The Philology College/University of Belgrade

(college review)

Imaginethatyouwereborninalittlecountry,almostforgottenbytherestofthe
world.Imaginethatyouareagirlwhoonceuponatime,asakid,fellinlovewithSpain,
bullfighters,Barcelona,withthebeatofflamencoguitarandcastanets.Basically,with
everythingthathastodowithSpain.Butalso,shefellinlovewithletters,poemsand
books.
However,therealitycandisappoint.Youknow,whenyougrowupinalittle
country,withonlyfiveorsixuniversitytowns,whereitsveryhardtogetthewellpayed
jobafterfinishingtheuniversityrelatedtolanguagesandtakingalicentiate,while
beginningyoureducationaltripto(maybe)bettertomorrow...well,itcanbereallytough
toachievewhatyouwantandfindmotivationtochangesomething.Ignoringthefactthat
maybeonedayIwontbeabletofindsomethingtodoexceptifIdontapplyforsome
institutionsthateducatestudentsinsphereswhichareprettyperspective,Ichoseto
followmyheartandgoforwhatIlovetodo,andchosetodedicatemyselftostudying
languages.
ThemostimportantthingrelatedtoSerbianeducationsystem,isthatthereareno
collegesseparatedfromuniversities.Thosetwoaremergedintoone,so,ifyougetintoa
college,yougotintotheuniversitytoo,andafterfirsttwoorthreeyears,yourunoneor
twoyearsmore,toimproveyourknowledgeinthesphereinwhichyouarestudying.In
theSpanishlanguage,literatureandculturedepartment,whichpartIardentlywantedto
be,therewere44placesforstudentswhoweresupposedtobefinancedfromthebudget
ofthestate,whichmeansthattheydontpaycostsofbeingastudent,and27placesfor
studentswhohadtopaytheystudyingcostsbythemselves,so,whenIsawmynameat
number28,Iwasjumpingforjoy,becauseitmeanttheworldtomenottopay1200

eurosforthetuitionfee,whichisusuallytheamountofthemoneywhichyouneedtoput
asideiftheconditionsforbudgetarentsatisfied.
ThefirstdayImetmyprofessors,myfuturetutors,Irealizedthat,onthiscollege,I
willbetaughtbyprofessional,highlyeducatedpeople.Astheyfirstintroducedusour
subjectsandinformedusaboutthingstowhichwearegoingtodedicateourselvesduring
thebothsemestersofthefirstgrade,Ifellinlovewiththechosenlanguageevenmore.
Thethingthatenthusedmethemostwasthefactthatwewerentsupposedtodedicate
onlytothelanguagethatwevechosen.Ourfutureprofessioniscalledgraduated
philologist(Hispanist),soitwasdecidedthatweshouldacquireabundantknowledgein
almosteverythingthathastodowithSpainandprepareourselveswiththehelpofour
instructorstobecomeanexpertinthementionedarea,andnotonlytoachievethe
perfectknowledgeofgrammarandvocabulary,so,besidesthecourseofmodern
Spanishlanguage,startingfromzero(yes,westartedwithwordslikehi!andwhats
yourname?,learninghowtotellitinotherlanguage),amongtherestofoursubjects
wereSpanishliterature(finally,IllreadOnehundredyearsofsolitude!),theSpanish
culture,whichincludedallcustomsandtraditionsofthatnation,andalsothingslikeart,
music,architecture,thehistoryofthestateandimportantpoliticalfacts,plustranslations
andthreeelectivecourses.Accordingtothat,allofthesecoursesallowustospreadour
educationandallowscompletepermeationwithallrelevantthingsthatwillhelpus
somedaydoourjobbetter.
Besidemanylectorsthatcamefromdifferentcountries,ourprofessorsstandout
asthebiggestprofessionalsintheBalcansandwider,andtheyarewellknownfortheir
excellenttranslationsofthemostfamousSpanishandLatinAmericanliterature.
WheneverIwasconfusedandstartledbyallthethingsthathitmeallatonceasa
student,theyweretheretohelpmeandtoclarifyanythingthatwasntclear,andthats
whywe,thestudentsofLanguagecollege,owethemalotofgratitude.
Exceptofbeingoneofthemostfamouscolleges/universitiesinthetownandin
thestate,onemoreinterestingcharacteristicofthisplaceisthat,althoughSerbiaisa
littlestate,youcanseemanypeopleofdifferentracesandnationalitieswalkingdownthe
hallandbeingfriendswithSerbianstudents.Theycomefromdifferentsidesoftheworld,
fromdifferentcountries,andyetthereisnoeventheleasthintofbigotryandracisma
Serbian,ChineseandAfricanstudentsspendtheirtimetogetherandenjoyeachothers
companyanddelightsofthestudentlife,suchashittingpartiesinstudentdorms,
traveling,obtainingscholarshipsandgoingtostudentexchanges.Thecollegeissituated
inverycenterofthecity,andstudentsfromanypartofthetowneasilyfindthe
appropriatebuslinetocometoclasses,becausethatareaofthetownislogicallywell
connectedwiththesuburb.Onbreaks,cafes,gardensandabigparkjustrightacrossthe
streetarefullofyoung,shiny,happypeople.
AlthoughSerbiahasonlyfiveorsixuniversitytowns,theyarewellknowninthe
restoftheworldasinstitutionswhichprovidequalityandcompleteeducationinevery
sphere,andmanyofSerbiancitizenshavemuchsuccessusingthegainedknowledgein
othercountries,too.TheLanguagecollegeinBelgradeisonefrommanyofthem,which,
inspiteoflackofworkplaces,goesfarbeyondthebordersandbecomesmorefamous
everydaybyitsusefulmethodsofimprovementandadvancementanditsreallyan
honortobethepartofitsprojects.So,ifyoueverthoughtaboutstudyingsomewherefar,

indifferentdestinationandsurroundings,withalotofseriouswork,butwithalotof
freedomandfun,too,maybethiscollegeisaperfectchoiceforyou!