Anhelina Popiuk, a 3rd year student of the Faculty of Foreign Philology, specialty 035 Philology (035.041 Germanic Languages and Literatures (translation included), first language – English), has been studying at the University of Gdansk for 2 semesters within the framework of the EU Erasmus+ Programme. Angelina shared her impressions of academic mobility:
“Before taking part in Erasmus+, I saw the presentations of previous program participants. Of course, they were fascinating, so I immediately wanted to try myself in a different environment. However, as in any situation, there were hesitations. For example, the most common questions were: “Will I be able to adapt to a different environment? What does it look like to study and communicate with others only in a foreign language? Will I be able to stay away from my family when I used to go home every two weeks to see my family (given the fact that the trip took about seven hours one way)?” But, as the saying goes, other people’s experience is not yours; you never know unless you try.
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Upon arrival, it was necessary to obtain documents for staying in Poland for more than 90 days and a student card. For new Erasmus+ participants, various excursions were organized, as well as Orientation Week. Each week was full of various activities: Guess the song, Board games, City games, Fluo Party, Sports Day, Speed Dating + Traffic Lights Party, Winter swimming, Walk on the Cliff, Quiz Night, etc. Of course, it was not possible to attend all of them, but I managed to attend most of them. At these meetings I met students from different parts of the world, namely Latvia, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Armenia, Turkey, Germany, France, Portugal, Italy, etc.
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In fact, the adaptation went much faster than I expected. And in the first days, there were no difficulties in communication. It was interesting to share experiences and refute popular stereotypes. The first thing that catches your eye is that the students are extremely open, confident, have a specific goal, are ready to pursue it and defend their opinions under any circumstances.
The subjects are extremely interesting. We often watch movies in class and as homework, and then discuss them. There are many similar subjects, I can’t help but mention US History and Polish Language Course, which I started studying to broaden my horizons. While studying this subject, we especially expand our vocabulary. My class schedule usually starts at 09:45 or 11:30, and there are no classes on Fridays, which is great because I can travel within Poland or visit other countries.
I really like the studies, the people, the location. It takes me 10 minutes to get from my dorm to the Faculty of Neophilology. For me, the most peaceful and best place is, of course, the Baltic Sea, which is only 5 kilometers away.”
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