Meeting in Greece

The Erasmus+ project “The Rivers Tell” had their first meeting in Valtino, Greece, from the 4th till the 8th of March 2019.

Monday, 4/3

The students and teachers of the guest countries arrived at their destination, where the Greek teachers and families picked them up and guided them to their hotels or homes, to relax after their long trips.

Tuesday, 5/3

On the first day of the meeting the guests arrived at the school, where a warm welcome ceremony took place. The Greek team presented the country through videos and PPT, during which the students explained to their guests some cultural details. What followed was the presentation of all countries’ projects. They all had to present the rivers of their areas, the importance in the economy, the role in the everyday life and, of course, the stories behind the rivers’ names. After a long presentation, traditional Greek pies followed and the teams went to meet the Mayor of Trikala, right after lunch. The Mayor explained the importance of the river through the years and gave details about the difficulties that the region faces and the technological advances that the town has made. The next stop was a documentation visit to Matsopoulos Water Mill, where the vital importance of the river was obvious and priceless for the inhabitants of the area in difficult times, such as WW2. Later in the afternoon the visitors caught a good glimpse of the river that crosses Trikala, they walked in the narrow paths of the old city and had a panoramic view of the area from the castle.

Wednesday, 6/3

Trip to Vergina (UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage), to the kingdom of Alexander the Great. As the guests commented, it was a dive into the past. The guide informed them about the findings at the place, but also gave them a clear idea of the way of life that the Macedonians had back then: the Greek education they received by important Greeks (e.g Aristotle), what they wore, their customs and how impressive the similarities are with those of the modern Greeks. The dive into the past was followed by the “dive” into Thermaikos and Thessaloniki, the modern capital of Macedonia. The teams were shown the most important sights form ancient and Byzantine times

Thursday, 7/3

Documentation and culture trip to Meteora. The teams visited the Holy Monasteries and admired the unique scenery, all protected by UNESCO. They learned about the history of the place and its relation to the water. Later on all teams returned to school for the evaluation of the meeting and the teachers’ meeting to organize the following mobilities and projects.

Friday, 8/3

All partners went travelled back to their countries, equipped with new knowledge, valuable experience and new friendships.

Evaluation results

Questionnaires were given out to students and hosting families, to evaluate the project and the Erasmus+ experience. More precisely, the results are as follows:

Families:

81% of the families had never had an Erasmus experience before.

67% said that the overall experience was positive.

43% said that they improved their speaking and communication skills.

52% said that they would willingly travel to the country their host was from.

77% said that they improved their European cultural awareness.

 

Students:

92% said that it was the first time they had hosted a foreign student.

87% said that they improved their English and communication skills.

26% said that they had to face some kind of problem with their host (eg: food preference or some minor behavior problem).

74% said that hosting helped them accept different mentality.

68% said that they improved their computer and technology skills.

95% said that they acquired specific knowledge through the presentations and survey.

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