Memories and Dreams: My ERASMUS+ experience
From the 25th of September to the 1st of October, various Portuguese, German, Hungarian and Lithuanian students participated in the ERASMUS+ program aiming to know new places, people and understand the cultural differences across Europe.
This meeting was held in Eutin, Germany and hosted by the local students and teachers.
Gathered in the Johann-Heinrich-Voss-Schule, these students were given one mission, get to know each other while working together to complete the program’s workshop.
The workshop consisted on 4 groups of 6 students being given one themed box each with different kind of objects. The students needed to build a model or organize an experiment with the given objects and create a presentation that would explain an everyday phenomenon. The catch? The students didn’t know what the theme of the box was, having to collaborate with each other to discover the box’s theme, complete the task and share the final version of their project to the ERASMUS+ group at the end of the week.
While, usually, every morning was occupied by the workshop, after lunch the students focused on discovering and learning about new places and cultures. Some trips were pre-scheduled by the teachers, with new activities and experiences waiting for us in a different city, but the German students also took us to various places and taught us the history of the landmarks of the cities we visited on their own initiative. In this way, we were not only able to better understand the places and culture that surrounded us, but also to create stronger bonds with each other.
Germany is a magnificent country and Eutin looks like a small town out of a fairy tale. Although it was cold outside, its streets lined with roses and rustic brick houses were warm and cozy.
Cultural differences, such as routines, habits and mentality were notorious, however they never caused problems between us. Everyone got along so well, it felt like we were all childhood friends.
Over all I can only describe this whole trip as magical, unique or even perfect. In my opinion, this was truly the best experience anyone could have. I strongly advise everyone who has the opportunity to, to participate in the ERASMUS+ program.
A special thanks to the teachers and students of the ERASMUS+ program who allowed this magical experience to come true.
Article by Inês Arcangêlo
