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.Telmo Silva

When I was chosen to go to Italy, I got really excited because we all have that good idea of Italian places of what we can see in photos.
The day of the trip came and one dream of mine was almost fulfilled. I always wanted to go out of Portugal and the first opportunity I had was to go to Italy so I got excited but nervous too.
When we got to Milan, our first stop, we went to a hotel and slept there for a night. The next day we got out and we walked through the city and visited a lot of places, which were very beautiful and made us wonder why we didn’t have those things in our country.

In the same day, we visited the docks and the captain explained why and how they helped the refugees that arrived at their country by sea.
In the last day, we visited 2 different cities and visited many new things like a Greek Theatre an Aquarium and more things that made the last day perfect because all groups from every school were together and we made a lot of friendships.
Then it was time to go to Catania so we went to the airport and easily we got there, safe and sound. There we were received by the Greek team.

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They were very nice to us and very kind. We stayed in that apartment with them. In the morning we had breakfast together and during the day we visited Catania and we had fun. It was a very nice start of our trip every person we met till then had been very nice to us.
It was time to really get to Pozzallo and I must say we were kind of nervous because we feared that our hosts were not nice or something like that. But when we arrived we saw a banner with “Portugal” written in it and we went to our hosts’ home. Mine and his family were very nice to me, they received me like I was a family member.
We met the teacher responsible for the Italian guys and she explained to us what we would do during that week, then we saw that we had a lot of things to do. One activity that everyone was excited to do was to meet the refugees/migrants, the people that ran away from Africa.
The volcano Etna also got us very enthusiastic.
When we went to Etna, I and my mate got late to the bus because it was supposed to get ready to travel at 5:45 and we only got there at 6:45, so we got really ashamed but the teachers understood our problem and forgave us for being late.

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The rest of the day was really interesting and new because we didn’t know that Etna had got Lava Rivers that can go over 3 km of distance.
We met new kinds of rocks that we only have seen in geology classes but in that moment they were more realistic. A guide went with us went and taught us things from the volcano that we didn’t know.
During 1 or 2 days we had the privilege of meeting refugees that came from Africa and we interviewed them, we got to know some of their stories and a lot of things that we still don’t know that were happening in their country. That experience made us more sensitive to other people that live in those circumstances.
We had a day when we went to the ocean and we made a lot of experiences with the water and got to know that it is a very clean and not polluted. In the same day, we visited the docks and the captain explained why and how they helped the refugees that arrived at their country by sea.
In the last day, we visited 2 different cities and visited many new things like a Greek Theatre an Aquarium and more things that made the last day perfect because all groups from every school were together and we made a lot of friendships.

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That day we had to travel to Catania again so when we got to the bus our hosts started to cry because in that week we made strong relationships with them.
Last day, we visited 2 different cities and visited many new things like a Greek Theatre an Aquarium and more things that made the last day perfect because all groups from every school were together and we made a lot of friendships.
That day we had to travel to Catania again so when we got to the bus our hosts started to cry because in that week we made strong relationships with them.

Already in Catania we spend all night without sleeping and when we got to go to the plane everyone fell asleep because we were very tired. That week we worked a lot and we didn’t sleep much so we were very tired, we were like walls almost falling.
When we got to Portugal we talked to each other, evaluating the whole week and the most important thing is that we will never forget this epic experience and we will never lose contact with our hosts and other friends that were very kind to us.

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Emanuel
    It all began on a sunny afternoon on Francisco Sá Carneiro airport, everyone said their farewells to their loved ones and embarked on a 9-day trip, a once in a lifetime trip I would say.
After a 3-hour flight, we landed in Bergamo airport at around 9 PM. As it was late, we headed for a Hotel where we stayed for the night. The next day, we explored a part of Milan, specifically the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery and its surrounding monuments, such as the Duomo. Later that day, we embarked on an aircraft again, this time to Catania on the island of Sicily.
When we got to Catania, it was already nighttime so as usual, we were headed for the place where we would crash for the night. This time we weren’t going sleep in Hotel like in Milan.

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Instead, we slept in an apartment, but we weren’t the only Erasmus students there! That’s when we met the lovely Greek students and teachers (We didn’t exactly talk with them, that was more the next day because they were super exhausted because they hadn’t slept for 30+ hours). Out of all the participants, I think that we, the Portuguese students, bonded more with the Greek students.

The following day, we explored Catania, but we spent less time sightseeing Catania then we did Milan, because at around 3 PM that same day, we entered a bus that had already the group from Bulgaria and that would take us to the real beginning of our journey, which was Pozzallo. The bus took around 2 hours from Catania to Pozzallo, and, when we got there, a crowd of people surrounded the bus with posters and signs welcoming us to their town.

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It was surreal, seeing that many people ecstatic about our arrival, it’s something you can only truly grasp the otherworldly nature of it if you experience it yourself. That first afternoon and night, we spent hanging around with our fantastic hosts and their friends and getting to know them and their town better.

On the second day in Pozzallo, we presented our PowerPoint to all the Erasmus students and teachers from the various countries (Italy, Greece, Belgium, and Bulgaria). Which was the culmination/peak of all our work until then, and not wanting to brag, I think we did a killer job at presenting it.
From there on out, we did various activities, such as interviewing the migrants that were in Sicily, and explored multiple nearby regions such as Modica, Ragusa, Siracusa and even climbed a part of the Etna Volcano.  Out of all those activities, the one that I enjoyed the most was interviewing the migrants, because even though some of them left their families and friends behind.

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They were always happy, energetic and confident, always with a positive attitude that their sacrifices will lead up to a better future for them.

The hardest part of this entire trip was leaving Pozzallo and embracing that our journey was finally coming to an end. There were tears of joy and of sadness, joy because of the friendships that we had made and the experiences that we went through, and sadness because we had to leave our new friends and go back to our home country, not knowing if we’ll ever be with them again or not.

But alas, the show must go on. I want to wrap this up by thanking Teacher Celeste for organizing this project and giving us this opportunity, Teacher Carlos and Fátima for accompanying us to Italy and helping us, and all of the Teachers and Students from the other participating countries, because, without them, this whole project would not be possible.

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Nuno

Erasmus is more than just travelling to other countries, Erasmus is a way of culture and academic enrichment, a lesson of life, a way to grow and become independent. It was my best academic and personal experience.
In addition to the incredible friendships I have made, I learnt about a system of education that is different from ours, so many different cultures and traditions, I tasted traditional food like(risotto, pizza, etc),and that is very important for us because while we are with other families speaking other languages basically living another way, we grow as persons.
So that was my experience and I loved it, it was amazing to learn other cultures and to visit other countries.
I think that the people who can participate in Erasmus they must participate because that will help them and certainly they will love it.

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Pedro Guimarães

Erasmus+ mobility to Italy was one of the best experiences in my life, the experience that proved to me that Erasmus is more than a trip to another country. Erasmus is a way to meet new cultures and give us the opportunity to meet new persons and make new friends.
This trip helped me to improve my English, but that wasn´t the only thing. This trip made me grow up, I learned many new things, and I learned how to take care of myself.
I loved this experience, since the first day, I felt like I was at home because my host received me very well. I tasted traditional dishes, and I lived in a different way that I live in S. Pedro da Cova and I also made a lot of new friendships that I will never forget.
I´m glad that I had the opportunity to live this experience, and I hope I can have another opportunity like that later on.
The advice I can give to other students is not to waste this opportunity.

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Carina

When the teacher talked about the project Erasmus+ in my class I was very interested in it. I was chosen to go to Pozzallo, Italy and there they were so cool and good with us.
On the first day, they made a "little party" because of us. Pozzallo is a beautiful city and the sea is so blue and clean, and temperature very hot.
We made a presentation about the work we have done for some months and I think it went really well. The activity "Discovering Pozzallo" consisted of seeing and discovering the city and eating typical food.
On the second day we went to the Etna Volcano, and for me that was amazing.
On the other days, we saw many cities like Ragusa, Syracuse, Catânia, Modica, and Taormina.
For me, that was a wonderful experience because I made friends from other countries and I could use and train my English in a different way. They taught us words in their languages and we taught them Portuguese words, and they think that Portuguese is very difficult and funny.
In future, I would like to repeat this experience and I think that everyone should do so.

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. Vítor

For me, Erasmus + was an unforgettable experience, because it will help me a lot in my future, mostly in my professional future. But that isn't the only reason, it is also an unforgettable experience because it gave me the opportunity of knowing new cultures, making new friends, and going to new countries. On this trip, we went to Milan, Catania, and Pozzallo, but it was in Pozzallo where we spent most of the time. It was there that we made a lot of friends and we were well received by the families and by all the students and teachers. And when we weren't working in the "Spazzio Cultura" we were visiting many interesting places like Etna, Chocolate Museum, Modica, Siracuse, Taormina, Ragusa. So for me, this was the best experience that I ever had academically and personally.
I think that the persons that have the opportunity of entering into some project like this, they are very lucky persons and they should participate.

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Ana Costa

When I first heard about Erasmus+ I wasn't really excited about it, but when teacher Celeste talked about it in class I understood what the project was about and really wanted to try it. The city I was chosen to go to was Pozzallo which is located on the island of Sicily in Italy and it was awesome. I can say that it was the best week I've ever had.
Our hosts were very nice and welcoming. We had the opportunity to meet and talk to people with different cultures than our own. Even though we had our differences, that didn’t set us apart if anything, it brought us even closer.
I had the chance to make friends from Greece and Italy. In what regards students from Belgium and Bulgaria, they never tried to engage in a conversation with us, so it was a bit difficult to connect with them, but in the end, we managed to make it work. We had a lot of work and expeditions during the week. We made a presentation for everyone about the problems and solutions for water. We talked to the migrants and heard their stories. It was a fun and exciting week!

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Marco

My trip to Italy was one of the best experiences I've ever been in.
During this week I discovered new cultures, people, languages, cities and customs. Italy is a spectacular country and I loved all the places we have visited, such as Milan, Catania, Pozzallo and much more.
We explored a lot during the week we were on this magnificent country! I have to refer our exploration to Etna, one of the biggest Volcanoes ever!
The welcoming way we were received is one of the many features of Italy.
This Project allowed us to meet people from many other countries than Italy, like Greece, Belgium, Bulgaria and some immigrants from Africa.
I came up with a better idea about the cultures and habits of different nationalities. We talked a lot with others so we learned many typical things from other countries like dances, food, music and everything you can imagine!
If someday you have the opportunity to participate in these projects, I advise you to do it because it will be the funniest trip you can make and you will learn many things! Overall, it was a great experience and if I could, I would do it again.

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Tiago
This experience in Italy began in the magnificent city of Milan. Although our stay in Milan was short, we visited beautiful places among them the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery and the Duomo.

After this day in Milan, we travelled to the city of Catania, on the island of Sicily. We stayed there for only 1 day with our Greek friends and we went to know this Italian area.
After these 2 days getting to know 2 Italian cities, our long-awaited trip to Pozzallo arrived.
When we arrived in Pozzallo, dozens of people were waiting for us, among them, our hosts with a poster saying "PORTUGAL". We knew that those boys and girls would welcome us very well during that week!
On the day after our arrival, our Italian, Greek, Bulgarian and Belgian friends listened very carefully to our work which was prepared during these last months.
In the rest of this incredible week, we have been visiting and getting to know not only Pozzallo but also many wonderful places that will be forever in our memories. The Volcano Etna, Ragusa, and Modica were some of the cities we visited.
But one of the parts that touched me the most was when we spoke with the migrants. I really enjoyed talking and being with them and knowing their dreams and goals.
It was a week of not only learning but also of fun and joy. We made several friends, we will forever keep them in our hearts and we will never forget this trip, this week, these places and these people who welcomed us very well.
And at the time of farewell, there were hugs, kisses, and even tears.
It was an INCREDIBLE week, we learned many new things, we socialized with different people, with different cultures. A week that we take to life, and we will never forget.