Feelings from ITALY

This “Erasmus Plus” project gave us the opportunity to get in touch with the English and the Finnish students, their habits, their culture and their education system.

Finland is really different from our country. We got impressed for example by the extremely low temperatures of Helsinki, but also the way the Finnish guys live in these difficult temperatures was shocking. Despite the freezing cold, we were all very happy about the time spent in Finland and we worked really well with our partners. We had a remarkable experience of a sauna and then of a bath in a frozen lake.

Working on the project and sharing our opinions was very interesting. It was amazing to see students with a quite different background working on such an important topic as Gender Equality.

Also the experience we had with the English students was significant even if our relation was not strong and collaborative. The age difference made it difficult to relate with them but we learnt a lot about their lifestyle and we broadened our horizons.

Generally speaking, the participation in the project left us an unforgettable memory favouring our personal growth.

JACOPO

Feelings from ITALY

One of the most common dreams among young people is traveling: getting to know new people, discovering traditions, new cultures and learning new languages. I believe I am really lucky because I had the opportunity to partecipate in a long-term Erasmus+ project involving five different countries: Finland, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K.. Its aim is to discuss and share ideas on gender equality in every social environment.

My Erasmus experience was divided in two moments. In December I spent a week in Helsinki hosted by a Finnish family that made me feel at home. They gave me the opportunity to understand their traditions and habits. During those six days we had a dance class, we interviewed a journalist, we participated in a conference and we watched ‘The Danish Girl’ movie. The purpose of those activities was to make us become aware that gender does not define who we are and it does not force us to be something that we are not. We also learned that there is not enough equality between genders and what we can do to improve it. From the 30th March to the 5th April, I hosted an English boy. I had the opportunity to compare my traditions and habits to his. We went to Brera Art Gallery, we went shopping in Milan, we took part in a law conference and we had a cooking experience. In these way, we analyzed many aspects of gender equality in the family environment and in our free time.

In conclusion, I think that I had a great opportunity not only for the amazing people I met but also because I improved my communication skills in English and I learned what gender equality really means, which is a big issue nowadays.

LAURA