On Wednesday we challenged Mount Etna and it’s adventure park, Etnavventura. Etna’s sights were unique. I had never been to a place which is as high as Etna is and I was able to see Sicily in a
whole new way. Everyone also challenged themselves at the adventure park and I’m proud of
everyone for at the very least trying to go through the tracks, even when some were afraid of them.
Etna
In the evening the students went to an arcade to play air hockey, eat pizza and do bowling.
The evening was like none-other. People were chatting and laughing. It was a lot of fun. But
most importantly it was the beginning of a very special day for our dear friend Jaroslav. He
turned 18 and we surprised him in a way he didn't see coming.
Thursday was the last day that at least the Finnish team visited the Italian school. We had a
lesson for Maths and Physics. We worked in groups and solved different problems, which were
thrown before us. All the teams got through these problems with great results. Each country
also presented their posters of the topic, Stress-free learning in Science.
The posters
Afterwards we had a break, where we went back to our host families homes to eat dinner.
Unfortunately for me, it was my only time to eat dinner made by my host family. Before this
though we got a tour from our hosts of the other school building, where they taught for example
Maths and English, while in the building where we always gathered where were taught Philosophy
and Physics. Then we returned back to school to make the tree of learning, which ended up
beautiful thanks to everyone's effort!
In the evening the students went to a pub. First we ate some burgers and then we partied. Hard.
There was a Dj and two jacked male dancers, whose moves we tried to copy and party to. The
songs were good, except when they played despacito... twice.. urgh. Also there we sang to
Jaroslav once more and he got a gift from the Italian students. Like Jaroslav said. "This is a day
I will never forget.. Thank you!".
Friday was the day I like to call, the day of tourism. We went to visit Alcantara Gorges and
Taormina. The Gorges had very clear, cool water. Also the sights there were great! We also
visited a beach for a very short time. Some were enjoying the water, while others were walking
on stones or had a coffee break.
Group Picture taken at the Alcantara Gorges
Then it was time for Taormina and it’s Greek theater. The theater was beautiful. It had so
much history in it and the views from there were amazing. We were able to see the sea and
the coast of Sicily from there. Taormina had many shops for tourist to buy souvenirs from.
There were people selling shirts, fedoras, belts and other souvenir products. The ride back was
very tiring, and almost everyone was sleeping, and those who weren’t were taking pictures of
those who were sleeping (sigh).
This was the last evening, where the whole group was together and it felt odd. It almost felt like a
normal evening, except with the thought in the back of everyone's mind that this is the last night
together. The Finnish team had to leave earlier than others in the following morning, so we had to
give most of the people there our goodbyes. We went to bump cars and rode a roller coaster. We
chatted and we ate. It was a lot of fun until it was time for the farewells. Lots of tears were shed,
people were very emotional. The following night and morning all I was able to think about were
the farewells... This was truly the last time I will see most of them.
Last group photo
Then it was Saturday… In the morning I did my morning routines, which included the part with
waiting for my host. We left to the airport and gave the host families our farewells. We were sure
to meet our hosts next time in Finland and we promised to give them a proper welcoming here!
I want to thank all of the people from the Erasmus+ project who were in Italy, especially my host
Michele and his family. You were all amazing and I am glad to having met all of you. I’ll miss having
you guys around me… Because of you the trip was more than amazing. Thanks to you we were
more than some random tourists. We became Italians for a week.
Elias Jylkkä
