professionally interesting to me. Additionally, it would also be a plus if I could easily live in the country with just my English skills and if the country was in a good spot geographically. That is how I settled on Heilbronn Hochschule (or Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences). It is a university of applied sciences in a small town called Heilbronn in the south-west of Germany about an hour away from Stuttgart. This university had both the courses that would improve my technical skills and a great location right in the heart of Europe. What made it even easier for me to choose a German university is that I already had some basic knowledge of German from school and took a German language course during my second year at VAMK. From that point all I had to do was prepare all the documents, send in all the applications, take a language test, buy plane tickets and I was on my way to a new half-a-year long adventure. I expected the exchange experience to be exciting but in no way did I expect it to be as great as it turned out. Even with COVID-19 still being a big issue in Germany at the time, it did not stop my exchange semester from being the best experience I have ever had. Aside from doing my university courses and spending a lot of my time in the university laboratory, I had plenty of free time to meet new people. That semester has brought me so many new friends from different countries: Romania, Italy, Poland, Korea, Brazil, England, India, France, Germany and so on. Getting to study with international students (both when doing engineering courses and when learning German), go to student parties with them, travel with my new international friends, and just to hang out with people from all over the world opens so many new and exciting opportunities for everyone, breaks down our barriers and changes the way we see other cultures and countries. One of the goals that I was looking forward to during the exchange semester was to travel more. And thankfully I have achieved it. My friends and I not only have gone to other cities in Germany such as Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and Berlin, but we also travelled to the Czech Republic, to Portugal, to France and even to Sweden. All in all, the exchange semester is one of the greatest experiences of student life. Moving to a new country with its unfamiliar culture gives you an opportunity to explore the surroundings and while doing that also find some life-long friends to do it with. If there is one thing I would recommend each student to do while they are studying in the university it would be to go on exchange. The emotions you will experience are unforgettable and you will have a lifetime of stories to tell. So, what are you waiting for? Yana Dobretsova 31 Hello! I’m Ahmet, from Turkey! I would like to share some of my experiences about being an Erasmus student. I had never been abroad, and for that reason, it was a very exciting moment for me. Also, I had always wished to visit Finland, it is my favorite country. I had a lot of friends in Finland and all of them are amazing people, peaceful, tolerant, talented, and smart. If I talk about the education system in Finland, it seemed to be way different to what it is in Turkey. It was more flexible and I noticed that teachers use some teaching techniques that are forcing or engaging students to acquire information, making students more active in classes. In this country, it seemed to me that everything was standardized, like roads, sidewalks, and window types. It might be weird to say but even the student culture in Finland. I didn’t completely learn about this culture but it was unusual to encounter this kind of culture and I also found it to be very beneficial for every individual. Because students always try to socialize and attend parties. Every student was wearing a kind of suit resembling their university. On the suits, there were random funny patches which were cool. The bad thing that happened to me is when I arrived in Finland, there was a corona lockdown. For that reason, I couldn’t get a chance to socialize. But thankfully, I also attended these kinds of events and I started to get to know people. I was a member of the student union VAMOK, and I could get some benefits. I liked that I could go to the gym for an affordable price. I’m a bit sad that this kind of system is not available in Turkey. I would like to explain about Finnish saunas. Ihad never tried a sauna before when I came to Finland but now it is my favorite. It relaxes the body. In Turkey saunas are considered a luxury thing. It has a basic principle and it is definitely not a luxury thing.
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