How our little journey started…

3rd May Tuesday

The day when the 24 students and the 10 teachers arrived. Everyone was anxious, everyone was anticipating that moment, we were finally gonna meet the people we had never seen before in our lives. Are we going to get along with them? Will they like us? And then the excitement, I can’t wait any longer! I want to see them! After that torturing waiting they finally arrived, outside the school we run towards them and hugged them.

Wednesday – presentations of schools and our first workshop about fake news

In the morning we went to school in order to see every country’s presentation, presenting themselves and their schools. Romania, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Italy and in the end we presented our school as well, the 1GEL of Edessa. Later, we were shown an interesting talk about the paramount importance of using the internet safely and then we were divided into teams and worked on the theme of fake news by cooperating, finding information and making a presentation. When the presentation ended we all went together to see the well known waterfalls, the Varosi and we took a tour of the city. That day we got to know each other and form our friendship.

Thursday – our second workshop about hate speech

On Thursday day we worked on the topic of hate speech, cooperating again with each other and making another presentation. Even though we had a great time working on those projects, the best part of the day was when we went to the thermal baths in Pozar. We all went straight to the pool, we swam, we made competitions, who could swim faster, who could keep their breath under the water for the longest time (no one was harmed!) and other similar silly but funny games!

Friday – Thessaloniki

Early that morning we went to Thessaloniki. We were shown the most important historical sights by a guide. Then, when the tour ended we were able to explore Thessaloniki by ourselves, go shopping and eat. It was definitely one of the best days, we all had a great time!

Saturday – farewell party day

On Saturday we presented all the work we had done those last two days to our parents and the teachers. When the presentation ended we put on music, we danced, sang and obviously ate. I can’t describe what an amazing day it was

Sunday – the depressing day

The last day of the beautiful trip we all had, because as a wise person once said: “every trip has its ending, its destination”. In front of the school we were again hugging our new friends but this time for goodbye.

Erasmus was one of the greatest experiences I had ever had in my whole life. First of all, our city got famous, many people that had never even heard of it, now know it and they actually love it. What is more, through Erasmus I had the opportunity to learn new languages and cultures as well. For me though, the most important asset is the fact that you get to meet new people, make new friends, form strong relationships and socialize. I strongly believe that everyone should participate in this program. Trust me when I tell you that you will not regret it, the memories you gain and the people you meet cannot be compared to anything else and don’t argue with me because you will lose. There is nothing that could beat this experience.

Author: Fay Andreadou