Interview with Lorinda, ERASMUS student

Could you please briefly tell our readers about your academic background before the Erasmus?

I'm a second-year student. I study English language, literature and culture, both the UK and the United States. I just did one year of university before coming to do my Erasmus programme.

What personally for you is more important in this programme - academic side or social and cultural experience?

I think it's really a mix of both and I think that's the whole point of Erasmus is that you get a social experience that's very different than everything else I've ever experienced. You enter a community of international students.

Basically we all live the same thing: we're away from home and we don't know anybody here.

We're in the same situation and it's really amazing to experience that. There's also the academic part, which is I think as important. For example, I've got to choose classes that are slightly different from what I could have studied in my home university. For example, I have Celtic civilisation class. That's very amazing because one of my teachers speaks Gaelic, which is very old language that is only spoken in the region. That's a cool experience to choose courses that you could not have studied at your home university.

How did the quarantine affect your studying during the programme? From your point of view, is it more difficult to adapt to new academic environment online that it would be in person?

I think obviously the experience is very different but it's a very different year for everybody all around the world. I think it would have been easier for some points because you meet your teacher and other students face-to-face. I think obviously it's more natural to speak face-to-face and be able to build relationship with your colleagues. Honestly, I was very surprised because I thought It would be complicated to learn online, especially in my second language, but it was so well-organised. I guess it really depends on university, but I think for me Glasgow was really well-organised and I was really surprised by that. I was impressed by that, so my experience with classes online was made easy by the fact that it was well-organised. Teachers were so attentive and would respond to you so quickly, so that helps a lot.

What are your impressions of studying in the University of Glasgow so far? What are the considerable differences between education process in French and British systems?

I think for me the main difference is the way classes are taught. For example, (I don't know if it's a very personal experience or it's more general, it's just my opinion), in France teachers have a very special status, a clear hierarchy between the students and the teachers, whereas here I feel like at least the teachers I have here really work hard to include us in class and in the discussion. They make themselves part of the discussion and really go down to our level to hear us and build classes around what we say. That's the main difference, I think I experienced here. Also, maybe because it's online, but my classes are very small, like I have seminars and in each of my seminars like we are 10 students, so we interact with each other very much.

What aspects of studying at your Erasmus university and of its system as a whole do you enjoy the most?

Like I just said, the fact that the teachers make a lot of effort to include you in the conversation really helps me, but also I love the fact that the amount of information... it really impressed me at first, I was like "Oh my gosh, that's so much". I guess it also depends on the courses, but now I really start to enjoy it because my professors are extremely interesting.

I’m learning so many new things that at first that scared me.

I guess my answer is the richness (is that a word?) of the content of the classes.

Do you think there are some peculiarities your home university could borrow from here?

I think, definitely, the societies and clubs, because in France we don't have that at all, it's not a thing. Well, we have sports clubs, but we don't have societies at all. We don't have a system of clubs that you can create. I think that's one of the coolest things about the university of Glasgow and also universities abroad.

They have so many clubs and societies and that really participates in the social experience of the university.

They also have so many well-being teams, like student support. We have that to a certain degree in my home university, but it’s not at all as developed as here. Basically, so many activities that are apart from your classes that are very important. That’s the main, I think. And also always the fact that this relationship between the teachers and the students is less formal, more open.

And my final question, what would you advise those students who are going or only plan to apply for the Erasmus programme?

I thought about one thing that you need to know, it's very practical, not an advice. Personally, my Erasmus scholarships started to be given to me like around months or one moth and a half after I arrived, which was quite stressful because I didn't know about it. So I was like "Oh my gosh! I'm not going to receive them or not..." That was stressful but that's just how the process goes, I guess.

There is a little bit of time where you have to wait for your scholarship to arrive. That’s something you have to prepare for.

Other than that, honestly, just don’t hesitate to go if you have the opportunity. Just take it and make the most of it, because I think we are very lucky to have the opportunity to travel and really get to live in the country, meet the people here, new culture. I think that’s so cool and that’s an experience you’ll never forget for all your life. Before I came here I was very scared, I was hesitating so much. I was like "Maybe I shouldn’t...", obviously because of the global situation, which wasn’t great. But also just basic fear, I think that’s normal, it was the fear of the unknown. Don’t listen to that, just go. Well, of course, prepare and then go. Make the most of it, enjoy your time here. Do things that you are going to want to remember all your life. Do things that you are going to want to tell your children later on in your life, things that really make you proud.

Підготувала Дар’я Шоломіцька