1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,960 ♪ 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:35,000 ♪ 3 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:40,000 ♪ 4 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:45,020 ♪ 5 00:00:45,020 --> 00:00:50,020 ♪ 6 00:00:50,020 --> 00:00:55,020 ♪ 7 00:00:55,020 --> 00:01:00,020 ♪ 8 00:01:00,020 --> 00:01:05,020 ♪ 9 00:01:05,020 --> 00:01:10,020 ♪ 10 00:01:10,020 --> 00:01:13,020 Hi, my name's Kate Samways. 11 00:01:13,020 --> 00:01:17,020 I come from Birmingham in England, but I study in Cardiff in Wales. 12 00:01:17,020 --> 00:01:20,020 Through the Erasmus programme, I was able to spend some time 13 00:01:20,020 --> 00:01:24,020 both in France and Italy, as I study French and Italian. 14 00:01:24,020 --> 00:01:27,020 Whilst in France, I worked at DESISA, 15 00:01:27,020 --> 00:01:30,020 which is Institut Informatique Sud-Aviron, 16 00:01:30,020 --> 00:01:33,020 and there I worked with disabled adults teaching English. 17 00:01:33,020 --> 00:01:36,020 For the second half of my year, I was in Venice, Italy, 18 00:01:36,020 --> 00:01:39,020 and there I studied at the university named Ca' Foscari. 19 00:01:39,020 --> 00:01:42,020 Moving to France was a massive change for me, 20 00:01:42,020 --> 00:01:45,020 as it meant moving from the capital city, Cardiff, to a small town. 21 00:01:45,020 --> 00:01:49,020 It was completely different for me to be taught totally in one language. 22 00:01:49,020 --> 00:01:52,020 I found that even though I was learning facts in that language, 23 00:01:52,020 --> 00:01:55,020 I was also thinking about the way they were being presented. 24 00:01:55,020 --> 00:01:58,020 When I was studying Italian in Cardiff, I remember thinking to myself, 25 00:01:58,020 --> 00:02:01,020 this is great, but how could I really, really learn this language? 26 00:02:01,020 --> 00:02:04,020 The best way to do it is, obviously, go to the country. 27 00:02:04,020 --> 00:02:08,020 Then you're speaking it every day, and you're picking up words without even knowing it. 28 00:02:08,020 --> 00:02:11,020 You're out for dinner with a friend, and you order a pizza, 29 00:02:11,020 --> 00:02:14,020 and realise you've just learnt the word for mushroom or something. 30 00:02:14,020 --> 00:02:16,020 It's a very enriching experience. 31 00:02:16,020 --> 00:02:19,020 So do you think you would ever go back? 32 00:02:19,020 --> 00:02:22,020 Definitely. I'd say when you get back, it is quite tough. 33 00:02:22,020 --> 00:02:26,020 You get this kind of, like, Erasmus blues, because you just want to go back again. 34 00:02:26,020 --> 00:02:29,020 I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to do Erasmus, 35 00:02:29,020 --> 00:02:32,020 because it means I've grown into a full-rounded individual, 36 00:02:32,020 --> 00:02:35,020 and I know that when I finish my studies, 37 00:02:35,020 --> 00:02:38,020 I will maybe just get that bit higher mark from doing Erasmus, 38 00:02:38,020 --> 00:02:41,020 and that will really help me out in the job market in the future. 39 00:02:41,020 --> 00:02:45,020 To anyone who's thinking of doing Erasmus, please just go and do it. 40 00:02:45,020 --> 00:02:49,020 It's such a great opportunity to go abroad, meet people, 41 00:02:49,020 --> 00:02:51,020 improve your language-learning skills. 42 00:02:51,020 --> 00:02:53,020 You'll be able to do everything there. 43 00:02:53,020 --> 00:02:55,020 So please, just give it a go. 44 00:02:56,020 --> 00:02:58,020 My name is Marcel Moussabimana. 45 00:02:58,020 --> 00:03:01,020 I live in Champagne-Ardennes. 46 00:03:01,020 --> 00:03:04,020 It's a beautiful region, as you can see. 47 00:03:04,020 --> 00:03:10,020 I'm 23 years old, and I'm right now standing in front of my school, 48 00:03:10,020 --> 00:03:13,020 where I learn the Industrial Production and Management. 49 00:03:13,020 --> 00:03:17,020 During this Erasmus programme in Romania, 50 00:03:17,020 --> 00:03:21,020 I went in a company called Total, 51 00:03:21,020 --> 00:03:25,020 where I had to accomplish a management project. 52 00:03:25,020 --> 00:03:28,020 Did you improve your level in English? 53 00:03:28,020 --> 00:03:36,020 Yeah, because I had to speak English for three months non-stop. 54 00:03:36,020 --> 00:03:42,020 I had been told before I got to Romania that it was a very cold country. 55 00:03:42,020 --> 00:03:47,020 I also had to find my technical words. 56 00:03:47,020 --> 00:03:55,020 I had been told also that the people weren't as friendly as they are actually, 57 00:03:55,020 --> 00:03:59,020 and I noticed that it was wrong. 58 00:03:59,020 --> 00:04:04,020 It's not very easy to speak English every day 59 00:04:04,020 --> 00:04:09,020 and to get used to explain something, your feeling. 60 00:04:09,020 --> 00:04:16,020 What I learned in the company is that whatever happens, 61 00:04:16,020 --> 00:04:23,020 I have to keep on trying and not to give up until something is done. 62 00:04:23,020 --> 00:04:26,020 It's a way to prove your independence, 63 00:04:26,020 --> 00:04:30,020 to prove that you can make things by your own, 64 00:04:30,020 --> 00:04:34,020 to prove that you can be a self-made man. 65 00:04:35,020 --> 00:04:37,020 My name is Petra Novakova. 66 00:04:37,020 --> 00:04:39,020 I'm 32 and I study Media and History 67 00:04:39,020 --> 00:04:42,020 in Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. 68 00:04:42,020 --> 00:04:46,020 Right now I'm just finishing my internship here at NATO headquarters in Brussels 69 00:04:46,020 --> 00:04:48,020 with the Erasmus programme. 70 00:04:48,020 --> 00:04:51,020 Right now we are in meeting room number one, 71 00:04:51,020 --> 00:04:54,020 where normally the North Atlantic Council takes place, 72 00:04:54,020 --> 00:04:57,020 which is the highest authority of the whole NATO. 73 00:04:57,020 --> 00:05:01,020 It's a world itself, I would say, this whole organisation. 74 00:05:01,020 --> 00:05:03,020 You speak the international English, 75 00:05:03,020 --> 00:05:06,020 but you can meet people from all around the world 76 00:05:06,020 --> 00:05:08,020 and you can see the cultural differences, 77 00:05:08,020 --> 00:05:12,020 you can see people coming in in different uniforms. 78 00:05:12,020 --> 00:05:15,020 So what was the best during my Erasmus stay? 79 00:05:15,020 --> 00:05:17,020 It's the culture you have in here, 80 00:05:17,020 --> 00:05:21,020 your new flatmates, your new friends you make in here. 81 00:05:21,020 --> 00:05:24,020 They let me do things, you know, it was faster. 82 00:05:24,020 --> 00:05:27,020 It's not just that you do part of the work and you don't really see the result, 83 00:05:27,020 --> 00:05:30,020 but I was lucky that during my stay in here, 84 00:05:30,020 --> 00:05:35,020 there was 60 years of NATO, big celebration in Strasbourg and Kiel, 85 00:05:35,020 --> 00:05:38,020 and I was part of the team who organised a big conference 86 00:05:38,020 --> 00:05:43,020 for students, more than 300 in Strasbourg, discussing NATO's future. 87 00:05:43,020 --> 00:05:48,020 So that's something like a result you can see on the spot. 88 00:05:48,020 --> 00:05:50,020 Actually, I just got a job here in Brussels 89 00:05:50,020 --> 00:05:54,020 and I'm considering to stay because I already have my new friends 90 00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:56,020 and my new life in here. 91 00:05:56,020 --> 00:06:00,020 Although I'm still working on a bachelor's thesis for my university, 92 00:06:00,020 --> 00:06:03,020 Erasmus is actually the thing which inspired me. 93 00:06:04,020 --> 00:06:05,020 My name is Peter Murphy. 94 00:06:05,020 --> 00:06:08,020 I'm 22 years old and I study industrial design 95 00:06:08,020 --> 00:06:12,020 at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. 96 00:06:12,020 --> 00:06:15,020 And thanks to my Erasmus stay in Finland for five months, 97 00:06:15,020 --> 00:06:17,020 not only did I study industrial design, 98 00:06:17,020 --> 00:06:20,020 but I partook in a lot of other modules also, 99 00:06:20,020 --> 00:06:23,020 including architecture, Finnish cuisine, 100 00:06:23,020 --> 00:06:26,020 learning the Finnish language, furniture design, 101 00:06:26,020 --> 00:06:29,020 product design and life drawing. 102 00:06:30,020 --> 00:06:33,020 When I was there, I loved it. It was fantastic. 103 00:06:33,020 --> 00:06:35,020 We had an introduction week into our college. 104 00:06:35,020 --> 00:06:38,020 They had a lot of events planned for us, which was brilliant. 105 00:06:38,020 --> 00:06:41,020 We went snow hiking, we went snow skiing. 106 00:06:41,020 --> 00:06:43,020 The Erasmus life to me is... 107 00:06:43,020 --> 00:06:45,020 I would sum it up by saying it's an adventure. 108 00:06:45,020 --> 00:06:48,020 It's about leaving everything you're comfortable with 109 00:06:48,020 --> 00:06:50,020 and dropping yourself into a different environment, 110 00:06:50,020 --> 00:06:53,020 making new friends, learning a new language, 111 00:06:53,020 --> 00:06:55,020 living on your own for the first time. 112 00:06:55,020 --> 00:06:58,020 The host institution that I stayed in, Lati, was impeccable. 113 00:06:58,020 --> 00:07:00,020 Really, really good college. 114 00:07:00,020 --> 00:07:03,020 Very well funded by the government, which was nice to see. 115 00:07:03,020 --> 00:07:06,020 They had a lot of materials, a lot of workshops on offer. 116 00:07:06,020 --> 00:07:07,020 I learnt a lot of new trades. 117 00:07:07,020 --> 00:07:09,020 The tutors in my host institution 118 00:07:09,020 --> 00:07:12,020 had a real hands-on approach to design. 119 00:07:12,020 --> 00:07:14,020 There was a great emphasis on the final product. 120 00:07:14,020 --> 00:07:17,020 For example, I was doing a product on designing chairs. 121 00:07:17,020 --> 00:07:23,020 And in Dublin, we might have maybe a 3D picture of the chair 122 00:07:23,020 --> 00:07:25,020 or very rendered sketches. 123 00:07:25,020 --> 00:07:29,020 But in Finland, I was actually made to make the chair out of wood. 124 00:07:29,020 --> 00:07:31,020 So there was a whole learning process. 125 00:07:31,020 --> 00:07:34,020 Not only was I sketching, I was making the piece out of wood. 126 00:07:34,020 --> 00:07:35,020 And at the end of the day, 127 00:07:35,020 --> 00:07:38,020 I had a quite fantastic-looking finished product. 128 00:07:38,020 --> 00:07:41,020 When I came back to Dublin, I was faced with normal life again. 129 00:07:41,020 --> 00:07:44,020 I had parents to deal with, I had a loan to pay off, 130 00:07:44,020 --> 00:07:46,020 I had to find a job. 131 00:07:46,020 --> 00:07:49,020 So it was sort of like the Erasmus blues. 132 00:07:53,020 --> 00:07:55,020 .