European Culture and History Outlines

 

ARTICLE 1

The third mobility in Spain was generally not less than a great experience. Almagro was a truly beautiful city, different from most of our hometowns. Cities in Spain were more flat and well constructed than Greece, Cyprus and Italy. Due to this, people are able to move around on foot or by bike more easily. People in Spain were very hospitable, kind funny, energetic, cheerful and very outgoing. They were all into music, dancing and having fun.

All our days here were unique and wonderful, each in their own way. On Monday we were welcomed by the teachers and were showed their presentations. On Tuesday and Thursday we visited Cordoba an Toledo which both were a stunning view to witness. On Wednesday, the day between our trips, we presented our presentations and prepared content for the debate which took place later on. And lastly, on Friday, today, we’re going to paint a wall all together and say our farewells to everyone who took part and of course the families that hosted us.

The first day we were awkward because we want to know each other and share between us our emotions and knowledge. We were excited to know Spanish tradition, culture and gastronomy. The feelings and optimism of Spanish people was transmitted into us. We ___________________ with people that would normally  take us a long time to meet.

In Portugal, people have more spicy food and many people usually eat more kinds of pasta and they use less ingredients on food. In Cyprus and Greece ______________________ than here, because here in Spain we focus on history. And here we have more physical contact than in the other countries. Spanish people are more energetic, the school is smaller than in  Portugal and Spain has modern architecture. Also Spain has different time schedules, because everything is earlier than in Italy.

In our point of view, Erasmus programmes are a great way to know people, to make great friends, to explore other cultures and to improve our English, Portuguese,  Italian, Spanish and Greek. We  think we are going to remember this experience and we won’t forget anyone in this trip.

• Celia Nunez Prieto

• Mercedes Garcia Martinez

• Alessandra Osek

• Leonardo Paulo

• Eleni Mastrogiannakou

• Sylvia Voutsa

• Alicia Carneros Espinosa

• Niove Lekati

 

ARTICLE 2

We arrived in Almagro in the afternoon of Sunday 5th May 2019 in a bus. Our Spanish fellows were waiting for us and we went to their houses.

The activities were a lot of fun, the games that all the students made together, the debate and the presentation and the best activities that we made were the  trips to Toledo and Cordoba. In this Erasmus+ meeting we did a lot of activities. On Monday teachers made a presentation for the students and also gave the backpack and the t-shirt with the project logo. On Tuesday we visited Cordoba and in particular we saw the Mezquita and sure we had a tour around the city. The next day, Wednesday, we saw the students’ presentations and we had the debate about “The importance of social networking in school”. On Thursday we went to Toledo and we had a beautiful time with the guide that showed us not just the most popular part of the city but also we had an immersion in Toledo’s citizens’ habits. The last day we made the article, we painted the wall and we had a great time at the final lunch with all the host families.

Almagro was one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited so we felt a   lot of emotions like: happiness, excitement and even a little bit nervous because some people never went to other countries and basically all people liked this travel. The expectation fulfilled was higher than they thought because they liked the organization that the project in Spain made and they liked all the trips that we made the different places in Spain too. For example, the last Wednesday was Mike’s birthday and we went to Pedro’s house to celebrate this birthday party, we danced, ate pizza … but    the best thing was that we stayed together.

The cultural differences was another important part because we were able to learn a lot from each other due to so many differences from our culture. For example the first big cultural difference is the language between each other. The Italian, the Spanish and the Portuguese despite a little bit difference we have a very similar language, the Greeks and the Cypriots have a very similar language between them but very different from the Western countries due to the different influences of cultures. Talking about culture all the nations in this project have a very similar way of living due to the globalization, despite some differences like music, food and architecture, religion and history. We have looked beyond our differences and coexisted like equals.

For the end our personal opinion: we liked a lot the trips to Cordoba and Toledo because they were so fun and educational, of course we can’t forget the unity and the friendships we made, in this experience there wasn’t anything to dislike only to love! To finish this we just want to say that we loved every part and we would like it to repeat!

• Elena Martin

• Tomas Coutinho

• Edoardo Mangoni

• Samuele Serafini

• Olga Verano

• Noe Romero

• Georgina Evangelou

 

ARTICLE 3

On the 4th May all the countries started their trip to Madrid except the Italians. On the 5th May all the countries met together to pick up the Italians from the airport and go to the final destination, Almagro. When we arrived, the only thing we were thinking it was how beautiful the place is. We all believe that we came the right period because it is not very hot and not very cold so the weather wasn’t a problem not to enjoy our trip. Also in a weather like this it is easier to enjoy this spectacular place full of colours.

Sunday  was the day we met all the participants. At the beginning it was hard to make friends and understand their personalities but as the days went by   we understood how amazing was all the people from all the countries and how much we didn’t want to leave because of the friendships we made.  At night after all people left their suitcases at the houses we were going to stay during the week, we went to the square where we ate ice cream and later we went to “_____________” to play games to know all people. On Monday, we were welcomed and had introductions at the school; we met the people from all the countries. Then we listened to the teacher talk about History of Europe and played Kahoot about this. Later we visited Almagro: palaces, town hall, “Corral de Comidia” etc. In the evening we went for dinner to a bar. When we finished we went to play all together. On Tuesday 7th May in the morning we went to visit Cordoba. There we visited monuments and we had lunch there and went shopping. We arrived at Almagro at 9:00 am. And some people went to have dinner while others went to the houses. On Wednesday we arrived at school for the presentations and we debated about “Scientific and Technological development: social networks and how they affect education”.

At the beginning most of the people wanted to return because they missed their families and friends. Later we all understood that this experience was awesome and totally worth it. We had to adjust all together so we could have the time of our lives. Today the last day we all feel very sad for leaving and for sure whoever you ask they didn’t regret choosing to come to this trip. We think that all the people are going to miss each other and all of them have made strong ties with different people.

This trip has a big impact to everyone because we lived with people from other countries and learned their culture and the way they live. Also from this trip, what we liked the most was the company from all the participants and the thing we liked the least was that we don’t have enough days. We all would love to have more   time to create more experiences and memories. Those are the memories that last FOR EVER.

• Joacquin Jesus Lopez Rubire

• Leonor Santos Susano

• Gabriele Ciucchiuini

• Myrto Demetriou

• Despina Andreu

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ARTICLE 4

Last week here in Almagro, a small village of Spain, students of different countries – Italy, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus – were hosted by some of the students of the high school ‘Antonio Calvin’. These students were travelling to very important cities in Spain, to have more knowledge and the improvement of the language that is the aim of the project called Erasmus+.

 

In this week, we have done many different and intercultural activities. For example, we have learnt the history of other countries and we have enjoyed making theatre. The first day we visited the village of Almagro and its beautiful views. The next day the city of Cordoba attracted us with its gardens and the mosque with its horseshoe arches. Between challenges and challenges, we have a working day with the presentations and the debate which was won by the group “for”. After hard work, we celebrated Michael’s birthday sharing different dances and songs of the different countries. The fourth day and the visit to Toledo arrived very early with interesting things which Spanish people didn’t know either. After a day of going up and down hills, we passed the night all together in the park. And now we are on our last day, the fifth.

 

From the Italian humour, to the Greek intelligence passing through the friendliness of the Portuguese and Cyprus people we had experiencing a lot of feelings. On the one hand we have all the nervousness of their arrival and the excitement of meeting all the people and their customs, songs, dances etc. While, on the other hand, we are sad because of their departure. We have had very good and unforgettable experiences. It’s difficult to describe the Erasmus+ feelings because if you don’t live it you can’t know it.

 

In the Erasmus+ project we have many  cultures and each one has their own traditions and language. We have Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Cyprus. There are some languages so different to the other languages but also there are other languages that are so similar to each other. For example, Greek is so different from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese but also Portuguese is so similar to Spanish. There are a lot of different types of music and each country has its own. As we could see every country has a different history that can be so different but at the same time we can have the same roots. Here we’ve tried a lot of Spanish food but all the countries have different kinds of food, different tastes and different time to eat. The school and educational system are so different in each country; Portugal has 10 hours of school, Spain, Italy and Cyprus have 6 and Greece 7.

 

In conclusion, this week in Spain, following the Erasmus+ programme, we believe that each student had really fun. Everyone enjoyed their trip because for sure they have made new friends, they learnt more things about European history and culture and now they know more differences and common things that our countries have with each other. Also, they have explored the Spanish lifestyle, we have discovered that the way each other live in their country is uncommon. During the trip, we visited Cordoba and Toledo. Some students preferred Cordoba and others Toledo. In our visits we also tasted the Spanish gastronomy. The negative point is that we wish the programme was for more days, as everyone has connected with each other and has so many experiences and wants to feel more.

• Pedro del Rio

• Maria Valencia

• David Borges

• Sofia Gkouma

• Giada Scargetta

• Carmen Munoz