Coming back from Finland

Our last Erasmus formative activity is over..our last European journey..our last contact with our 3-year-old friends..and now , back in Melilla, we all have this feeling that our Erasmus adventure is quickly coming to and end.  During this journey to Finland, we have deeply understood and assimilated our Far Northern European friends´culture and way of life. We have experienced extreme weather, freezing cold, wind, white landscapes, , beautiful animals, excellent gastronomy, mesmerizing traditions and we have been drawn into their joy of life, their curiosity, thirst for adventure and explorations, hunger for human warmth, Northern lights , their proud history , their stubborn defense of wilderness, human rights and sustainable development. We have taken part and lived many Finnish traditions this week: ice-swimming,graduation balls and parades, Santa Lucia´s singing, peace wishing to Santa; we have eaten liquorice and mämmi , we have sung in the karaoke and walked into their school in our socks. We have felt free to watch, sing, dance, ask, share and feel.

This 3-year adventure is over:  3 years full of emotion, incredible journeys, different landscapes, food, weather, houses, clothes, races, coluours, waters, voices , hearts

We leave friends forever; friends who will meet again ( in fact, we have met some of them out from the Erasmus journeys); and there will be more contacts, more collaborations, deeper bonds, deeper affections. Everything began with a promise to work together between two teachers enjoying a Comenius summer course in Malta 15 years ago!  The promise became a reality and from this cooperation, a new Erasmus programme will be born again..now we are a powerful European family ready to change people´s minds and lives again.

WINTER IS COMING

From the 8th to the 17th of February we will be celebrating our last formative Erasmus experience which will be held in Oulu (Finland). This time we are 4 students: Belén Bustillo, Rocío Ríos, Pablo Gallardo and Rafael Ronda. And 3 teachers: Pedro García, Ana García and Ana Carmona. We are going to experience extreme weather conditions (the forecast predicts temperaturas as low as -20 C) and visit and see places never imagined such as a Snow Castle!

The programme is fun and varied: from cooking workshops , ice-swimming and outdoor activities with reindeer, quads, sledges to debates, presentations, traditional dancing and project meetings. We have prepared a video where we present different local projects against inequality and machismo and we have big suprises to perform in the Erasmus farewell party.

This will be our last transntional visit so we are going to make the most of this journey to the Far North full of legends, snow, cold and hopefully , Nothern Lights!!

The pics will be fabulous so follow us in this blog! Keep in touch!