Because it teaches you real connections

Making best friends on a deadline can be stressful when you are also going through the best growing experience of your life in Erasmus (and probably a little existential crisis). You start by wondering if you could ever find a little piece of home in this new place and end up crying on the balcony of a stranger who now means the world to you.

It's the magic of the moments and the whole life stories shared on fast forward. That's the specific type of shared chaos that strengthens everything: Google Maps failing, 2 a.m. conversations and random bus seat buddies. These people make the best out of our experience and if you look for lifelong connections, you will probably find them looking for you too.

Because it reveals the independent, brave self

Saying yes to this opportunity is the first step to long stories, great laughs and many life lessons learned the fun way. Leaving home and everything we know takes a different kind of courage.

These people might be there for a short period, but it’s enough to know that everyone we meet changes a part of us. All of a sudden, you realize it’s not about time, but about the presence and intensity you are able to give.

And maybe the hardest part is attaching to those people while you lose yourself a little in another country, language and time zone.

Because you see yourself for the first time

Erasmus teaches us risk-taking, and not only the emotional one. It’s about being imperfect, uncertain and scared, which pushes you to take the risk in the first place and find your people.

Cultural shocks and discomfort will show you how adaptable you really are. Outside familiar contexts, you meet a version of yourself that is more capable than you think.

By the time the six-month limit passes, you’ll find yourself attached to this new version of you.

Because of everything this world has to offer

People and feelings make the experiences, but the outer journey is often outstanding. Living in another place goes beyond traveling as a tourist.

It widens the world you knew before and suddenly everything feels less intimidating. The unfamiliar doesn’t stay unfamiliar for long.

At some point you might miss people who haven’t left yet. But we learn that attachment is about openness, not duration.