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My Erasmus in Greece

       
Summary
"I spent a week in the suburb of Patras, Vrahneika, living with a Greek family..."
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A girl posing with a beautiful view to the sea
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My name is Nika, and I am from Zagreb, Croatia. My Erasmus
exchange experience was truly unique. I was part of a four-year
program called "Soil under my feet" during a very challenging time –
the COVID-19 pandemic. It was my first year of high school when I
applied, unaware of what lay ahead. When the pandemic hit and the
world shut down, including travel bans, everything, including our
Erasmus program, was put on hold. Until the spring of 2022, when
restrictions slowly began to ease, our program also gradually
started to come back to life.
In my third year of high school, I was finally offered an opportunity to
go to Greece. In May 2022, I spent a week in the suburb of Patras,
Vrahneika, living with a Greek family. It was the beginning of
summer in Greece, and we spent our time traveling around the
Peloponnese, enjoying the beach, and discussing the theme of our
project – refugees and their lives – through various workshops and meetings.

During that week, my Croatian team was joined by teams of pupils
from Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, and I met many wonderful
people with whom I became great friends. Most of us had another
opportunity to meet up again in Brussels for a second Erasmus, an
opportunity rarely offered within the same program. And that amazing
experience, filled with cultural exchange, fun, travel, and exploration,
happened once again. Everything that seemed impossible during the
pandemic, the Erasmus+ program made possible again. It opened
my eyes to the countless opportunities, things to see, and
experiences the world offers. Curiosity and the desire to explore
cultures and the world around me became a significant part of
planning my future. And here I am, two years after my Erasmus
program ended, traveling around Europe with my Erasmus friends –
an experience that truly changed my life for the better.

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Moja jedinstvena Erasmus razmjena

Zovem se Nika i inače sam iz Zagreba. Moje Erasmus iskustvo bilo je stvarno jedinstveno. Bila sam dio četverogodišnjeg programa pod nazivom “Soil under my feet” tijekom vrlo izazovnog vremena – pandemije COVID-19. Bila sam u prvom razredu srednje škole kad sam se prijavila, ne znajući što me čeka. S početkom pandemije i potpunim globalnim gašenjem, implementiranim zabranama putovanja, sve je stavljeno na čekanje, uključujući i naš Erasmus program. Tek u proljeće 2022, kad su restrikcije lagano smanjile, naš program je počeo pokazivati znakove života.

U trećem razredu srednje škole, napokon mi je ponuđena prilika da odem u Grčku. U svibnju 2022, provela sam tjedan dana u predgrađu Patrasa, Vrahneika, živeći s jednom grčkom obitelji. Bio je to početak ljeta u Grčkoj i vrijeme smo proveli putujući po Peloponezu, uživajući na plaži i razgovarajući o temama našeg projekta – izbjeglicama i njihovim životima – kroz razne radionice i sastanke.

Tijekom tog tjedna, mom hrvatskom timu pridružili su se učenici iz Italije, Španjolske, Francuske i Njemačke te sam upoznala mnogo divnih ljudi s kojima sam se brzo sprijateljila. Većina nas imala je još jednu priliku da se susretnemo u Briselu na drugom Erasmusu, prilika koja se rijetko nudi unutar istog programa. To predivno iskustvo, ispunjeno međukulturalnom razmjenom, zabavom, putovanjem i istraživanjem ponovilo se. Sve što se činilo nemoguće tijekom pandemije, Erasmus+ program učinio je opet mogućim. Otvorilo mi je oči za brojne prilike, stvari koje mogu vidjeti, iskustva koja svijet nudi, Znatiželja i volja za istraživanjem kultura i svijeta oko sebe postali su značajan dio planiranja moje budućnosti. I evo me, dvije godine nakon što je završio moj Erasmus program, putujem Europom sa svojim Erasmus prijateljima – iskustvo koje me stvarno promijenilo nabolje.