Katerina Tejklova

Long-term mobility

• Lycee La Mennais • Ploermel • France •

My name is Katerina Tejklova and thanks to the Erasmus+ programme I had the opportunity to go on a nine-week long-term mobility to France. Specifically, I spent two months in Brittany, where I attended Lycee La Mennais in Ploermel. With my host family, however, I lived in an even smaller town called Guer.

From the very beginning, this experience was a big challenge for me. It was the first time I had travelled alone for such a long period without my family, and I had to rely mainly on myself. It was also the first time I had flown completely alone, and I even had a connecting flight that I almost missed. During my stay I learned to handle difficult situations better, to be more independent, and to step outside my comfort zone.

Fortunately, I had great support from my host family, who were a real pillar of support the whole time and tried to help me with everything. Thanks to them, I managed the whole stay much better than I had imagined at the start. I got along very well with my host family and we went on several trips around Brittany together.

Thanks to the mobility, I had the chance to experience everyday French life while intensively practising my French. Our house was also very multicultural, as my host family was hosting a boy from the USA for a while too. At school I also met students from Australia and Japan, so I learned not only about French customs but about other cultures as well.

A big benefit for me was also improving my French. Because I tried not to speak English, I was forced to use French in everyday situations. Thanks to that, I gained more confidence and stopped being so afraid of making mistakes. During my stay I gained a lot of new experience, greater independence, self-confidence, and many new friendships. Erasmus+ was a unique opportunity and an irreplaceable experience for me, for which I feel great gratitude.

We asked...

Why would you recommend the Erasmus+ programme to your classmates and what advice would you give them?

I would definitely recommend the Erasmus+ programme especially to those who want to improve their language and communication skills. In my opinion it is a unique opportunity that cannot easily be replaced by anything else. My main advice would be: speak as much as possible. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, because that is exactly how you learn the most. I would also recommend Erasmus+ because you get to meet new people, a different environment, a different culture, and at the same time get to know yourself better.

What were your first impressions upon arrival to your family and school?

One of the most common worries for someone going on a similar stay is that they will not get along with their host family or classmates at school. I remember that on the first day I was nervous and did not know what to expect. My worries quickly disappeared, however, when I found out how kind and helpful my host family was. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the people at school, who welcomed me warmly into their group.

How would you describe your typical day?

I got up every morning at six to go to school. We took the bus for about thirty minutes to Ploermel every day together with students from the surrounding towns. Lessons lasted 55 minutes. We had lunch for about an hour and a half and were never in a rush, which I found very pleasant and quite different from Czech school. Except on Wednesdays, the afternoon lessons finished at 16:30. In the evenings I usually spent time with my host family.