News
9 August, 2020
Spaniard Intern: Came to MRU Due to Love of History
International Students
Ernesto Domingo Fuentes, 26, hails from Jaen, which is Spain’s olive oil capital. It produces 20% of the world’s olive oil. The computer science graduate left his native Spain to undertake a post-studies Erasmus internship at Mykolas Romeris University’s International Office.
He discusses his experiences in Lithuania, his love of Vilnius and cultural differences between the two countries in an interview with online news portal DELFI EN.
- Why did you come to Vilnius?
- I applied and was accepted for an Erasmus internship at Mykolas Romeris University. It is my 2nd visit to Lithuania as I spent a year as an Erasmus student in Kaunas. Since February I am in Vilnius. I was interested in ex-Soviet bloc countries. My options were either to go to Poland or to Lithuania and I decided to come to Lithuania. Poland is a typical country to go on Erasmus because it is an attractive place to live considering prices and quality of life. Lithuania is also inexpensive, but it is not a common destination for many from Spain thus making it interesting for me.
- You came during the quarantine period, so you were unable to see many of Vilnius sights and discover Lithuania’s capital?
- Yes, I arrived and several weeks later the quarantine period was announced. It was a very hard period. I stayed at home and studied online at my Vilnius apartment.
- What did you know about Lithuania before coming here?
- I read quite a bit about Lithuania before coming. I was interested to see, for myself, how a former Soviet Republic is thriving after breaking away from the Soviet Union.
- What are the differences that you noticed between Spain and Lithuania?
- The way people interact with each other is very different. We are used to saying “hello” or greeting one another on the street, on the job, or in the office. I noticed that Lithuanians talk very little. I also noticed that at the supermarkets, the cashiers sometimes say nothing, but at Lidl they always say,“hello” or greet you.
Read the entire interview published in DELFI EN here.