Dmytro Zlenko, «I have been an Erasmus student in Warsaw for six months. It was an unforgettable and very rewarding experience»

     To become a student of NUBiP means to get a lot of possibilities, one of which is education and training in leading foreign universities with which our university has appropriate cooperation agreements and issues double diplomas, as well as participation in various international programs. Dmytro Zlenko, a student of Institute of Forestry and Park Gardening tells us about one of them. It is Erasmus +.

     During the second semester of this academic year, I studied at Warsaw University of Life Sciences as a student of an exchange program Erasmus +. It was an unforgettable and very rewarding experience. First of all, it has expanded my outlook. I experienced new cultures because I studied together with students from many countries and realized how big our world is. 

     I must say, there is not such a notion as an academic group. We chose subjects from the list ourselves, so in each classroom there were different students. Classes differed too depending on a discipline. For example, we studied dendrology in class (watched presentations and took notes; we applied obtained knowledge at practical classes on University campus), and we discussed landscape architecture focusing on typical for this area types at one big table (at the beginning of the year we got a park plan of Warsaw and our goal was to improve it. We debated our ideas and sketches with groupmates and the teacher explained to us and gave the task for the next time). The subject Fruit of the world was unusual. In fact, this discipline aimed at studying exotic trees with edible fruit. I only wish we could taste them. Instead, the teacher showed a lot of presentations, photos and samples that he had collected while working in South America, the United States, China, Japan and other countries. 

     Another topic which is always informative is language. In the group, which brought together representatives from different countries (France, Greece, Croatia, India, Indonesia) one can learn many useful things. For example, to learn a linguistic situation in the country, what language is spoken, whether it is official, and what level of English is in the country. Before his trip I personally learned a few words in Chinese and when I met Chinese students, I surprised them saying "Hello . I love China! " in their own language. It's the same as for us, Ukrainians, to hear "Glory to Ukraine!" from an alien in a faraway country. It is nice and unexpected.

     It was interesting, though sometimes difficult to study everything in English. Sometimes I listen to the new material, I comprehend it. And when it is done I understand that I have already studied it. And it seems new only because it is presented in English. Sometimes it was difficult to capture the essence, because during the lecture I took notes and at the same time I wrote unknown words the meaning of which I needed to check. But soon I got used and did not pay attention to the language a lecturer spoke.

     So I am very thankful to the people who helped me to study as an exchange student, namely to the stuff of Educational and Scientific Centre for International Activity and Institute of Forestry and Park Gardening. After this semester I began to appreciate and love and native Kyiv and Ukraine more.

Iryna Bilous