Erasmus Stories

Julieth Rodríguez Soronellas is a 4th year Fine Arts student at the University of Barcelona. She is currently living in Poland as she has been doing Erasmus at the University of Opole in the Faculty of Arts. She specializes in the field of sculpture. As she says “The artistic trend I follow is influenced by many philosophical thinkers and critical authors about the world, the system, the political situation and the power around us.”

Let’s read Julieth’s story about her Erasmus as well as her experience with art!

Hola amigos, first let me introduce myself! My name is Julieth Rodríguez Soronellas but call me LJH. I am 23 years old and I am a last year student of fine arts at the University of Barcelona in Spain. I am currently an Erasmus student at the University of Opole and I am also an independent artist.

Due to my young age, I have already been able to immerse myself in the world of art in Catalonia, the region where I live. In my spare time I take photos of what surrounds me and draw what sometimes is difficult to write with words. As I said before, I am an art student and I specialize in the field of sculpture.

I had an opportunity to exhibit my works in various groups and individual exhibitions during my career as an artist in Spain. But recently one of my exhibitions was in Opole, the city where I stay during my Erasmus program. I had the opportunity to present my artistic work here, at the A4 Gallery, which is the gallery of the Faculty of Arts.

I would like to tell you a few words regarding my exhibition “Breakage”. It was a big pleasure for me to be recognized as an artist here. On the exhibition you could see my works which I made during my studies in Opole and which were a new challenge for me to overcome.

My artistic work is based on the creation of sculptures and installations made of glass and also other materials such as metal including steel, iron and bronze. When I came here, I decided to experiment and try new materials in order to learn new techniques that were new for me, such as Polish ceramics and foam.

This opportunity that I had during this year was without a doubt an amazing experience for me.

First of all, I had a great pleasure to discover the beauty of this country. During my first days in Poland it was a bit difficult to understand Polish but in the end I could understand some words and even say something, maybe not with the best pronunciation but I was trying my best even if I didn’t say it correcty.

The fact of deciding to come here alone, leaving the comfort zone behind and telling myself that I am going to live outside my country and away from my family and friends at first it was, like all changes, pretty difficult.

But as the time of my Erasmus went by, I realized that during this time I didn’t only make new friends, but also went on incredible trips which will always bring a smile on my face. Apart from this I made a lot of unforgettable memories! If I didn’t come here I would never experience them.

During this year I learned three important things: to be always myself, to be open-minded and that living abroad eriched my personality. Simply, I grew as a person.

For me it was definitely an incredible year that’s why I would like to recommend to all students with a desire to see the world, life experiences and make international friendships for life that they shouldn’t hesitate but do Erasmus.

As we say: “There are no words to describe such an adventure, Once Erasmus, always Erasmus”.

LJH

Do you want to share your story? Contact us on erasmus@uni.opole.pl or hello@uni.opole.pl 🙂