Student Spotting: The Many Types of Erasmus Student and How to Find Them
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Maybe you're a current or prospective Erasmus student or maybe you just love hanging around with them. Maybe you're looking for a sense of identity in your new home or maybe you're just looking to pass even faster judgement on all the new people you've suddenly found yourself surrounded by. Either way, this accurate and completely serious guide to the many types of student you will meet during your Erasmus experience will surely come in very handy!
Credit: Jake Lewis @jake_lewis
For a lot of Erasmus students, the exams taken abroad hold less weight than at their home universities. Many just have to achieve a passing grade – some don't even have to turn up to them. The Party Animal will use this fact to their advantage by being drunk most of the time. They're just not happy unless they're out drinking, whether it's in a nightclub, a bar or just in the street with a plastic cup.
How to spot them: Party Animals are easy to spot because they're always out. We all know people who are present on every single night out you've been on and are tagged in around fifty Facebook photos per week. If you're friends, you'll receive almost daily messages inviting you to join their plans for the evening, which will generally not finish until at least 4am, no matter how early their lectures are. Party Animals are creatures of the night so, if they do make it to their 9am classes, they will look bedraggled and comatose and be about as active as a sloth that took a slightly excessive dose of antihistamine. There are only two situations in which you'll see the Party Animal opt for a night in: they have an exam the next day or they're in hospital being treated for severe liver disease.
The Minx
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Forget culture, education, and new friendships – the Minx is here to have sex, and lots of it. Erasmus is when the Minx truly shines as they are surrounded by new people who will all scatter to different parts of the world after a few months, meaning the problems of reputation and judgement are minimal compared to at home.
How to spot them: Student nights are full of Minxes, although the more successful ones are harder to spot as they have usually left early to go home with their mate of choice. The ones who remain on the prowl until the end of the night are the most desperate, some of them even end up crossing the line from minx to sleaze. Revealing clothing and excessively strong aftershave can be an indicator of a Minx but it's important to remember that minxiness is a mindset, not a uniform. Speech is far more reliable; listen out for, "I just split up with my boy/girlfriend," "I'm just not ready for commitment," and "I love being single!"
The Tourist
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| Credit: Flickr//loungerie |
The Tourist appreciates the travel opportunities that come with studying in a new country and is making the most of it by visiting everywhere. Every major city in the country will have been ticked off their list by the time they return to their homeland. Particularly savvy Tourists may have even selected a university near international borders so they can explore parts of other countries as well.
How to spot them: As regular long train journeys are not cheap, the Tourist is often fairly wealthy. They may be receiving their money from some kind of scholarship or grant, or possibly just from their insanely rich parents. Students who don't live in Europe often make the most enthusiastic Tourists - they may not be able to come back for a long time and they intend to see as many places as they can.
The Scholar
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| Credit: Flickr//University Library of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy |
Scholars take their academic pursuits very seriously and are fully committed to making the most of the educational opportunity they've been given. Despite being the only student who chose to purchase the reading list rather than make furtive photocopies, they will still actually know where all the libraries are and may even be on first-name terms with the librarians by now.
How to spot them: In lectures. At the front. Looking happy. The Scholar loves to learn and will participate fully in every class, asking pertinent questions and taking the pressure off everybody else when the professor asks if anybody knows the answer. The amount you'll see them at night will be inversely proportional to the number of early lectures they have per week. When they do venture out, it will often be with one of their many new tandem partners – this is why the Scholar will almost certainly be fluent in their new language(s) within about two months.
The Recluse
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| Credit: Flickr//Leo Reynolds |
The most mysterious Erasmus of all, the Recluse never goes out at night but also never makes it to class. Nobody is ever quite sure what they do in their bedrooms all day and the only reason you know they're still alive is because they pop up as "online" on Facebook chat every so often.
How to spot them: You can't. You may be aware of a name you've vaguely heard that appears to be unattached to an actual person or a profile from the ESN Facebook group who posted something once about finding accommodation and then, seemingly, vanished into thin air. The only way you will ever be able to identify a Recluse is if you move in with one, in which case it will feel like living with a very tame, sedated poltergeist. Usually, the only contact you'll have with them is an awkward encounter on the way to the bathroom or when they scuttle into the kitchen to deposit a dirty plate on the sideboard. It is worth noting that Recluses rarely air their grievances verbally and generally prefer communicating in the form of passive-aggressive Post-It notes.
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