More memories from Italy

Hi,

I am Dobi and I am from Smolyan, Bulgaria. I want to share my impressions from my visit to Altamura, Italy.

I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the international educational project PLAY, BE FREE! I want to thank all the people who put this project together. Thumbs up! I gained valuable skills in communicating with peers in English and presenting my country to other nationalities. I was very interested in the chemical and biological experiments we had on healthy lifestyle. It is fantastic that so many students from different countries were given the opportunity to learn together and have so much fun. All the teachers and parents were very supportive and encouraging.

We landed in Bari, Italy on 2nd of October, where we were welcomed so warmly by the Italian hosts. Next day we went to a church where students from the whole school made a fantastic performance. We went on stage to introduce ourselves which was very exciting. In the afternoon there were sports, they were so much fun. These games helped us to become closer and learn more about each other.

On the second day we visited the farm La Calcara, where we made Italian cheese by ourselves and we tasted it. In the afternoon we showed our presentations and we cooked typical dishes from our countries.

On the third day of our visit our friends took us to a typical bakery of Altamura. There we tried the famous bread of Altamura. It was very delicious. In the afternoon we worked in groups made of students from each country. And then the exciting surprise was that we had to make pasta on our own. It was very interesting and a bit hard.

On the next morning, we had healthy breakfast in school and a nutritionist showed us some experiments, I was chosen to take part in one of them. Next, we played treasure hunt downtown.

On the fifth day we visited the gorgeous town of Matera. It was very beautiful and we were touched by the Italian history and architecture. In the night we had a party where all of us had a lot of fun and we all danced. The party was the grand finale of one unforgettable week.

I want to say thank you to my hosting family for their kindness and hospitality. This week was unique. Italy won me forever!

My participation in the project PLAY, BE FREE! is very precious for me as I made a lot of friends from Czech Republic, Poland and Italy. Socializing with so many people from different countries changed my understanding of the world and I would never be the same.

Hello!

My name is Vasil Chervenakov and I am going to tell you about my amazing week in Altamura.

First day: We took off from Sofia to Bari via Baden- Baden. The Italian families welcomed us at the airport which made us feel very special. We went to Altamura and we all had authentic Italian dinner at a pizza-bar. There we ate, talked and had so much fun.

Second day: In the morning my host family took me to a café where I had a croissant and coffee, of course a typical Italian breakfast. Then we drove to school where we were greeted warmly by students. We were called to the front to introduce ourselves. After the program we had delicious lunch at home. And in the afternoon we played sports. We got to know so many new friends!

Third day: In the morning we went to a local farm. There we had breakfast and we learnt how to make cheese. The hosts were very friendly and allowed us to experiment how to make mozzarella which was fascinating. In the afternoon we delivered our presentations and later we cooked with our teachers.

Fourth day: In the morning we visited the bakery “Oropan” and we saw how the world-famous bread of Altamura is made. We had lunch and afterwards we did presentations. Later that afternoon some grandmothers taught us how to make pasta which was quite challenging but fun.

Fifth day: We had a healthy breakfast in the school followed by chemistry experiments done by teachers. We worked on some presentations at school. Later we had treasure hunt in the city center. In the evening all students and teachers had a superb dinner at a pizza-bar.

Sixth day: We visited Matera and old stone town Sassi. It was spectacular! In the afternoon our team finished our presentation at Laura’s home. Then we presented it at school. Finally, we had a fabulous farewell party and it was difficult to say goodbye.

My participation in the project PLAY, BE FREE! is a turning point in my life. During that awesome week I developed so many skills like communication, adaptability, self-confidence, multicultural awareness, teamwork. I met with many interesting people and I made new friends not only from Italy but also from Poland and Czech Republic. I learnt to look beyond my culture. I want to thank my host family and all organizers. It was a great experience which made me more tolerant, more approachable and open-minded.