I have such a distaste for English.
I don’t like to travel alone.
I don’t get around in big cities.
I’ve never taken a subway or tram before.
I’m afraid of loneliness abroad.
I have the feeling that student exchanges are aimed at young people eager to have fun.
These were my concerns when I heard that anyone opted for an Erasmus exchange program. Just to see if I'm right, I decided to take a quick German course in Vienna. Why Vienna? I don’t know. Maybe because of the sense of closeness.
I like to travel, but I haven’t gone anywhere alone yet. Do everything by myself… hmm, not the best feeling. Since I took the invitation to the course, the matter got serious. A colleague helped me find an appropriate language school and reserve accommodation. I arranged transport to Vienna last minute. I decided to travel by organised transportation of one of the Slovenian providers, which was an excellent solution since I was delivered literally to the apartment house door. I settled the bureaucratic matters and got accommodated. The receptionist escorted me to the apartment and introduced me to my two roommates. Although I have struggled with English since high school, the introductory evening passed fairly quickly. My room was in the apartment I shared with a Japanese and a Czech girl, experienced travellers who had no problem communicating.
After a rather poor sleep, I visited the ActiLingua language school. I have never been in such a big city; the subway and tram were something new for me. The first thought when I woke up that morning was how would I get to the language school, which was about 40 minutes away on foot. Okay, in the worst-case scenario, I can walk there. But why bother walking if I can take the tram and get there in about five minutes? I checked the timetable (which by the way is no science) and found that it’s scheduled every 5 minutes, you just have to get to the right station. I went to the first (logical) station, asked someone passing by and learned I was on the right track. Eh, piece of cake! Let me say that Vienna has fantastic public transport.
When I arrived at the right address, there were around 20 participants in the common area, arranged – according to our language knowledge – in appropriate groups. As soon as I registered for the course, I received a longer questionnaire (test) by email, which showed my language knowledge. I had an additional 10-minute oral exam on the spot. The courses are organised very well and the participants come from all over the world. We were exchanging experiences and learning other foreign languages during the breaks and after the course. It can be very interesting to listen to the stories people carry with them.
I soon realized that it wouldn’t work without speaking English (or German). The roommates were very understanding. We all came with the intention of improving our knowledge of German, so we agreed to speak the language (as far as we were able to) and use English as help. On Wednesday, I didn’t even think about the language I was using anymore. I discovered I was just preoccupied with the rules, while I communicated without difficulty. We all had our language courses in the afternoon, so we spent our mornings discovering Vienna. The subway gets you everywhere, the timetable is simple and the lines accurate. Really simple. With the help of the Japanese girl that had quite a lot of experience with this kind of transport, we managed to see quite a few sights of the city. We visited the city centre, the Schönbrunn Palace, Mozart's house, the church of St. Stephen, the ZOO and of course various restaurants with delicious food.
I have found that being young is not age-related, and fun can be interpreted in various ways. Student travel is intended for everyone; it offers a step away from everyday problems and a look outside to where time flows differently and where we can discover we are capable of more than we are willing to admit at home. I would definitely recommend it.
