Destination: “Erasmus” – Sofia, Bulgaria

14 май, 2012 20:35 | English, Висше образование | Няма коментари

E.D. is an Erasmus student from Belgium. He spends 5 months in Bulgaria, on Erasmus , studying civil engineering in UACEG. For Akademika.bg he shares some useful advices and thoughts on his experience called Destination: “Erasmus” – Sofia, Bulgaria.

Stop hesitating, just come to Bulgaria! A country full of possibilities, with a beautiful nature, cheap living standards, a nice culture and a lot of friendly people!

The university where I go to is the UACEG and I live in a dorm room in Studentski Grad, like most of the foreign students that are here on Erasmus.

About the dorms… they are neither clean, nor are they well-maintained. We don’t have a private or common kitchen or proper furniture, the beds and chairs are uncomfortable and likely to break down at any given moment. The single-glazed windows usually don’t have proper blinds, nor do they close really well and thus have multiple cracks through which a heat flow is very likely to be established in winter time. Therefore, it is advisable to tape the cracks or to fill them with old newspapers to try and reduce the heat losses. Some rooms do have proper heating systems for the winter, others don’t. My toaster, for example, produces more warmth than the heating system in my room. Also, I think there is not a single dorm room with a fungus-free bathroom.

However, the rooms do have a proper refrigerator, are provided with really hot water and the doors are usually well-secured with an additional iron gate.

It is unthinkable for me to share a room like that with two other people. Luckily, I had the opportunity to have the whole room for myself and so I pay the full amount. I was told that this normally isn’t the case and that you are obliged to share the room with at least one or two other persons. Two persons are okay, but three people in a room like that is pretty uncomfortable and not a good environment at all to study in.

The situation in Belgium is really different, the majority of the student rooms in Ghent, for example, are private properties and scattered all around the city. There are some student dormitory blocks of universities, but their quality is not at all comparable to the Bulgarian ones.

Since I am here for my final project (diplomna rabota), I believe it’s called in Bulgarian) and only two other courses I cant say if Bulgaria provides a proper education. My courses consist of private meetings with the professors in their rooms, because the courses are not normally provided in the English language. Hence, I have no idea if normal Bulgarian courses provide the students with an adequate education, but I suppose they do.

I study civil engineering – construction, and my final project is focused on the seismic design and resistance of buildings. So yes, I learn completely new things here, since we don’t have earthquakes in Belgium.

The nightlife in Sofia, and especially the Erasmus life here is simply one big party! Every night it is possible to find people to have a party with in student’s dorm rooms, in bars or clubs in Studentski Grad, as well as in the center!

The music is of course depending on your own personal taste and the places you go to. There is one thing all Erasmus students can agree on though, that it is impossible to enjoy chalga music without being absolutely drunk! 😀

Last, but definitely not least: the prizes of almost everything in Bulgaria are 50% lower than the Belgian ones, so they are really good! The fact is, however, that after a while I started adjusting myself to the Bulgarian prizes so that in the end I’m not saving any money because I’m consuming twice as much!

What shocked me at first place… the loads of snow the past winter; the street dogs; the gypsies; the non-stop supermarkets, flower shops and restaurants; the student dormitory blocks which resemble to psychiatric institutions or prisons with all the iron gate doors and graffiti; the low comfort of the dorm room and the absence of a kitchen; the Bulgarian way of driving a car and parking it wherever you like; the bad condition of the sidewalks, stairs and streets; the low prizes and the low living standards for the majority of the Bulgarian population; the expensive cars as a status symbol…

But despite of all the negative things I’ve been giving you my opinion about, I really love it here! I’m having a great time, meeting a lot of new and interesting people, making good friends, having loads of fun, basically enjoying the Erasmus life in every possible way!

Bulgaria really is an interesting country with many possibilities, interesting habits and a different way of living. The main goal of my Erasmus experience has long been fulfilled by having widened my view on the world and especially on Eastern Europe! Not for a single moment I have regretted leaving everything in Belgium behind and coming to Bulgaria for five months, I am really thankful for this amazing experience!

Author: Dimitar Vasilev