Independence and adventure

Why did you choose Pécs?

Actually, I first made the decision to apply for the University of Pécs, and there are two options to study in a preparatory course, one is to study in Pécs in the ISC, and the other one is to study the preparatory course in China. As you might guess, I thought it was a much better choice to study in the environment where I am going to stay for the next 3 years and a half; it is a chance to get used to the Hungarian society as it might be for me in the future when I enter the university. Furthermore, I think to study a preparatory course abroad is a great chance to be more independent, and since most people around us are from different countries, it would force me to study English more often and use English to communicate more often. It would really benefit to our spoken English.

I visited almost all the museums during the course, and the ISC also arranged some English guided city tours for us, which were really a good chance for us to learn about the city and fall in love with the city. Furthermore, I found a violin teacher in Kodály Centre with the help of the teacher of ISC, so I also had some chance to attend some of the concerts in the Kodály Centre with my violin teacher.

What do you study at the UP now?

My major is Business Administration. I would say I enjoyed my study most of the time. I like the way the teachers teach us, they really care about how we could understand the study material better, and they are usually very patient when we ask something. As we are Business students, we have to do plenty of presentations and various teamwork tasks. I think it is the best way to learn how to cooperate with the classmates and how to manage or organize a group in teamwork. I’m convinced that it will be a precious experience for us in the future.

My life in Pécs is kind of simple, except attending the courses, I like classic music, so I often go to concerts. Otherwise, I would go for a coffee with some of my friends in the sunny afternoon. Sometimes, we also cook some foods from China, and invite some Hungarian friends to our dormitory to share the dinner.

I’ve heard that you have been in Finland as an Erasmus student.

It was really an exciting experience for me. As far as I know, there were no Chinese students applied for exchange in the faculty of Business and Economics, so during the period of preparing the documents, I got lots of help from the International coordinator Judit Trombitas and Katalin Hartung to translate all the Hungarian documents. Most of my teachers tried to find the best way to solve the problems we met.

The most different thing I experienced in Finland was the independence of Finnish people. They are quite friendly and helpful, but they would like to have enough private time. And almost all people in the streets speak English so well. The Finnish teachers at the university preferred to give the students space to thick and dig the knowledge rather than lecture them directly.

I made a lot of new friends from different countries, and I saw the Auroras and learned how to ski. And the most exciting thing is jumping into the snow after the sauna, which is said to be a tradition for the Finnish people, but I just did the sauna and watch my friends jump into the snow. I saw a reindeer running on the street, and experienced the longest winter in my life (from January to April). I also learned Finnish language, and I’ve realized that Hungarian language is much easier for me than Finnish.

Could you give some tips for someone who would like to attend a similar preparatory course to yours?
I think it is for sure that it is very important to study the language and other professional courses, which would be basic for us to study in the university in the future. But it is more important to assimilate into the local society and get to know the culture of the nation as much as possible during that period, I think this would be the best chance, because after you have entered the university, you will have less free time and you will be more stressed because of the exams. So enjoy the course, and try to learn as much as possible, the preparatory teachers will help you a lot, don’t worry. But, it is necessary to be independent.