Photos story - International friendships - Laurent
On my way back to France
This is me during my come back trip. Even if I carry a lot, that's not all. I also carry a lot of memories in my mind thanks to friendships I have built during my stay in Braislava. Let's talk about it ! Hello everyone ! It's time to talk about one of the most expected experience about Erasmus : international friendships !
From all the feedback from the students that experienced an Erasmus, I always heard that they met amazing people and create strong connections with them. But is it a myth or a reality ? Let's find my opinion about this !
First of all, it was absolutely not my priority about the Erasmus. Indeed, I wanted to discover the central Europe, to hike, to run, to stay active and try to get healthier (even if I didn't have the worst lifestyle at all). Above all, I expected to learn how to live by my own means. I didn't expect to build strong bounds with international students.
Did I create some anyway ? Spoiler alert : yes I did, of course. Would I have change my initial mindset if I knew it ? Second spoiler alert : Yes, surely… And I explain everything just below.
The first times in Bratislava
I arrived in Slovakia with 5 friends from my home university. We planned a lot of trips, practically every weekend. But it might has been my mistake, even if I enjoyed every single moment with my french friends, and the ones we met (Hello Justine, Floriane and Cherbourg boys.
The problem is that I had some bad days, feeling alone because I didn't have the same expectations of Erasmus as the other french people. And I deeply felt that I was losing my time right there. I keep trying to get in touch with international students but except Bekzod 🇺🇿 that I met in class and Hussein 🇮🇶 that I met during a run session, I didn't talk often to others.
The first journey changer : Nowruz evening
And during the Nowruz evening, which is basically the Persian new year, Bekzod organized a dinner with a lot of other international students. It was important for him to join. Moreover, as I am very curious, I joined. He cooked for us and forced us to drink soda ahah, and I really enjoyed everything about this evening. I was delighted to met others Uzbeks, a Turk, a Kenyan, an Indian and two Ukrainians. It was a wonderful evening but it was not enough to keep in touch with them.
The time past, I crossed paths with them sometimes so I greeted them, but nothing more. Until the Super Supper which is an evening organized by Bratislava ESN and consists of discovering foreign cuisine made by international students.
The second journey changer : The Super Supper
I went for the first time during the French turn.
I sat as the same table of Cedric 🇩🇪 as the running interests both of us. And talked a lot about it, and planned our next running sessions. Other german students sat with us, and the two Ukrainians girls Ольга 🇺🇦 (sounds close to Olya) and Софія 🇺🇦 (Sofiia), whom also presented their Ukrainian culinary culture.
We spend a good evening and I went back to Mladá Garda (our dormitory) with these two girls. They generously offered me a tea and some sweets. And we get used to do it on some evenings then.
Tea sessions until the end
During all these tea sessions, I opened myself to so many things that I had never done before : singing karaoke, watching Eurovision, and also learning how to read Ukrainian alphabet (except this f***ing letter « г »)… I met wonderful girls that I sincerely hope to keep in touch with. I also learn more about the war that currently happens in Ukraine. All their testimonies just moved me so much. Their testimonies represent the everyday life of million of people around this world. It just drives me crazy that genocides are still occurring in the 21st century. Now that I have a close friend who is concerned about bombings that occurs almost everyday, I can feel truly anxious about it. Now, I deeply realize how much lucky I am that peace surrounds me.
It was a little parenthesis which I needed to talk about in this blog post. And it will introduce my conclusion.
Life and friendships are precious, it brings so much emotions and feelings that will always be worth it. Go for an Erasmus, meet people and discover this world !
