On January 26, 2021 there was an online meeting of teachers of the Erasmus+ project “Reawakening the Values depicted in European Society via Literary Work”. We discussed project activities on the eTwinning platform, planned a visit to Latvia, created the structure of the final product of the project – the book “What’s your frame” and have coordinated the dates of virtual meetings with students.

On February 23, 2021 the second distant team meeting of the Erasmus+ project “Reawakening the Values depicted in European Society via Literary Work” took place. During the meeting, the eTwinning tasks were performed and the steps of the experiment were discussed. The experiment will last 20 days and will help develop the habit of reading. Each day, students will read books and record their results. During the meeting, students in groups designed and prepared an attractive and useful, informative book tag.

On April 27, 2021 the third remote meeting of the Erasmus+ project “Reawakening the Values depicted in European Society via Literary Work” took place. We discussed the results of a 20-day reading experiment. We are glad that the librarian, Esperanto language teacher Gražina Opulskienė and two 1f grade students — Julita Grubliauskaitė and Skaistė Pukelytė — joined the experiment. The analysis of the works we read was very vivid. Later in the meeting, we talked about the benefits of reading, created a mind map of the benefits of the experiment, and learned how to create an acrostic poem. This time the meeting was led by a Turkish teacher, Sezgin

The feedback of Latvian mobility.

Feedback about Latvian Mobility from Turkish students

ELİF HATUN YALÇIN

First of all, I'm so glad to be a part of this project.

I'm so thankful to our teachers for including us in this project and I want to say thank you to my friends for doing great teamwork.

I'm also thankful to the Latvian team for their hospitality.

I had the best week of my life. On our first day (Monday), I had a lot of fun in the activity, “Old Riga Tour” with the web2.0 tool, “Actionbound”. It was a great activity. Math, Science and Latvian language lessons were good actually. “Ice-Breaking party” was so fun. I had a great time in the Drift Hall and I met a lot of friends. I liked the National Library of Latvia. I think Riga has some fancy architecture. I liked the old buildings in the city.

Jurmala filled our lungs with the scent of fresh forest. Baltic Sea was gorgeous. I liked the view. Rains’s house was so small but cute. I was once again shocked when I listened to the story of Rains’s life. It was a kind of sad story. And the staff said “This is just a summer house, a real house is in Riga”. Next day we went to the Rains and Anaztajia's ‘real’ house and the real house was bigger than their summerhouse. We wrote some questions and answered. I think that activity exposed my poetic soul.

And Last day we did a lot of thinking and it increased our productivity. And we said goodbye to our friends.

I can’t remember which day but we wrote something about our values and we burned them and added them to the ground and we planted sunflower seeds in the ground and I think it was nice because I felt like I transferred my feelings to the ground.

I had a lot of friends in Latvia. Latvian people, especially teachers, were so kind to us. I felt comfortable with them. Latvian students were helpful. And Lithuanian students were very friendly. We hung out with girls and we had the best night of the week.

I am very happy to be involved in this project and I have no regrets, it was definitely worth it. The activities carried out revealed my literary personality. My general culture has increased. My speaking skills have improved. I overcame my difficulties in expressing myself. I learned about new cultures. I got an idea about the value judgments of other countries

HAKAN ERGUN

On our first day in Riga, we toured the city and saw many new things that we could not see in Turkey. First, we visited the central market of Riga. There were a few products from Turkey, we saw the famous Freedom Monument. We visited the Black Heads Building and City Square and drank water from the fountain there. After seeing the Riga Cathedral and having dinner, we returned to our hotel. Since the program did not start on the second day, we had the opportunity to visit a little more, we went to the St Peter’s Church, which can be seen from everywhere, we visited the Three brothers' House, the Swedish Gate and the Nativity of Christ Orthodox Cathedral, and we also took a boat trip on Daugava River. After the previous two days, the program, which was prepared by Patnis School, started. First, they introduced us to the popular places of the city in groups, then we attended classes with our Latvian friends at their school. Among these lessons, the Latvian language lesson caught my attention the most because their language is very different from our language, and the most important difference was that they even translated proper names into their own language. On the second day of the program, we went to the Latvian National Library and the architecture of the library was very interesting. Inside the library, there were places of different importance on each floor. For example, there was a floor where traditional music lyrics were stored, there was another place where we had seen some sculptures in the form of human beings and we saw their old currency, but the most enjoyable of them was calligraphy in the library. I had never done calligraphy before so it was a bit of a challenge for me, but it was very enjoyable and useful. On the third day of the program, we went to Jurmala. It was a beautiful place. I looked out of the window and watched the trees in every shade of green throughout the journey. We went to the museum of Ernests Birznieks Upītis, whose story we had read before, and we made our own bread and butter, which were both delicious. On the fourth day of the program, we visited Patnis Kindergarten, and then we did two interesting activities: first, we all wrote down the values that the project added to us on a piece of paper, and then we burned all the papers and planted sunflowers from their ashes. Secondly, we made a cake using a recipe from Aleksandrs čaks, who is also one of the most important poets of Latvia. On the last day of the program, we had a farewell party and said goodbye to our friends there and got our certificates. The place I liked the most during the program was Jurmala because we saw the Baltic Sea. It was very different and nice to make our own bread and butter. Besides all these, Jurmala is a city with magnificent natural beauties.

MERYEM AZRA ÇETİNKAYA

On our first day in Riga, we just explored the city center at night by walking. On Saturday and Sunday, we learned every single detail about Riga and its specific places. We took many photos and had a lot of fun.

Monday started with an early breakfast in our hotel. And I ate croissants almost every morning. We met Latvia team in one of their ministries. It must be about education and science. We took a short city tour with our groups. And we went to Patnis School for the first time. We had Math, Science and Latvian language lessons. Lessons were interesting for me because they were different from ours. Our last activity was a drift party with students. I was afraid but when I tried I felt the "adventure" really.

On Tuesday, we went to the library. It was a huge building. A calligraphy lesson has been done. And I felt myself untalented. After a really delicious lunch we went to a museum. We chose an object and wrote five questions about our chosen object. It's kind of weird to me. I haven't done something like that before.

On Wednesday, our destination is Baltic Sea in Jūrmala. I loved it there so much. Sea was colder than I thought. There were lots of various birds. And they were friendly to people. I always took a photo when I saw a bird near me. After we bought some gifts there, we had a great bus trip. Everywhere was covered with meadows. I saw my favorite animals, the cows. It must be a peaceful life for them. We made lots of things there, bread workshops, some competitions, and tasting traditional and delicious foods. I think I will always remember their foods. My favorite one was the garlic bread. It is similar to our traditions. I really love the Wednesday activities.

On Thursday, we went to a museum again and performed little theater plays with some little speech. And the best part of our roles was trying new interesting musical instruments. They have natural voices. It made me feel peaceful. And we bought some gifts on that day, too.

On Friday, we made t-shirts. And everybody wrote and drew something on it. We experienced meaningful activities. After our last party, everybody hugged one another very emotionally and some of them were also crying. It was so emotional. We got closer in a few days and we will miss Latvia, Riga and the people we met. I hope we can meet again.

RÜMEYSA ÇEKİÇ

Monday started in the Latvian Education and Science Ministry building. I was really excited and anxious in the morning. Because I was going to meet new people. After some speeches, we split into groups and we started exploring Riga. I had so much fun with my group members because after a while I started to talk with the new students. Our conversation with Vilte made me feel less anxious about that day because she was really sweet and friendly like the others. Then, we went to Patnis for the first time. We had Math, Science and Latvian language classes. Math was so enjoyable for me because I liked how the teacher combined the subject matters in Math with the things in our daily life. Science was also interesting. And, the best one for me was Latvian language class. It was so fun. In the evening, we went to Riga Drift Hall, which was one of the best experiences in my life. When I got to my room, I was so happy and peaceful and that feeling brought some confidence in myself. On Tuesday, we went to the National Library of Latvia. I liked the building and the view from there. In the calligraphy workshop, I realized that I'm not good at it at all. However, I tried and I believe that I did my best. In the afternoon, we went to Aleksandrs Čaks museum. His house was small but interesting. I've had so much fun while writing the interview. I tried to be creative as much as I could. Later on that day, we hung out with Lithuanian students. I love those girls and it was great to have fun with them. In Jurmala, first we went to the seaside, we walked along the seaside and I collected some seashells for myself and for my friends but when I came to Turkey I couldn't find them so I'm sad about that. I loved the summerhouses of Rainis' and Aspazija's. I wish I could live there. It's small but it feels like home. And the museum was interesting actually because there was a part in the museum for disabled people. I think that kind of thing is really meaningful and important. In addition, the garlic bread we had for dinner is still in my mind. On Thursday, we started the day in Patnis primary school and kindergarten. Cooking workshop was really fun. We made delicious cookies. I was kind of sad that day because it was our last 2 days. I didn't want to leave Riga. Also in the afternoon, the golden horse workshop was great. I didn't think that I would have that much fun. Musical instruments were also very interesting. Moreover, I bought some souvenirs for my family, my friends and myself as well. And on Friday, I was feeling really sad because it was our last day in Riga. We made t-shirts and everyone wrote something on our t-shirts. We gave our gifts to our partners. Honestly, I loved my gifts. After lunch we had to say goodbye to each other. It was the hardest part for me because I had such nice friendships there. We cried a little bit with the girls, I promise it was a little. I'm really grateful for this experience and I feel so lucky. Thank you for everything.

ZEYNEP NADİDE DEDEOĞLU

Traveling to Latvia was a really good experience. We visited so many beautiful places at the beginning of the week. The BlackHead House, Cat House, Central Market, Three Brothers, Freedom Monument, Swedish Gate, Daugava River, etc... All of them have amazing views. I really liked the architecture of the city because most of the places look aesthetic. I'd watch the Daugava River all day.

On Monday, I was pretty excited to meet Latvian and Lithuanian students. There were 3 or 4 Latvians that we met in Turkey but still, I was feeling excited. It was so much fun wandering around the streets and parks together with the students. As hosts, some of the Latvian students really took care of me. They were asking about my day like '' Are you having fun? ''or '' Do you need anything right now? '' ( especially Stella ) . So I'm glad that we had little conversations. We had Geometry, Science and Latvian language classes. Learning by metaphorizing the sphere or the circle through freedom and democracy was definitely different and I like this way. Also the drift was a really good activity. It sounded really scary at the first time but when I tried, it was the best thing to do for an ice-break party.

Second day was even better. We went to the National Library, which is a cool place. I really like the building and especially the statues in the library. Calligraphy workshop was both funny and difficult if you ask me. As a left-handed person, it was tough for me to do the art but still nice to try. ( Even though struggling with brush was annoying ) After the library, we went to Aleksandrs Caks museum and wrote an interview which was enjoyable. We chose an object and asked 5 questions as a writer. Then answered those questions as the object. I like the activity because I love writing so much and I haven't written something like this before. Still, it wasn't hard for me to ask questions.

Wednesday was just perfect. We went to Jurmala and saw Baltic Sea. The place was kind of cold but I like it anyway. We went to '' Rainis and Aspazija's Summer House ''. There was a room in the museum that appealed to the senses other than eyes. We combed Aspazija's hair, played a little bit of the piano, and smelled some different scents such as coffee, perfume and flowers. Latvian students told us this is a place that every school brings its students so it's similar to Anıtkabir in Turkey. Anyway, I really love the ' sunflower ' term. It is a code between Rainis and his wife. They were using this term to hide the money on the wall clock I guess. I mean, how cool is that?

After we bought some souvenirs from Jurmala, we went to '' Pastarina Museum '' which is a place in touch with nature. We saw the Grey Rock and had 2 competitions. Then we made bread and butter. They were both delicious, and I still want to eat them sometimes. Again, I really love the location of the Pastarina Museum. It was all green and spacious.

On Thursday we went to Patniss Middle School. First, we wrote on a paper. The topic was ' values ' but it was kind of spiritual. No one read the others his / her values or ideas. After we wrote, we burned the papers and buried the ashes with a Sunflower seed for our project’s eternal footprint and for the Ukraine War. This was a good way to support Ukraine. After that, we made a cream dessert from biscuits and they were delicious. I ate 4 biscuit tents and we laughed a lot with Lithuanian girls because we were having fun. After lunch, we went to '' Rainis and Aspazija Museum '' It was a lot of fun to act out a 5 theater play scenes from the book '' Golden Horse ''

The last thing about this day is that we went to some shopping centers to buy souvenirs and I bought so many things for myself. Not only different kinds of chocolates but also pencils, postcards, notebooks and jewels of course.

Friday was the last day. We printed our photos on t-shirts and everyone signed or drew something to each other's shirts. It's a really cute way to remember Latvia. After that, we gave gifts to each other. I felt kind of emotional because those were the last minutes of this project. When we were eating Lithuanian desserts, we talked about so many things with Lithuanian girls just like we did on Tuesday. Some of us even cried when we were leaving. After we said ' goodbye ' to everyone, we went to an Amber store and bought more jewels.

So, everything was amazing. I made many new foreign friends and this is really nice because I love to communicate with different people. Latvia is a country that I really want to visit again. One more thing; Paldies, Latvija :)

Feedback about Latvian Mobility from Lithuanian students

Because our trip was quite short I didn't expect to learn and see as much as I did. Although the lessons and trips were remarkable and fun, my most cherished memories are the ones spent with the friends that I made. I just want to say that I am very grateful that our dear teachers provided us the opportunity to learn more about the world, make new friendships and get insights into the literature of neighbouring country

Monika Andraitytė, 3c

During the Erasmus+ project in Latvia the most memorable thing was communicating with students from other countries, seeing our similarities and differences and relating to each other. Also learning about places like the National library of Latvia and seeing different architecture was very educating. I am grateful for this opportunity and would love to experience this again.

Fausta Sovaitė 3c

The thing I remember the best is the first day we met these students from Rīga. We were told to play a game, in which we walked around the city and a couple of Latvian students with a mobile phone's help told each group of visitors about their home city Riga. It was an effective way to break the ice between us and it also helped us to learn about the town we were visiting better. Later, the trips, activities and conversations gave us the opportunity to get to know many new things about Latvian culture and literature and such Latvian authors as Rainis, Aspasia and Upitis.

Kamilė Pagojūtė 3c

I am so grateful for the given opportunity to participate in the Erasmus plus programme in Riga. This was a truly unforgettable experience for me. To this day I live with the bright memories of exploring Riga's old town, the countryside and Jurmala, seeing the National library, museums and, of course, participating in lessons together with Turkish and Latvian students.

Viltė Kuršinskyte 3c

A feedback by Kate Līva Pētersone about Spanish mobility

I am really thankful for the opportunity to visit the North of Spain, to learn the Spanish culture and traditions, to share the values. All the activities we participated in were very creative and interesting. All students and teachers were very kind and friendly. The most memorable for me was the walk by the ocean. The ocean was beautiful. Another great activity was the tour around Oviedo. We got to know about the places that were mentioned in "La Regenta". Even though it was rainy, we had a lot of fun and got to know amazing places. I am really tjankful for participating in this project.

MOBILITY TO SPAIN

Spanish students' experience

Monday 9th March, 2020

The first day of our Erasmus project in our town, we arrived to school at 8:15, as usual. A bit after gathering in the hall, we presented the city of Gijón to our guests, with a little tour that we did around some of the most emblematic places of our city, talking about their history and some curious information about them.

Afterwards, we went back to school, to continue with the activities. First of all, we showed the presentation “The Most”, in which they could find some information about unusual places in our town. After this presentation, we gave our guests some presents and guides with the planning of the week.

We continued our morning with some ice-breaking activities. We were mixed in some teams, and we played volleyball with a giant ball. Another activity that we did was trying to explode each other balloons that we previously had tied to our shoes.

After the ice-breaking activities, we returned back to our houses to have lunch and prepare for the activities that we were going to do in the afternoon. We went to talasoponiente’s pool, to have a good time swimming and going down the water slides.

After a day full of activities, we went back to our houses to relax, have dinner and prepare for a new day.

Tuesday 10th March, 2020

First of all, that day the book we had to work about was El Lazarillo de Tormes. All of us had read that book before because it was one of our compulsory readings last year. We think the foreign students had also read it, but they read an English easier version.

That morning we started doing some activities together about the plot of the book and we drew some scenes of the story.

Later, we went all together for a walk around El Muro and we had lunch with the Latvian guys before going in the afternoon to the Aquarium.

For the visit the Spanish people went separately from the Latvians and the Lithuanians so we can´t know exactly their opinion but we hope they enjoyed it.

The last thing we did that day was going shopping with the Latvians around the city centre and we had dinner at home with the respective families.

Wednesday 11th March 2020

In our Erasmus experience, that day we went to Oviedo to do a tour. We left the school at 8 a.m. Then we took a bus, when we arrived to our destination, we walked to the cathedral to begin the tour. Some people read information about the cathedral and its relation with the novel La Regenta, one of the books we work about in the project. Then we started the tour visiting the following places related to the novel: Valdercazana Heredía Palace (the casino in La Regenta), De la Rúa House (Vegallana Palace in the novel), Cimadevilla Street (Trade Street), Constitution Square (New Square in the novel), Carpio Street (Traslacerca Street in La Regenta), Fontán and Pérez de Ayala Library (Pan Square and the Theatre in the novel), Canoniga Street (Canóniga Canons Street in the novel), the Episcopal Palace, Saint Joseph Street (location of the Salesas temporary convent in our novel), Feijóo Square (where Saint Mary the White Church, Clarisas and Saint Benedictine Conventsm are located in the novel), Jovellanos Street and Saint Pelayo Convent (Recoletas and Saint Dominic Convents in the novel), Camposagrado Palace (Royal Court) and University. Finally we went to Uría Street.

At lunchtime, the teachers gave us an hour and a half free to eat, buy souvenirs or go for a walk. Then we met them in San Francisco Park and we went to the last two points on the tour: Paseo de los Álamos (Boulevard in La Regenta) and Campo de San Francisco. After finishing we took the bus and returned to Gijón.

At school, we did a virtual tour with VR glasses, visiting the places where we had been in the morning and listening to information about those places.

Thursday 12th March 2020

Visiting The Soplao Cave was a very fun activity where we discovered things that we had never seen. On the outward journey we had a great time playing with the tablets that were on the bus seats. When we arrived there were amazing views.

The best part of the trip was when we were entering the cave in that little, and really tiny train, it was really hilarious; also the amazing minerals formations of the cave were really interesting. We were surprised because the cave was very beautiful and had things that we would never have imagined. During the trip through the cave there was a girl who explained the history of what we saw. It was an activity where we had a great time with all our classmates and we would repeat.

We also enjoyed a lot the lunch on that restaurant of the Soplao Cave with all my friends around and the Erasmus guys all together.

The experience in the mining museum was really interesting. We went down to the mine in an elevator, they made us believe that we were many meters below the ground, but it was a lie.

They put helmets on us and transported us in wagons several times. They told us situations and stories about the miners and we went down a kind of stone slide made by miners that they made to be able to go down while they chipped the stone.

It was a very fun activity where we all laughed a lot although many of us had already gone before.

Friday 13th March 2020

That was a special day, the beginning of the quarantine, what do we remember about that day? How was the day with the partners that were still here? How did we all feel?

We remember that we were really sad because we couldn’t do the activities that were prepared for that day due to the close of schools because of coronavirus pandemic, so we had to improvise.

We did a short tour by car around places they hadn’t seen of Gijón, such as La Laboral or el Cabo San Lorenzo.

We had a wonderful meal at Adriana’s father restaurant, where they ate cachopo for the last time, which they said was their favourite dish and they ate it a few times during their stay here.

We were also a bit worried because the news said that Basque Country borders were going to close, so nobody could go in. As their flight was from Bilbao’s airport, they ended up taking an earlier bus so they would be able to get there before midnight.

Latvian students' experience

We experienced Asturias region with all our five senses: tasted its gastronomy, we were stunned by its architecture, breathed its nature, listened to its urban heart beat and enjoyed its hospitality. Our journey started in Bilbao, when we travelled to Gijon by the coast of the Cantabrian Sea and were amazed by the sight of the steep Cantabrian Mountains.

The program, prepared by our Spanish colleagues, consisted of different activities for 5 days. Every day, the activities were devoted to one special value:

MONDAY March 9, 2020 – FRIENDSHIP

TUESDAY March 10,2020-THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

WEDNESDAY March 11, 2020- THE VALUE OF HISTORY

THEURSDAY March 12,2020-: CRITICS TO PREJUDICE IN SOCIETY

FRIDAY March 13,2020 – AUTHORITY VS FREEDOM

MONDAY

The first day started with the guided tour around Gijon and its old town, which was organized by Spanish students. We discover its culture, architecture and incredible sites. Nevertheless Gijon has a plenty of history, it seemed a modern city. After the tour we visited the school – Colegio Santo Angel de la Guarda, which was situated in a historical building. All the teams introduced themselves and showed their presentations about the most popular and interesting places in their hometowns, countries. The presents were exchanged between the countries. Afterwards we participated in the tour around school, organized by the primary students. We saw the classrooms, kindergarten, gym, the library, found out how the educational process is organized in school. All around the school we saw posters about Latvia, Lithuania and Turkey made by students and a special Erasmus+ project wall. All the school was involved in getting to know the culture and traditions of the countries involved in the project. The day ended with a relaxing walk by the beach. In the evening teachers had a delicious lunch and students were taken by their host-families.

TUESDAY

The day started with a morning circle in the school’s library. Students and teachers shared Monday’s memories and got to know each other better. Afterwards the book „The life of Lazarillo de Tormes, His Fortune and adversities„ was introduced. The main ideas, themes and characters were discussed. Students were divided into several groups , all the materials required for the following activities were given. Student made a timeline of the book. They really enjoyed the activity and were able to discuss the content of the book with the groupmates and hear different opinions. Then the book “The house of Bernarda Alba” was introduced. Students discussed different scenes of the book. The book centers on the events of a house in Andalusia during a period of mourning, in which Bernarda Alba wields total control over her five daughters. It was easy to read for students and understand the content and the problems revealed. After the activities we had a delicious lunch. We also visited the Aquarium and a workshop that day. The tour around the aquarium was really exciting and educational. We learned about the flora and fauna in details. We saw sharks, turtles and many different species. At the end of the tour we had a workshop, where we were allowed to touch different sea creatures. It was amazing. In the evening we had an opportunity to meet and talk to other teachers from school and have dinner in a local restaurant. It was a really nice evening.

WEDNESDAY

A trip to the caves of El Soplao. "El Soplao" is a mining term that refers to the air that is felt when perforating a tunnel from another with less oxygen, hence the name of the cave. We explored eccentric formations. The view was so natural and beautiful. On the way to the caves and back, we were able to see the rural architecture of Cantabria. After the visit to the caves, we had a lunch at the restaurant with a stunning view to the mountains. We also visited the mining museum. Mining was and still is very important for the economy, society and development of Asturias. In the mining museum, we were able to see how miners work and try out how is it to be a miner.

THURSDAY

The day started with a morning circle and a feedback of the previous day. Everyone was satisfied and really enjoyed the day. Later on the third book “La Regenta” by Leopoldo Alas Clarín was introduced. Students worked in groups and discussed the topics revealed in the book. The story is set in Vetusta, a provincial capital city, very identifiable with Oviedo, capital of Asturias). After the activities, we visited Oviedo and had a tour around the city and the places mentioned in the book, e.g., statue dedicated to La Regenta The Spanish team prepared the written descriptions of each place and gave them to us, so it is easier to follow the tour. We had a really nice lunch in the restaurant. After the tour we came back to school and students created a virtual tour of La Regenta working in groups and reinterpreted some comic scenes about the novel. Later on we had teachers meeting, where we discussed future activities of the project.

FRIDAY

Unfortunately, the activities of the last mobility day were interrupted because of COVID- 19 pandemic. In the morning we held online meeting with the Turkish team, because they could not come because of the country’s lock down, the Spanish team gave us the certificates and in the afternoon we had to leave to Bilbao for our flight. All the activities were very creative and interesting for students. Our students were satisfied staying in the host-families. We really enjoyed the warm welcome to Spain!

Turkish students' experience

At first, we started the ERASMUS club with high expectations. As the club, we did tremondous amount of work with culturel slides and book reading. We, especially, learned the Spanish Culture in more depth with the books we have read. Unfortunately, with the arrival of COVID-19, we couldnt go to Spain and Spanish program was performed without us. At first, it seemed that we did all of the activities and cultural works in vain. After reading classical books related to the Spanish culture, the club members wanted even more to understand the modern culture of Spain. I wanted to know more about the values of the old Spain, as depicted on the books, and what made those values to evolve into todays’ modern values. I was especially interested by the book “La Casa De Bernarda Alba” because of its similarity with the Turkish culture. In conclusion, I hope that the effects of COVID-19 will be lessened and one day I will be able to visit Spain and learn more in depth about its unique culture.

From the first day of this project all my friends, my teachers and I worked a lot for this project. One group of our friends has gone to Lithuania and I was at the next group which is Spain. But when there were 2 days left for our flight to Spain, our teachers told us we couldn’t go there because of the coronavirus our country restricted going out the country for our safety. So we couldn’t go to Spain. Frankly, when our teachers told us that we cannot go, I felt like all our works was rubbished. All of us felt so upset. But then, our teachers tried to calm down us. They explained that they would allow us to join the Latvian mobility and afford all our plane tickets and expenses there. Our morals have been boosted. Actually I’m still a bit heartbroken because I was so excited to meet with Sara and her family (who is a Spanish student, we were going to be friends and I was going to stay with her family) I hope one day I’ll meet with her and her family. But at one point, I’m happy too, because thanks to God we were safe at our own houses, at our own country and we didn’t got any coronavirus attack. Now we still work of course, the world didn’t end yet, it keeps turning, only we couldn’t go there, we know that and we still study, and do our works like that. It’s my last year at high school. I hope coronavirus will end as soon as possible so we can visit and meet with all our friends in Latvia before we graduate.

Lithuanian student's experience

I had an amazing opportunity to visit Spain with Erasmus project. I have never been there, so everything was new and exciting to me. My host family was so sweet and warm that I immediately felt welcomed. Speaking of the town, Gijon, I fell in love with it at the first sight. There were so many interesting buildings with fascinating architecture, the old town was beautiful and, of course, our school was near the coast, so what could have been better? Also, I'm really into reading and I enjoyed learning about Spanish literature, values. Besides, I spent a wonderful time with my foreign friends, we played volleyball for hours, went bowling and had great dinners together. That way I got to know that Spanish cuisine is very rich and tasty. So, to summarize my experience I can say that Spain and Lithuania have some noticeable differences like language, nature, cuisine, types of personalities, however it doesn‘t mean it was imposible to make friendships and cheerful memories.

By Aiste Usoryte

My experience in Spain is magnificent. I enjoyed my time there. The family accepted me warmly and they helped me when I needed it. The culture was also wonderful (the people, the food, etc.) The school was really interesting in its architecture and "security".

By Mantas Daubaris

The trip to Spain was one of the best trips I had! The family where I lived was awesome and their atmosphere was something I have never felt before. They showed me a lot of awesome stuff. We went to the mall, amusement park and tried a lot of different food. Then, they showed me their school. I must say the school education is a little bit different, but it was interesting.

By Rugile Kairyte

The second student-exchange meeting was held in Gjorn, Spain. We were met by worm-hearted host families and Spanish teachers. Every day was full of educational and entertaining activities which actively involved all the students. We were introduced with educational system, forms and approaches Spanish use to engage every student in the learning process. We were able to admire their culture, compare with ours and enjoy new friendships. The guided tours either by their students or professional guides helped us to get an insight of the countries history, literature and the values Spanish developed throughout their history and try to instil in their youth now. Our adventure was decorated with picturesque views of the city and its natural, architectural surroundings. The Lithuanian team is grateful for those incredible memories we have had and for the possibility to get to know the culture of our friends from Spain.

By Irena Urboniene

The impressive nature, the high and low tides of the Ocean, kind and caring people, interesting, thought-provoking culture and fun-packed activities created long-lasting memories.

By Aistė Daubariene and Sandra Vaišvilienė

During the visit in Spain, I saw much more than I expected: interesting culture, delicious food and extremely friendly people. All activities, from school overview to long distance trips, were very rewarding and memorable. I am glad that I had the opportunity to communicate with people of other nationalities and Spanish families. It was a great pleasure to meet everyone and all the moments will be remembered for a really long time.

By Kristupas Svirskas

I was in Spain and it was a really great experience. I'm glad that I was a part of this great project.I really enjoyed their food and culture. My exchange partner was really friendly and helpful.

By Jonas Svazas