Incomings

Luana Costa is from Portugal. She spent one semester at NBS. Here she talks about her experiences.

My Erasmus experience in Hamburg

My name is Luana Costa and I joined NBS for the entire 22/23 academic year as an Erasmus+ student from ISCAL (Portugal).

As someone with dual citizenship (Brazil and Portugal) who has lived on three continents and feels the only way to truly understand another culture is to experience the day-to-day life, 1 dreamt of living in Germany to immerse myself in the local culture and language in 2019. Now I sit four years later in October 2023 having just finished my one-year experience with NBS in Hamburg. The memories I made were enough to fill a lifetime. The diverse friends from all over the world to the many cities traveled throughout the country, and the progress with the language helped make this an unforgettable adventure.

l'm proud of my initiative, understanding the value of these experiences and the perseverance and effort it took to do this on my part; however, it would not have been possible without the support of NBS. Starting from accepting my application to supporting me every step of the way in my transition to living in Hamburg and to extending my mobility for a full year the program gave me comfort that they would always provide guidance, support and the care needed to succeed in my goals.

With NBS I learned more about all the possibilities and opportunities I had with my degree than I ever thought possible. I was challenged with new information, case studies, expert professors, field-trips for a deep dive in other companies' business models and so much knowledge about how to do business in other cultures. lt was a good mix of data, theory, lectures, discussions, case studies and hands-on experiences that maximized learning in an easy and fun way.

I can truly say that I was able to grow as a student, professional and citizen with this exchange year. I feel like l'm more independent than ever, more organized, more knowledgeable and more resilient. Doing Erasmus allowed me to let go and be more present in the new experience I was living and to be more open to cultural differences and lifestyles. I met people from all over the world that made me question my beliefs and expand my mindset, it made me more experienced because of all the new things I was met with: through traveling, learning about different cultures, learning a new language, living in a different country and expanding my knowledge on my chosen field.

This was largely due to the city that I was living in as well. Hamburg is the embodiment of those exact things. lt's a large city with many things to do and explore, people from all over the world and perfect for someone that studies international management and trade. I fell in love with Hamburg, with Germany, with the culture and (weirdly enough), with the language. This experience has opened my eyes to all the possibilities we have and to the difference we can make by learning, adapting, applying our knowledge, and using our diversity in our favor to create something different and more integrated in today's society.

Andrea Santos is from Barcelona. She spent one semester at NBS. Here she talks about her experiences.

My Erasmus experience in Hamburg

"I never thought that an international experience would change me that much."

My name is Andrea and I come from Barcelona. When first I heard about the Erasmus Plus Program I got so interested. A Program which enables international mobility to university students? That was made for me! And on my 4^th year of my bachelor’s degree I had the opportunity to do a semester in Hamburg, Germany. It wasn’t my first experience abroad though. In the past, I’ve lived in Montpellier and did my internship in Evian-les-Bains, both locations in France. Those experiences allowed me to discover a new country and to improve the language. Therefore, I though that it could be a good idea to do the same in Germany. However, there was something that I hate from that city… or maybe I should say from the country in general. I’m not going to lie, as a Barcelona citizen I’m used to winters which have no lower temperature than 0º or -5º maximum. As you could imagine, even already prepared for it, some days were a nightmare! But every single place has their pros and their cons, right?

A huge "pro" were all the people that I met there. My group of friends were people from Egypt, France, Israel, Turkey, United Kingdom, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Denmark and United States, and none of us were from the same country. They call us the international group wherever we were going. The funny thing is that, even though we all had different languages as mother tongues it was no barrier for our friendship. I actually see this group as a reflection of the city: There’re people from everywhere in Hamburg, it’s a big and cosmopolitan city, and the great thing (and I talk about my experience) is that nobody is going to treat you differently for that. On the other way, they will have curiosity for your culture and some of them will try to say something in your language.

My advice for anyone who is doing their Erasmus in this gorgeous city is that, even though there’s always something to do in Hamburg, it’s also really easy to travel around in a very cheap way. Besides, if it’s your first experience in this country, you will see the contrast of a flat city as Hamburg to others like Munich with their mountains. Do not be afraid to join every single group in Facebook about international students, or I would recommend you search if there are people from your own country living in the city that you are staying. It’s always helpful to be around a community that may have had the same problems as you are.

Finally, I would like to encourage anyone who is thinking about it to do a semester or a year abroad. And I would like to emphasize how wonderful it was to do my Erasmus in Hamburg and to attend my classes at NBS. I really could feel how the lecturers or the coordinator were there for me. In fact, I asked them tons of advices or even talked about my future after my bachelor and they were always trying to help me as much as they could. Therefore, if there’s anyone wiling to do an experience abroad to Hamburg or to Barcelona, do not hesitate to ask my contact to the international coordinator. I’ll be happy to help you as much as I can! And remember: If you decide to go abroad, it will change your life for good. No jokes here.