Erasmus experiences...<3

    In 2013 I probably made one of the best choices in my life by applying to the Erasmus Exchange program. It was clear to me that I have to go abroad for a longer time if I wanted to improve my Spanish knowledge on a long-term basis. Finally, I ended up in Córdoba in the southern part of Spain.

     In October 2013 a new life full of adventures and challenges lay before me. Soon I made a lot of friends who came from all over Europe. Especially one German boy caught my attention, who later turned out to be my boyfriend, and with whom I am still having a wonderful relationship. Nevertheless, not everything went perfectly during my stay in Spain. So I had to make the experience that in Spain things work differently. Organization, punctuality or an environmental consciousness, to name just a few aspects, seemed to be of no great importance for the Spanish living in Andalusia.

That one day me and my boyfriend went to a nearby sea called “Lago azul”. It was a marvelous day with bright sunshine and we took our bicycles to get a cool refreshment. At first we were absolutely enthusiastic having this beautiful panorama of the blue sea. However, on closer inspection we noticed the great number of empty bottles, bags and other trash lying around. We still could enjoy our stay there but, anyway, it influenced my view on the Spanish life-style.

     Coming back to the positive aspects, one need to mention the most famous bar of Córdoba called “Banagher”. Whenever you liked to go out and have a beer I assure you that in Banagher you will find some other students with a similar thought. It was like the Mecca for all Erasmus students to meet up on every day of the week. In addition, you always met new people to hang out with and simply enjoy the stay in Spain.

     Of Course I grasped at the chance to get to know the Spanish of Andalusia as well. To my mind the typical Andalusian speaks out of the fullness of his heart, is vivacious, open-minded, solicitous and a tiny bit naïve or rather gullible at the same time. For this reason it was easy for me to get in touch with them and learn a lot about their culture and life.

     This exchange helped me a lot to extend my independence, my cultural interest and to build my goals in life. Unfortunately, the stay was too short, however, I lived to see a huge amount of positive things and I am looking forward to return to Spain one day (and this hopefully with my current boyfriend).