After arriving in Slovenia a month ago, I have really started to get the hang of living and studying abroad. Even though Ljubljana is considered a small city compared to most European capitals, it is huge to me! I know my way around really well though with some help of the public transit app and kind people I meet on the street.
It has been very, very cold since I’ve been here compared to most Slovenian winters. Everyone keeps saying, “Oh, it’s going to warm up next week, and then you can really see Ljubljana.” It’s been several weeks and its still cold and snowy, but I have come to really love the city covered in snow. And I know all of the good places to go for hot chocolate and tea to warm you up after a very cold walk.
Before coming to Ljubljana I had this unspoken goal to visit every country in Europe. There was a part of me that knew that it was a really unrealistic goal, so I just never really vocalized it. However, it was always there. I figured out a completely realistic goal this week though.
I am going to make a friend from every country in Europe while I am here.
I didn’t really understand how common it was to do a do a semester exchange in Europe, but it really is. From what I understand, Europe has this program called Erasmus, and students from all over can apply for it and go. So there are A LOT of exchange students in Ljubljana this semester (someone told me there are 900)!
It makes it really easy to make friends because all of us are in a new place, alone. And to make it even better, there is a student organization that just organizes trips and events for exchange students. So far I have been to an international dinner, a city tour, skiing in the Alps, and this week I’m going to Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria! All of these opportunities lead to making a lot of amazing friends from just about everywhere. I have a great start so far: Slovakia, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Turkey, Iceland, Belgium, Finland, China, Argentina, Croatia, and of course Slovenia.
Here’s to setting achievable goals and meeting so many cool people.
(Picture of me and three friends at Lake Bled)
