Erasmus Diary

Mele Teresa

KA121 between L.S.S. Filippo Silvestri & Abidin Pak-Pakmaya Anadolu Liseli.

Introduction

From the 14th to the 20th of September, me and four other Italian students were hosted by five Turkish students in Edremit, Balıkesir, during a one of a kind Erasmus experience through the Erasmus+ KA121 project. This presentation serves as a memento of the truly beautiful moments we’ve all shared together, thanks to the joint efforts of our teachers and school administrators. Enjoy! Or rather…“Eğlence!”

The arrival

• On the 14th we arrived in Edremit quite late at night, but were nonetheless warmly welcomed by our host families! On the middle-left are me and my host, Sevina, and on the far left is her mother, Sevda.
• Each host family prepared for us a welcome sign!

Day #1 — Presentation Day

• On the first day we were welcomed at the school by the headmaster and many other teachers.
• We spent the day getting to know one another through icebreaker activities and gave presentations about our respective countries by talking about food, traditions, the territory, etc.

• After we were done with our presentations at school, we went out for lunch with our teachers and were dismissed for the rest of the day. We tried a traditional Turkish dessert called “Baklavari” made from pistachios and characterized by an otherworldly sweetness!

Day #2 — CLIL lessons

• We spent most of the day at school attending various lessons with the students, such as Literature, where we learnt about traditional Turkish poetry, History, where we presented monuments from our cities, and English, during which we tested our problem solving skills.

Day #3 — Robotics

• Day three was surely the most interesting, we formed small teams of fours and built mini LEGO robots, which then faced each other in a speed and accuracy race.

Day #4 — Troy Museum Visit

• Day four was by far my favorite out of the week, we visited the ruins of Troy!
• We followed a guided tour. The museum was built in a very particular way: similarly to how ancient cities were built atop the ruins of even older ones, the museum was divided into levels, each hosting artifacts from different ages.
• I was most interested in the third floor, which was filled with beautiful classical statues.

• We also paid a general visit to the town of Çanakkale, where the museum is located.

Day #5 — Ayvalık & Cunda Island

• On the last day we immersed ourselves in the beautiful sceneries of Ayvalık and Cunda Island.
• We visited historical and cultural places and pleased ourselves with the natural beauties of Cunda.

The Departure & Personal Considerations

On the 20th we left Edremit and shared a bittersweet goodbye with our friends.

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This trip left me with a newfound sense of responsibility, inspired by the hard work of our Turkish partners, and a stronger appreciation and understanding of communities, be they small or large. Overall I believe I changed at my core, in a short, but extremely important, amount of time, and I believe I’ve changed for the better.

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I will never forget the wonderful things I’ve experienced on this beautiful journey, Teşekkür ederim, Türkiye.