di SARA MARTELLI – My journey to Greece began on the 8th October 2017: thanks to the Erasmus+ project “Improving social and emotional skills” I’ve lived an unforgettable week.
I still remember the day of my departure: I was extremely excited because I was going to have a new experience and I would fly for the first time. Yes, for the first time I’ve experienced the taking off, the landing and above all ….. I’ve flown!
Once we arrived in Chios, we settled into the hotel and then we went to a restaurant where we could taste some typical Greek dishes such as the Sarleki and the Greek Salad. At the beginning I wasn’t really sure I would enjoy them, but later I had to change my mind! That night I also met the Turkish guy partners who were sitting on the table next to ours. I also made friends with the other Italians I was travelling with, especially my roommates, Beatrice and Marialù.
The day after our arrival we visited the hosting Primary School of “Saint Mark”: it is quite big and very nice, the classrooms are similar to ours while the desks are different. As soon as we arrived, everyone welcomed us very friendly and they offered us Meringues and almond water. After that they took us to the school playground where we played lots of team games together with the other Greek students: some games were easy, some others were more difficult but I really enjoyed myself and the activities also helped us to know each other. Finally lunchtime arrived and we all had lunch around a very long table. In the afternoon we visited a Byzantine monastery, which was full of mosaics.
The following morning we went back to the Primary School where we played some different games which let us know more about the other students: they were mainly socialising and trust games. That day we spent the whole afternoon in a foster home where some “unwanted” and abused children live. There we first visited the farm, then we had a snack and finally we creatively painted some ceramic hearts realized by the kids from the foster house. I still keep the heart I painted in my bedroom as a souvenir of that day.
The 11th October has been my favourite day because we visited two wonderful cities, called Mesta and Pyrgi, both full of flowers, plants, walkways and charming ancient houses and buildings. White is the main colour in the city of Pyrgi whose walls are all decorated with drawings and strange patterns such as whorls, zig-zags, squares, diamonds, etc… very original! Then we went to the Mastic Museum that I didn’t find boring at all. On the contrary there I’ve learnt lots of new things about mastic: for example what they use it for and which instruments they use to make it. In the end we went outside the museum and they showed us how they take mastic out of a tree. After lunch we went to see the Mavra Volia Beach which is completely covered with dark stones: amazing!
On 13th October we visited the Archaeological Museum where lots of vases and statues are shown … Late in the afternoon we took part into the farewell party: we’ve played and danced Greek dances for hours, singing both Greek and Italian songs but at the end we had to say bye bye to each other and it’s been a very sad moment. After taking the last photos we went back to the hotel.
The day after we packed our luggage and after a long journey we came back home.
I will never forget this trip: for a whole week I got away from my everyday life, I’ve met new friends and I’ve learnt new things.
It’s definitely been a unique experience!
