The mobility to North Macedonia

An article written by Liselle:

From the 5th of November till the 11th of November, the students and teachers of Tartu Veeriku School went to North Macedonia and took part in the Erasmus+ short-term project for the mobility of learners and staff in school education. The purpose of the project was to expand students’ knowledge - learning about North Macedonia, its culture, customs, national cuisine, and school life, students could communicate with people and practise their English. The project was made possible with the money of the European Union. Here is a short overview of our mobility by Liselle and Mirtel.

 The trip there was made with two planes, and we had a stop at Frankfurt, Germany. We started our trip on Sunday night and landed in Macedonia on Sunday afternoon. Right as we made it to the school, we were greeted by our families who took us to our new homes for the following week. Anxiety was with all of us, but as time went by we quickly warmed up and started to enjoy our time there.

Every Estonian was assigned to a local school student, who was also the host and whose classes and lessons we attended. Mirtel, Liselle and Gren were in one class, whilst Karl and Kirke were in another class.

Our days started with a breakfast at the school, followed by a few lessons. The lessons we attended were biology, chemistry, economy and English. A positive thing about them was, that they were eager to learn and everyone actively participated in every class.

 On Monday, after our morning classes, we were handed a lunch snack and we drove off to explore and get to know more about Skopje. 8th and 9th-grade students prepared and presented us with their hometown and its history - it was an educating and interesting walk through the capital of Macedonia.

On Tuesday we were taken to the zoo, which was noticeably smaller than our zoo, but it had some interesting species that we had not seen before. After the zoo, we were taken to Matka Canyon. There we had the chance to visit an old hydro plant museum. After that, we took a walk along the mountains.

Wednesday was a bit rainy, so on that we didn't have any excursions. Instead, we were able to try their national dishes and introduce them to a few of ours. All of their dishes tasted good, and we enjoyed them all. After eating, we went to the PE lesson, which was quite like an Estonian PE lesson and we played dodgeball.

Thursday was another excursion day. We were taken to Ohrid. Ohrid is a really pretty place, with lots of mountains, history and a gorgeous lake, named Lake Ohrid. The trip there was about 2,5 hours by bus. The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for a tour around the city. Firstly we were taken to a church, where we were able to get to know more about their religion. Macedonian students had all prepared some interesting facts about history, which they read to us. Later we had some free time to do some shopping, have a snack or just explore before heading back.

On Friday we stayed in school. It was interesting - we got to hear their school choir singing and see their folk dances. Those folk dances looked beautiful and were very interesting to watch. After that, we also were able to play them our national anthem and teach one of our folk dances, kaerajaan. They were surprisingly quick learners and with a little bit of practice, they were able to dance it pretty well.

Saturday was definitely the saddest, we had to say goodbye. Despite being scared and wanting to go home in the beginning, over time those people started to feel like family.

Free time. Every day, because our school mostly ended before 2 PM, we got together in the evenings. We got to explore the city a little bit more, go to malls and just hang out. We visited a few cafés and just chatted and bonded with people. Some evenings we hung out at someone's house, watched a movie or had a karaoke.

Macedonians are all close with their elders and quite many families live with their grandparents. A sad part about the city was the stray dogs. They were everywhere and it was sad to see so many dogs just wandering around the city with no place to go.

All of our families were super nice. They had nice homes and welcomed us into their homes right away. They made us feel safe and at home, right from the beginning.

Altogether, this experience was definitely needed, and it broadened our minds. We all made great memories, got to learn about their culture, got to know their history, and also the country and we built up our confidence to talk to people outside our nationality. Still, weeks after returning, we keep in touch and talk from time to time.

Students' presentations about the mobility: