It has been a while... Since our last update many things happened;Cohort 2014-2016 can now officially call itself EMTM Alumni, Cohort 2015-2017 is looking forward with bright eyes to gain professional experience and unravel the facinating world of tourism, and we must welcome our Cohort 2016-2018 who is now maturing its bond of friendship and eagerly waits to reunite in Ljubljana to kick off the second semester. Our EMTM family grows on and on and on, until even Trump can't ignore us any longer.
As an introduction to the newly born EMTM cohort, our friend Lauren - Canadian with Hong Kongese and Japanese roots- wrote a short reflection on the start of her EMTM experience in Denmark. You can also folow her blog 'Travel & Muse': https://travelandmuse.com/ Almost 5 months ago, I arrived at Copenhagen airport, sleepy-eyed and jet-lagged from a long flight from Vancouver. I didn’t know a lot about my classmates at that point, but our brief exchanges on Facebook showed me that they’re keen travelers, curious about cultures, and open-minded. Iceland from Lauren Chan on Vimeo.
Lauren and her EMTM classmates during fall break in Iceland
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Starting the journey without knowing how life would be in the end... the diversity of many nationalities together creates a bond of a big family.
Another EMTM story from generation 2013-15, Anna, our Russian friend shared her 2 year journey from Kolding travelled a bit down to Ljubljana and ended up in Girona last September. But wait...its not really the end because you will always find a family wherever you go...
Why EMTM? I tell you...
I always make random decisions, it’s kinda my thing. EMTM was one of them. I had half a year left of my Bachelor in wonderland called Finland and was searching for another adventure which will postpone working life as a true grown up for couple of years. I kept applying to programs in the UK but, if I may say so, something went wrong and I spontaneously ended up on EMTM webpage and applied couple of hours before the deadline. Surprisingly, the acceptance letter came two weeks later and it was the happiest day! I didn’t realize at that point what a hell of a ride it would be and how lucky I was. Not even 2 months left together. Generation 2014-16 is now getting quite emotional as everyone will be leaving soon to different part of the world for their thesis. It is the time that every second counts, every group hug is worth more than before. Brandy, our sweet Vietnamese friend, shared her EMTM experience from the very beginning in Denmark, how life cannot be expected, till now where we are so closed to each other and how EMTM has changed her life forever... .......Before leaving for Denmark to start our first semester, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s like having cold feet before knowing that your dream is coming true. The dream that you have waited for so long to realize, and at that moment you start asking yourself “Am I ready for this?” I have always thought I am quite socially awkward, and the fact that there would be so many of us from all over the world frightened me a bit. We had created a facebook page EMTM 2014-2016 before, and by some initial stalking I could know these 32 people with awesome stories, diverse backgrounds and amazing profiles. Yes I had some intercultural experience, but being together with 32 people for 2 years is really something different. “What if I cannot fit in?” “What if I am not good enough?” “What if I am not cool enough?” “What if…”
Integration is a hot topic, but how easy is it to integrate when you need to move every six months to a new country, with its own system, a different language and new values?
When we move in our first semester to Kolding, the cultural boundaries are in particular difficult to cross, as the Danish society seems quite cold and closed to foreigners, but the Danes are actually quite the opposit; warm human beings that want to create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The Danes call this: 'Hygge'.
Janelby, a New Yorker with roots in the Dominican Republic from generation 2015-17, made a video about Hygge in Kolding by showing you her favorite place called the 'Soul Cafe'. You can follow Janelby on fearlessleon.com, where she is the author of 'Coming from America'.
Let's go back in time.... Back to the year of 2010, an amazing year for EMTM and it's students who could for the first time call themselves EMTM Erasmus Mundus students. We tracked down their stories and pictures and hit on a curious blog. The students, just like us, felt like expressing their first time experiences with the weird Danish language, and provide us with some insights on the Danish culture.
EMTM is a two-year away-from-home experience. That unknown away-from-home place, in Kolding, Ljubljana, Girona and wherever EMTM takes you, becomes your new home. Sadly, this means also leaving people behind. Everyone who is reading this post right now has probably experienced this feeling in one way or the other. Tjasa, a Slovenian student, wrote a very personal piece on Erasmus Mundus and the meaning of friends. When I was first leaving my home country to join the EMTM circus, my group of friends was my life and meaning. We had the whole going-away-party extravaganza, with UNO tournament, presents and my awesome lasagna (I make a mean lasagna, by the way, just dropping that in). In the next few days, I was off to new adventures in Denmark – it wasn't my first time living abroad, but we weren't as close with the group as we were at the beginning of my EMTM.
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