My first Erasmus

 So, to introduce myself, I'm Rozali, a student from Slovenia who decided to go on a little adventure - an Erasmus+ exchange in Olomouc😊

In case you haven't figured it out from the title, it's a city in the Czech Republic. It's a rather small city, but it has a rich history and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I have to say that I was really surprised by the architecture of the city, because most of the buildings are from the 18th century and they are really well preserved and restored buildings. 

At the same time, Olomouc is also known as a student city as 20% of the city's population are students, which is great as there are various student benefits such as discounts in restaurants and bars (who could defend that hahahah), discounts in gyms, cheaper tram and bus transport (which comes in very handy if you want to travel around a bit😉). 

However, because of this, the activities for Erasmus students are well organised, for example they organise board game nights, parties, hikes and sightseeing tours around Olomouc, themed evenings, and of course there is no shortage of beer at these events😋. 

As far as studying abroad goes, there is plenty of choice of courses in English, because in addition to the standard courses (you have them alongside Czech students), there are also courses organised just for Erasmus students - which are of course easier to pass (you didn't hear that from me). So in Olomouc you have a genuine Erasmus experience in one place, and also a touch of history and Czech culture.

Why I applied for Erasmus... First of all, because it's a great opportunity to travel and explore new countries for free😏 - you get an Erasmus scholarship, which can certainly cover all your expenses if you're not a big spender, but it's true that the amount of the scholarship varies from country to country.... 

The other thing is to improve my English, as I don't use any at my college at the moment and I feel it would be a shame to forget the foreign language I've been learning basicly for 9 years😅.... 

The third thing is that you get higher grades in your courses abroad (which no Erasmus student will say, but it is one of the main reasons why students go on exchange - this is true for most courses, but sometimes there can be more difficult courses than the ones you had at home, but they are the exception)... 

The fourth thing is of course that in the Czech Republic there is cheap and above all very good beer, so I suppose that after the end of the exchange I will become a little beer expert😆

That's all for now, but in my next post I'll tell you what life is like in a dormitory with Erasmus students (i.e. whether it's true that Erasmus students never sleep, or that we stay in our rooms and don't go out except when we have to - food and lectures). To find out more about it, see you in my next post.

Rozali