Student: Florentina Qorri

E+ Programme: Exchange Students

Host Institution: University of Porto, Portugal

Period: September 2015-June 2016

Academic year: 2015/2016

“Studying abroad for one year it was not just a year in my life –was my life in a year”

During the second year of my studies, I was sitting in our faculty conference’s room while listening a promotion about a program called Erasmus Mundus. It was my first time that I had listened about this project. At first I thought that was just a dream and a beautiful lie to be true. All travel expenses paid, visa cost reimbursed with the month allowance in advance. It looked unbelievable that exists such a program, so I remember run straight away to get more info to Career Center of the University.

Finally I moved from ‘my comfort zone’ and then realized that it all starts from that comfort that you have with yourself not trying to grow yourself up. The application process was simple. Being an Erasmus students wasn’t just about the grades and perfection. Actually was quite the opposite. It was a help for the students who understood that there is no perfection in them that is why they need a hand to improve their own skills to develop self-confidence inside them. Completing the Learning Agreement was very simple and I can even say that it really helped me out to understand what courses I would take to improve myself not only professionally but also personally. My Erasmus exchange experience was not just one more year of life but it was really my life in one year. I realized that it is not only the university that is important, but also the real life that you face after university time is important too. There are those wonderful peace minutes with you while waiting for the bus to come. It is also the new language you learned when you first went shopping when you were really hungry , is that workshop that helped you speak in public, is that volunteer work to help animals, is that weird vegetarian friend who became helped your neighbor to talk on messenger with her granddaughter who lived far away, are those solo tourist visits you made when you lost the road back home or the most beautiful places you saw while traveling in parts of Europe that I think you cannot see it for a long time.