Lara-Lorelai-Maria BALAZS - 2nd year, American Studies MA, 2024-2025

Throughout my life, I've always heard that opportunities don't just come to you on a silver platter; you need to reach out and seize them yourself. After participating in two Erasmus+ Mobilities, I can confirm that this is absolutely true. Going on an Erasmus+ Mobility is more than just an opportunity. It's a leap of faith, a test of courage, and a life-changing experience. When I left for my first mobility in 2022, I had many doubts. Starting life - even for just six months or a year - in a completely new country is not easy. At first glance, it can seem quite challenging, especially when you arrive in the North of Italy, in the heart of Turin, an international city rich in history and filled with stunning architecture. However, I took a deep breath and stepped boldly into this new world. This year, I did it again. I fell in love with Italy and Turin: the culture, the history, the beauty of this society drew me back. So, in September of 2024, I embarked once again on this adventure. But this time, I was excited. Not overwhelmed, doubtful, or scared. It's the feeling that you get when you experience something for the first time, it completely changes your identity and it becomes your new passion.

Turin has become a second home for me, and it could very well be my permanent home in the future. With its breathtaking historical background, narrow streets that lead to unexpected places, and the best coffee I've ever tasted - after all, Lavazza hails from Turin - it's easy to see why I am drawn to this city. But there's something beyond all this that attracts me, it's the unique charm that Turin possesses that captivates me. The memories that I created here will be forever carved in my heart. From my first experiences to the kind people I have met and the lasting relationships I have built, my time here has been invaluable. Being a student at the University of Turin provided me with more than just a deep understanding of the educational system. It opened doors for me to explore new things and study a variety of subjects, including Film Studies, Postcolonial Literature, Digital Humanities and, of course, Italian language courses. I never expected to have the chance to learn how to create my own blog, which turned into a beautiful project. Because of this mobility, I also started writing, especially poetry. And let me tell you, I had so much inspiration all around me. My blog focused on the writing routines of one of the most famous female American writers, which made the experience even more fulfilling.

The Italian language might seem easy due to its similarities with Romanian, but its grammar can be just as challenging. This time, I attended an intermediate course that focused heavily on grammar, which was quite a challenge. However, I believe that the language courses offered during Erasmus mobilities provide one of the best opportunities to meet new people from around the world. I cannot describe what made me fall in love, but it was a click that completely changed me, my perspective and my life. This transformation would never have happened if I hadn't taken the jump when the opportunity showed itself. These kinds of opportunities are the ones that change us as humans, they enrich our lives and sometimes make us find the courage and confidence to step outside our comfort zone. Il mio consiglio: non smettere mai di provare cose nuove. Non sai mai dove ti porta la vita. (My advice: never stop trying new things. You never know where life takes you.)

To throw myself at 22 years of age into the third-largest city in Germany – where you truly feel that life here is on an unceasing run – is, by far, the craziest, yet bravest thing I have ever done. Like Alice in Wonderland, I stepped, timidly and reservedly at first, into this adventure. It was a rollercoaster of overwhelming feelings: from exhilaration and waves of joyful laughter to immense fears, self-doubt, and scenarios. ‘What if I mess things up?’ ‘Will I be able to meet the expectations here?’ Yet, my Erasmus experience as a whole has taught me what I never thought it would: to live in the present (no matter how cliché it might sound), to fully immerse myself in whatever is happening in my life at this very moment – good or bad.

The place where I lived throughout my Erasmus mobility is a village (the former Olympic Village), which now belongs entirely to the students in Munich. The colorful Olydorf, my home for more than four months, gave me a sense of belonging. The place was mostly inhabited by students from all over the world, mostly from Asia, the Middle East, Argentina, Costa Rica, Spain, Italy, and France (not so much from Romania). Still, I felt at home there, perhaps because I was among people with whom I shared the frightening, restless feeling of missing the ‘familiarity’ of a place, people who were, somehow, looking for the feeling of a ‘home’ far away from home.

Being a student at the Amerika-Institut LMU is a dream come true which, realistically, I did not fully grasp until I came here. The MA program I am currently enrolled in has brought me limitless opportunities and thorough knowledge of the American culture, history, and arts – with all its major branches – literature, painting, film, photography. I have been honored to learn from some of the best professors in Munich and to benefit from all the activities organized by the Institute. Among the many Erasmus memories I have made here, I believe the most poignant experience will forever remain the evening when, guided by our seminar professor, Sophia Hörl, my colleagues and I watched - at the Marstall Theater - the play Blues in Schwarz Weiss, with a text adaptation after May Ayim’s work. The power of the play’s message and the emotional discussions we had with our Professor following the artistic act were at the same time impactful and inspirational.

In the History and Memory class – meant to offer a comparative perspective between the United States and Germany, bringing students from the University of Georgia at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich –, Dr. Andreas Etges organized a guided visit to the Jewish Museum, Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, and Nuremberg. We have learned how important it is to preserve the memory of horrific events from the history of a nation and how fragile democracy can be, as well as to compare the history of Germany, deeply affected by the Second World War and the horrors of Holocaust, with the history of the United States and thus analyze issues such as slavery, the Civil War and racism in the context of preserving and remembering difficult pasts.

Munich offers tremendously many cultural and social possibilities, from historical landmarks, remarkable art exhibitions, and overwhelmingly emotional plays or operettas to music festivals, outdoor and indoor parties, concerts of various musical genres, from rock or pop to folk, alternative/indie, or electronic music. I enjoyed all this within the framework of the Erasmus program, which makes me encourage any student to apply for this grant. Erasmus ranks highly among the (many) truly exciting parts of studying in the American Studies MA program at WUT.