Saturday, October 06, 2007

Memories

Every since I was a little girl I have dreamed about travelling overseas.
Strange lands, exciting places and new cultures have always fascinated me. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to speak another language, to grow up learning different customs or to live in a completely different way than I do now. The main thing about living in Europe is being able to travel all over. Each country has something that can amaze you. And who would have thought that someone’s life could change in just 7 days?
Well, mine did.
This spring my dream came true. I got to travel to Italy within a Comenius project. And suddenly it seemed like the world was at my fingertips.
Italy's green hills, beautiful mountains and city life are unforgettable. We were happy having such a great chance.
We managed to get used to living in Italy for one week, to it's people, culture and customs. We adapted easily to their way of life, especially because those who took part in the project were boys and girls of our age, pupils from France, Italy, Slovakia, Poland, Liechtenstein and of course Romania. We travelled almost all over the Belluno district , we visited Vicenza, Treviso (but unfortunately, just a small part of it), Belluno, Longarone, Venice and other cities and villages, places I’ve probably seen only on the television screen.
What I enjoyed the most was the "Dream Museum" from Feltre (Museo dei sogni e della memoria), the most beautiful museum I’ve seen so far. It's not a usual one, it's something more than that. It has so many stories that can change your life completely , in just 2 or 3 hours, if you just listen what "it has to say". So, if you ever go to Feltre, don't miss it, just take 2 hours of your time and visit it, because it is an incredible place, and visiting Feltre is a very educational and interesting thing.
Another place I enjoyed was Venice. I've always wanted to go there and to see the famous "Lovers' City". It was beautiful; I can't even believe I was there. Travelling on the sea by the "vaporeto" was something I will never forget. We even got in contact with a boy from Napoli , he was very kind and asked us a lot of questions regarding our staying there.
Italy is great, Italians are very friendly , even friendlier with the foreigners, optimistic and the landscapes are awesome. I'm not sure they know how lucky they are. Their cities are very different from ours, I haven't seen there any 10 stores block of flats, all the shops are very well-groomed, thousands of ice-cream stores, and the ice-cream is incredible good and tasty. Italy is not only the pizza, pasta and macaroni's country, the food is really delicious, if you have somebody ready to cook it for you.
After the days spent there I know that I can take on any responsibility, and I’m not afraid of trying new things. This trip gave me the opportunity to experience something I never thought I could. Being in a different country and adapting to its customs is not such a difficult thing, you just have to understand them.
This chance I had made me wish for more and more projects and trips like this one. The project was based on English, and its main topic was crossing borders and it was the best thing that could happen to me because it helped me a lot. It helped me practice my English skills and it made me realize that there is not difference among people coming from different nations, because we all are human beings, with the same feelings and the same dream: a peaceful and united world. I think that the most important thing is to work together, and if we do that we can do wonderful things, like this project.
Bindea Andreea
11th C
Eminescu College Baia Mare , Romania