STORIES

It was a dream-like experience, I really lived in Europe for five months, experiencing the culture, scenery and customs of different countries, it was a very valuable learning opportunity. I also faced a lot of challenges, in life, in study or in human interaction. However, all the students, teachers, administrators and even strangers I met abroad were very kind and friendly, and gave me a lot of help. This experience has greatly improved both my personality development and my ability to practice life! The experience is over, but I’ll always miss this trip.

Chuhan Yu
Faculty of Arts

I wanted to go abroad and see the world. I didn’t have that plan at the time, it was just that my school happened to have a related program, so I joined it, and I didn’t expect Maribor to give me a big shock.

The biggest challenge I faced during the exchange was English and cooking. I thought I could learn English pretty well, but when I really went to a foreign country, I realized that my English level was very lacking. In the beginning, I could hardly understand the lessons and could only guess what the teacher was teaching. But after a few months of training, I was able to familiarize myself with it. Another challenge was the food. The food abroad is not as cheap as in China, so I had to find ways to cook for myself. But before that, I actually had no experience in cooking. Since I didn’t know how to cook, but I wanted to learn on my own, I just ate the rice I made myself, but it was all raw. After eating raw for a few meals and getting scared, I learned to cook naturally. Both the local exchange students and the exchange teachers were very friendly. They answered all the questions patiently and always had a good laugh. The local culture is also very free, so you can go wherever you want in any direction, and of course, you can stay where you are and enjoy the quiet time.

The Erasmus experience meant for me an experiment and a challenge and a freedom to step outside of my old world. I am grateful for this experience.

Xiancheng Chen
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Faced with a new environment, people from a different country, a different language, and new challenges and learning opportunities in my life in Slovenia, a country full of warmth and love. I was lucky that I didn’t have major difficulties during the adaptation phase. Slovenian classmates, teachers and people I met were warm and friendly to me. Step by step I got in touch with a new environment, a new way of learning and made friends from different countries. I really like the local culture and way of life, it’s easy and comfortable. If I have another chance, I really want to come back to Maribor, this warm little city.

The Erasmus experience has been invaluable in my life. I was exposed to a completely different culture and made friends thousands of miles away, which helped and inspired me later in life.

Yan Wang
Faculty of Health Sciences

Students from: China
Period of exchange: february 2024 – july 2024