My Erasmus mobility was a very interesting and varied experience that I will never forget.
It all started on the 2nd of February, when I packed my bags, got in the car, then on the train and went to Würzburg in Germany for three months, where my mobility took place and where I lived for a quarter of a year. Since I arrived on a Friday, I had the whole weekend to kind of get to know the place and at least learn how it works and some basic things about commuting to school, etc.
At first, it went like clockwork. I didn't encounter any extreme cultural differences, my host family was great, school was cool too, and other than being homesick, I really enjoyed it.
But over time it changed quite radically, suddenly I started noticing different cultural customs that I wasn't used to and didn't understand at all, at school I was a kind of "attraction" that people liked to look at (or at least I thought so) and I fought more and more with my family... well, not the whole family, just my visiting sister who wasn't very nice to me.
On the other hand, it wasn't a bad experience at all. I am incredibly glad that I had the opportunity to travel to Germany and try to live the "German life". There were a lot of nice moments that I will remember and never forget; and I think that's the most important and valuable thing about this stay... not to dwell on the hard moments, but to keep the nice ones that you will remember all your life.
I would also like to openly thank the teachers, who I could turn to with anything during my stay and always helped me with everything. Namely Mrs. Popély and Mrs. Košíčková, because thanks to their help and support I felt that I was not alone. So once again, thank you!
We asked...
01
Why would you recommend your classmates to participate in the Erasmus+ programme and what advice would you have for them?
Would I recommend this experience? Absolutely, because it will give them so much to their lives, they will gain a new perspective, meet new people with new opinions and most importantly they will learn so much about themselves. And if I had to give anyone any advice about travelling to a foreign country, it would probably be... don't get your hopes up too much, don't be disappointed, and don't underestimate the preparation for GYBON, it won't be easy then :)) . And try to enjoy it as much as possible, go on trips, even alone like me, and make it as nice as possible.
02
How did this experience affect you in terms of personal development?
This experience definitely helped me grow in the area of understanding other people, meaning that I had to learn how to get along and deal with people I didn't quite like or we had some problems together. But what I hadn't expected was how incredibly helpful the mobility was in teaching me to be alone. I wasn't used to being alone from the Czech Republic at all, I was always with friends or in after-school clubs, but suddenly I was in Germany where I had nothing and no one and I had no choice but to learn to be alone.
03
What experiences and highlights from your stay are worth mentioning?
I have one highlight that I will never forget and that I held on to for three months and helped me get through it. One Saturday, about halfway through my stay, I went to see a choir concert in a church in the centre of Würzburg, and I was standing in the choir loft and this nice older lady stood next to me. We got to talking somehow and then she asked me a question that I absolutely didn't understand... so I apologized and explained that I was from the Czech Republic, that I was here for Erasmus, and that sometimes I didn't understand what people were saying, if she could repeat it and simplify it somehow. The lady looked at me so strangely and asked me if I was making fun of her, to which I replied that I wasn't making fun of her and why she thought I was. So she responded by saying that she had no idea I was a foreigner, and that she wouldn't know it from my German if I didn't tell her. It meant a lot to me at the time and still does, actually. So that's something I'll never forget.