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author
Peter Zilka
Peter
Zilka
faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences
academic year of the stay
2022/2023
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author
Peter
faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences
academic year of the stay
2022/2023
traineeship
study stay
short-term mobility
other
Permanent Delegation of the Slovak Republic to NATO in Brussels
How does Peter rate their stay?
university
city
accommodation
financial demands
about university
What made your university special? What were the facilities where you studied and the university equipment like?
When having the opportunity to represent your own country within an organisation such as NATO, proudness or responsibleness are indeed the words I would be looking for. As a student of security studies, NATO´s HQ made me feel like a small child in Disneyland. Visiting everyday its premises, marching throughout an architectural shrine of security, passing by classy diplomats or though-looking military personnel, can hardly be described. But it for sure puts you in a different mindset, when you embrace the understanding that you are part of a team that puts great efforts for the safeguard of our common transatlantic security. The working environment there, demonstrates on one hand the value that the institution and its constituent members invest to find solutions via own work ethics. On the other hand, NATO´s HQ offers a vast amount of assets such as sport facilities, a staff center, or useful services, in order to ensure that the employees can preserve necessary psychohygiene, and work as effectively as possible.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your "adoptive" university? What made it special? What were the premises where you studied and the university facilities like?
Pleasantly surprised, by the way I was gradually integrated within the delegation. As the Slovak delegation cannot, in terms of personnel numbers, “compete” with other NATO member states, the involvement of an intern into daily administrative routines or more complex tasks becomes straightforward, due to the huge amount of workload. In other words, interns do not reflect the stereotype of a coffee maker, but the exact opposite – if you demonstrate genuine interest to learn, staff members will try to incorporate you as much as possible in their respective duties. This can range from open-source research, up to receiving greater responsibility by attendind a committee meeting and writing a report from it. Hence, there will be moments when you will indeed feel like a full-fledged member of the delegation. Either on a professional level, or on the interpersonal. Such familiarity of the environment has likewise been demonstrated by the way how its high-ranked diplomats approached me, and were on a daily basis, informing me about recent developments, or making time in their busy schedules in order to clarify sensitive political matters. What I would like to emphasise as I was studying at the Charles University with many international students, even diplomats from other member states have demonstrated high professionalism, and were ready to interact with me despite my "rank". Hence, I am confident that taking such internship will be a similar positive experience at a different national delegation, no matter where the applicant is from. Being proactive is the key.
What is student life like at university?
Did you study in English or in the language of the host country? What language requirements does the university have?
As a matter of fact, trilingual. Naturally, communication within the delegation was conducted in Slovak, while NATO as an organisation has two official languages, and thus passive or active use of English and French was a daily necessity.
about the city
What was your impression of the city? How would you describe it? What is interesting to see here?
Many negative people often criticise the multicultural nature of Brussels. Yet it’s the complete opposite – it is its main charm. Not only it will help you to acclimatise faster with so many foreigners, but you will feel less like a stranger in an foreign country. A huge portion of citizens living in Brussels are expats, students or interns, which came here for a specific purpose, and not because it is their final destination. Hence, Brussels is a vibrant, cosmopolitan, busy city, which upholds a strong community life throughout its neighbourhoods. So, as I spoke French, acclimatising was quite straightforward, while the most astonishing for me was their public transport, their way of driving, or sometimes the debatable quality level of services. (Or the bad quality of water and their trash policy, smirk). That was my “cultural shock”. Still, I felt safe in general, in contrast with the significant number of negative rumours. Each city in Europe has its own polemical areas. As always, precaution is key.
about finances
In your experience, how far does the scholarship go? What percentage of your expenses did it cover? What is your opinion on prices in the country in general?
As many students before, I myself was facing the dilemma of going trough an unpaid internship, one that can nevertheless be a big starting boost for my future career. That’s why you should think of it as of an investment into yourself. Yes, it’s unfortunate and difficult, but that’s what the Erasmus funding is for – giving you a chance to take the opportunity. While in big, expensive cities such as Brussels it’s not going to cover the whole stay, it will help you to cover your accommodation and for example, a huge portion of your groceries. In my case, it was covering around 65% of my monthly expenses. As everywhere in Europe, inflation also affected my stay. As a person from Central Europe, food prices were indeed higher, and this was also true for “socialising” expenses. Hence it’s advisable to be prepared by having some money aside, but I’m sure many students are highly skilled on how to manage their finances.
Please advise your classmates on how to save money—Where to shop? What services can be used to save money?
Accommodation for sure can be one of the best options to save money: by choosing a student dorm rather than going for a room in a shared apartment, you will not only save money and use it for adventures, but also meet a ton of new cool people. In terms of food, make yourself aware of your surroundings, understand what shops are in your neighbourhood, try multiple of them in order to understand how pricey they are. The most important, if you are not skilled, learn how to cook, that’s the best money saver.
You want to go out? Talk with other, local students about the best spots. Thursdays on place du Luxembourg are a perfect example of having fun without spending a fortune.
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about accommodation
What type of accommodation did you choose? Would you recommend it to others? If not, what type of accommodation do you think is best based on your experience (dormitory, private apartment, private dormitory, shared room, etc.)?
Despite previously recommending student dorms, in my case going for privacy under a room in a shared house was deemed more optimal, as I needed a calmer environment. Hence, its impossible for me to judge the quality of dorms there, but my experience of sharing a room was positive. I would highly recommend to use available renting platforms (i.e. Housing Anywhere; Spotahome), as the competition is extremely high on Facebook due to the rotation of interns within the European bubble. At the end, I found a room in the wonderful municipality of Etterbeek, with great roommates from countries all around the world. It does not only help you to overcome moments of homesickness, but also receive different perspectives on their own domestic realities, insights that are priceless for a student of political science such as me.
about experiences
Did you use Erasmus stay to travel around your country/Europe? What are your best travel experiences? What would you not recommend?
While I was bound by my 9 to 5 job and thesis writing throughout my weekends, the wonder of Belgium not only resides in its own charming cities, but also thanks to its great location in Europe. You want to go to the beach? Less than two hours by train. You want to go to Amsterdam? Three hours by train. Paris? Less than two hours by train. Even better, go to “hidden gems” like Lille, or stay in the country, Ghent, Antwerp, Brugges, Dinant, to name only few are easily reachable, and you will not regret it. Mainly, when you have discounted train tickets during the weekend!
Language and culture: what cultural differences did you notice? How did you cope with the national language? Was it also the language of your studies? Do you feel that your language skills improved during your stay?
Concerning Brussels itself, the city has three official languages (French/Dutch/German), yet only the first two have regular use for the locals. As a fluent user of French, I never tried to use English throughout various services in the city, but I’m pretty confident that in the most international European city, it shouldn’t be a problem. Concerning Dutch, my roommate from the Netherlands confirmed me, that he unfortunately didn’t encounter much success with his native language within the city.
final rating
Why here? What makes this location special? Why would you send your friends to your country/city?
I always like to think about Erasmus, as of a program trough which students from Western Europe should go study in Central Europe, in the Baltics or Balkans, in order to fully grasp European culture as such, understand more our differences and all that comes to it. The same applies for those regions, by going to the Western parts, and Brussels greatly represents this idea. Owing to this, European unity will for sure be stronger, more tolerant, and open minded.
live-saving tips
If I went again, I would definitely remember to pack...
More waterproof clothes. Honestly, I’m not complaining, I love rain, and experiencing it few times a week, even for an hour is always welcomed for me. Who doesn’t like to breath fresh air? But as many of my colleagues complained, after few months in Brussels it can easily be weary, when you arrive soaking wet to work, and leave it under the same conditions.
Before leaving, I would like to know that...
Two things. That you need to register yourself at the commune if you plan to stay for more than three months, and it can be a really long administrative process. If not, you can be fined. Another thing, about fines ,is once again their trash policy. Its not really pleasant to discover with your roommates that you have been fined few hundred euros for getting your trash out too early.
What surprised me most was that...
Brussels has so many wonderful parks throughout its area. Just in my neighbourhood in Etterbeek, I had five close to my house.
The hardest thing for me was...
For sure being almost 6 months without my cats. More seriously, writing a master thesis while undergoing a full time internship, can be extremly challenging. I would like each student to be conscious of this fact, and exhausting yourself at the expense of your internship is not always the best choice. Yet, its nevertheless doable.
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