MEETING IN LIVORNO - from 28 February to 4 March 2016

We had a fantastic meeting in Livorno where the hospitality and warmth of the Livornese touched our hearts. The students with the highest scores at the Erasmus Creativity Club where the lucky ones to travel to Italy. That is, Maria B., Cristian D., Júlia B. and Emi B.

Our time at Istituto di Primo Grado Massini in Livorno would be unforgettable. Art was everywhere: on the walls of the classrooms, on the students' works displayed on the corridors and, of course, in Pisa and Florence, the cradle of art and the masters of the Renaissance.

These are the experiences of Maria, Cristian and Emi in Livorno:

I loved the experience of going to Italy for so many reasons: I met new interesting people, learned how different countries interact and went to a new country! The Erasmus+ gives us this great oportunity and I'm very happy to have worked to get it too. I became very close to Alessia, the girl who hosted me and also to her family and that hasn't got a price: it's amazing. Going to Italy helped me to improve my English but also to realize that Italian and Catalan are very similar and that I would like to go there many more times.

I am very thankful for this great oportunity. It's an experience I will never forget. Maria B.

On 28^th March 2016 our trip to Italy started. We went to El Prat Airport in Barcelona at midday and we departed at 3 pm. We arrived in Pisa at 4.30 pm. Our Italian partners and families were waiting for us there. That day I met Adam in person because we had just chatted on Whatsapp before.

The next day we spent the day in Livorno with all our Erasmus mates. We did a sightseeing tour in Livorno although it was raining. However we enjoyed our day very much because we were in very good company.

On Tuesday we went to Florence. We took the train at 9 and an hour later we had already arrived. I sincerely think Florence is one of the most beautiful and impressing cities I have visited in my life. There everything was art and culture and I honestly loved it in all possible ways.

On Wednesday we went to Pisa and followed the same itinerary as in Florence. Pisa was also very beautiful although not as impressing as Florence.

On Thursday we spent the day in another Mazzini school “La villa”, which was bigger than the school on Monday. We did a lot of activities and workshops there with our Erasmus friends. Some of us met in the afternoon and did some sightseeing together in Livorno.

On Friday we went to a different Mazzini school building to join an Italian class of students visiting the Jewish cemetery and the museum.

All in all, it has been an amazing experience which we will never forget. I value it very much at educative and emotional levels. I must admit I miss my Italian friends, especially Adam, the best person I met in Italy! I hope we can meet again in May in Vallbona… ;-) Cristian D.

I have met such amazing and wonderful people in Livorno! In fact, my Italian family has been the best of this experience. Without them it wouldn’t have been the same. I’ve had the best time of my life surrounded by the best people I had never imagined. As you can see, I’ve loved the experience of participating in an Erasmus+ mobility.

It has been a week full of great moments with such nice foreign friends and also a week full of emotions, because as you know, the most difficult words to say are “hello” and “good-bye”. I was so sorry to depart from my Italian home because they treated me like a sister and like a daughter.

I would repeat this experience a thousand times. I know I would enjoy it each time and I would learn a lot of things. I feel this experience has opened my eyes to things whose importance I hadn’t realized before. I’ve become more interested in getting to know other cultures, and therefore, I have contacted an Erasmus group to join them in the summer.

I think this is a unique experience and we have to make the most of it and enjoy it. It’s an opportunity to become more fluent in another language and getting to know another country and its culture. Perhaps I would have learnt more English in another country because not many people speak English, but I’ve become much more fluent.

All in all, I believe it’s been a wonderful experience with my Italian family and I wish I always keep in touch with them and with the great friends I’ve made. Emi B.