Serious relationships and ERASMUS

Continuing the topic of the previous post, we also want to share some thoughts on being in a relationship while going on exchange. Again, this might sound harsh but it is just the things we observed during our stay. It is neither negative nor positive; it is just the way it is.

While being here, we've seen it all. People who are finding new partners and going into a relationship are the rarest thing you will witness during your stay. We guess, it's because of the fact that this is a very loose moment in your life; of course, you will make friends from all over the world but there lies already the problem. It's easy to fall in love here but it is way too difficult to plan something serious. Imagine, you are dating someone and it starts to get serious. But in a few months you are about to leave this country and maybe you'll go back to your home country, maybe you will end up somewhere in the world you don't have a clue about now - and your significant other follows a similar path. In the end, it is common that you will hook up with people from different nationalities, having almost no common ground except for your timely limited stay in this country. The only kind of relationships we can think about that will last are the ones with locals, as at least one of you will know where they will stay the next year(s).

However, most of the time you will encounter people breaking up. We've heard of way too many couples that aren't together anymore. There was one guy, thinking of marrying his girlfriend.. until the point she went also on exchange and broke up with him to gain experience and 'live her life'. Moreover, we think that it is definitely due to the fact that we are currently in a moment of our life, where it is difficult to maintain long-term relationships and even more difficult to have a long-distance relationship.

And then, of course, there are the ones who will stay in their relationships. There will always be some exceptions and they end up being happily together after their Erasmus semester; but most of those ones have also a downside: unfaithfulness. For instance, there is this one girl from another country and her boyfriend is also on exchange in a different Spanish city, not too far from Zaragoza. However, every time we see her in the club, she's with a different guy. Hence, we would just like to prepare you for those circumstances and mention that you should be aware of such things if you plan to keep on going with your relationship. Picking up the example from above, most of the people here just want to enjoy life. Additionally, it is tempting for many people; how big are the chances that your other half will find out? For them, it's about gathering experience, living a good life and being in the moment without thinking too much or about the consequences.

All we can say is whatever you choose for yourself, it will be alright. We are not fond of this unfaithfulness, but we want to prepare you. Life goes on and you are living this life to learn from it.