Hi! My name is Lucía, I have been 3 months in the French part of Belgium, in a city called Tournai.

When I first arrived I had mixed feelings, I was happy because the family was nice and they knew a bit of English, but at the same time I was afraid of my first day at school. But once I was in the class I felt a lot better. The teachers were very nice and my classmates were super friendly. 

I think the best things of this Erasmus experience were that I have seen a lot of places and all the friends that I have made. The worst, maybe the schedule, because it took me a lot of time to get used to it.

I think my best advices for future exhcanges students are:

- Be patience, give yourself a time to get used to everything.

- But also be curious and hard-working, you can't expect that everyone is going to try to help you all the time, you have to make an effort too.

- And enjoy, don't be thinking of what you can't do, take advantage of this opportunity.

Have fun!

(Lucía, 15)

Hi, I’m Candela!

Right now I’m staying in Slovakia, concretely in a city called Žilina. I’ve been here for one month and I still have 2 months left. First, when I came here I wanted to go back to Spain. Everything was different and my family don’t speak English so I was so stressed. When I started school I felt like if I was in Mars. I didn’t understand anything (I continue without understanding most of the things) but I started to speak with people.

Here people are really shy and you need to take the first step, but don’t worry, everything is going to get better and better. Now I have made some friends and I don’t have to spend time alone. Also, I met one Mexican girl outside of school who is helping me a lot with the language. I forgot to say that in my school there is not anyone from other countries, so I’m the only foreigner here.

Since I’ve been here I have had the most random experiences, so be prepared for that. The best part is meeting people from other Erasmus, even if you don’t live in the same city they are going to be a really big support for you because they are going thorough the same. The worst part is that not everyone is nice and are going to speak a different language for you.

My pieces of advice for you:

1. Enjoy as much as possible. If someone proposes you some plan accept it. It is the best way to make friends

2. If someone tells you something, ignore them and go away.

3. Not all teachers speak English but be nice with them and ask some of your classmates to translate.

4. Don’t be afraid of talking with everyone.

5. Learn basic things of the language in the country where you are staying.

ENJOY :) 

(Candela, 16)

Hola! Soy Antonio, de Polonia. Tengo 15 años. 

1. THE HOST FAMILY: I’m in Andujar, Andalusia, Spain. I’m here for 3 months (Semptember - November). I think my family treated me well, the tried to meet my expectations in every way possible.

2. YOUR EXPERIENCE AT SCHOOL: My experience in school has been interesting, I made many friends. On the other hand, during lessons I often got bored and didn’t listen in class.

3. THE WORST OF THIS EXCHANGE: The worst was the beginning - every was stressful and new.

4. THE BEST OF THIS EXCHANGE: How friendly Spanish people are and how well they treat a person they just met.

5. TIPS FOR OTHER EXCHANGE STUDENTS: I think what you should try to do is trying to speak as much as possible, even if you make mistakes, it’s okay - that’s how you learn the new language.

(Antonio, 15)

Hola!

Me llamo Leonie, soy de Alemania y estuve en España por 3 meses. Estoy viviendo con la familia Cantudo. Mis padres se llaman Pedro y Lucia. Ellos tienen dos hijos pero su hija Cecilia está en Bélgica. 

At the beginning it was very hard for me to follow the lessons because I had difficulties with the language. That problem is not 100% resolved because I still don't understand everything but I manage to follow what's going on a lot better now

It is really difficult to say what my best experience during this exchange was because so many interesting and fun  things happened but if i had to choose one it would probably be going to the beach and spending the weekend there.

My worst experience during this exchange was probably when all of my friends had to study a lot for exams and I wasn't able to see them for a while. Just sitting in my room everyday and not having anything to do was quite boring. 

Some of the best advice I can give to future exchange students is to participate in extracurricular activities. This way you can find friends and keep yourself busy throughout the week.

(Leonie, 15)