Germany, Nuremberg
Georg-Simon-Ohm-Fachhochschule
In the spring semester of 2017- 2018, I went to Georg Simon OHM Hochschule with the Erasmus Program. When I evaluate my Erasmus period, I can say that I had a good, full semester in terms of both courses and social life. First of all, the international office of the university I went to works very actively. I did not have any difficulties thanks to the information mails about the procedures waiting for me before I went to Germany, about the documents I should bring with me, in short, about the process waiting for me. Again, the international office organized various events that provided cultural integration during the semester. In addition to these, I did not have any problems with the dormitory, which is one of the most curious points, because they placed us in various dormitories by taking into account some factors with the documents we fill out before we go. In general, when I evaluate the city of Nuremberg, where the school is located, I think it is an easy-to-live, historical, friendly city. I did not have any problems with the selection of courses or course matching, which is another point. I can say that the courses are a bit intense, but when I consider the contributions in terms of self-development, I think it is worth it. For those who think that they would like to improve their German, there are also various courses in the city, which are almost equivalent to public education centers. In general, these were my impressions about my Erasmus. For any other questions, I can help you as much as I can from my e-mail address.
Saadet Nur KARADENİZLİ
snkaradenizli@gmail.com
Poland, Krakow
AGH University of Science and Technology
Having spent the winter semester 2019-2020 in Krakow, I can say that it is the best decision for those who are thinking of spending their Erasmus experience here. First of all, the city is close to all parts of Eastern Europe in Poland. This gives you the opportunity to see many historical cities. The city itself attracts a lot of tourists and you can always find various activities to spend your time. Are you bored? You can go to the Old Town and have a coffee in a cafe in the square or you can rent a bike or scooter and ride around the old and historic streets of the city, Wawel Castle, Kazimierz. It is a sparsely populated and quiet city. It is possible to reach everywhere with transportation vehicles such as trams, buses and even uber and bolt applications, you can go everywhere much easier and cheaper.
Cooking is easy for EVS hostels. Especially for students staying in Bonus or Kapitol dormitories, the nearest grocery store is Lewiatan, and another grocery store is Biedronka. Life is almost the same as in Turkey. The exchange rate difference is not very high since Zloty is used. This makes everything easier for a student from Turkey. As for whether the grant is enough or not, it is enough to see Krakow and a few touristic European cities (such as Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Berlin, Prague). If you ask me, as someone who has visited Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, Milan, Rome, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Pisa, Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Vroslav, Warsaw and Prague, I must say that the grant is not enough for this whole Erasmus period.
I highly recommend Krakow for those who want to taste this experience, live together with foreign students, cultures, share something with them, in other words, who want to live Erasmus!
Ayşecan KAYA
kayaysecan@gmail.com
Portugal, Oporto
Universidade Catolica Portuguesa
Hello friends, first of all, I went to Porto in the 2nd semester of 2018 with the Erasmus program. I had many questions in my mind before I went. I didn't know what kind of city, what kind of culture they have. I talked to Eren Hocam, but there were very few people who preferred it in the past years. I am actually writing this article based on the question of what I would ask if I met someone who went to Porto. First of all, you get your visa here and go. Before I went, I rented one room of a 3-room house from the website called 'Uniplaces' because unfortunately there is no dormitory at the school in Porto. Since Porto is a cheap city, I can say that renting a room is not expensive and it is almost the same amount as student dormitories.
Whether you live close to the school or close to the center, you will not have any problems with transportation because you can easily go everywhere in Porto by metro and bus. If we talk about the school, it is a very nice school in terms of location and facilities. It is located in Foz campus. It takes 5 minutes to walk to the beach and the ocean. The bus stops are very close to the campus and there are many restaurants around. The students and teachers at the school are very friendly, they help you with everything, and I can say that everyone in Portugal is friendly. But of course there are some challenging parts of the school, especially in terms of attendance and the difficulty of the lessons. While attendance is not taken in many places in Erasmus, in Porto you have to go to every class due to attendance and I can say that it is a little more difficult than other countries, but I can guarantee you that it is the most fun city in Europe. You can find many hobbies according to your taste.
Porto is a city by the ocean and I was interested in sports, especially volleyball. On weekdays and weekends you can take your bike, go to the beach, chat with the people you meet there, sunbathe on the beach and play volleyball. I would even suggest you to try surfing because it is not a sport you can do in our country or in Europe. There are surfing courses on the weekends and if you like it you can join those courses, they also give you a discount with your Erasmus card. Apart from sports, the number of people coming to the school with the Erasmus program was more than the number of local students, and there were 2 of us as Turks, which I think is a very nice advantage. You have more opportunities to improve your language and you have more opportunities to make foreign friends. There are many parties and trips organized by the Erasmus Community. I highly recommend you to participate in these events, you make a lot of friends and have a lot of fun. Porto is a very cheap city in terms of food and shelter compared to other big European cities. Besides, it is possible to find cheap flight tickets to many European cities. You can learn the advantage of this from your friends who go to other European cities for Erasmus because you have the opportunity to spend the amount you will spend on the plane ticket in the cities you will go to, otherwise you may be deprived of something in the city you will go to. In my opinion, one of the most important criteria for deciding the city you will go to in Erasmus is both the cultural and social characteristics of that city. I would like to talk about the characteristics and culture of Porto. In Porto you come across many carnivals. People come from many different countries to these carnivals. There are also many tourist spots in the city that you can visit. On the other hand, there are places in the city where you can go according to your mood. If you want to have a drink and watch the sunset you can go to the Ribeira area, if you want to have fun on the beach, make friends and spend time in the ocean you can go to Matosinho. In a nutshell, Porto is a mix of both traditional and modern. I will share a few photos from both Porto and the school, but if I had the chance to go back for Erasmus, I would definitely choose Porto again. That's why I can recommend you to go to Porto with peace of mind. Finally, I wish you the best Erasmus for you and I hope you will be very happy where you go and have a lot of fun, make a lot of good memories and make a lot of friends.
Fırat ERÇEVİK
FiratErcevik1997@hotmail.com
Poland, Krakow
AGH University of Science and Technology
I think every student should definitely see abroad within the possibilities. In this direction, I made my application to the Erasmus Student Exchange Program. At first I had a shyness. Like can I do it or how can I do it? As a result of my application, I was placed in Poland-Krakow EVS University. After that, the mobility started. Visa interview, plane tickets, documents required from the other school, I felt the time flowing quickly and the expected day came. When I arrived in Krakow, I was welcomed by a mentor from the ESN Community and he helped me a lot in settling in the dormitory because I was going to have difficulties because the elderly people of Poland did not speak English. I hesitated to speak English for the first 2-3 weeks, but when I saw that the other students were not very good, I started to speak comfortably. Because you can explain what you want to explain in every way, your English does not need to be perfect.
Another problem is of course the food. I usually ate chicken and vegetables, since chicken is a bit cheaper than meat. The local food was delicious. Every facility is available in the dormitory. There was a kitchen, washing and drying machines and a sports room belonging to the dormitory where we stayed. Of course there is also a social life. There is entertainment every night.
Education is very comfortable. The academics spoke in a way we could understand. They tried to help us when we had problems in the lessons.
Transportation was very well developed for the city. You could go everywhere by bus or tram. The only problem was that there were ticket checks from time to time and if you were caught without a ticket, they made you pay a hefty fine. People are generally cold. We were even exposed to racism from time to time, but there is a small group of people who do this.
Ulaş ALGAN
ulasalgan11@gmail.com