Tag: Erasmus+

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Dos and don’ts in Uzbekistan

Before my English language practice I class I had never thought about the idea to write some tips for first-time visitors to my country Uzbekistan. It was pretty enjoyable to read some blogs on the internet and realize that we also could look very different to travelers. Uzbekistan is located in the heart of Asia and it is pretty hot there, so make sure that you can stand the heat if you are coming in summer.


First, what you need to do before coming is learn some common Uzbek or maybe Russian phrases. Many people in Uzbekistan do not speak English, so be ready to explain yourself by gestures. Regarding dress-codel, I read some comments from the article about Uzbekistan and made a conclusion that most people consider my country very conservative because it is a Muslim-majority country and you need to cover your shoulders and knees all the time. I would rather say no, it is not true. Younger individuals tend to dress in Western style and
rarely cover their heads unless they are entering a mosque to pray. Feel free to wear the clothes that you feel comfortable in.

If you are invited to an Uzbek home for supper, bring a little non-alcoholic gift for the host. And don’t forget to remove your shoes before entering any house. We never walk into a house with our shoes on, especially if our mother sees it.

The tradition of queuing is not developed in our country. Do not be offended or surprised if someone pushes you or does not let you go first. Since Uzbek culture is based on respect for elders, we always give way to them. In most European countries it is considered rude to give a seat to older people in public transport, they could be abused. In Uzbekistan, older people responsively accept help from the youth. Sometimes they could even be offended if you don’t give them a seat, they might think that you don’t respect them. It is also considered rude if you don’t greet them first.

In Uzbekistan, people drive a little carelessly. There appear to be a lot of screeching wheels, speeding, and sudden braking. Sometimes drivers don’t stop even if you are at the pedestrian crossing and get angry when you interrupt their path. And keep in mind that when the crossing changes from “walk” to “don’t walk,” automobiles will start driving before the signal turns green.

Men don’t usually greet women by shaking hands. It’s not aesthetic. But if a woman gives her hand to greet, you can shake her hand. We don’t usually start a conversation with strangers about the weather or whatever. But you can ask for help without any hesitation. If a stranger starts a conversation with you he/she probably wants to flirt with you. In this situation, you just can ignore them and they will stop. But it can be different in a situation when you are a tourist and especially if you a have different appearance such as blonde hair, blue eyes, and brown skin, anything that seems “exotic”. Uzbek people might even want to take a picture with you. So, yeah you might feel special there. Once you are in Uzbekistan the people may seem very different for you, but you will see that they are kind and hospitable.

Rahmat (Uzb.- thank you) for your reading and I hope it was interesting and maybe useful for you.

Your lovely Uzbek guide -Tamara

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Erasmus+ report from Porto

CITY OF OPPORT(O)UNITIES

You know when students come back from Erasmus full of impressions and acknowledge it was the best experience of their life? Well, we’ve only been on mobility for less than two months and we can agree that coming here is definitely one of our best decisions ever.

As for the university, the building itself does not reveal much from the outside, but the facilities it has are really diverse. For example, music courses are offered at the music faculty, which is new and contains very high-quality and modern equipment, just as art courses are taught in the atelier. Thus, students do not have to finance the materials needed for the lesson themselves. As was the case in Osijek until recently, the Faculty of Kinesiology is in the same building as basic education, which means that it has a large gym adequately equipped for various activities such as rollerblading, climbing, volleyball, basketball, tennis, cycling… and when the weather is good, as part of the lessons, we go skiing, hiking or surfing.

In class, notebooks and whiteboards are a thing of the past, work is done exclusively on laptops, tablets, or iPads, with a BYOD (bring your own device) policy.

The following are a few culture shocks we experienced, related to the university. The first and most impressive shock is definitely the “Praxe” culture. These are the students who dress in a different color every year, and in the last one (when they celebrate the end of college) they wear black, cover themselves with a blanket hey use as a cloak, and wear high-heeled shoes. What makes them different are the daily rituals they perform, so you can often see them lying down, yelling, doing squats, or smearing their faces with flour on the streets of Portugal. Sometimes these rituals are really extreme and cause fear in passers-by! Another cultural shock is the extraordinarily friendly relationship between students and professors – sometimes they kiss when entering the classrooms, they have lunch together in the canteen, during lectures both students and professors sometimes use bad words and it’s completely normal! Due to their maximal carefree behavior, we experienced that the professor did not show up for the exam without a single word of apology. Their mentality is such that they do not judge or pay attention to the clothes that the students or professors wear, nor is there any kind of dress code. Sometimes the college corridors are like a real fashion show. What disappointed us is that many young people do not understand a single word of English. In the beginning, it was really difficult for us because no one at the college could understand us or help us, not even the school staff. If the professors speak English during class, the other Portuguese students don’t understand what they are talking about, so a problem arises. Another disappointment is the food in the canteen – we realized that Slavonian meat is the best in the world, there is no such thing as good coffee in Portugal, cappuccino is milk with chocolate crumbs, no spice can beat Vegeta + we never want to eat rice again. Maybe the Portuguese people are so good-looking because they eat a lot of fish and olive oil, or maybe because they have P.E. twice a week for 2 and a half hours. Anyway, we’re enjoying it here, traveling, hanging out with people from all over the world and drinking really cheap booze! We are already afraid of the very thought of returning home and everything that awaits us.

P.S. the best thing of all is that we can miss English classes 10 times! 🙂

Written by:
Petra Mandić and Tihana Ristić, Module C, year 4

A relaxed professor in class
Enjoying the best coffee in Porto at the canteen (taste is equal to the worst Croatian coffee)
Praxe
Faculty building (FOOZOS building is honestly better)
There is no break from cycling, even when it rains
The queue for the canteen goes to infinity and beyond
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Erasmus+ report by Josipa Kuterovac

Recently I applied and participated in my first Erasmus+ project. It was an international training course called “WHAT THE… SOLIDARITY?” which took place in the small town of Tuchola in Poland. I went there with my best friend and sister. It was a week full of fun experiences, gaining knowledge and unforgettable adventures. I met really interesting people from other countries: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Latvia, Greece, Denmark, Turkey and Poland. The English language was our way of connection. The main goal of the project was to familiarize the participants with Erasmus+ opportunities in the implementation of youth projects related to the promotion of solidarity and the building of international relations.

In the course of the project we learned about the values of EU solidarity, but we also worked on creating our own projects. Besides that, we played simulation games and shared experiences with other participants. In addition, we created small “families”– support groups in which we did small tasks to promote solidarity and shared reflection of what we experienced. We also visited a local school, met the students and thus actively learned about solidarity and its importance in society. When the project finished, my sister, friend and me had the opportunity to explore some other cities in Poland for 2 days so we visited Gdansk and Poznan.

This project has helped me to broaden my knowledge, gain valuable experience and become more motivated to continue working with young people. I’m looking forward to some new projects and I encourage you all to also apply because you won’t regret it. For me, next time will probably be some youth exchange.

Written by:
Josipa Kuterevac, 4th-year student of teacher studies, module C