Impressions of the trip to Poland

ITALIAN STUDENTS’ IMPRESSIONS OF THE TRIP TO POLAND

During my Erasmus period, I had the opportunity to live in a foreign country, immerse myself in a new culture, and make friends with people from Turkey and Poland.

The idea scared me, but I found that this adventure would enrich my life background.

One of my first challenges was adapting to a foreign language. The group projects enriched my experience and gave me the opportunity to engage with different ideas and points of view.

Excursions in the surrounding area, visits to museums and historical sites have enriched my cultural background and allowed me to appreciate the richness and diversity of the world.

But what really makes the Erasmus experience special are the people I met.

My fellow Italians have become my second family, sharing laughter, adventures and unforgettable moments with me.

The Erasmus experience made me more open-minded and aware of the richness of cultural diversity and motivated me to continue exploring in my life journey.

I am grateful for this unique opportunity and recommend anyone who has the chance to participate in an Erasmus project to seize it, as the treasures that can be discovered during this journey are truly priceless.

Angelica Giannone

 During the days in Poland I had a very good time, especially with my Italian friends.

It was an experience that helped me to understand English and also learn something about Poland and Turkish people.

Furthermore, this project was also important to expand my knowledge on the problems of cyberbullying.

An experience that I would gladly do again!

Special thanks also go to our teachers who made themselves available for everything! ♥️

Vanessa Brafa

 My Erasmus experience in Lublin, Poland, was nothing short of extraordinary.

Through this experience my companions and I got to know the city's vibrant culture, the friendly people and rich history, which made every day an adventure.

From exploring the charming Old Town to immersing ourselves in Polish cuisine, every moment was memorable.

We had the opportunity to practice our language skills and improve them by talking to the other guys.

It was an experience that allowed us to grow, discover and see other realities in the world.

In the Polish school we had the opportunity to practice our English, we experimented with courses present in the school (for example Polish language courses and military activities), which allowed us to make friends with Turkish and Polish students and create a community. Overall, Erasmus in Lublin exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity because it allows students to open the doors to what for many young people is a real secret dream, namely that of savouring independence by combining the possibility of spending a period abroad with the possibility of studying in a different environment from the usual one.

Myriam Campo

 Spending a week in Poland was a very nice experience.

We managed to create a nice group and we met Polish and Turkish guys with whom we made friends and spent the days.

It was an experience that I would do again in other places, to get to know other people and their culture.

Francesca Modica

 I am a student who travelled to Lublin for the Erasmus project "Stop Cyberbullying", representing the Archimede Institute. We received excellent hospitality, I must say. Both the students and the teachers present in the classroom of their high school were fantastic. They integrated us and welcomed us in an excellent. We had a lot of time to get to know each other. We also made friends with most of the school. We met many girls and boys with whom we talked, exchanged ideas, thoughts, and shared our typical traditions and customs. In addition, our excursion to Zamosc offered us a captivating journey through its historical streets and architectural wonders. We wandered through the Old Town, admiring the facades of Renaissance buildings adorned with ornate details and elegant arcades. Our exploration led us to iconic landmarks such as the Zamosc Cathedral. We savoured the flavors of traditional Polish cuisine at local eateries, aromatic soups, and desserts. Engaging with friendly locals and fellow travellers, we exchanged stories and laughter over shared meals, forging connections that transcended cultural boundaries. Throughout the day, we delved deeper into Zamosc's cultural heritage, visiting museums and galleries that showcased the city's artistic legacy and historical significance. From vibrant folk art to thought-provoking exhibitions, each encounter enriched our understanding of Polish culture and ignited our curiosity to explore further. Many were also the other activities we carried out together with the fantastic Polish students, for example we went to play bowling on last day. Anyway, excellent experience. I love you, Poland, and I love you, Lublin.

 Alessio Corallo

 As I always say since the end of Erasmus, I would like to start by saying that it is not a simple trip but an experience.

You might ask yourself why?  Well, it's very simple, the differences I could list are many, such as the purpose of the trip, the fact of leaving for this trip with people I didn't even know but who I now consider great friends, but the biggest difference is that in Erasmus you can experience the city you are visiting 100% from every point of view.

We had already been preparing for the experience for many months beforehand, in fact we were anxiously awaiting the day of departure. The first day wasn't the best, I left my headphones at home and when we arrived in Warsaw, I discovered that my roaming wasn't working, but as unfortunate as it may seem, in the end it helped me immerse myself better in the experience. The following 2 days we engaged in activities related to the Erasmus project, Cyberbullying, comparing the different studies and research done by Italy, Turkey and Poland. On Wednesday and Thursday, we first visited a medieval town at the foot of a hill overlooking the river and then Zamosc, a city surrounded by a wall to protect it, both magnificent cities rich in history. On Friday our stay in Lublin ended. In the morning, we were received by the Mayor of the city who welcomed us with a speech and gifts, in the afternoon we had fun bowling with students from other countries, at the end of the day we said goodbye to the friends we had made. On Saturday we went to the capital, Warsaw, and saw the city center with its breathtaking skyscrapers and the crazy view that could be seen from above them, and the old city and the next day we returned to Modica.

It was an exciting trip full of adventures and experiences, new friendships, all things I will remember forever.

Carmelo Scollo Abeti

Greetings everyone, I’m Paolo, and I took part in the Erasmus project “Gentleboys and Gentlegirls behind the screen – Stop cyberbullying”, and today I would love to share my experience with you all. Let’s start by saying that I’m obsessed with English, and I’ve always wanted to improve it in the best way possible, which is getting out of your personal comfort zone and finding yourself forced to speak it, meaning that, in my opinion, if you wanna learn English you need to accept challenges, and Erasmus is a big challenge but it pays off in a really great way. I accepted the challenge and was so excited to take part in this project, I wanted to meet new people, see new places, feel new emotions, it was my first time abroad and I was on cloud nine, and other than that I’ve always wanted to visit Poland, so I jumped right in. As a group we had in-class meetings with our teachers and they kindly explained to us everything we needed to do, starting from PowerPoint presentations to traditional dances, it was fun and it helped us to get an idea about what we were going to do. Without even noticing it the departure’s day arrived

, I’ve never felt that excited in my whole life, I was ready to live one of the best weeks of my life, we flew for about 3 hours and landed in Warsaw, the vibes I had as soon as I touched the ground were something different, the perfect mix of happiness, joy, a bit of freedom and a lot of excitement, we spent a couple of hours in the airport and then we took our bus, the one who would have brought us to Lublin, I enjoyed the bus ride too, I loved Warsaw, at least the few things I was able to see from the bus mirror, once we started heading toward Lublin and we got out of Warsaw I kept admiring the landscapes, completely different from the ones I was used to. We arrived at Lublin’s bus station, and it was amazing, all the Italian group still had to get used to the cold weather, me included, we took a city bus and got to the old town, once there I felt emotions I’ve never felt before, I just fell in love with the architecture, buildings, in short, the whole atmosphere, we dropped off our bags at the hotel and went for dinner, right after dinner Lublin decided to welcome us in the best way possible, out of nowhere it started snowing and we all looked like children, due to the fact that we are not used to snow. The following day was even more exciting than the previous one, because we were going to the polish school and we were curious to understand how polish school system works and we wanted to meet students and teachers we would have found there, polish students welcomed us in the school’s gym hall, we performed our dance, Turkish people did too, then we all gathered up to perform a traditional Polish dance, it was both fun and interesting at the same time, right after we got back to the classroom to take part in the project activities, I got to know polish students and they were all friendly, but I kept talking especially with a girl, Lena. Italian girls’ hair straightener broke down the night before, and I asked her if she could guide us to some local shop to buy a new one, she kindly accepted and she came with us. We spent a lovely afternoon together going around the city, we were talking mainly about differences between our countries, but she even took time for us to explain history and monuments. The following day we made drawings and videos about cyberbullying, the third day, Wednesday, we went to a village about 2 hours far from Lublin, called Kazimierz Dolny, beautiful landscapes, I really loved the atmosphere and the vibes there, Polish students gave us a bit of a background about monuments and history of the village, we went to a volunteer fire department that same afternoon, they showed us trucks, machines, clothes and explained to us how’s the life of a volunteer firefighter, it was really interesting. On Thursday we went to Zamosc, it was really pretty, even because it was sunny, Lena took us to the park with 2 other Polish girls, Natalia and Karolina, we spent some really good time together. The last day, Friday, we went to the Town Hall, we discussed about the whole week, right after that Polish students guided us through Lublin, we ended our tour with an interesting visit to Lublin’s castle museum, where we got the opportunity to learn more about city’s past, we had some free time after. Lena and Natalia made us try out Pierogi, typical dumplings, they were delicious, in the afternoon we went bowling and after that I took the last walk in Lublin with Lena. Before we even got to realize it the week was already over, what was a mix of happiness, joy, and excitement turned into a mix of sadness and nostalgia, time does really fly when you enjoy every moment, this has been the best week of my life so far, I got to understand the real meaning of friendship and how it lasts through distance, I totally fell in love with Poland, vibes and emotions were just out of this world. I’m really grateful, I got the opportunity to experience such emotions and to live such moments, and I’m motivated to make Polish and Turkish guys feel the same way as I did, I will take the polish guys advice with no doubt and fly back to Lublin in summertime. I would love to thank both groups but especially the Polish one for organizing such cool activities and even taking time for us in the afternoon to show us how beautiful Lublin is. As I always say embracing the Erasmus experience not only means broadening your horizons, but also shaping the person you are destined to become, due to the fact that mixing nationalities is the key to become tomorrow’s European citizens!

Paolo Fidone