Rui Santos (Portugal)
Well, at first, I guess it is essential to mention the amazing experience that has been studying in a distant country as Hungary. I have to underline that it was not an easy challenge at first, because everything was new and different. Also, the hungarian language was quite hard for me to understand. Fortunally for me and my portuguese friend (the other Erasmus student, João), all the people in the Faculty were very welcoming and did everything they could to make us feel better, to make us feel at “home”. And for that, of course, me and João are very thankful. I should also say that I grew up a lot during my stay in Hungary, as an individual, as a future professional. There were a lot of things I improved, a lot of competences I acquired.
First of all, I can say that I’m more adult now, I have acquired more responsibility. Coming to Hungary was a really important step in my development as a personal, social and concerned human being.
Another important development I faced during my stay in Hungary is related to the public presentation of lectures. I can say that I won other type of baggage, because I knew myself as a shy person, and I hated to do public interventions, probably because I was not confident with myself and my own way of thinking. In the faculty in Hungary, I had the opportunity of making two public presentations about my country, and I felt positively surprised with myself, because I was able to perform quite well and confident in front of a big audience. That was really important for my future, because during my time there I used to say that “when I return to Portugal I will feel happy if I have to do work presentations to an audience”, and that really became true.
These were some of most important competences I acquired, but in my honest opinion one of the most important of them all was the improvement of my English knowledge. I am much more fluent in English that I was before, because to express myself I had to use the English language. And knowing well the most universal language there is in the world is really important for someone that wants to work outside his country.
All of these points I mentioned were only possible with the help, patience, comprehension and hospitality of the professors, staff and students of the faculty. All of them had a major role in my development and my happiness about my stay in Hungary.
Another thing is that I have to return to Hungary, because I have learned to love this country and its people. We will see in the future if it is possible, because if I have the opportunity of returning here, I will for sure.