Análisis del microentorno

Finally, the area of personal development was perhaps the most varied. There were those who saw their Erasmus exchange as a chance to become independent from their parents, with whom they were still living.

So, I’m an extremely shy person, who likes to be in places he knows. And I think for me it would be a really new experience, being in another… I am an only child, too. To be in a different country, on my own, having to manage, pay bills, live with other people… I live with my parents. And undoubtedly, to begin with it will be really hard, I will miss my parents, my friends. But I think

17 _{Lì il Centro di studi africani è molto più specialistico rispetto a quello che faccio a Bologna. E poi} hai anche voglia di cambiare o dare un valore aggiuntivo a quello che fai quando fai la specialistica. 18 _{L'attrazione è stata dall'offerta formativa, più ampia e maggiormente variegata, perché là c'è un} dipartimento di antropologia, qui è un corso di laurea, ospitato dal dipartimento di Storia.

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that, having overcome all this, I will own something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, I hope. So from a social, personal point of view, I think it’s really worth it, in addition to the cultural and academic aspects. (Jack) 19

Others, like Paola, Silvia and Angela, felt it might help them overcome their insecurity and shyness, or encourage them to become more open-minded.

I try not to have any preconceptions, because they can…but obviously, everybody has some expectations, because you hope to learn new things. I hope above all to… I really like this word, ‘open-minded’, which we don’t have in Italian, there is ‘open’, but it’s not the same… I’d like to see other points of view… I think it would really help me to grow, also from a personal point of view, I think I really need it… (Angela) 20

For Claudia, who had been thinking about the Erasmus Programme ever since she decided to go to university, it was a chance to see if permanent residence abroad, away from home, was what she wanted for her future.

I enrolled at University with the idea of doing an Erasmus exchange, because I’ve always wanted to go abroad, it’s a way to put myself to the test, to see if that is my path, to live abroad, far from everything, from parents, family, friends, everything. Which right now, I’d say I can do. But when I find myself in that

19 _{Allora, io sono una persona estremamente timida, alla quale piace stare nei propri spazi che} conosce. E credo che per me sarebbe un'esperienza nuovissima essere in un altro... io sono figlio unico, d'altronde. Essere in un'altra nazione, da solo, arrangiarmi, quindi pagare le bollette, vivere in casa con altre persone... vivo con i miei. E sicuramente all'inizio sarà una grande sofferenza, una grande mancanza, per me, i miei genitori, i miei amici. Però credo che, superato questo, riuscirò a possedere qualcosa che mi porterò avanti per tutta la vita, spero. Quindi a livello sociale, mio personale, credo che ne valga davvero la pena, oltre che a livello culturale e tutto quello che riguarda lo studio.

20

Spero sopratutto di... mi piace molto questa parola, ‘open-minded’, che in italiano magari non c'è, c'è ‘aperto’, ma non è così... mi piacerebbe vedere altri punti di vista... penso che mi aiuti molto a crescere, anche da un punto di vista personale, penso che ne avrei proprio bisogno...

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situation, I’ll see how I react. 21

Her friends had advised her against moving to such a large city as Berlin from her small provincial home town, but she was determined to go ahead with her choice, the only one that would offer her everything she was looking for. These participants saw the experience abroad primarily a challenge, but were also aware that there was a safety net, that home was not far. Those who had already moved away from home to go to university viewed study abroad as a step further, requiring similar adjustment strategies to those they had already put into place.

I wanted to do something new, to start an endeavour I had honestly never thought myself capable of facing, because I have always been very scared of setting off. I came to Bologna, but the initial years were difficult… now I’m fine, obviously, but it was a difficult choice which, with hindsight, I would make again, but which made me suffer all the same. And so the idea of going abroad scared me a lot, but I was going through a phase in which I told myself ‘I really must do something’. (Silvia) 22

The Erasmus Programme is therefore seen as a chance to change routine, to try something different, even, as Silvia remarked, as “a window, a new possibility, a source of new incentives”, an opportunity “to break with a familiarity sometimes apprehended as restrictive or ponderous, when it no longer ‘motivates’ and does not function as a generator for action” (Murphy-Lejeune, 2002, p.88). It offers the chance to try out a new, alternative life, which can provide the participant with a wealth of experience and knowledge, and many expressed, in a more or less

21

Io mi sono iscritta all'università con l'idea di fare l'Erasmus, perché comunque è da sempre che volevo andare all'estero, è un modo anche di mettermi alla prova, di vedere anche se quella è la mia strada, stare all'estero lontano da tutto, da genitori, famiglia, amici, tutto. Che per ora mi viene da dire che è una cosa che posso fare. Però quando mi troverò nella situazione vedrò come reagirò. 22 _{Avevo voglia di fare qualcosa di nuovo, e di cominciare un'impresa che io sinceramente non avevo} mai pensato di essere in grado di affrontare, perché ho sempre avuto molta paura di prendere e partire. Sono venuta a Bologna, ma i primi anni sono stati difficili... adesso sto bene, ovviamente, ma è stata una scelta difficile che, se tornassi indietro rifarei, ma che ho patito comunque. E quindi l'idea di andare all'estero mi spaventava tantissimo, però c'è stato proprio un periodo che ho detto, bisogna assolutamente fare qualcosa.

110 articulate manner, their fascination with the Other, the unknown. For Federico it was a chance “to fulfil what until then had only been a potential”; not going might imply future regrets at having missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as Pina observed:

And another thing, as I said before, I don’t want to leave anything untried, I don’t want to look back in ten years’ time and say “I could have done that, but I was too lazy”. So usually, when there is something I don’t know, I throw myself into it, and live the experience… I might not enjoy it, but at least I can say I’ve done it.23

Linked to the idea of personal development is that of having a taste of ‘life abroad’, in order to check, as Claudia said, whether they were cut out for permanent residence in another country. Most, however, seemed to be toying with the exotic idea of foreign living, rather than expressing a concrete possibility. The Erasmus experience would provide a real, tangible experience, a lens through which the possibility of permanent residence abroad could be judged with a greater awareness of what the choice might entail in reality.

As was said above, the students’ motivations for going on an Erasmus Programme cluster around three main themes: language improvement, academic opportunities and personal development. However, the specific goals of each individual are relatively varied. With regard to language improvement, they range from learning a totally new language (Federico), to improving one’s level in a language in which the learner has had substantial difficulties (Silvia, Daniela, Valentina); from learning English as an international language in a non-English speaking country (Ilaria, Marina, Daniela, Valentina, Pina, Giulia, Lorenzo), to improving one’s knowledge of the language and culture (Angela, Chiara, Juls, Claudia, Paola, Franceca, Petra), or learning the language in a country where it is spoken, but primarily for instrumental reasons (Jack, Margherita, Miriam, Emanuela,

23 _{E l'altra cosa, come ho detto prima, non voglio lasciare niente di intentato, non voglio fra dieci} anni guardarmi indietro e dire "avrei potuto fare quello, ma per pigrizia non l'ho fatto". Quindi, di solito quando c'è qualcosa che non conosco, mi butto, faccio l'esperienza... poi magari non mi piace, ma almeno posso dire di averla fatta.

111 Silvia). As for academic opportunities, they range from exploring new areas of study (Ilaria, Marina, Pina, Claudia, Valentina), new methods and approaches (Chiara, Margherita, Jack, Petra), to obtaining knowledge which will be useful for future careers (Gioacchino, Miriam), or even carrying out practical work in a different environment (Lorenzo). Finally, the area of personal development includes goals such as becoming more independent and autonomous (Jack, Angela, Chiara, Federico), escaping from a stifling environment (Claudia, Silvia), trying out life abroad in view of future employment opportunities (Gioacchino, Emanuela, Claudia), getting to know new cultures (Juls, Francesca, Valentina, Federico, Chiara, Ilaria, Margherita).

How will these goals affect the individual adaptation processes of the participants? More specifically, how will the combination of these goals with the specific demands made by the different environments in which these students will be spending part of their studies influence what each individual will have to adjust to? What expectations did the participants have in terms of the difficulties (or lack of them) they would have to face abroad, in order to fulfil their objectives?