Scholarship Issues? =(

I cannot believe we are half way through the semester, my studies are going really well and I am really excited about my big project, I will write about it in a different post, though ;). A lot has happened since i moved to Denmark, and as I mentioned before, I came here thanks to an Erasmus Mundus scholarship. However, having a scholarship does not imply that our lives will be much easier!! When people ask me why I applied to scholarship I reply the following:

Education is considered a luxury in El Salvador, if you have money then you can go to school, it is just as simple as that!!! (unless you find yourself a scholarship) and even though most of us don´t have financial means to afford education in our countries, nor even in a foreign country, our dreams and goals remain alive, and they encourage us to fight for these opportunities, which are not easy to achieve. It took me three years to get this scholarship award, and now that I finally get it I never thought I also had to face some unexpected hurdles. 

Scholarships are not supposed to be paid back nor cut into percentages, (note that I am speaking on behalf of the Global UGRAD grant, which I was part of in 2011-2012 and EM grant, the one I have now) yet in this case, somehow being Salvadoran is playing against me. I was notified my scholarship is not free from taxation,  I of course was very shocked!! and when asking the reason behind this is? then again, My Nationality :(  Yes!! Indeed!! I never expected this, it is very disappointing that my country does not have a bilateral agreement with Denmark, and therefore I have to give the 38% of my total scholarship. I believe it is very unfair, especially when most of your scholarship out of tax goes towards your rent, it is nearly impossible to live by a couple of hundreds of Danish Krone, and the fact that I don´t speak the local language makes it more difficult to find a student job. 

I am extremely disappointed with this news but I will not let this take over me, I am determined to find a solution to this inconvenience; it is of course unfair that my Erasmus Mundus friends have no issues with their scholarships because their governments have bilateral agreements with the Danish government but I am also hopeful that something can be sorted out. 

I won´t give up, though, a positive attitude during hardships is a good point of departure, and it is also healthy to keep smiling, even throughout low moments. I will keep everyone posted regarding this because I am sure more Erasmus Mundus international students coming to Denmark might have to face the very same issue on the near future if their government happens not to have this agreement!!!

Wish me luck and hugs from Denmark !