Turjanica Katalin – III. évfolyam, angol nyelv és irodalom szak
Hello, my name is Turianytsia Kateryna, I am a student of Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education. This year I was given an opportunity to spend my Erasmus+ internship at Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania in Târgu Mureș. I gladly accepted this offer because it has been a dream of mine to experience studying in a foreign institution. Moreover, my best friend Karolina agreed to participate in the program together with me, which was great.
At first we both were very worried, since we thought it would be very hard to be got accepted to the university, and the biggest fear of ours was that only one of us would get an opportunity to study abroad. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case and we were both successfully accepted by the institution.
The preparation period was a long and hard process, getting all the necessary documents together with the visa caused a lot of trouble and complication, which is why we ended up starting our Erasmus+ internship much later than expected. However, despite all the difficulties it was definitely worth it.
Leaving my home institution was a bit sad, I had to leave my friends and roommates for a whole semester, but they were all very happy and excited for me, when it was time to leave the country. My parents, especially my grandmother, were very worried about me, since I have never lived away from home for so long. It was uneasy for me to accept the fact that I will not be able to see them for such a long time, but I knew it had to be done, because I would get one of the most valuable experiences in my life.
My Erasmus+ mobility period started on March 9th 2023. After a long and exhausting travel I was warmly welcomed by the staff and students at Sapientia EMTE. Our curator Veres Monika is a nice and friendly person, during the stay she helped us countless times, both with the things we needed for studying and with some trivial matters like ordering something online or asking about the public transport options in the city.
On our first day of staying in Târgu Mureș my friend and me got a bunch of presents from the university, like a backpack, a T-shirt, a cup and a small notebook with some pens. That was a heartwarming surprise, I really felt as if I became part of the big Sapientia family. We also met the teachers of the faculty, looked through the building and were shown other places in the campus by our curator and two of our classmates.
Me and my friend were living in a spacious room on the first floor of the dormitory, it was very comfortable and clean when we just arrived and it was a pleasure to spend 3,5 months living there. We were provided with most of the things that we needed for living.
At first I was very anxious, since my knowledge of Hungarian could get some upgrade, however everyone tried to help me by either speaking in English, or using hand gestures and other forms of communication in order to talk to me. I tried to speak Hungarian with others to the best of my ability, and I feel like I upgraded my language level to some extent.
Talking about the actual studying process I absolutely loved it. It was very different from what I am used to at my home institution. Not only I was exposed to a whole another field such as interpreting, I also got to experience different methods of learning during the stay. For me, absolutely unparalleled was an opportunity to practice translation together with teachers Barabás Blanka, Dr. Fazakas Noémi and Dr. Biró Enikő. Being totally new to interpreting, I did not know any of the details or important things to remember while translating, but the teachers helped me gain an immense amount of knowledge concerning the topic, for what I am very grateful. Their classes were always very entertaining, I got to interpret various texts and videos into Ukrainian orally, to translate articles, instructions, legal documents into Hungarian, or even compare and criticize various translations of the same text. This experience was definitely something exceptional, I discovered a lot of things about myself and the profession, which I hope will give me more carrier opportunities in the future.
The other wonderful courses I got to experience were English Language Structure and American Culture and Civilization with Dr. Imre Attila and Dr. Nagy Imola. Despite being one of the hardest subjects during my Erasmus+ period, I still enjoyed them a lot. I had to practice grammar from a point of view of professional entrepreneur and experience a totally different approach of learning the material than previously studied at my home institution. Both of the teachers were very friendly to us, Dr. Nagy Imola even invited us to visit a museum together with our classmates, which helped us to get closer to others and make some great friends. American Culture and Civilization was one of the most interesting subjects in my opinion, the teacher always prepared some interesting videos for us to watch, his presentations were very informative and the way he was explaining the material was very interesting as well.
The last two courses of this semester were German Language with Dr. Kommer Alois and Intercultural Communication with Dr. Fazakas Noémi. I enjoyed both of them a lot, since they were very unchallenging. I got to practice my German speaking, writing, reading and listening skills and I definitely improved in some areas. The other subject was one of the most unique ones, since our main task was to watch movies and series and discuss them afterwards in class, highlighting main points and themes. Together with my group we prepared a presentation about a popular show “Emily in Paris”, where we talked about differences of French and American cultures.
Apart from studying, we also got the chance to experience the beauty of the city. We tried to explore it to the best of our abilities, and I enjoyed it a lot. The center is amazing, blooming with various flowers and filled with varieties of cozy cafés and restaurants where we would eat whenever we decided to go out. It is also very easy to travel from different points in the city, since the buses are available at any hour during the day. On one of the buses we even found “Slava Ukraini” (Glory to Ukraine) written on the chair, which was very unexpected, but heartwarming. My friend and me took a lot of pictures of the city, when we visited the Târgu Mureș Fortress or the Theatre Square. People in the city are nice, they speak multiple languages which made it easier for us as tourists. I also enjoyed shopping in the big malls like Shopping City and Mures Mall. The staff is welcoming and always ready to help you to find whatever you need.
In general, I think my Erasmus+ experience was a success, I gained a lot of knowledge and got an insight into a totally different culture and mentality of people. I am sure, that Erasmus+ internship is my key into future carrier possibilities, perhaps in other European countries. I am very grateful to everyone who helped me and supported me on this journey.
