“Beyond being an educational experience, Erasmus is, for me, a lot more. It is a way to look at the world with new eyes, to feel and discover new emotions and learn what is not written in the notebooks. “

These words, written by one of the approximately 2 million students in the entirety of the EU to have participated in the Erasmus programme, stood with us once more come the second week of October, 2018. In mischief and in months’ worth of waiting, we were once more looking for adventure, one that the city of Pescara, northeast of Rome, was so alluringly promising. Whether newbies in the travelling part of the programme, or having been elsewhere with the aid of Erasmus as well, there was no difference between the excitement that had us pumped with energy, all smiles and laughter at one in the morning when we left for the airport(surely, however, at least half of us had our beauty sleep during the flights?).

The typical hustle and bustle of the entire airport process was welcome, as were the long hours it took to reach our destination(and then fall face first on our hotel beds for half an hour, but you didn’t hear this from me?).

If I’m being quite honest, it would be difficult to write report-style and in detail about each day, because the week spent in Italy has been engraved in our minds as a joined-up mass of mornings spent at the outstanding Misticoni-Bellisario school of arts, afternoons around the lively center of the coastal, fishermen town, and late nights at Ambra Hotel. Probably, if one day was to stand out, it’d probably be Wednesday 10Th, when we visited the Zaccagnini winery in Bolognano(where, much to our dismay, us under 18 weren’t allowed to taste the fine wine of the Abruzzo-established company) , as well as the Abbey of San Clemente a Causaria, with photos being taken left and right.

In the sense of our programme’s object, cinematography, each delegation had the chance to work further on editing their respective movies in Bellisario High’s multi-media classes for the entire week, with help of the students from the Italian Erasmus team which proved to be, in all honesty, priceless.

Additionally, the programme group had the chance to shoot a little something using professional equipment.

On Friday night, the final note of the 3rd LTTA meeting of “Learning Cultures through Cinema” , the entire group went out in one of Pescara’s many restaurants for pizza. Cue all of the pictures, and goodbyes and wishes, when we had to part ways. The Saturday travel back to Kavala didn’t quite faze us in itself-you could even say we had our fun while waiting for our flight to Athens-, save for the bittersweet feeling we knew would be with us for a few days. Quite majestic how just one week away can affect you, right? The week in Italy left us feeling not just wealthier with one more precious experience, the kind of which only Erasmus can offer, but also grateful for this opportunity we had, and, dare I say, greedy for more.

From the moment we returned home, we were ready to experience everything all over again, from the top and all the way.  So, to all of our partner-countries, friends and teammates and the people this experience will always connects us with and burn in our minds like a beacon,

Until soon, in Unna,

the students of the Greek delegation.

(written by Mary Iosifidis)