big part of you and stays alive through the stories you constantly tell about it. My Erasmus taught me many things that shape who I am today, and I am already planning my next one. Because of Erasmus, I met so many new people and embarked on new adventures, such as joining ESN Rijeka.
Lea Kelemen
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Moj Erasmus u Brnu
Za svoj Erasmus grad, izabrala sam Brno, grad za koji dotad nisam niti čula, a sad ima jedno posebno mjesto u mom srcu. Obožavam svima govoriti koliko mi je Brno posebno. Stigla sam u grad sredinom rujna, u praznu domsku sobu, što je bilo jako zastrašujuće za mene jer sam oduvijek studirala u svom rodnom gradu i ovo je bilo prvo iskustvo ovog tipa. Prva dva dana bila su najteža – nisam znala nikoga u gradu, bili smo samo ja i Google Maps. Ali treći dan, već sam ispijala kavu u tuđoj sobi.
Pohađala sam Masaryk University, sa kolegijima na Faculty of Arts i Faculty of Social Studies. U Brnu sam naučila mnogo više, jer sam mogla izabrati kolegije koji su mi bili zanimljivi, pa sam stvarno uživala učeći u knjižnici, koja ima četiri kata i ogromna je. Studiram kulturalne studije, što je vrlo široko područje koje obuhvaća aspekte iz raznih disciplina, pa je sagledavanje stvar iz nove perspektive bilo vrlo korisno u oblikovanju mog pogleda na svijet.
Velik dio Erasmusa je interakcija i upoznavanje drugih kultura. Prvi ljudi koje sam upoznala bili su Slovenci; iako su naše kulture slične, nikad dotad nisam upoznala nikoga iz Slovenije pa mi je to bilo novo kao bilo koja druga kultura. Naučili su me slovenske riječi kao „opica“ i „metulj“ i uživali smo u Barcaffe kavi skupa. Osim toga, obzirom da sam se nalazila u Češkoj, morala sam naučiti neke osnovne riječi českog kao „Děkuji“ i „na shledanou.“ Iako su ove riječi vrlo različite od Hrvatskog, oba su jezika slavenska, pa sam razumjela jako puno, no nisam uvijek znala kako odgovoriti.
Tijekom Erasmusa, upoznala sam jako puno prijatelja iz cijelog svijeta. Cimerice su mi bile bile super: Alena iz Češke i Noa iz Japana, i bila sam iznimno sretna što ih imam. Upoznala sam također i svojih dvoje najboljih prijatelja – Oscar je iz Španjolske, a Sevin iz Azerbajdžana – te sam s njima provodila skoro svaki dan. Planiram ih uskoro posjetiti i ne mogu dočekati da ih opet vidim. U ovih pet mjeseci, putovala sam više nego ikad u životu. Posjetila sam puno čeških gradova, uključujući Prag, Olomuc, Karlovy Vary i Telč. Putovala sam i van Češke – u Krakow u Poljskoj, Bratislavu u Slovačkoj, Budimpeštu u Mađarskoj, i iznenađujuće, Rigu u Latviji.
Moje Erasmus iskustvo pomoglo mi je u osobnom razvoju te sam postala samopouzdanija i neovisnija. To je bio moj prvi put da živim sama u drugom gradu, bez da znam ikoga, što i je dopustilo da stvarno istražim tko sam i kako se želim predstaviti. Suočila sam se sa situacijama koje su me činile nervoznom, primjerice otići u kafić sama i biti sama u javnosti općenito, ali sam uspila prijeći tu prepreku.
Najteži dio bio je odlazak, ali grad koji odabereš za Erasmus nikad te ne napusti; postane ogroman dio tebe i ostaje živ kroz priče koje ne možeš prestati pričati. Erasmus me naučio mnogim stvarima koje su me oblikovale u osobu koja sam danas, a već planiram i sljedeći. Zbog Erasmusa, upoznala sam toliko novih ljudi, a odvažila sam se i u nove avanture, kao što je pridruživanje ESN-u Rijeka.
Lea Kelemen