Divya Negi came to Lithuania to study Master‘s degree program “International and European Law” at the Law Faculty of Vilnius University. While being a student and living in Vilnius, she experienced a new and interactive study process among international students and got to know Lithuanian culture. Divya shares her impressions and thoughts in this interview, which we kindly invite to read.
What were your first impressions of the VU Law Faculty when you first started studying here?
It’s not a very simple answer, because a lot was going through my mind when I initially came, but I think it was definitely very different from my past education experience in India. Specifically, I think I did like the idea of where the faculty was located. I think it’s a very beautiful location, between the forests. In terms of classes, I feel like right off the bat it was very interactive, and that was a very good change for me as well because there was more participation in class compared to my last university.
The initial subject we had was a little bit of legal philosophy, and that was very interesting for me. And every class that I attended had an impact on how I saw European law and International law.
I decided to study International law in terms of human rights because it was a subject of interest for me, and also because my initial knowledge of European law wasn’t that vast before.
Probably the most interesting question for everyone is how did you decide to study here in Vilnius of all places?
As I said, I wanted to study human rights law and I was initially planning to go to Canada, but then I thought about the idea of also studying European law, so I decided to go to Europe. Also, it’s no secret that Lithuania is a budget-friendly option. I think it was the best option that I had in terms of the course that was being provided as well as financially. Plus I did a lot of googling on the university – so many interesting facts about the old campus, the old buildings, it’s very intriguing.
Was it hard to get accustomed to a new place, living in a new place? What helped you get accustomed?
Actually, I was sort of lucky, because I had my friends here already, so taking care of accommodation and all of that was not an issue. But other than that there was definitely a little bit of cultural shock for me because coming from a warmer country the expressions on people’s faces and how people interact are a bit different. People here are more reserved. But most of my coursemates are internationals and that sort of helped – coming together and exchanging our experiences in our own countries. That sort of eased my way into getting accustomed to living and studying here in Lithuania.
And are you happy with your choice of studies and your choice of University now that you’ve been here for a while?
I’m definitely really happy. I didn’t have any set goals or expectations when I came here, but as the course proceeded I really enjoyed what I learned. European law was very new to me, so everything seemed very interesting. At times it was a bit more challenging for me compared to my colleagues from European countries, but that made me even more interested in the subject. Plus I think the course subjects that were given as options were really interesting.
And lastly, what would you say to others who are maybe considering joining the Vilnius University Law Faculty next semester?
I think I would definitely recommend coming here. First of all, the European law course is very integrated and interesting. And the experience of interacting with different nationalities for sure has been a good experience for me – getting to know more about other cultures as well as the culture of Vilnius. I now have a few Lithuanian friends and I keep learning new things about it, and that’s very interesting. I think it’s sad that a lot of people don’t know about Lithuania, cause honestly, when I was researching universities I didn’t know much about Lithuania either. But it’s a very beautiful place – I could walk around town for hours and not get bored of the sights. It’s such a green city with a rich history.
