PL
| "Hi everyone, I’m Nicole, I come from Palermo (Italy) and was an Erasmus student and an Intern here in The Maria Grzegorzewska University. My experience here started in September, I decided to come here before the beginning of classes, first to adapt and to make new friendships to “survive” in the huge new city, Warsaw. When you leave home, family, and friends, even if for a short period, it’s always difficult to manage the new situation and the new mix of feelings. So, the best that you could do is push yourself out of the comfort zone and go discover the world, that life is one! Anxiety, paranoias, and worries maybe will be your best friends when you start Erasmus, but briefly everything disappears knowing people, learning new things, creating a new lifestyle. After crossing these little obstacles, you will be surprised how strong you are. |  |
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My experience at the university started the 3rd of October, the coordinator of Erasmus welcomed us explaining everything about the University. It’s a small University in comparison to mine and I really appreciate it, because you can reach classes fast, this avoids wasting time and getting lost for sure. Teachers are kind, polite and professional, they understand perfectly that you are a stranger there, that you need your time to adapt. Nobody is left to itself, and everyone is available to help you. Here it’s possible to choose subjects entirely in English between fields such as Psychology, Sociology, Pedagogy, Special Education and Early Education. There are classes created just for Erasmus students, but also English classes mixed with Polish students, and I think it’s a good way to integrate people. |
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Courses are interactive, not made just of lectures, there are many team works and presentations to do, a different way to do lessons in comparison to Italy. Therefore, I’m truly happy about my decision and sorry that everything ended. Here I had the opportunity to meet people from all over Europe such as Greece, Ireland, and Spain. Now we are friends, not just colleagues and I’m grateful for this. So, the thing that I appreciated the most is the international environment lived here. In this city, every day, it’s possible to meet new people from a different culture and share things about your traditions and habits. As I said at the beginning, I was doing the internship in the International Affairs Office of the University and at the UNESCO Janusz Korczak Chair. We took care of a couple of tasks such as Sustainable Development, Cooperation with other universities outside of Poland, Coordination and organisation of international conferences, Organization of stay of visiting professors, Development of the Erasmus+ programme and Organization of international internships. |
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I was learning how university works from inside and I developed some soft skills like how to work in a team, to appear professional to co-workers and bosses of all ages, to make technology my asset, even if I was afraid of technology, and I think to communicate better. But mostly I improved my English, that was one of my priorities since my departure. In the office everyone was really kind with me, I had the opportunity to work two Polish Girls and one Argentinian. So, even here I had the possibility to stay in an international environment. Between one task and another there was always time for a quick bite that makes you understand how a good atmosphere, at work, is essential to feel good. For this, I thank them a lot. |
It's the end of this incredible adventure that made me grow up so much. I’m independent, I’m stronger than before and even if I’m afraid of the future I know that I could deal with it thanks to what I experienced.
In the end, as I like to say “Erasmus is the beginning of the rest of your life”
Nicole"
Dear Nicole, thank you very much for your time and engagement at our University, it was great to have you!
- the APS Team
