ITALIAN STUDENTS IMPRESSIONS OF THE THIRD COMENIUS MEETING

HOPE for the FUTURE IN IZMIR, TURKEY

The third meeting of the Comenius HOPE for the FUTURE took place in Izmir (Turkey) in
October 2013.
We were a group of four Italian students (two girls and two boys) with two teachers. Our names are
Antonella, Valentina, Gian Marco e Matteo.
Our visit to Turkey is unforgettable. Our hosts were so friendly, kind and hospitable. We did a lot of excursions.
The places we visited in Istanbul, Izmir, Ephesus were awesome. Their food was delicious. It was one of the best
moments in our life.
Turkey is a beautiful country with a lot of sightseeings. The students we met there were very friendly as well the
students from other countries.
We liked Istanbul. It is an interesting city to visit. Architecture is very different from ours. Mosques
are very impressive and beautiful.
Istanbul is a big city and you can find here different cultures, different people and different
mentalities. Turkish people have different traditions from ours, but they respect them more than we
respect our traditions.
We liked working together with Portuguese, Romanian, Hungarian and Turkish students. Working
in group was the best, because so we knew a lot about other cultures. Playing soccer was fun too; it
made our relationships more closely. Co-operation with project partners was really good, everybody
took part in discussions and nobody kept aside. We communicated in English and we understood
each other.
This week in Turkey was very exciting and educative. Surely we wish that this meeting had lasted
longer, to get acquainted more with Turkey and Turkish people there. Time in Izmir was the best
and we were very sad to leave.
We thought that we were different from Turkish, Portuguese, Romanian, Hungarian people, but we
are the same in many ways and we have the same values because we would like to become active
European citizens. We discussed many interesting subjects and we discussed rules that we have in
different countries.
This week in Turkey was so eventful and we would be grateful to get the chance to gain an
experience like this in the future again.
We are very sorry that our Comenius project will come to an end in May 2014. It was such a big
deal for us! During this period we learned so many things. We did not only improve our English but
we learned so much for our future life. We took part in volunteer actions and we are more aware of
some social issues, such as disability and disadvantaged people and what we can do to improve
their lives.
We think that Comenius is a fantastic program because you can meet and keep in touch with people from other
countries and we can learn many things about the different cultures, traditions, customs, languages and cuisines of
Europe.