DIU Blog

An Erasmus+ to Remember during COVID-19

I am Nazia Afroz Ananna, a student of Law from Daffodil International University. At present, I am studying at the Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania as an exchange student under the Erasmus+ European Scholarship program (Spring 2020). 

I heard a lot of interesting stories from other DIU students who were here before me, and this is how my interest grew to apply for the program. Just like the other students, I came here with a lot of expectations. My experiences in Mykolas Law School thus far have been amazing. I have learned and experienced so many new things in such a short period of time. MRU is a very welcoming place, and from the very first day, I felt like home here. The university arranged an introductory week for us. Throughout that week, we learned, we played, we travelled, and we enjoyed a lot. Most importantly, I have made many new friends from many different countries. I found beauty in diversity.

This town is a great option for roaming around. The historic capital of the Grand Duke is a veritable treasure trove of medieval wonder and gorgeous Gothic come Russo-flavored Baroque architecture here. In the old town, St Anne’s Church, Gediminas Tower and TV Tower attracted me a lot. The new town’s blocks pulse with a variety of coffee shops, bars and sleepless rock clubs, and Europe’s bohemian district extraordinaire the self-proclaimed Republic of Uzupis beckons at the edge of the town. This tiny republic is a place of shabby-chic, graffiti-strewn streets, and full of art and artsy. I found Lithuania is very beautiful and safe overall. My course load is intense here but I enjoy every one of them because of the professors. They made the learning very interactive, lively and practical. The depth and detail of what we are learning is far beyond my home university experience. I also joined Spanish class. Learning a new language is always fun and very rewarding. But all of a sudden, the Covid-19 pandemic grasped the joy and enjoyment here. Good days of learning in the class, travelling and roaming have gone past so fast! But this lockdown-life is not that pale. MRU is doing their best to keep our enjoyment alive. All the study process, lecture and work are organized remotely. We are participating in our regular classes, exams and meetings online. In addition, MRU is also focusing on our mental health. They are conducting online quizzes, games, talent hunt competitions and online counselling. It can be a good example for all the students of DIU of how to cope with a sudden crisis and still continuing all the regular activities remotely.

Our dorm authority is also doing their best to maintain our hygiene and safety. No guests are allowed in the dorm. Even the residents have to show their identity card while entering into the dorm. Every day they disinfect our kitchen and lift areas. They prohibited all the gathering outside of the dorm premises. No parties are allowed in the common room, they are not providing the key of study room for temporarily. In this tough situation, they are doing their part very consciously and which is really very appreciable.

One thing I noticed here that every citizens are very aware of the situation and they are following the rules very strictly which is very rare in Bangladesh. The government of Lithuania tackles the pandemic very smartly. They closed the border on a right time and restricted entries. This helped a lot to mitigate the damages of Covid-19.        

We are locked down here for more than five weeks now. But one good thing about being home is you can have more time to manage your tasks, to do something productive and to grow a new passion. It’s difficult to keep ourselves motivated during this tough time. But I am trying to utilize my time through learning different languages; cooking; researching; meditation; and watching documentaries. After all, lockdown is offering new opportunities for me.

Spring has arrived in Lithuania to cheer us up. When the days here brighten up and the spring flowers bloom, it makes us forget about the global crisis. Time has been flying by and it’s hard to believe that we are not on our MRU campus for more than one month already. But we are still connected with each other more than before. Life during Erasmus and pandemic will be a great experience that I plan to make the most out of it.