Помимо прочего я жила в невероятно красивом и сказочном городе Тимишоара, который находится на границе с Венгрией, что сказалось на архитектуре. Т.к. проезд на общественном транспорте и поездах для студентов в Румынии бесплатный, то после снятия карантина мы посетили большое количество городов страны с ее прекрасной природой Карпат.

Немаловажным плюсом является подтянутый английский. Несмотря на то, что с английским языком у меня хорошие отношения, говорить на языке до прилета в Бухарест я боялась, хотя с грамматикой и лексикой не было проблем. Благодаря студентам со всей Европы, кажется, я понимаю любой акцент. Теперь у меня есть друзья и приятели по всей Европе, а также сейчас не возникает проблем с поддержанием текущего уровня языка. Общение с гражданами другой страны всегда расширяет твое представление об этом государстве. Т.к. в программе участвуют студенты разных специальностей, у твоего кругозора не остается вариантов кроме как стать шире.

Немаловажным фактором является решение проблем и трудностей, с которыми ты сталкиваешься. В любом случае обучение за рубежом – это выход из зоны комфорта, что развивает в тебе еще больше самостоятельности. Академическая мобильность – бесценный опыт, который придает больше уверенности и пополняет копилку воспоминаний!

 - Erasmus+ in 2020 is the best thing that could happen to me this year. I am grateful to fate for the opportunity to study abroad. Before leaving for my studies, my thoughts were filled with lots of prejudices about Romania, which is why I thought not to agree to the program (besides, I applied for Erasmus+ in another country and did not pass). Fortunately, all my arguments were wrong. A wonderful university! The international department of the host university tried to solve all the issues that we had in a short time. The country is beautiful and the people are kind. This training helped me decide what to do next with  my life, and also gave me a lot of bright days and emotions.

- What did Erasmus+ training give you? Please name the positive aspects of the experience.

- Thanks to studying in Romania, I got acquainted with a different approach to teaching. In each subject, we did a large project, which our teachers monitored at all stages. I studied at the department of "Management in Production and Transportation", my disciplines taught me how to treat a person in an enterprise not only as a resource. For example, the discipline "Occupational Health and Safety" showed me that safety and economics at work are closely interrelated, and this is quite an important aspect. I have expanded not only economic, but also my managerial knowledge.

Among other things, I lived in the incredibly beautiful and fabulous city of Timisoara, which is located on the border with Hungary, which affected the architecture. Since travel by public transport and trains for students in Romania is free, after the quarantine ended, we visited a large number of cities in the country with its beautiful nature of the Carpathians.

An important advantage is a better English. Despite the fact that I have a good relationship with English, I was afraid to speak the language before arriving in Bucharest, although there were no problems with grammar and vocabulary. Thanks to students fr om all over Europe, I seem to understand any accent. Now I have friends and buddies all over Europe, and now there are no problems with maintaining the current level of the language. Communication with citizens of other countries always expands your understanding of this state. Since students of different specialties participate in the program, your horizons have no options but to become wider.

An important factor is the solution of the problems and difficulties that you face. In any case, studying abroad is a leaving your comfort zone, which makes you become even more independent. Academic mobility is an invaluable experience that gives you more confidence and fills your piggy bank of memories!

- Please list the difficulties you faced before, during, and after completing your academic mobility.

- Difficulties were only with documents during all periods of the mobility. In the beginning it was the application for a visa, then the change of LA (because there was a pandemic, I had to fix it online, and I did not receive any response for a long time, so it was unclear whether the Romanian international department changed my agreement or not), and after completing the mobility it was documents with an internship. The biggest difficulty was returning home, because no one could help me, and my family and I planed the routes ourselves .

- Did the host university provide you with a transfer fr om the airport/train station? Did anyone meet you when you arrived?

- The transfer was not provided, so I had to get there on my own (the university previously sent instructions on how to get there, where to find a taxi or bus). However, before arrival each student gets a person, who should help with various issues. They are the ones who meet many students.

- Where did you live? What were the conditions and cost of living?

- I lived in a dormitory at the university (Caminul 11C). The cost of the dormitory was 40 euros per month and the entry fee was about 10 euros. We had the best dormitory in Timisoara. In each room there were fridges, cable Internet and blinds, as well as the absence of any pests (cockroaches, bedbugs, mice). There were 2 people living in the room, there were two bathrooms on the floor, each of which had 3 toilets and 3 showers. Among other things, there was a shared kitchen on the floor with electric stoves, an oven and a microwave. Also, on each floor there were 2 washing machines and dryers, for which there was no need to pay for each use (the entry fee includes this opportunity).

- How was the grant paid (to a bank account opened in Russia or abroad/ in cash)?

- The grant was paid for a European account opened in Russia (used by Alfa-bank).

- How did your classes at the university (lectures/seminars/reports) take place? How did the certification take place at the end of the mobility?

- I went to university for exactly 2 weeks, then our classes went online. Every day I had 1 subject – 2 hours lecture and 2 hours seminar. Since all my subjects were with masters, we always studied after 3 p.m. When we switched to online learning, most of the teachers gave us projects that we had to present at the end of the semester, but there were also meetings at ZOOM, wh ere they controlled the process. The certification took place differently in each subject: it could be only a project, a test or an essay.

- How were students' leisure activities organized (excursions, field trips, meetings, etc.)?

 - The first week, which I was late for because of visa processing, was an introductory one. Representatives of the international department gave a city tour for students. Also in Timisoara there is an organization of students from different universities, which is engaged in creating leisure activities for incoming students. And during the first weeks of the semester, they organized various events: we studied more about the culture of Romania, went to the climbing center, various discos and SPA, and guys also managed to go to Serbia for 2 days. After the pandemic began, this organization gave us online classes about the cultures of all countries whose students were in this semester.

- Please describe briefly the visa processing. Wh ere did you apply? The main encountered difficulties when you processed documents. The final cost of visa processing.

- You can apply for Romanian visa in three cities of Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg and Rostov-on-Don. It was necessary to submit an application with all the documents through the E-visa website to apply (all links and instructions are on the Embassy's website). 4 days later, I received an email that I had to bring the original documents on the appointed date. I was at the Embassy for no more than 10 minutes, handed over my documents and paid visa fee, and then flew home. I was afraid that I would not have time to get a visa by the beginning of my semester, so I decided to buy tickets a week later, at the same time I asked to open the visa. However, I received an invitation to the Embassy 4 days later to pick up my visa. The most difficult thing when submitting documents was to get a Police Clearance Certificate on time (it is obligatory for submission of documents). The final cost of visa processing: visa fee (120 euros) + airfare (about 14,000 rubles for 2 round trips).

- What advice would you give to those students who will go to the Erasmus+ program next semester? 

- Do not be afraid of any difficulties, believe in yourself. Don't give up after rejections – if you didn't go to one country, you would certainly go to another! Get out of your comfort zone and communicate with a large number of students.