The journey from ONE DAY To DAY 1

The journey started with applying for the scholarship with the hope of selection. I never thought that I would get this chance of a lifetime at the tender age of 21. The day I learned that I’d been selected for the Erasmus+ Scholarship at UPCT, Spain I was extremely elated. My parents were super proud of me and my family was happy. We started planning every minute thing on a to-do list for D-day which was on the 24^th of January. And I had My semester exams ending on the same day but my college had been very cooperative since the beginning and hence permitted me for re-examination. Taking the chance to once again be grateful to my institute and my professors whos made an effort to make it happen!

Fast forward to my arrival in the beautiful European country Spain which I’ll title ‘Mumbai se Madrid tak’.

Exploring the streets of the old town which has been gifted by the port I came to know that the city is famous for its naval history and architecture. The language exchange was one of the most rewarding aspects of the Erasmus program. The Erasmus Student Network organizes a program named ‘Broken Coffee’ every Wednesday which enables Language exchange and socialising. We have our Spanish language course twice every week and the teacher makes it more interesting to learn.

There is a huge difference right from the culture, to the technology adaptation. This exchange program has taught me one thing that will remain with me forever which is to be independent of your own emotions whether happiness or sorrow. The one who masters this, wins at life. The difference in academics that I noticed here is that student life is more peaceful than in India. Our teacher for the Spanish language course often gives us homework to visit beautiful places in the vicinity of nature which was surprising for me being an Indian. This Student Exchange program opened the door for me to opportunities on the professional frontier such as learning the Spanish stock market, doing a research project with an international professor, and learning a foreign language that is in demand. Every weekend a short trip or hiking activity is organised by the

Erasmus Student Network to keep student engagement intact. I met a lot of people who are either from Spain or foreign countries. And also got along with a few of them.

To be specific the city has an ancient Roman history and a vibrant culture. Talking about the culture till now I’ve seen the Carnaval de Cartagena which is celebrated as a transformation from ‘winter to spring’, where people dress up like any fictional character for the parade in the city centre which is filled with noises & colours. Cartagena lives within history and this can be seen in the archives of the Roman Museum. The city was named Carthago-Nova by the Romans during their reign.

In retrospect, I think that I would never regret being an Erasmus student. It will always be a stroke of serendipity for a person like me who is filled with curiosity and loves to explore without the fear of being lost or making mistakes. The journey has just started but I’m sure that I’ll emerge upon to be a more confident, optimistic, and independent, individual at the termination of the program.

Shweta Suresh Wagh

MMS 2023-25

VES Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.