Hello!

My name is and I am a first year graduate student at the Faculty of

Communication and Public Relations. I am conducting a research covering the Erasmus
programme. In order to have a more efficient discussion, I will make a few observations:

This is not a test, therefore there are no right or wrong answers;

Your opinion matters to me, so please, answer the questions honestly and completely;

Our discussion will be audio recorded. This is necessary in order to process the gathered
information. These recordings will be used only for the purposes of research,
guaranteeing your anonymity.

Answering these questions should take around 40 minutes.

1.Please tell me a few things about yourself (where do you study, the year and specialization).
My name is Preda Cristiana-Maria, Im currently studying Public Administration, in the
third year, at the National School of Political Studies and Public Adminstration.
2. What was the main reason that made you want to study abroad?
I chose to study abroad because I wanted to discover another educational system, to meet
new people and to improve my English skills.
3. What country have you chosen for your Erasmus experience and why?
For my Erasmus experience, I have chosen to study in Poland because I have visited the country
and I liked very much, I was also told that it has a high quality educational system.
4. How long have you planned on staying?
I have planned to stay 5 months.
5. What were the challenges you had to overcome in the adaptation process?
In the adaption process, the main challenge for me was to adapt to the organizations polices.
6. Tell me more about the experiences you had during the first days of your Erasmus experience.

In the first days, I have got familiar with the organization and its stuff, I was also informed about
my main tasks, the schedule and about the tutor, the person who was responsible for the
Erasmus students.
7. What were the hardest moments you had to overcome during your stay?
I couldnt say I had hard moments, but I could mention that I had homesickness, but due to my
new friends I was able to move on and to enjoy my Erasmus experience.
8. Do you consider that after this experience theres been a change in the way you perceive
Romania and the education system? Can you tell me more about the differences between the
two education systems?
I definitely can say that I noticed differences between our Educational system and the one from
Poland. First of all, in Romania the government doesnt invenst as much as it should in the
educational system; secondly, in Romania, the subjects are more theoretical than practical. in
Poland, for example, students go in factories to observe the production process.
9. Have you ever found yourself in the situation of being discriminated or judged due to
stereotypes about your nation?
No, I never was in the mentioned situation.
10. What were the main stereotypes you have encountered ? How did you face them?(tell me
one story that you remember about this situation)
I havent encountered stereotypes, the people from Poland are open-minded and they treat
foreigners with equality and respect.
11. How did the stereotypical image perceived by people from the country youve visited had
changed compared to the beginning? ( tell me more about how did you manage to change
peoples the opinion)
People from Poland wanted to discover more about Romania and its customs, thats why I
showed them photos from national celebrations, traditional songs.

12. What about you? Did you have a stereotypical image about the country youve been to and
the people youve met?
To be honest, at the beginning I thought Polish people are cold and not very sociable, but after a
few experiences with them I changed my opinion. They are open-minded, warm and they
like to help other people, thats why it was so easy for me to accommodate there.
13. Have you changed your opinion after your experience? (if the case, what made you change
it?)
Yes, I have changed my opinion after I discovered more about Poland and its people. At the
beginning I had an opinion, but after I found out more about the country I understoond that
appearances can be deceptive and is important to have the will to know more.
14. How did you refer to your country after the Erasmus experience compared to before ? (the
me more about how did your perception, feelings and attitude change after Erasmus regarding
your country).
Well, I think in Romania we need a refom in the educational system. We have the resources to do
it, but we dont have the right people. We need to invest more in the human resources and in the
education.We also need to enforce the rule of law, because regulations were made to be
respected, not to be ignored.