When Maria first moved to a new country to study, she felt excited but also nervous. Everything was unfamiliar: the language, the food, and even the way people greeted each other. For the first few weeks, she found it hard to make friends and often felt homesick.

Instead of giving up, Maria decided to push herself out of her comfort zone. She joined a sports club at her university and started attending language exchange evenings. Slowly, she began to understand the culture and her confidence grew. She realised that many other students felt exactly the same way she did.

Looking back a year later, Maria describes the experience as one of the most valuable of her life. “It was not always easy,” she says, “but every difficult moment taught me something. Now I feel at home here, and I have friends from all over the world.”