Erasmus

....It's one thing to talk about it, but an other to experience it....


What is Erasmus?

It’s when you meet a bunch of strangers from around the world and you end up partying, drinking, flirting, dancing, studying, and sharing your dreams with them.

What is Erasmus for me?

Its 4 months in a frozen city called Umea, north of Sweden.
It’s planning my night out in front of a table of French food.
It’s cooking dinner with my neighbor Lea.
It’s Marcus, the Swedish neighbor, “begging” me to stay up all night to watch crappy TV shows.
Its dancing alone and especially sober in the dance floor.
It’s lying drunk in the snow.
It’s fighting in the snow.
It’s waking up at noon being already dark outside.
It’s staying up all night because of a trip to St. Petersburg at 5 am.
It’s studying for a re-exam and missing one and only party, The PARTY.
It’s watching a Swedish film with no English subs while staying at a wooden hostel in the middle of the forest.
It’s traveling for 10 hours with the bus from Stockholm “home” with nothing to eat because I had no money.
It’s visiting Stockholm and St. Petersburg and having practically no money to spend because I had spent all of them just for the trip.
It’s watching a bad movie to the smallest movie theatre ever while Ed is sleeping next to me.
It’s “inventing” a product and making a presentation for the first time in front of an international class.
It’s the best and cheapest cakes I’ve ever eaten.
It’s International Lightning, our football team that was always losing to other Swedish teams.
It’s watching Goonies with ice-cream, chips, pizza, chocolate cookies and some nerds friends.
It’s coming back and knowing that a friend is waiting for you somewhere in the world.
It’s coming back and being one of the people that now “know”.
Its Lea, Pelagie, Charlotte, Guillomme, Ed, Sebastian, Jesse, Kt, Max, Rob, Kathleen, Nadia, Sarah, Matt, Erin, Nina, Emmy, Pierre, Herve, Benn, Rouven, Benedict, Allesandro, Alvaro, David, Alberto, Eduardo, Elisa, Dries, Michael, Tyler, Lars, Michel, Nelly, Uli, Nadine, Bjorn, Julia, Alexis, Lindsey, Justin, Thomas, James, Adrian, Audrey…

It’s everyone and everything that made that specific autumn in Sweden the best of my life.


-Αυτό το κείμενο το έγραψα πριν λίγους μήνες για τα 20 χρόνια του Erasmus. Ένα μικρό δείγμα από τις εμπειρίες μου εκεί.Είναι στα αγγλικά επειδή έτσι έπρεπε. Υπόσχομαι όμως ένα σχετικό post σε λίγο καιρό με τις αγαπημένες μου στιγμές.