“Living abroad” Forum

Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Iya OLS Community Manager -
Number of replies: 22

 
Hello everyone,


Welcome to the Living Abroad forum! 

Going on a mobility program is an incredibly enriching and exciting experience.  

What makes the OLS English community unique is that our participants don’t necessarily go to anglophone countries for their mobility programs! Many of you are doing your mobility program in countries in which English is not the official language, but perhaps your course of study or your internship is in English. How cool that with the most common modern-day lingua franca in the world, you can have your mobility experience in nearly any country!

This forum is the place where you look for answers, inspiration and of course new OLS friends. So, let’s all share a bit about our living abroad plans with the community!  

To kick things off, I will share first: 

Hello, friends! My name is Iya. I am originally from Brooklyn, New York in the United States and - being the eternal globe trekker that I am - I’ve visited many countries as an explorer and long-term volunteer. I spent a total of 15 months volunteering in several countries throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. One of my favorite experiences was as a volunteer in a very small community in Germany on the border of The Netherlands. I learned how to lay a stone floor using traditional Dutch methods with sand and repurposed cobblestones. I was so proud of myself and the finished product! :D


 

Now it's your turn to share!

Where are you from? And where are you going to go with your mobility program? Are you looking forward to moving? Or if you have already moved, share the best thing about where you live.
 

Looking forward to hearing your stories!

Iya, OLS Community Manager – English 

 

In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Maria Rouces -

Hello everybody! My name is María and I love to travel. I did interrail two years ago with EU help. Now in february I´m going to stay 5 months in Istambul with Erasmus. I want to practise English because I´m going to do the moviity on that that languaje, but also want to learn a little of turkuish (if someone has a link of a turkish basic course please send:)). Looking forward to sharing this adventure with you and reading your stories! 

María

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In reply to Maria Rouces

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Iya OLS Community Manager -
Welcome, Maria!!

It’s a pleasure to have you in the English community. :D

What’s great about OLS is that you can improve your English and also learn Turkish all on the same platform!

To get started discovering all that’s on offer in the English community, click here. There, you will get a general overview of the English community and all the resources available to you.

For Turkish, please explore this link and you're welcome to join the Turkish community here.

If you're curious to see what other languages we have in OLS, you can find information at this link. With OLS, we can help you become a multilinguist!

Speaking of Interrail, did you know that we have a video contest to win a 300€ gift card that could be used for an Interrail pass? Gather all information and details here. You can enter the contest by practicing a bit of Turkish or English in your video! The deadline is 4 February 2024 at midnight.

I am here to help and answer any questions, so don't hesitate to reach out!

Iya, OLS Community Manager - English
In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Maria Rouces -
Thak you so much! I will tell about that Interrail contest to my friends and join the Turkish and English community:)
In reply to Maria Rouces

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Iya OLS Community Manager -
You’re very welcome, Maria!

Thank you for passing on the contest details to your friends in mobility who are also registered on the OLS platform. :D

Happy first day of 2024!
In reply to Maria Rouces

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Azhar Mahmood -
Hi Everybody and Lya , Community Manager , My name is Mahmood, moving to Belgium from Portugal in September under ERASMUS mobility program , Other then English currently I am  learning Portuguese language , also interested to learn French , So whats your advice should I continue Portuguese right now or also learn french during Mobility time which is 9 months
In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Sarah Broering -
Hello everyone,
My name is Sarah and I'm originally coming from Germany but I'm living in Sydney in Australia since January. I was and still are most excited to get to know the aussi culture more. For example at the end of April I was able to learn how the game "two-up" works and why it is only allowed to be played on ANZAC-Day. The next big adventure I am heading to will be the short trip to Uluru -a big bucket list point of mine. By short I mean the time as I am just staying for 4 days, and not the distance, which I'm always underestimate in this massive country! The distance from Sydney to Yulara would be approximate 2819 km by car and 2180 km flight distance! That's 3.5 times driving across Germany (north to south)!

Sarah
In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Mafalda Mantas -
Hey! My name is Mafalda and this will be my first time living abroad. My mom is an english and german teacher so I grew up knowing different languages and curious about different countries. I'm moving to Prague for 3 months next week! Very excited with the all experience. Looking for an advance English course or Beginner in Czech can you link it please :))
 
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In reply to Mafalda Mantas

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Marieke OLS Community Manager -
Dear Mafalda! Thank you for introducing yourself to the community. Our most advanced course in English in our B1 course that you can find here: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/my-english-course-b2

And we definitely have a beginners course in Czech! You can find the link here: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/my-czech-course-a1

My colleague Martin is the community manager of the Czech community :-) You can introduce yourself to the Czech community and do practise exercises here: https://academy.europa.eu/mod/forum/view.php?id=11792
In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Emma Marti Puig -
Hi everyone , My name is Emma and I'm from Catalonia , Spain . I'm going to Latvia , so far away!
I'm so exited to moving , that's my first time traveling!
The best thing about Catalonia is Sant Jordi , a celebration on 23 of april , it's like St Valentines day but very very exiting for the people that live here.
In reply to Emma Marti Puig

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Vita OLS Community manager -
Hi, Emma! So excited to see you coming to Latvia, I'm the Latvian community manager. Feel free to join the Latvian community to get to know the country and language more. You can join the community here: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/latvian-learning-community-and-resources/view/ Vita, OLS Community manager - Latvian
In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Marina Rodriguez -
Hi everyone! I am Marina and I am a Spanish student who's going to Dublin for 3 months to volunteer in a pharmacy. I have already been to a foreign country (USA specifically) so this would be my second time living abroad. I can't wait to experience St. Patrick's day and all the other cool places and activities!!
In reply to Marina Rodriguez

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Marieke OLS Community Manager -

Dear Marina Rodriguez! What a beautiful idea to volunteer in a pharmacy! Dublin is such a lively and culturally rich city, so I'm sure you'll enjoy your time there!

Did you know we also have an Irish community here on OLS? If you're keen to learn a few words in Irish and connect with others who are going to Ireland, you can visit the community via this link. My colleague Caoimhe, the Irish community manager, will welcome you there!

In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Ri: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Noemi Ferrara -
Hello! My name is Noemi, I am an Italian student and this will be my first time travelling alone. I'm going to Malta for 1 month. I am very happy about it!!
In reply to Noemi Ferrara

Re: Ri: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Sandra Estela Moreno Fernández -
Hi everyone! My name is Sandra, I'm Spanish but I've been living in other countries for quite a few time, and now I'm doing an Erasmus+ Internship in Belgium! I will be until July here, anyone around?
In reply to Sandra Estela Moreno Fernández

Re: Ri: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Marieke OLS Community Manager -
Hi Sandra, welcome to the community! Where are you doing your internship in Belgium? You may find others who are also in Belgium in either our Dutch community or French community, dependent on where you are in Belgium :-)
In reply to Marieke OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Sandra Estela Moreno Fernández -

Thank you! I'm in a wildlife rescue center in Oostende, in Flanders, so I think the Dutch community will fit better for me. However, I saw it is a bit quiet... That's a pity. In this area there are no universities, but even though there is a surprisingly high number of associations that host ESCs volunteers, so the vibe of the town is lively.If someone is here and would like to meet other Erasmus students, feel free to contact!

In reply to Noemi Ferrara

Re: Ri: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Marieke OLS Community Manager -
Dear Noemi Ferrara, that does sound very exciting to travel alone for the first time! :-) Malta is supposed to be a very beautiful island! Hope you have a fantastic time there!

Did you know that we also have a Maltese (language) community here on OLS? You can visit it here. My colleague Kris, the Maltese community manager, will welcome you there :-)
In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Neela Rauch -
Hi everyone, my name is Neela. I'm living in Germany and will spend my Erasmus+ internship on Malta in September (3 weeks). I'm really excited already, because it'll be my first time travelling alone.
In reply to Iya OLS Community Manager

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Eline Sodenkamp -
Hello, everyone. My name is Eline and I'm from The Netherlands. I'm going to Norway for 5 months for my Erasmus exchange. I'm curious to see how living on my own will be, but I'm also a bit nervous about it. My plan is to improve my English skills (mainly speaking) along the way and also learn a bit of Norwegian. Is there also a beginner course for Norwegian and/or and Norwegian community I could join? And does anyone have tips how to improve my English speaking skills?
In reply to Eline Sodenkamp

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Marieke OLS Community Manager -
Welcome to the community Eline!

We definitely have a Norwegian community on OLS :-) You can join that community here: https://academy.europa.eu/local/euacademy/pages/course/community-overview.php?title=norwegian-learning-community-and-resource

And as for English speaking tips, I can highly recommend that you join our upcoming community speaking session on the 24th of September!

I also know that our courses are starting to incorporate more speaking exercises as well. So maybe you can check out a OLS course at your level. I will leave the links to the courses below:

A1: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/my-english-course-a1
A2: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/my-english-course-a2
B1: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/my-english-course-B1
B2: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/my-english-course-B2

Hope this helps! And if you have any further questions, feel free to let me know :-)

Warmly,

Marieke, OLS Community Manager - English
In reply to Eline Sodenkamp

Re: Where Are You Going On Mobility With Erasmus+ or ESC?

by Hannah OLS Community Manager -
Hello, Eline! Welcome to the OLS platform. You can find the Norwegian community including A1 and A2 courses here: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/norwegian-learning-community-and-resource/view/

Best,
Hannah, OLS Community Manager - Norwegian