In 2022, my school in Edessa took part in an Erasmus program after a two year break due to the pandemic. There were approximately 50 people in total. We all worked on some interesting projects but we had a lot of fun, as well.

The arriving day and first  day

We welcomed the students from the other countries and we brought them home to rest, because they were exhausted from the long trip.

The first day, we woke up early for the meeting at school: we started with the official welcome and presentations by the visiting delegations. Then we attended a lesson about eSafety , safe navigation, safe transactions. Moreover, there was a workshop by a Greek teacher, Apostolia Maladaki, who gave us some useful information about fake news. After gaining some basic knowledge on the subject, we were separated into 5 groups and our job was to prepare a slide about a fake news story and eventually tell the truth about it. Then we had a tour to Edessa, exploring the museums and sites.

The second day

We attended the last workshop by Evangelia Mika, a Greek teacher too. The workshop was divided in two parts, the first one was about dominant narratives and identifying hate speech and the second one was about producing counter narratives and combating hate speech. After the hard work, we took the bus to Pozar thermals. It was such an amusing activity, we all wore our swimsuits and swam together.

The third day

The third day was my personal favorite because we went to Thessaloniki, where a tour guide was waiting for us. She showed us some of Thessaloniki’s landmarks and she talked about the cultural heritage of the city. Then we had some free time to spend, so we went shopping and eating.

The fourth day

That day was a special day because it was the farewell party. All the Greek parents were gathered and we presented them ourselves first and then our work throughout these days. At the end of the presentation, there was a video of all the Erasmus students, it was really heartwarming and some of us started crying.

The last day

The hardest day of all. We had to say goodbye, we all started crying because we realized that very soon our friends would go back to their hometowns. It was the best 6 days of the entire year. We made friends from all around the world and we made some unforgettable memories. I hope we will have the chance to meet again.

Author: Athanasia Giali