Erasmus experience: Adriá Granell Naval

1. Can you introduce yourself? (Name, age, faculty/university)

Hello, my name is Adrià, I am 21 years old, I’m from Sueca, Valencia, I am an Erasmus student at Džemal Bijedić University of Mostar, I come from Universidad Católica de Valencia (UCV) and I am studying Sports science.

2. What was your first impression of your host country/city? Would you choose it again?

The day that I arrived in Mostar I found myself in a different place compared to the place I am coming from, with such a different culture, but I found this place so nice from the first moment that I arrived, and I felt very welcomed.

I really would like to come back as a tourist for holidays in the future, but, If I have the chance to do another Erasmus, then I would choose another destination in order to discover new places and new cultures in the world.

3. Why did you choose Mostar? 

I decided to go on an Erasmus, I didn’t care where, I was just searching for a real adventure, after considering other destinations I chose Mostar because two friends of mine from my same sending institution (Jose Rafael Català Calatayud and Victor Calvet Gadea) advised me to choose Mostar as an Erasmus destination because they’ve been here as Erasmus student’s last course.

4. If you’d have to use one word to describe your Erasmus experience, which word would it be (and why)?

“ADVENTURE”

Finally, here in Mostar, I found the adventure that I was searching for, everything here it’s different, the culture, the gastronomy, the music, etc. Also B. and H. it’s full of natural areas and cute towns that are really worth visiting (Kravica, Konjic, Blagaj, etc.) Also, here I made a lot of friends and I traveled a lot, for me it was my first experience living abroad, I think my time here helped me to personally grow up, so every detail made of this experience a real adventure.

5. What was the most memorable experience that you had during your stay?

Well, I have lots of them, but personally, one memorable experience for me was to visit the bobsleigh track in Sarajevo, where the Bobsleigh contest of the Winter Olympic Games of Sarajevo in 1984 was held, it was special for me since I am studying sports and it’s nice to visit the places where the biggest sports contests were held.

6. What did you learn?

Since I met a lot of international people, I improved my English, I just became more independent, and I learned a lot about the Bosnian and Balkan cultures in general.

7. Do you have any advice for other students?

I advise all university students to do an Erasmus, it doesn’t matter where, but it helps you to grow up personally, you meet a lot of friends, you discover new places and of course, sometimes you live bad experiences, because, after all, that’s how life it’s, not everything will be cool, but to cope and overcome difficult moments in a foreign country it helps you to be more independent and to grow up.

8. Do you have any funny stories you would like to share with others?

Yes, I have many, but one in special, maybe it’s not a funny moment, but for me, it was a really good experience: I just went to a Climbing festival in Blagaj with some friends, but the truth is that I didn’t know how to climb on a real mountain, I climbed on boulders, but not in a natural mountain, but after doing a big effort, I learned the basic steps for the beginners to start climbing, then I climbed a 10 meters wall to the top when I arrived a the top I was so scared, but, when I reached the floor again, I was so proud of myself, then in the festival, we did hiking routes, we did yoga, visited a traditional ottoman house, and of course, we went to parties too, so I remember the climbing festival as one of the best things on my Erasmus.