E-mail: imkeee@live.nl
Study Program: Bachelor Psychology
Exchange semester: Spring 2014
Academic year:
2013-2014
Host University: University of Padova
Country: Italy
I General information about the school
Padova is like actually every Italian city really beautiful. It is a quite small city, just a little bit
bigger than Tilburg, but way more beautiful. It has got three main squares where the
buildings are amazing. You can find some faculties in the citycentre, but a lot of faculties are
located outside of the citycentre, next to the river. I studied Psychology and that was located
next to the river and I loved it. There were places where you could sit next to the river and
have a nice coffee. The faculties next to the river look a bit like a real campus. There is also
a big mensa where you can have a really good lunch or dinner. For 5,70 you get three
courses and drinks you can refill and the food is really good. During summer suddenly little
bars appear at the riverside and everyone gathers there. Also in the citycentre there are a lot
of nice bars at the squares to have a nice drink and enjoy the beautiful city. With your ESN
membercard you get a lot of discounts in the city, like a spritz for 2 euros at St.Clemente.
That is a bar you will visit a lot being an exchange student. There are also three main discos
in town: Factory, Fishmarket and Bimbo. They are located ten minutes from the squares. As
an exchange student you will visit Fishmarket and Factory a lot. During summer, Factory will
close and open a summerclub. Factory simply opens the roof and you can dance till the sun
comes up. For eating you can go anywhere, since Italian food is always good and always
better than Dutch food.
Interesting things to see and do in town are visiting the Scrovegni Chapel, where you can
see nice frescos of Giotto. You have to make an appointment to visit the Chapel, but it is
worth it if you are interested in art. You can also visit Palazzo Ragione and see the wonderful
building from the inside. The church of St. Antonio was my favourite church in Padova. Huge
and beautifully painted from the inside with a lot of little chapels. One faculty of the University
is located in Palazzo del Bo where also the International Office is located in. You can do a
guided tour in this palazzo and see the anatomical theatre that Galileo Galilei invented.
The university does not have a sports centre, so that is quite different than Tilburg. I always
went running alongside the river and enjoyed the view of the nice buildings in town. The guys
(and ofcourse girls can do that to) always got together to play soccer. They even had a
tournament and played soccer every week at least once.
So not having a sports centre is a thing where the University of Padova differs from Tilburg.
Also there is not one complete campus, but a sort of campus with a river dividing it and some
faculties in the city centre.The university has got 16 canteens you can find across town. So
there will always be one near to your house, different than Tilburg, which only has got one
big university restaurant and several canteens. Every restaurant had a different menu and
differed also in quality (I loved it all). I loved the campus being next to the river and enjoy a
drink while watching over the water. There was also a bridge with a nice arcade over it which
you had to go underneath before coming to the university. Every morning I was so happy that
I could walk underneath it, it was really beautiful.
The University of Padova has got 65000 students with 12000 graduating each year. The
University was founded in 1222 and has a very good reputation in Italy. It has a Botanical
Garden, which is the oldest university garden in the world to have retained its original
location and layout over the centuries. With your university of Padova card you can enter the
Garden for free. There are a few hundred exchange students every semester and if you join
ESN you will have a great time with all of them. There is a semester system and you have an
exam and a few resits a year.The grading system is a lot different than Tilburgs grading
system. They count with 30 points. 18 points is passed and you can even get a 10+, a 30 e
lode. It is not that hard to get a 10, sometimes even really easy for Erasmusstudents. Also, if
you are not satisfied with your grade, you can always ask for an oral exam to pimp up your
grade.
II Practical Information
Information before you left
Before I left, I received a few emails from the university with my username and password for
Uniweb, Padovas Blackboardsystem. On the University website in the International area you
can find a lot of information for incoming students about which forms to fill in and what to do
before you leave your own country and come to Italy. University of Padova has got 14
residence halls where you can subscribe for. There is one deadline per semester, so make
sure to apply on time if you are interested! There is one residence hall that is located outside
of the city centre, it is the Colombo residence. I first was offered a room here, but I declined it
and found another room for myself on Facebook. ESN makes every semester a
facebookpage for incoming students, so make sure to check that page if you are looking for a
room and other information. Other students are really helpful. In the residences you are not
allowed to have people staying over for the night or stay longer than 11 o’clock in the
evening. On www.sassa.org you can find all the information about subscribing for the
residences and there are pictures of the residences on it. The only difficulty that I had was
that I did not receive the Acceptance Letter way in advance. I only got it a week before I left
Tilburg and I really had to email very often. But I hear that this is quite normal if you are going
on an exchange and especially everyone I spoke in Padova about this problem, recognized it
and also had to emailed often to receive it.
Arrival
When I arrived in Italy, there was no one to pick me up. University does not take care of that,
so you are on your own. That is fine I think, but different in Tilburg where exchange students
get picked up at the station and are being brought to University. I had to find out everything
myself at the University, but that is not that hard. Everyone also gets a buddy if you
subscribe for the buddy system, but I have never met my buddy, because I found out
everything myself. They have to help you, because they get paid for it, so be sure to contact
them when you have any questions. The SASSA office, International Office and Student
Secretary were really well prepared for my arrival. I got a lot of papers to carry with me from
office to office, but all with useful information. Italian people are really helpful and also at
University they will always try to help you. One let down was that the Welcome day was a
week (or maybe two) after the start of the classes, so that was not really helpful or
welcoming. In Italy there is a lot of bureaucracy, so get used to that. You have to take
numbers for everything and always wait in lines. You have to go and get a codice fiscal, so
you can sign a contract for your room. SASSA or your buddy will explain you where to go.
Orientation/Introduction activities
ESN, the student association in Padova is very active and they also organize a Welcome
Week for the incoming students. That consists of partying and also a citytour. They organize
a lot of activities during the semester, like trips to other parts of Italy and they are usually
really affordable. It is a must to join ESN in Padova, every exchange student is a member
and you get a lot of discounts. You also meet a lot of people during the activities and that is
why you are abroad!
Housing
Like mentioned before, you can subscribe for housing of University in one of the residences.
You can always decline them if you do not like the one you are getting. Be careful, in Italy it
is normal to share a room with one or two other persons. That is different than at home, so if
you do not like it, make sure to get a single room. You can find housing easily on different
housing websites and especially really easy on the incoming exchange students
facebookpage which ESN makes every year. Also use this page to get tips where to find
housing or to get answers on questions about location or to find a bike, because you will
really need a bike in Padova. It is like Tilburg: everyone gets around on their bicycle! I did not
hear any problems about the residence halls, except that they do not allow visitors over
night. But no bad stories about contracts or not getting back deposits. It is also not a problem
to decline your room, you just have to send them an email that you are declining your room.
SASSA will always ask you to send them your home address so they can reach you, even
when you do not sign up for the residences, you have to do it. University wants to know your
address, for if there would be any problems and SASSA is connected with University. They
will also give you the useful papers.
Living costs
While being abroad I financed my exchange period with the grant we get from the
government (studiefinanciering), my Erasmusgrant, the money you get to compensate for the
not using of your Student public transport card and personal savings. My expenses abroad
were a lot bigger than in Tilburg and most of the money I used for trips and going out for a
drink or bite. I would really advice you to save enough money so that you do not have to
think about every euro you spend. That would really be a shame if you had to do that on
Erasmus, because in my opinion you should not say no to anything. Go on a lot of trips and
always join to have dinner somewhere or having drinks if someone asks you. You will really
regret it if you had to say ‘no’ a lot because of lacking money.
Monthly budget:
-
Housing: €289 + €25 for bills
Food: €300
Transport: Bicycle: €40 for 5 months
Books: €20 for two readers, rest is learning from powerpoint slides
-
Miscellaneous:
o Drinks: at least €6 a day, since you will go for Aperol Spritz every day.
Academic Calender
I arrived on Wednesday and the welcome week would start on Sunday. I really liked this so
that I could take care of all the bureaucracy stuff before I had to start the introduction. On
facebook some people made an event to have drinks on Friday and 60 people showed up at
least. On Saturday we went via another facebook event to Venice and so I knew a lot of
people before the Welcome week started. The welcome week was organized by ESN
Padova and consisted mostly of partying and city tour. I would really recommend to go earlier
than the Welcome week starts, because everyone was there earlier and knew some people
already. Also I think the Welcome week is not at all comparable to the Topweek in Tilburg.
The Topweek is really intense and you participate in a group. In Padova it is just doing stuff
in the evening and not in groups. But I did not mind because I got to know a lot of new
people and on Sunday before the first Welcome party I was already having dinner at
someone’s place with friends. The first day of the Semester was the second day of the
welcome week and I had to start my classes immediately. I had to find out everything myself,
but I managed and so did the rest. Do not worry, it will all be alright. It is easier to manage it
on your own than you would think before. It is a semestersystem and there is no mid-term
break, at least not while studying Psychology. Some other studies did have midterms. The
last day of classes was a week before my finals. Some courses offered us to do the finals
earlier than that week, so that you would not have everything in once. I grabbed that
opportunity so that I spread my finals over two weeks. The examination period was pretty
intense for me, because in Tilburg I do not have a semester system and never four exams in
a few days, so I did not know what to expect, but most exams were pretty easy. I think that
the level of most courses are lower than the level of courses in Tilburg. Also the
studymaterial is less than the material in Tilburg. I studied for some exams only one night
and an evening and got a ten, so that is motivating! So actually, in my experience, you only
spent two weeks in total of studying and then have a lot of weeks of only fun.
The international office
You can find the International Office in Palazzo del Bo. It is a really old and very nice building
located in the middle of the city centre. You can even do a guided tour in it. During opening
hours there is of course always someone who speaks English, because that can sometimes
be a problem in Italy. But if you start in Italian to ask if someone can speak English, they are
always trying to help you out. The International office helped me during my arrival and also
when I had to send my changed learning agreement. There is one woman responsible for the
incoming students and when you contact her personally, the chances are not that high that
she will respond to you, since she has hundreds of exchange students. You can better email
the international office or the Erasmus exchange coordinator of your faculty. Also every
exchange student gets a personal exchange coordinator, but I only had to go see her when I
needed her to sign my changed learning Agreement. At the end of your stay, you have to go
past the International Office to hand in some forms and get the Transcript of Records send to
you. To be really honest, I always got a bit lost in Palazzo del Bo, but that is really not a
punishment, since it is a beautiful building and I only had to be at the Office three times. I am
satisfied with the information and help I got at the International Office. Everytime I came by,
they were well prepared for the students to help.
Exchange promotion
During my exchange period I had to promote Tilburg University. I asked a lot of people if they
knew Tilburg and they almost never did. But I invited a lot of people to come over and
explore the city. I also knew that Tilburg has got a big I*ESN section and since this was a
very active organization in Padova I promoted Tilburg by telling about our ESN and that the
city is quite similar to Padova (only not as beautiful!) and that it is great to study in.
Social activities
As I told before, there is a very active ESN section in Padova. They organize at least once a
week an activity for members. I think as an exchange student you have to be a member of
ESN. Everyone I knew was a member and could join the activities and trips ESN organized.
In Padova there are a lot of exchange students, but almost half of them are Spanish. They
always get together in Spanish groups and usually you do not get to know them, or at least
not a lot of them. But the rest of the exchange students are always very active in participating
in ESN activities so you will get to know a lot of people or at least everyone by face at the
end of your stay. I think that I was very lucky that the World Championships took place during
my exchange. Every exchange student got together for every match at two different places in
the city and that was really good for bonding with a lot of people. At the end of my stay I
knew almost everyone. I loved this thing about Padova, I loved that it was not that big and
that if I cycled through the city to go to classes, that I would run into at least two familiar
faces and say hi. I did not have much contact with local students, since I did all my courses
in English and in my classes there were most of the times only exchange students. I
personally liked that a lot. But I got to know two Italian students very well and I even visited
one of them in Napoli for a week and stayed in that Italian family. I really enjoyed doing that,
so I got to know how things are going in a typical Italian family (and also I loved it when la
mama cooked). Besides Napoli, which I travelled to with friends, I also went to Rome for a
few days. And with ESN we made a trip to Tuscany, to visit Pisa, Firenze and Siena. ESN
organized a lot of trips, daytrips and weekend or week trips. They went on a trip to Croatia,
but unfortunately I had visitors coming over that week. During my stay in Italy I travelled to all
the places around Padova, like lake Garda, Vicenza, Bologna and of course I have been
often to Venice. Venice is only 25 minutes by train and local traintrips are very cheap in Italy
compared to the Netherlands. The train company also has got great deals if you book in
advance. For example, I booked my traintickets to Rome 5 weeks in advance and only had to
pay €9 one way. Normally those tickets cost you €75, so always check is they have
SuperEconomy tickets! They are not promoting them, but if you know where to find them,
they are the cheapest way to travel. Italy is a lot bigger than the Netherlands, so when I went
to Napoli I took the plane. During my exchange period I also went to Madrid, to visit a friend
there that was doing Erasmus too. I loved Madrid, but I was glad when I was back in Padova
again. I loved living there and I was glad I did not go to Madrid or to Budapest, which was
actually my first choice. Padova really suited me very well. I made a lot of day trips and
some weekend trips, but I now wished that I did even more trips. I still have not seen half of
Italy, sometimes because of visitors coming over. Make sure you save some money to go on
a lot of trips, because if you do not, you will regret it. Fortunately, Italy is not that far away
and I am afraid that I will spend a lot of summers in Italy. The country got me hooked and I
can not wait to go back for a few days to Padova.
Culture and language
I did not experience a real culture shock while being in Italy. Yes, the culture is different, but
it is not shockingly different. It is different in a very good way. The Italians are more relaxed
than the Dutch people and they do not rush all the time. They walk slowly, are used to be
patient and wait a little bit longer than what we are used to here in the Netherlands. I had to
get used to waiting. Before I went to Italy I was not patient at all, I hated waiting. Now I am
more relaxed and it is okay if I have to wait a little longer than I wanted to. In Italy no one
cares if the cashier in the supermarket keeps on talking to someone in front of the line.
Everyone just waits till the conversation is over and till it is their turn. In the Netherlands
people would start to complain, that they do not get paid for talking but for working. Italians
really do not care. The bureaucracy in Italy is way worse than it is in the Netherlands. You
have to get a number everywhere and stand in line a lot. Even to pay your bills for electricity
and stuff you have to go to an office and pay in person. I thought that was very strange. You
see the relaxed atmosphere everywhere: they have long lunch breaks and have wine with it.
Or go after work for an aperitivo before going home for dinner. You saw that when the
weather got better, the life outside the houses started. People everywhere having a drink and
a little bite. They really enjoy live more than here. In the Netherlands you go home after
school or work and have dinner and watch TV. I never watched TV or went home straight
after classes. Always an aperitivo if the weather allowed it or just walk around in town to
enjoy the city. No hurry, no rush. Just relax. I started walking more slowly, I cycle more
slowly and am not stressed out that much anymore. That is what I really like about the Italian
culture. Okay, I have to admit that I was annoyed in the beginning about the slow movements
and talking cashiers, just because I was not used to it. One thing I did not expect was that
the Italian people are so friendly and helpful. If you are walking around with your city map in
the beginning, there were always people who asked you if they could help you. Italian people
are also very open, maybe a little bit less than the Dutch people, but definitely open. I did not
speak the language well and unfortunately a lot of Italian people do not speak English well.
But they will always try to help you, especially when you try to speak in Italian. Just ask in
Italian if they speak English and they will always be a little bit more helpful and friendly than if
you start speaking English immediately without trying it in Italian. At the university I only did
courses taught in English. The English of most lecturers was okay, not great and definitely
not perfect, but really better than most Italians. Even a lot of Italian students had a lot of
problems with English, so there were not a lot of Italian students in my classes. Most of them
were Erasmus. I followed an Italian course in the beginning of my exchange period, but I did
not finish it, because it was really early in the morning after going out. Not a good excuse, but
I just could not do it. In Tilburg I did an A1 level course and I really wanted to do the A2 in
Tilburg too, before I left for Italy. But they only teach that course the second semester, so
please pay attention if you want to do it! I could not start earlier with my Italian language
course, because I did not know earlier that I was going to Italy, so try to start as early as
possible. I was also too late to subscribe for the Intensive Language Course that Erasmus
offers, so check the deadline if you are interested! I have learned some Italian to get around
in restaurants, bars, supermarkets and asking directions. I also spend a week in an Italian
family in Napoli and I noticed that I could understand a lot. If you listen to it for five months,
you understand quite a lot so do not worry about that. You will survive. I think I learned a lot
about the Italian culture and also the staying in Napoli helped with that. I saw that Italian guys
are real mamaboys, his mom was calling him every hour and she really took care of us with
cooking and cleaning. We were not allowed to do anything. Italians are really caring and
sweet people. As told before, I went to Madrid during my exchange. I find the Spanish people
different than the Italians. Italians are really more helpful and open. The culture itself, like the
relaxed atmosphere is quite the same as in Italy, but I prefer Italians over Spanish. One other
thing that I thought was different in Italy, is that Italian people are always talking on the phone
if they are walking alone. I was not used to calling people, I always used whatsapp or
textmessages, but Italians really like to really talk to a person over a phone, not to text. Also
the driving style in Italy was a lot different than at home. A lot of cars were damaged, so that
says enough I think..
Personal development
I have been home for a month now and I miss Padova every day. I miss the city, the
atmosphere and mostly all the people I have met. I have met a lot of people from all around
the world and I became friends with people I would never approached at home. That sounds
strange, but I made friends who I first thought would not be my type of people. I never
expected to have such a strong bond with people I only knew for five months. They became
my family. I saw them every day and we did everything together. If you do not see people for
two days on Erasmus, that feels like ages. And now I have not seen them for a month and I
miss them so much. I think Erasmus changed me. I am even more open than I was and I am
better in talking to people I have never met before. Being on Erasmus is so different than
travelling, you are really living in another country for a few months. I am really having a
posterasmusdepression right now and everything seems boring at home. That is why I joined
I*ESN Tilburg mentor after returning from Italy to stay in the international environment and
guide exchange students during their best months ever. I really can say, though it is maybe a
cliché, that I had the best months of my life on exchange. I enjoyed every day and I do not
regret anything. Maybe that I stayed a few evenings at home during the first two months. I
would not do anything different if I could choose. I would definitely go for Padova again. The
only thing I would do different is maybe go on trips even more. But I can always go to Italy to
go on a holiday. I fell in love with the country, so it was the best decision ever. It was not my
first choice to go to Padova, my first choice was Budapest, but the exchange coordinator
thought that Italy would fit me better. And she could not have been more right. I loved it and I
would like to thank her so much for sending me to Italy. I never heard of Padova before I saw
it in the list of exchange destinations. There also had been only one girl from Tilburg, so I did
not have a lot of people to ask for more information. She told me she had the best time, so
that made me more excited and I hope that this report will make you excited to go to Padova
too! It is such a nice city and there are so many things to do and bars to go to. I was
surprised how quickly you form a group around you when you arrive on your destination. It
was so easy to get to know people, because everyone wants to know people. Most of the
people do not know anyone in the city (like me) and so they have to go out and make contact
with others. I was so surprised that after three days I was having dinner with a group at
someone’s place and even more surprised that at the end of my exchange period we were
still with the same group. Of course we got to know a lot of people outside of that group too,
but you will always have a base group where you can rely on. What I have learned from the
people that I have met, is that some cultures are different, but the people are actually the
same. The people that were my closest friends in Padova, were from a lot of different
countries, but they would definitely be my friends in the Netherlands too, if they would live
here. I will never forget my exchange period, it was so good. I did not have any negative
experiences, only good memories. I would give everything to do it once again, because it
was so awesome. The most important lesson I have learned about myself is that I can do it
on my own. I think I grew more mature while being on exchange. It gave a kick to go abroad
on your own, not knowing anyone and get around in a unfamiliar country. I now know I can
handle it and also that I can be on my own somewhere, that I can learn a language, build up
a social life and also can enjoy it. I am a different person now and unfortunately that affected
my relationship. I had a boyfriend for five years and all went well, but when I came home I
noticed that I had changed a lot. Erasmus can be killing for your relationship, I saw it all
around me. But I also know that it is still totally worth going, even if it can be the end for your
relationship. I regret nothing, I had the best time of my life and I would do it all again if I
could.
III Academic Information
Academic level at a host university
The university offers courses in Italian and English. My courses were all in English, because
my Italian was really not sufficient to do courses in Italian. I took courses from the Masters
degree, since all the bachelor degree courses were being taught in Italian. This meant that I
could not use my courses for my bachelor diploma, so all my courses were just extra
courses. I did courses that sounded interesting and also courses that sounded easy, since I
only needed the credits and not the grades. I would really recommend the course
Anthropology applied to Psychology. I enjoyed this a lot, since we do not have it in Tilburg, at
least not in the direction of Health Psychology. It was also an easy course, so you do
something you think is interesting and you get your credits easily. I think for a lot of courses
the academic level is lower than the level in Tilburg. I only had one course that challenged
me. The material to study is less than in Tilburg, so also the workload is less. The Italians
were in the library all day to study the material and I did not do anything till the finals were
coming, so I think it is harder in Tilburg than in Padova. In Italy, Padova is a very good
university, also for Psychology. So it is really not bad to study Psychology in Padova, it has
one of the best faculties of the country. Also the teachers know where they are talking about,
but sometimes their knowledge of the English language was not sufficient to tell their story
how they would have liked it. So sometimes it stayed a bit vague, because of language
barriers. I only had lectures, but since we were usually with only 10-15 students, they could
be very interactive. There was a nice atmosphere in the small groups, so that it was okay to
ask a lot of questions or to discuss some topics. Some teachers wanted to be more
‘international oriented’ and since we apparently have a lot of interactive classes ( I have not
got a lot of them in Tilburg) they wanted to do that too. So, we had to give some
presentations about journal articles or read a paper and discuss about that. It was not bad
and you got extra credits for participating in extra assignments, like the presentations.
The relationship between lecturers and students is quite formal, but they are really
accessible. You can always email when you have a question or when the computersystem is
not working for registrations. Some of them can be pretty strict and do not want to help
Erasmusstudents more than Italian students, but I only had one of them who was like this.
The other lecturers were really helpful. You had some deadlines to register for exams and to
register for the registrations of the grades and you really had to do the registrations before
the deadline, if you are Erasmus or not. Sometimes they are also quite slowly in emailing you
back, but then you should just go by their office. In my opinion, 4 of my 5 lecturers were
really helpful and really nice. I am satisfied with my academic achievements abroad. Two of
my courses I actually already had in Tilburg, while these in Italy were actually master degree
courses and the two I had in Tilburg were first year bachelor introduction courses. The other
two, Anthropology and Neuropsychology of Aging, were new for me and I learned a lot of
new stuff. I only needed the credits and I managed to get all 24 of them, so I am satisfied.
(too bad the grades do not count for my bachelor diploma, because they were very high).
Exams
In Italy it is quite common to do oral exams, but I only had written exams. Two exams
consisted of multiple choice questions, one was multiple choice questions mixed with open
questions and one exam consisted only of open questions. If you are not satisfied with your
grade, you can do it like the Italian students: just ask during the registration of your grade if
you can do an oral exam for a better grade. This oral exam is during registration and I
thought it was weird, because I was used to get a grade and if you are not satisfied, you
have to do a resit and study better next time.
Other
To access the library of your faculty, you have to fill in a form at the desk at the entrance.
Then you will get an username and a password, so you have an account to use the
computers. Compared to Tilburg, they did not have a lot of computers. If you want to print out
papers, you had to go to two computer rooms and there were only 20 computers in total.
These are never all occupied, so you do not have to worry that there will not be one free if
you need to print something. You get 100 free pages to print, so that is really nice. Every
faculty has got their own library I guess, since the Psychology faculty had their own. You also
have a lot of study areas spread over town where you can study in silence. They do not have
got computers, so you have to bring your own if you need one. I liked studying in one of the
aulas and I did not mind bringing my own computer, I always do that in Tilburg too.
Description of Courses
Course
M1C
Neuropsychology of
Aging
Prerequisites
None
Exam
Written
ECTS
6
Comments
Extra credits for doing
presentation, multiple
choice
M3 Experimental
economics:
Decision making,
Altruism,
Cooperation and
Competition
None
Written
6
Open questions
None
Written
6
You have to
participate in
experiments, multiple
choice
None
Written
6
M1C Laboratory in
Experimental
Psychology
M3 Anthropology
applied to
Psychology
Midterm, open and
multiple choice
questions
Tips for the future students
The question is: would you recommend an exchange period? The answer is: absolutely!!! It
is really the best period of your life! You learn a lot about yourself and you meet the best
people ever. It is so much fun to live somewhere abroad for a while and do that together with
awesome people. I have a delay of one year now, because of going abroad, but it is so
definitely worth it. I was afraid and crying a little bit when I left home to go away for five
months, but I cried way more when I had to return home again. I had the most amazing time
and I really wish that I could do it all again. I would not change anything, not the city, not the
activities I did. I would only try to enjoy it even more than I already did and go on more trips
to see the most beautiful country ever. I loved it all, was never homesick (only when I broke
the watertap in the bathroom and did not know what to do, only moment I wanted to go
home, but just for five minutes). Really, believe me, if you have got the opportunity to go and
spend some months abroad: GO GO GO!! Do not worry about the money, it is all worth it. Do
not worry about the study delay, totally absolutely worth it! This is an experience I will be
thinking of with a smile for many many years and I will always be talking about it. I would
definitely recommend my host university. The location is awesome and the education is
good. The staff is helpful and kind, even if you do not speak any word Italian. But if you are
thinking about going to Italy, just start early with your language courses, you can do two for
free at the university and also one for free at the University of Padova. So after three
courses, you can speak Italian quite well!! I wish that I had done two courses of Italian before
I left home, but it just was not possible and it is such a beautiful language, so I regret that I
still do not speak it well. If you are thinking: but Padova is so small, I have never heard of this
city before! Contact me and I will convince you that it is the best place where you can go. It
has got it all: beautiful buildings, a nice atmosphere, nice modern bars, also a lot of authentic
Italian places. Good restaurants, the best pizzerias and a lot of student bars! Also going out
is a lot of fun, because there will be always a lot of Erasmus people around you (and
Erasmus parties are craaaazy). Also the ESN association in Padova is really active and will
help you with everything and take you on a lot of trips. Another tip; if you are already
convinced that you want to go: start getting used to Spritz Aperol (I am sorry, I know I should
not advertise drinking alcohol, but let’s face it: you are going to drink a lot of alcohol while
being abroad, so better get used to the local drink).
This is the end of my report about my experiences in Padova, do not hesitate to contact me!