So, the first international meeting of our project is over. It started with the snow and ended with tears. With the tears of sadness because of the inevitable farewell, and the tears of joy, due to the new friendships that were formed in the past week.
For the majority of students this was the first international meeting, a trip to the unknown, that was expected with great anticipation. Like for the guests from Bulgaria, Spain and Portugal, it was the same also for the hosts from Slovenia. » I don’t know much about Slovenia, just that is very pretty and it used to be a part of Yugoslavia,« wrote Tomas from Portugal at the beginning of our meeting. »Ljubljana was Europe’s green capital in 2016,« added his friend Joao. Most of our visiting students described Slovenia as a very beautiful, green country with beautiful mountains and cold temperatures.
On Monday, after the official start and a short cultural programme, we went to the old town, where we took a walk around the historic city sights, and explored all of old town major attractions. Ljubljana castle, Dragon Bridge, The three bridges, Central market, Town hall, Robba fountain…. We saw it all. In the evening we (visiting students, Slovene students, their parents and teachers) all got together at the school, where we tasted delicious traditional Slovenian cuisine, such as potica, gibanica, Kranjska sausage…. »I tried everything that was at dinner. Generally speaking, I liked everything,« said Maria.
Tuesday was the Olympic day. Students were divided into 6 international teams which competed in 15 different sport events. The winning team – the immortal sport heroes – have become Henrique C. (Por), Desislava H. (Bul), Tjaša P. (Slo), Maria A. (Spa) and Nika O. (Slo). After lunch we attended an expert talk and workshop about mountaineering.
On Wednesday we visited Slovenian Olympic Educational Centre, where we relived all the great achievements of Slovenian sport at Olympic Games, and we learned something about Olympism, Olympic spirit and Olympic Games in general. Most families used Wednesday’s free afternoon for trips around Slovenia.
Thursday was the field trip day. And it was a perfect day. We went to see the biggest Slovenian sport event – Ski jumping world cup in Planica. 13,000 spectators, clear skies without a cloud in sight and a massive amount of white, almost untouched snow accounted for a magical scenery. “The most wonderful thing was the snow. I have never seen so much snow”, wrote Alejandro from Spain. A walk to the mountain hut in Tamar, where we had lunch, was accompanied with thousands of snowballs flying all over the place. A pure youth fun and playfulness. The great day was topped off by an evening campfire at Julija’s place.
On Friday we had a cycling workshop and then we chose the official logo of our project. We chose among respective logos prepared by each country. The winner was the Portuguese logo. Our first international meeting ended with a school dance. It was impossible not to see the affection and friendship that emerged between students. How lovely. “It was amazing. I really like the girls in Slovenia. I want to marry one someday;” wrote an unidentified student.
Saturday morning was the time for the final farewell that just went on and on and on and on…. Tears, hugs, laughter….Emotions were almost tangible. “I love Slovenia. It was very nice to meet the people, they are so lovely and nice,” wrote Violeta from Bulgaria.
We are all looking forward to our next meeting in Portugal which will undoubtedly bring new friendships and unforgettable experiences. See you all in Portugal!
Erasmus+ project EU Olympics --Schools from Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Slovenia explore the topics of olympic games, sport, healthy lifestyle and shared values. 