“Our Scene Is Europe”
You decide to follow your dreams and start writing. The process of writing a project is a challenging, sweating, laborious, thought-provoking and creative process. It takes patience, it takes brainstorming, it takes invention, it takes imagination, it takes time. Every sentence you write is so valuable… Neither more nor less… You write, delete, correct. You focus on the best, finding the one that best expresses your dreams. When you’re done writing, you take a deep “Oh!”, lean back in your chair and wait to be accepted.
After a painful wait, your project has been accepted and there is no one happy with you at that moment. You roll up your sleeves to discover different countries, different cultures, different geographies. You build teams. You communicate with your partners. A feverish work awaits you.
Conducts research on the countries where you will carry out your activities; cultural characteristics, living conditions, climates, geographical conditions of the countries you will visit; you search for hotel, transportation and dining opportunities.
Everyone gets excited. Your students are even more excited. They look forward to the mobility history.
Your project will also add a lot to your students. Their sense of belonging to the school and their self-confidence will increase; they will learn how to be a team, work discipline, respect, humanity and empathy. He will make new friends, discover new worlds; They will be proud to represent their country, city and school.
When the months-long preparations are over, you check your suitcases one last time. And you breathe in another country. Welcomings, gifts, meetings, shows, cultural trips, city tours, bazaars, markets… You enjoy it so much that you don’t want it to be in the evening. You make good friendships, and your students have established close friendships as well. Our great love for people turns into a warm smile, a warm touch, a warm “hello”, a warm “good morning”, a warm handshake. Even though our languages, religions and cultures are different, we realize that we actually have so much to share in our tiny world.
It’s time to say goodbye. A bitter sadness fills you. You hug your friends tightly, you return to your country with one last look, collecting lots of memories, lots of photos, lots of gifts and lots of videos.
I had these feelings on my way back from Spain. I saw the work of my friends. And I bowed respectfully before them. Beautiful and fun project activities, wonderful trips… Close attention… Sincere behavior… Thank you M. Dolores Vazquez Aranda, Elena Rodriguez Ruiz, Maria Andrea Miranda Azpi…
Mustafa ATAŞ
Türkiye Project Coordinator