The meeting from Pedara, Sicilia, Italy: ”Popular traditions around the year”
My experience in Italy
Have you ever tought of waking up and having a vulcano in front of your eyes for a week? Of the fact that you can talk with children from countries situated so far from yours? Of how you can live on an island that you only dream of? And about how all these opportunities are offered by a simple English test? Probably not!
I am Andreea Vadean and today I will share my opinion on my experience in Italy, Erasmus+ 2022. I want to start by saing that I’m very satisfied by this nice trip with my teachers and that I felt very welcomed.
I liked the way that our activities were scheduled and well organized, I liked the fact that you could make friends very easy. We got along with every team, the children were open minded and sociable.
Even if we thought that we are going to have breaks, the days were full of activities, but that wasn’t a bad thing, because the activities were entertaining and there was a lot of fun. We had a kind of treasure hunt in the whole city. We visited some nice cities and my favourite was the trip on Etna vulcano, which errupted on the last evening of the week.
The Etna vulcano erruption was something that shocked us. It was an experience that you have once in a lifetime. We recorded and took photos of the moment with our mouths opened. It was amazing to see that with our eyes from our room’s balcony.
The food was scrumptious. The pizza tasted amazing and we had the chance to taste a weird kind of pizza, the one with pistachio. Surprizingly, it was very good, but the winners were the “Belfast Burgers” which were giant but delicious. You can try them at “Rosemary’s Pub”, a tiny, but good looking restaurant.
About the place that we lived in, I can’t tell lots of details. A nice and simple place with three rooms that had their own bathrooms and a nice and big kitchen. The walls were very colorful, but they made you feel relaxed. Every room had a balcony with a beautiful landscape of the Etna vulcano.
And to answer to the first questions, I couldn’t think of those opportunities either, but look, I actually had them. Erasmus+ gave me an experience that I will never forget about!
IMPRESSIONS FROM THE ERASMUS – PEDARA MEETING, ITALY
As for the meeting in Pedara, Italy in May 2022, I can tell you that I have remained with indelible memories, that I have met new people and discovered things that I did not know. I am excited to have been selected to attend this meeting as it was my first international experience and will share some of my impressions.
What I liked very much was the stunning view from the accommodation, which was unforgettable; one could see very clearly the volcano Etna that on the penultimate evening began to erupt. I was simply fascinated by that spectacle of fire!
I was also very impressed by the Cathedral of Noto, which was one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. Its interior was immaculate white and had small spots of gold on certain places. The paintings inside her were hand-painted with unimaginable details.
At the same time, I was very impressed by the school students who were very welcoming, friendly and talented. Their school activities were very creative and different from those in Romania. I also liked the fact that their classrooms were very small with a maximum of 10-15 students in each class.
Last but not least, their traditional food was also delicious and diversified. I also enjoyed their communication style I because they were using a lot of body language, and on this topic a small contest was also held.
Erasmus is an amazing opportunity to connect with children from other countries and to explore various cultures. I would repeat this experience at any time and I would like to see some of the children in this meeting again. I am deeply grateful for this unique opportunity!
Alexia Maria Moșuț, V-C grade
ERASMUS+ 2022, ITALY, PEDARA
For a week, between 16th-21st of May 2022, I had the opportunity to travel to Italy in the ERASMUS + program. This was a unique experience, from which I learned new things. In this project, I participated in the exchange of good practices, the topics of the meeting being about traditions around the year, economic development of our area and local geography.
On the first day, we were all excited, being away from the people and places we had known before, but we had the chance to meet new people and places, seeing what life is in that small Italian town.
On the third day, I gave a presentation in English about the Christmas holiday, the Harvest Festival and the holiday of Saint Mary, specific to the Transylvanian region. In my presentation, I offered information about customs and traditions, accompanied by a few photos. As with any presentation, held in an imposing conference room, of course, there was a lot of emotion. They disappeared easily, when I saw that I was being listened to with attention and interest by foreign students and teachers.
For a week we visited tourist and historical sites, including the city of Noto which has the most amazing cathedral I have ever seen, the city of Catania, with its beautiful buildings and of course, the walk to the volcano, which, as a farewell in our last night there, erupted. Italian students were eager to tell us about each tourist destination.
At school, I participated in various activities and creative workshops, where I worked and cooperated with other foreign students.
We spend a lot of time with the participating students, we exchanged information, impressions, learning new things about the traditions and customs of our country and of our region. Each of us spoke of his country, his city, and his school. Through these activities, I have made friends, I still keep in touch with some of them .This program allowed me to meet new people, discovering how friendly, warm and friendly the Italian, Turkish and Polish are.
I can say that ERASMUS + is more than a project.
I would like to thank the teachers who guided us through this wonderful experience. If I had the opportunity to participate once again, I would do it immediately.
Sarah Cîmpean, V C grade
Between 14st and 21th May I had the pleasure to experience the adventure of a trip to Sicily with friends. I met many wonderful people and created new friendships. I got to know Turkish, Italian, Bulgarian and Romanian cultural traditions . I spent wonderful moments learning but also integrating through joint dances, singing, games, learning or trips during which I got to know new places. I did not expect that the trip would be so interesting and satisfying . Thanks to many wonderful people from different places in the world, there was a nice atmosphere and I learned new things along with the new baggage of experience gained. I think it was a very well spent time and worth it. I’m sure that my adventures, new acquaintances, experiences thanks to which I spent a nice time will stay with me forever.
Alicja
During my stay in Sicily, I saw many interesting places. I visited Noto, Catania. I admired the amazing architecture and history of these places. I got to know Italian, Turkish, Bulgarian and Romanian traditions, which turned out to be a very interesting lesson about the culture of these countries. I also learned a lot about the geography of these nations. Not only did I have fun with people from other countries there, but I also broadened my knowledge about the countries they come from. I met many kind people in Sicily who taught me a lot. We spent a nice time dancing, learning the Sicilian gestures and playing the games they prepared for us. In my opinion, this trip passed in a pleasant atmosphere full of wonderful moments.
Weronika
From 17th to 21th May, I took part in trip to Sicily with Erasmus project. That was an incredible adventure and amazing opportunity to meet new people from Rumunia, Bulgaria, Turky and Italy . I took part in workshops about our traditional dances, and we cold have present them Krakowiak dance. I was amazed with wonderful ladscapes of Etna volcano, and splended, Italian, antique architecture. I visited many grate places, and talked with fantastic people. During games, activities and trips I managed to get to know a lot of amazing people, and I learned a lot of interesting things from them. I think it was a great adventure, during which I gained a lot of experience and made new friends.
Agnieszka
Firstly, we were greeted very well. They organised many different activities, trips, and social events wonderfully and I was never bored. Events, meals, presentations and everything else was carefully prepared. The people were extremly friendly and helpful to Erasmus+ students. The environment of the students is very welcoming and vivid, besides their friendly behavior. I spent really good time there and I made very great friends. I also liked the Italian architecture very much. It was old and also modern, so I admired all the buildings. This experience taught me a lot about cultural diversity. I had the opportunity to get to know many cultures closely. And my experiences have been completely positive. Sicily was all together an interesting, exciting and fruitful experience for me. I will miss all these memories and Sicily so much.
İrem from Istanbul Team
Thanks to this project, I both learned about other cultures and told people from other cultures about our country. I made new friends, had the opportunity to visit Italy. I was happy to learn about Etna volcano. Tasting pizza varieties that I have never eaten before made me understand Italy’s food culture better. It was also very enjoyable to prepare a presentation with my friends.
Sümeyye from Istanbul Team
They were very loving people. The food culture is different from ours, but I loved it. Moreover, there are ancient buildings on its streets. They have preserved and preserved them very well. There are many historical fountains. Cultural dances are fun dances. Pizzas are very delicious. Also, their ice creams are different.
İlayda from Istanbul Team
