NVSU students from the Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, Victoria Lazareva and Maria Kalashnikova, have recently returned from Southern Denmark, where they were studying at the University College of South Denmark under Erasmus academic mobility program. Here they are sharing their impressions of the visit.

The girls say they really enjoy teaching and always wanted to study abroad. This was a great opportunity, and they took it with pleasure. When searching for a mobility program, they got interested in the list of courses offered for future teachers by the University College of South Denmark. Maria Kalashnikova admits that even though she is majoring in linguistics, she has always been attracted to teaching and wanted to try herself in that.

When the students first arrived in Haderslev, they were very surprised to see a small town with little private houses, as they had expected to see tall modern buildings and active city life. By contrast, there were not so many people in the streets, and very few cars as well. As it turned out later, the Danes are very homely people and prefer spending time at home with their families. So, the whole atmosphere of Haderslev is very peaceful and quiet, which, as Victoria says, is very important, since nothing distracts you from studying.

This was a new country and a new culture, so everything was new and interesting. What surprised Maria and Victoria most was the relationship between students and teachers. Maria and Victoria noticed that the atmosphere in class was quite different from one in Russian universities. The Danish students could call the teachers by their first names, joke with them and talk in a simple, easy-going way, which seemed quite common for Denmark.

NVSU students had very few difficulties in adapting to a foreign environment. They really liked the citizens of Haderslev. Everybody was very friendly and helpful. At first, the girls had to learn how to navigate in the city and how to plan student budget, since the prices in Denmark are quite high due to the taxes. Another thing was living in a student dorm. Maria admits that it was new to her to live in a place with a shared kitchen, but she got used to it after a couple of days.

They made a lot of friends during the time the spent in Haderslev. Most of new friends were students of Erasmus program, particularly from Denmark, Norway and Belgium. The girls were very glad to meet new people and they still keep contact through social networks and hope to see their friends again.

Speaking of the student life in college, it was never boring. Maria and Victoria took part in social events, and helped other students. For example, they helped to organize a barbecue party with games for other students coming for a short visit and showed them around.

The university teachers were always friendly and supportive. They were ready to help if they noticed that the students felt uncomfortable or if they had some difficulties at the dorm.

After visiting Denmark and taking part in a foreign exchange program, Maria and Victoria would like to wish perspective international students to be determined and active in doing things they dream of. The most important thing is to not to be afraid and make a shot in different mobility programs, since it is great opportunity to travel, meet new people and make friends, learn other cultures and improve your language skills, and simply have fun!