UNITED KINGDOM - Susan

As part of the MA in European Heritage Planning and Management at Plymouth University, I enjoyed my ERASMUS EXPERIENCE at the age of 55. Students spend the second semester at one of the eight partner universities, in five countries, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. I chose the latter, having enjoyed two previous field trips there whilst an undergraduate.

I was the first UK student ever, at the Lednice Campus of Mendel University, and was treated like visiting royalty; introduced by my tutor to the Dean and Heads of Departments as "My English postgraduate student". It was a very humbling experience.

The School of Landscape and Horticulture, is situated in the isolated but glorious lake lands of South Moravia. The situation was ideal for my research, which involved much fieldwork, investigated the heritage identity of the Lednice/Valtice Chateau Parks, and making comparisons with the English landscape school. My tutor arranged many wonderful trips to compare chateaux and gardens in other areas. A highlight was Prague castle and gardens.

Thankfully, MA lectures Europe-wide are in English, as the Czech language is very difficult for western Europeans. I had to grapple with the basics however, as few locals spoke English. I certainly wished I had made more of an effort before arrival.

Academic standards in Czech are very exacting, so I was delighted to pass both modules with excellent marks. Many fellow students still keep in touch, keen to learn English and to visit the UK. A decade on from communism, finance is still a major problem for Czech people. Nevertheless, two ERASMUS funded students have already exchanged with our faculty. I am so grateful to Erasmus for giving me the chance to study in a country with such a different culture, and hope to return soon.