I was surprised to discover how many people from Western Europe come to Eastern Europe for their Erasmus exchange programme. Why do these students choose to spend their one semester or one year of studies away from their well – developed country and leave behind a settled education and professional system? What things attracted them to choose a country like Poland to find their luck?

I am doing my Erasmus in Warsaw (Poland) for one semester and I come from Latvia. For me an Eastern European country is not a big surprise and neither do I experience a so called cultural shock, because a lot of things are the same as in my home country. Sometimes when I am walking down the street I feel that I am back in Riga, although people around speak Polish, a language which is also no mystery to me.
That is why I decided to conduct a research among Erasmus students who are from Western European countries to understand why they are here, to see if  they have had some cultural shocks and if it is hard for them to get used to the different mentality of Polish people, etc.
For some reasons the students I talked to, think very positively about the two months they have already been here.  It does not seem that someone is unhappy or wants to go back to his or her country. Probably they have some problems, but it is no reason to give up on Poland – this is new experience of life and insight look for other nations and other culture.

Kate Smith , 22 (England, London) is doing her  Erasmus in Warsaw. She will stay here for one semester.
“When my friends heard the news that I was going to Poland for one semester, they were in shock. They could not understand why and what I was going to do here. The reason is that I am studying history and I am very attracted to Eastern Europe’s history during the First and Second World War. It is amazing what people had to live through, and that is also the reason how they live and think now – psychologically their mind is constructed differently than ours, because of what happened in the past.  Finally I would like to get to know the Polish culture and have some new experiences here!
British people are also slow and old fashioned. But in Poland people dress better and here you can get better food from the shop. In the UK the food you can buy in shops is usually not of very good quality.”

Leena Sololatva, 22 (Finland, Viitasaari) had to choose between a few countries and Poland turned out to be the only country she had never visited before.
“I am not in love with Poland. Everything is so complicated and everything takes such a long time and it's very frustrating! But it's not terrible; I could even live here, if I could just speak polish. I've met all kinds of people here. Some are very nice and some are very rude.  And if I compare Poland to Finland, I think Poland is a little bit too slow. And maybe a bit old fashioned in some things, but it is for sure cheaper.
And about studying - even though I work a lot here, I still think that I have much less to do than in my university. Actually I have to participate in class and the teacher even knows my name, it's scary!”

Jouliet Allein, 23 (France, Paris) chose to go to Poland because she likes Polish people.
“I met quite a lot of Polish students in France and I fell in love with their mentality and attitude. Last year I had already made up my mind that I wanted to go to Poland for a longer time, not just as a tourist for some days. I am not so interested in the country’s history, more in the Polish lifestyle. Everybody thinks that French people live bohemian style and that everything is surrounded by art and music. Anyway I still felt this strong Polish character in every of my new friends. Probably the reason is that my great-grandmother was Polish… I love Poland already now. I love the people even if they sometimes can be very impolite to foreigners, and I am doing my best to learn the language. “
Britta Ringer, 20 (Germany, Berlin) love the Polish language and wants to stay here for one more semester.
“I really fell in love with the Polish language. It is so complicated and full of exceptions. For some of my Erasmus friends it is totally impossible to learn and understand it. I enjoy trying to comprehend the difficult grammar. I could not say that people are very polite and helpful, but I am sure it is because of the Eastern European mentality… Usually polish people make a lot of jokes about German people and that we are everywhere, but it does not make them think badly about us.  I decided to go to Poland because it is close to my hometown Berlin, but at the same time it is so different. So I wanted to have this experience. Usually people want to go to countries like France, the UK and Sweden, but I am sure that I will not be sorry for this experience; at least at the moment I am not.”

Anna K. Thomas, 22  (USA) came to Poland because she feels her roots are here, since both of her parents are Polish.
“I chose Poland as my destination because I wanted to experience real student life and be independent from home, only relying on myself. Another important, albeit in a way embarrassing reason, is the financial side, because studying in Poland and the cost of living here is lower than in my home country. And lastly, I feel a need to do something, to change something, and being a globetrotter is a positive characteristic to mention on your résumé in this cosmopolitan society.

There is a tangible difference between my country and Poland. There is one big plus, I speak Polish so my culture shock is not that great. This sort of communistic umbrella of "kindness" still slaps me in the face every time I enter a shop or a bus, but I am slowly getting used to it. But on the other side, Polish people are extremely hospitable, and will give you their last drop of vodka or last piece of bread when you are in their home. I also extremely enjoy the quality of food, and the completely different cuisine than I am used to.”
It seems that people from Western Europe are not sorry for coming here. I also conducted a small poll, consisting of three “yes or no” questions:

1.Are you sorry about your choice to come to Poland on Erasmus?
2.Is it difficult to live here?
3.Do you think people are polite enough to foreigners?

250 Erasmus students at Warsaw’s University were asked.  To the first question 71 % (178 students) answered positively. To the second question 80% (200 students) answered positively. And to the third question 60% (150 students) answered negatively.
From my own experience, I can say that after two months I am not disappointed. But maybe I should still choose a Western European country to experience a cultural shock, otherwise there is almost no difference. Anyway, the Polish language, culture, people and beautiful cities around make it worth while to come here!