consequently I found myself thinking about my goals , of which I have already spoken, and wondering if after the first month here I’m reaching them in some way or not.
I must admit that, at least by now, my experience here has proven to be very different from how I imagined it. Not better, not worse, but different. Some things I was expecting to be easier, others have pleasantly surprised me in their being totally unexpected and welcome. Among the latter there are things related to college itself: the instruction and its being direct, practical, specific and interesting. The social possibilities and entertainments that are offered here, such as clubs, cooking lessons, theme parties, always different and interesting. The dining halls, which are really self-service restaurants, each one different and each unique, with the evening for sushi, for tacos, or spaghetti. The language lessons (Spanish in my case), which are supplemented by films, events with the teachers, tables for lunch or dinner where you can only speak the designated language. All things fantastic and unthinkable in Italy. All things that are improving my communication skills, social integration, public display, etc..
But many things are more difficult than I expected them to be. From the stories of my friends, all strictly Erasmus in the strict sense of the term, that is, who have spent a period of study within the European Union, this experience seemed to be just a big, messy party. Sometimes ONLY this, just too much.
I was not looking for this, on the contrary it scared me a bit because I’m not just the kind of person who likes to get drunk every day and make every night a different mess, but somehow I expected it. And getting here and finding out that the matter was different was quite surprising!
Here is actually a big mess, I admit it: almost every Saturday night there are one or more ambulances in front of the parties, because punctually some freshman (first year students) exaggerates with alcohol and ends up getting hurt. But MY experience on this campus, and like me that of all the other exchange I’ve talked to, is not proving so crazy. Indeed coming from Europe, where we can drink at 16 and parties begin at midnight and end at dawn, sitting here drinking secretly in the dorms a few glasses of beer and having the party ended by 1am during weekends…well is not a big deal as it is for freshmen who just came out from highschool. It seems like our expectations, whatever they were, in no case were confirmed. And this is both good and bad, it depends from person to person, it has to do with what we came here for.
What I believe, too, is that if you do an Erasmus and you go to Europe, anywhere in Europe, you will meet other Erasmus students from Europe, and the citizens of the city where you are, still Europeans . If you have any other window on the rest of the world, which is very large, it is more a case that a rule.
Here happens the opposite: I am the only Italian; there are no Spanish people; 3 German, 3 French, 3 British (I know, it sounds like a joke); and then there are an infinite number of Asian, South American, Australian, and so on and so forth. And moreover the Americans themselves are from all over the world! It is amazing to see how their origins remain glued on them, are part of their culture, they are really a melting pot. It’s perfectly normal here that almost every person I talk to tells me to have Italian origins. And if it’s not Italian, is another place, but not America. It’s something that I find really amazing, and beautiful. But this leads to some difficulties. And not a few!In Europe we are all part of a culture “alike”: each has its differences, but it is as if we were made of a similar dough. The rest of the world is not so, and interacting with a Japanese or South African or a Chinese, or an Australian … it leads to difficulties. Not even know which ones, really, it’s complicated to put into words. But it is something you feel, and you can not help but noticing it.
Another thing is that I never expected the study load here. Those who know me would never believe it, but I, the queen of last-moment study, the sorceress of fooling around, I find myself studying almost every night until 1am. Well I don’t really study all day long for sure, as from when I finish the lessons to when I start studying many hours have passed. But the fact of ending lesson at 4, having dinner at 6, rest up until 8 am, always having something to do after that… yes, I end up at 1am that I still write papers in English or Spanish. No erasmus friend ever told me that he had done the same, unless around exams. In fact usually the words “Erasmus” and “study” are not so commonly used together.
I have to say it, in MY Erasmus, I’m really experiencing all. Feasts, new friendships, life “exotic” but … the study, stress, intercultural difficulties are here too. There are no discounts, I have the impression that if you want to have the nice side you have to pass through the bad too. And I’m really experiencing everything that the term EXCHANGE means… not so much exchanging my place with that of another, but exchanging my life with a completely different one. Not a vacation, not an escape from my reality in the name of parties and fooling around, but a real dive into a new life, with all that entails.
If I am realizing my goals, you ask then? Let’s say I’m working on it, seriously…
