My name is Carson Ndanya and I come from Kenya. When I first decided to join Croatia for my further studies, I didn't know what to expect. When I joined MEV in Čakovec, I had to move in alone far from my family which was quite difficult. My study in Croatia also expanded my experiences. I got to learn how Europeans, particularly Croatians, value their culture, how they practice it and how they make Croatia one of the best places to be. I was able to interact freely with most of the people I encountered with because they were very friendly and very welcoming. Throughout my stay I made plenty of friends who made my stay in Croatia very easy and enjoyable. Through the Erasmus programme, I was assigned to my 'buddy' , Ivana Okreša, who helped me and guided me, taught me about the Croatian culture, gave me survival tips that were useful and ensured I didn't face any challenges as I studied. I would like to give special thanks to her, my classmates and the wonderful staff at MEV for helping me while I pursued my Computer Science studies . They helped me stay updated with school work, exams and gave me tours around the city. Through Ivana and my classmates, I was able to improve my language skills and we'd even communicate slightly in Croatian together. As a foreigner, student life is definitely not easy. The complete change of environment has a major impact on studies and social life. Interacting with people and participating in various events and cultural activities of Čakovec made me feel like part of the community. The culture is very interesting and amusing. My favourite memory was touring the Museum of Čakovec. Seeing the heritage that the city preserves and cherishes made me realize how it means to them and the value it holds to the hearts of the people. I also enjoyed playing football with my friends and playing in the UniSport tournament for the school. The greatest challenge I had to face was learning the language. Since English is not widely spoken, communication was a little bit difficult at some places. I pushed myself to try and learn some of the basics of the Croatian language by enrolling to different language schools both online and physical. This helped me a lot as I started communicating more in the language and I could understand conversations now. My colleagues in school and friends at home helped me polish my speeches and pronunciations. By the time I left Croatia, my skills had improved. My study in Croatia was awesome and I would choose there again for any further studies. Thank you.
