Iasi, Romania

20.11.2023

Today marked the initiation of our activities, providing us the chance to get to know each other and welcome our guests with warmth and enthusiasm. The day kicked off energetically with a school tour, immersing ourselves in the narrative of our illustrious college, full of history and traditions. The tour featured the library along with our collection of books and the students’ magazines, the hallway adorned with notable personalities, the teacher's corridor, and, last but not least, the PE hall where we paused for some enjoyable icebreaking games.

Our kick-off activity brought a splash of amusement to our introductions – a lively get-to-know-you game involving tossing a ball to exchange names. Post this lighthearted warm-up, we dove headfirst into an intriguing challenge. Each participant was given a word intricately tied to the heart of our project's theme: ecology. We were then supposed to guess the word written on our backs, asking yes or no questions in order to uncover the mystery. The challenge was met with laughter, and I think we can all agree that the ice was completely shattered afterwards. The joy effortlessly shifted into a lively volleyball showdown, infusing the gathering with an additional burst of excitement.

After the games, we headed back to the festivity hall for the presentation of the countries and schools, unraveling the worlds and cultures of all our guests.

After a lunch break where we not only ate, but also danced to traditional Romanian rhythms, we went to Union Square to start the guided tour of the city of Iasi. Although it was cold, that didn't stop us from walking among the old buildings of the city. We went to the Theatre, to the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Church of the Three Hierarchs, but let's not forget the meeting with the Mayor Mihai Chirica at the Roznovanu Palace (Iasi city hall).

The last 2 stops were at the end of the Stefan Cel Mare pedestrian boulevard, at the "Gheorghe Asachi" School and at the Palace of Culture, which was breathtaking as the night came. For those who still had energy, Palace Mall Shopping Center waited for them, either for a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate, or for a shopping spree.

21.11.2023

Today was filled with challenging and inspiring activities. We started the day with a fascinating -but safe - chemistry experiment, which was presented by some of our students, who played the role of the professor. We highlighted the impact the carbon dioxide emissions have on our planet by burning ethyne, which helped the students visualize the pollution that takes place daily. Also, we explained how each of us can contribute to saving the environment by listing ways of reducing the carbon dioxide emissions.

Then, we headed to the Festivities Hall, where the "Go on Green!" conference took place. The students had the opportunity to present their projects on crucial contemporary topics, such as upcycling, consumerism, the impact of advertising on purchasing, media education and environment action. It was an engaging and valuable experience, as we were educated on the humanity's mistakes that cause climate chage, the way our society has been transformed by consumerism, the emotional appeal of advertisements that encourage bad habits and on the importance of helping young people understand media content. We discovered how we can get involved in the waste reducing process by reusing old discarded items, such as cans, plastic bottles, socks and pieces of paper, which we can turn into useful objects, like pencil cases, toys and decorations. This way, we make sure nothing is wasted! Also, we learned how to protect ourselves from the negative influence of advertising on decision making, how to fight against consumerism and funtional illiteracy and how to change our lifestyle to pollute less.

After a refreshing coffee break, we went to the library for our next activity - a panel discussion with our honored guest, Ștefania Bejan, a university professor. We debated with an expert on the topics we had explored during the previous activity and we had the chance to not only understand the underlying causes of consumerism and successful manipulation through media, but also to engage in a lively conversation with our guest. We asked questions about how we can make a difference and why we have come to this situation, and were given the opportunity to speak our minds about the social, psychological and ecological issues that concern us.

After a well-deserved lunch break, we resumed our activities with the calculation of the carbon footprint and with a fun and creative upcycling workshop. We found out what we can do to avoid wasting old paper: reuse it in an inovative way! We brought our old notebooks and turned them into art pieces: flower bouquets, decorated with math equations and history lessons.

We had a very busy day, but we are excited about what we are going to do tomorrow!

22.11.2023

We started our day with a walk among the ginko biloba trees in the Botanical Garden "Anastasie Fatu". Together with our guide, we visited the rosarium, the amphitheater, the greenhouses and the lake. At the end, once they arrived at the lake, the Romanian team prepared a game for the guests:

A man walks out of a house that has four walls all facing north. What does he see:

a. An insect

b. A bird

c. A mammal

What do you think is the answer? Let us tell you: a bird (more precisely a penguin since we are at the South Pole). We formed 2 teams of students from partner countries, and each team had 3 pieces of cardboard (representing the ice cubes on which the penguins move) at their disposal. The two teams had to cross the ocean (street) using these pieces of cardboard. However, as in the wild, there are predators! Two students played the role of orcs, who when a piece of cardboard was not occupied by any "penguin" stole it. What is the lesson of this game? We must act as soon as possible!! In this game we learned to cooperate and synchronize. We must proceed in exactly the same way when we act on slowing down global warming and recycling.

Further in the day's program, we visited the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi. We went to the Lost Steps Hall and the Library, where we were all impressed by the architecture and the art presented.

Also, let's not forget about the family dinner! Some of us took the students from partner schools to our own homes, some of us took them to the restaurant. All of them got to taste traditional romanian food and we hope they had an amazing time!

24.11.2023

Today was filled with emotion and was perhaps the most challenging because it was the end of our partners’ stay here in Iasi, Romania. We started the day by watching a video made with photos taken during the week. Then came the feedback activities, followed by the certificate awarding. After a small coffee break, our school’s students delighted us with various singing performances, which ultimately led to everyone joining in to dance to different songs, some which were also suggested by our project partners.

Then came the unfortunate moment when we had to say goodbye to our new friends. We hope that they enjoyed their stay here in our city and that they learned many new things about sustainability and “eco-friendly” behavior. There we many hugs and tears but of course, among them, new friendships had formed. We wish them safe travels and we hope to see them again in the future!