“Man, it's such a long torturing process and the only cure for that is non-stop cursing and complaining. But all turns out good as I’m now sitting in class surrounded by awesome people from all over the world, the process may not be pretty, but damn it's rewarding.”

- Junanto, Indonesia

Let’s get it straight from the start, some of us may have struggled to get here, but in the end, we all made it to an inspiring and unforgettable journey. Yes, we are all fed up with the topic, but it cannot be ignored that the global pandemic affected us in our decision and made the application and arrival process somewhat harder. Looking at the composition of our cohort, the group seems reduced. What are the reasons that COVID-19 has such a big influence even after more than one year? For most of the cohort, COVID-19 brought an onslaught of challenges from making it difficult to obtain visas, being tested repeatedly and having to quickly change or adapt to new travel plans. By the time our course started, some of the EMTM’ers were still in the process of making their way to Denmark:

 “Right from delayed passport renewal, struggle to get a visa appointment because of closed VFS centres, running back and forth various government departments to get the documents verified, paying 6 times the actual fee to get it done faster, not receiving the visa on time, cancelling the flights twice, losing and regaining hope several times and wasting an awful lot of money, here I am finally in Kolding and officially a student of EMTM 2021-23. One lesson learned, be patient and have faith because good things take time!”

- Tahmeena, India

When travelling to Kolding, some trips were certainly longer than others, us Europeans had a lot of advantages since we did not have to apply for a visa. However, while talking to my colleagues, I realized we all had the same concerns: Will we miss out on the international experience because of online classes? How can we cover our expenses when tourism jobs are still on the edge? Should I really enrol in such an uncertain time or choose a safer education? In the end, all of us agree that choosing EMTM in times of Corona can be a frustrating process and a difficult choice. However, the EMTM and university coordinators always had an open ear for us and were a great support throughout the whole application. I truly believe that especially during Covid-19 times, EMTM is an opportunity to get out of your repetitive everyday bubble.  Not one of us is regretting their decision for EMTM.

On this positive note, I would like to end with a hopeful citation from my colleague:

“I think a lot of people got affected by Covid in many aspects of life. However, in a dark place, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. I am so grateful that I made the decision to join this program.”

- Pitchakorn, Thailand

Written by Laura Schill, Student of EMTM Generation 2021-2023.