Preparation takes at least 9 months and the baby, the bureaucracy, never stops screaming for you.
Let me explain: Going abroad is fun. Everyone excitedly talks about their Erasmus semester and about the weird drunk nights they had while being abroad. Why does no one talk about the bureaucracy that comes before the drunk nights? Nobody talks about the sleepless nights of being unsure whether or not all the documents for your visa were right and if you are going to actually understand your courses in another language. For me it felt like what I imagine having a child would be like – as soon as you are in the other country, all fear about the paperwork vanishes comparable to the labour pain. The baby won’t shut up though as soon as it is born. Soon the baby will grow up to even more bureaucracy!
Coordinating your hopes and dreams for your year abroad with the guidelines of your home university while at the same time with those of the host university is a balancing act you will have to adapt to. But don’t worry, you are going to learn how to manage it. Coordinators are there to help you and most of the time they do. I, for example, am from Germany and study in Russia right now. Before I came here, I was extremely scared of the Russian bureaucracy. It basically consists of running from one office to another just to get one or two documents, which are determining your stay. In the end, my coordinators from both universities helped me massively and I didn’t actually have to go to a creepy old administrative office where old babushkis scream at you in Russian. All my paperwork has been done in the university and most of the people wanted to help me.
Don’t be shy and ask questions! That is the most important lesson I learned from this everlasting fight against documents and government forms. Ask or even annoy people so much so that they can’t ignore you any longer – someone will help you eventually. There is a solution – always. In the end, it is all worth it. The bureaucracy baby will grow into the time of your life with experiences that you will never forget – also, you learned how to fill out all the forms, nothing can shock you anymore. So, you finally learned for life in university.
That was me one year ago, at that time I had already studied in Russia for three months and wasn’t thinking about a pandemic at all. Now, in January 2021, I am on my way to Strasbourg in France. I got an internship at “arte” one month ago. The bureaucracy baby for the internship abroad grew way faster and bigger than the exchange semester baby – it was also almost entirely self-organised. I will use this blog to keep you updated about my internship in France while the regulations due to the Coronavirus get stricter. I am excited and – let’s be honest – I am a bit scared. As you know me, I will stay positive and keep you up to date!
Photo: me at my favourite beach in Saint Petersbourg, Russia