My name’s Sam Quiñones, I’m 23 years old and I come from Colombia. Well, actually, I’ve been living in Spain for the last three and a half years, while studying journalism at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. It is a school in the beautiful city of Cuenca (one of the 15 cities in Spain recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site).
I was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, a city with over a million people, and since September 27th, I’ve been calling Opole my home – at least until February. Now, at this point, you’re probably thinking: “How did you end up in Opole?” The answer’s pretty simple: I’ve been into Polish culture since 2018 when I met some friends online, and later in person. A lot of people ask me why I didn’t pick a bigger city in Poland, but here’s the funny part – Opole was my only option in this country and one of the few places where the classes were in English. In my Erasmus list, I chose Opole over Athens, Rome, and even Dortmund, so yeah, Opole was always my first choice.
I knew it was going to be a small city, but I did my research before coming here. I remember the first things I looked up were how many McDonald’s and nightclubs there were – priorities when you’re in your early twenties, I guess! But honestly, size doesn’t matter. Even though it’s not a big city to me, there’s still some interesting stuff here.
For example, I was surprised to find that there are night buses and ride services like Uber or Bolt. Sometimes, if you’re with friends, it’s even cheaper to order a taxi than to take the bus. I also heard that it’s a student city, though there’s currently only one nightclub, and it’s a bit far from the dorms. But they provide free bus rides between the dorms and the club, so that’s something.
When it comes to food, it’s really different from both Spain and Colombia. The most popular dish here is pierogi, which does taste good, but sometimes I’m like, “Where’s the protein?!” because it’s usually filled with vegetables or fruit. You can put pretty much anything inside those dumplings, though. Still, it’s cheap to eat out, and even cheaper to buy stuff from the supermarket. I’ve heard of friends who spend around 25 euros a week on groceries. I definitely spend more, but I guess it depends on your diet.
Poland as a country is really affordable, which is awesome when you’re a student. As for classes, it’s been a bit of a mixed experience. Like every Erasmus student, I had to go through the whole process of changing my learning agreement because some of the courses I first picked overlapped with others. Also, I study journalism, and I didn’t find many courses related to my degree, so I had to search through different faculties. Now, I have classes in four different buildings! I was also kind of shocked to see courses worth anywhere from 2 to 10 credits. In Spain, all my courses are 6 credits, and I usually take five courses per semester. Here, to get 30 credits, you could end up with 10 or more subjects, depending on your degree. On the bright side, there’s less homework here, probably because some courses are worth fewer credits.
Another challenge has been sharing a room and living in a dorm. It was hard to find a private apartment, so I had no choice. I’ve never shared a room with anyone except my partner, and I’ve also lived alone before, so this has been a big change for me. But I’m getting used to it.
Something I was kind of expecting, and unfortunately have experienced, is racism. The way I look and talk is different from most Polish people, and the history of my country doesn’t help. It hasn’t happened too often, but at least twice it almost got physical. I’ve traveled a lot, so it’s nothing new to me, and I try to ignore it. On the other hand, I’ve met plenty of people who want to be friends, often for the same reasons I’ve experienced discrimination. It surprised me how many people here want to learn Spanish, and I’m glad I can help them with that. I wouldn’t call Polish people shy – they’re actually very outgoing, as long as they speak English (since my Polish is nowhere near ‘dobry’).
In general, I find people here are willing to help when you need it, no matter if it’s translating something at the supermarket or helping with university stuff. I’m really thankful to everyone who’s made this experience possible. Sure, there have been good and bad moments, but overall, I’m happy to be here and looking forward to the rest of my Erasmus adventure.
(photos: Sam Quiñones Hernandez)
