Kefalonia

3. TLT Meeting of „reporters without frontiers“ in Kefalonia/Greece

Saturday and Sunday

On the 28th of April our long awaited journey to Kefalonia finally began. In the early morning we met at the airport. Fortunately everything went smoothly so that we departed on time at 8:50 am. After approximately two hours and 50 minutes we landet on the beautiful island of Kefalonia. Upon exiting the airplane, fantastic weather awaited us so that we all pulled off our jackets. After a couple of problems with our suitcases, which didn’t fit all into the minibus, we finally took off to meet our host families. A bit of nervousness but primarily excitement was in the air and everyone was mesmerised by the stunning view of the sea that was awaiting us. During most of the bus ride we could gaze at the sea and even catch a glimpse of free-roaming goats on the road, which provided for great amusement. Finally, we arrived at the hotel, where we would meet out host families. Already then the amazing hospitality of the greeks was apparent, as we were all welcomed with warm hugs. Thereafter, everyone set off to their homes for the following week. There, we were immediately offered a greek lunch. During the communal lunch, the ice was broken gradually and we lernt more about our partners.

On the same evening, all Germans and their respective greek partners and partly some Spaniards and Icelanders met at the beach. There, we went swimming, got to know each other and watched the famous sunset. The following day was a day off, so that everyone was free to spend their day with their partner to their liking. However, the majority of all students were at the beach or in Fiskardo, which is why we met each other after all. Additionally, we all met in Fiskardo in the evening, where we explored the lighthouse as a big group initially. Later on, our group divided; some stayed at the lighthouse, some went to a bar and spent their evening there. Once more it was remarkable how hospitable and outspoken the Greeks were that evening. We were warmly welcomed everywhere and everyone was interested in our project and our origin.

Monday and Tuesday

On Monday we all met each other at school for the first time. After a small get- together with the other students, we drove to Polikendro Pilarou by bus. We got to know each other through ‘ice breaking activities’ and took a group photo. Next, every country presented their ‘travel books’ to the other students.

After a small lunch break, we prepared our questions for the upcoming interviews on Wednesday. We drove back to Mesovounia in the afternoon and were free to spend the rest of the day with our hosting partners.

The next day was the first of may and hence an official holiday. As we students had a day off, we could go to Fiskardo with our partners. There, we came to know the local, traditional dances and were able to get a look of the city.

Wednesday and Thursday

On Wednesday, we focused on our project ‘Reporters without frontiers’ and drove with a bus to Argostoli, the capital of the island, in order to do so. The different working groups (consisting of 8-10 students from different countries along with two teachers) met up with experts to conduct interviews.

The first group ‘Refugees’ interviewed three members of the red cross, group 2 ‘environment and sustainability’ talked to an employee of the Ainos Environmental Centre. Furthermore, the group dealing with ‘culture and architecture on the island’ met the author of the novel ‘Kefalonian Architecture from the 16th to 20th century’.The topic tourism was discussed by group 4 with the vice mayor of Kefalonia. Lastly, group 5 questioned the lawyer, author and teacher Ilias Toumasatos about the island’s earthquake of 1953, having visited a museum about Kefalonia’s history and culture beforehand.

Once all groups had finished their interviews, we drove back to school by bus. On the way back we stopped in Asos, a beautiful place in a small bay and had lunch in a typical greek tavern. Back at school, we started to prepare for our presentation on Friday.

An island tour was planned the following day; we drove to the Melissa cave first. This is a cave whose ceiling had collapsed and in which a lake of sea water had accumulated. There, we were then boated through the cave.

Subsequently, we went to see the over 150 millions old limestone cave Drogarati and afterwards a winery. There, we went on a guided tour about the wine production, some students took part in a wine tasting afterwards. The group dealing with tourism and local products held an additional interview here.

The next stop was a monastery of an orthodox church, where the corpse of St. Gerasimos is being kept. Next, we stopped in Argostoli and had three hours of free time to have lunch, to sightsee the city and buy souvenirs for home.

Moreover, a small group composed of a student of each nationality visited a small, local radio station and was interviewed about the Erasmus+ project. In the afternoon we drove back home and stopped briefly to see a watermill.

Friday and Saturday

Friday was the last day of our project and our day began, like everyday, with breakfast.

Breakfast in Greece isn’t too different from ours; we had cornflakes every morning. After we had finished our presentations for the project (at school that morning), we drove to Polikendro, where we would present them (which was where we first had our ice breaking activities). There, we received our certificates for participating in the project. For lunch we had Souvlaki; grilled and seasoned meat skewers. Souvlaki has been made since roughly 3000 years in Greece and I personally noticed that Souvlaki and many other greek dishes were less seasoned than german ones.

This didn’t apply to Pasticcio though, which is comparable to a lasagna, only with macaroni instead of pasta sheets. For us it’s quite normal to eat leftover pizza or lasagna cold, so when I wanted to eat Pasticcio for dinner and I didn’t care if it was cold or warm, I was only answered with shocked expressions.

After having spent some time with our host families, a farewell party would take place at school. All students and teachers involved in the project would gather there that evening. Food was provided by the host families and everyone was looking forward to the Zaziki. Both spanish, as well as some greek girls performed traditional dances. We too, were invited to dance ‘through Kefalonia’, that is, learn dances from different cities in Kefalonia along with the teachers.

On Saturday, it was time to say goodbye. I got up at 4 am to accompany the Icelandic girl to the bus, with whom I had shared a room during the last week and to say goodbye. A couple of hours later‚ it was also our time to say goodbye to our host families and we left by bus to drive to the airport.

Feta cheese isn’t kept in slices in Greece (like in Germany), but in big boxes and it isn’t as salty as the one you can buy in Germany. Thus, I bought a sandwich with feta cheese at the airport after having checked in, as my last greek dish.

Written by Stella Reblin, Charlotte Vollmöller, Pauline Dechert and Isabel Seisel

Translated by Vivian Saravanamuttu