Our Impressions about the Comenius Mobility in Italy

March 2013

First of all I want to say that the Comenius mobility in Italy in which I take part as a member of the Romanian team was a unique and unforgettable experience.

When I arrived there, all the people have received us warmly, however, the biggest emotion I felt when I met my partner. She came at the hotel together her grandparents, who were such wonderful people.

In the following days we visited the school, met its teachers and many other pupils who made us feel like at home.

I have visited the Vatican Museum where I have seen the famous Sistine Chapel and where I have admired Michelangelo’s paintings.

Another very famous tourist attraction that long time I wanted to visit was the Colosseum. It was really amazing.

In addition, we have visited the Trevi Fountain, where I have thrown a penny and I have put a wish. I will not tell you the wish, it’s secret, in order to be accomplished, you know.

An interesting place that we have visited was also the Ostia Antica ruins. Not far away, we have admired the seaport.

Italy is a country full of tourist attractions and that’s why I can say it worth visiting at least once in a lifetime.

The workshops realized within the project, the classes we have attended, the picnic in the schoolyard and the hospitality of the school staff will remain in my mond for a long time, I’m sure.

Bianca Costache, Romania

Hello, my name is Stoiculescu Stefan Alexander, and I am one of the lucky ones who had the opportunity to be part of the Comenius project and to travel to Italy, one of the most beautiful European countries. I have to tell you the experience of knowing a such beautiful country with ancient traditions and history. Let’s start from the beginning, knowing that we traveled by plane I had emotions because I have never flown before, but when I saw the state of the enthusiasm of the group, all the emotions were gone.

The flight went perfectly and without unpleasant surprises. We landed in Rome where we were welcomed by the coordinator of the project and we went to meet with our future hosts.

In Italy I was fascinated by the ancient monuments such as the Roman period ruins of Ostia, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain. I also was surprised by their educational system, participating in a Math class and a Spanish class, too. I personally was very surprised by the size and cleanliness of parks, playgrounds for children, Italian food.

And for the picture to be complete, one day, while we were visiting the Vatican managed, I was lost with Mrs. Tudor from the group, so we lost the paintings created by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel.

What could I say about Lorenzo’s family? I could say that it was a very welcoming family and very understanding with me all the period spent there. Lorenzo’s parents were knowing very well English and, although Lorenzo was sometimes speaking English a bit hard, with the help of his computer, we got along extremely well.

I really liked the pupils of the school where we were when they presented to us the musical Pinocchio because when dancing looked like professionals and simple replicas were understood by all.

The separation of Lorenzo was the hardest because I liked there and if it was possible, I would have been there now eating pasta and playing football. I will continue to keep in touch with my friend Lorenzo, but I still have emotions that I want to make a good impression when he will came to Romania in 2014, so to change that impression created over time about our country.

In closing I want to say that it can’t be told in words how beautiful is Rome and I can say that is worth visiting it at least once in life.

ALEX, Romania

I have heard Italy is a great country and I wanted to see it and this project made my wish true.

At our leaving we were very nervous to meet our partners from Italy. In the plane was an amazing experience. When we arrived in Italy at airport we were very tired and we were waiting for Hope. Finally, we went at hotel where we waited for our host partners. In a short time they came to take us to our new homes. For me came just Sara’s mother because she was at school. Since I saw her the first time I noticed she’s a happy person, like the most of Italians. We went to my new home. She showed it to me. Soon after that we went to take Sara. She seemed a nice girl. We went at a shop and they bought me a big icecream.

Next day we ate their traditional food and I liked it. Their school is very big and the Italians like doing sport. They learn differently than us and at school they have more freedom than us; I don’t know if this is a good thing or not. In Rome I got tired but I liked Fontana di Trevi, where’s a shop with the best icecreams. The Colosseum was a very beautiful objective we visited. I enjoyed Vatican, Rome and everything I saw.

The Italians are kind, friendly and I’d like to meet them again. Also, they seem older than they really are. They are catholic but this didn’t change something between us.

Also, I think this project helped us to speak English better and to become better in IT. I learned many things about other cultures and customs. We talked to pupils, teachers and parents and saw their opnions about many and different things. When we arrived back in Romania our classmates found out what we saw and noticed in Italy and they were interested. A good thing we learned in this project was not picking up a living thing and we made works of art from what we found died on the ground.

I think this project is very good and educational for every country. I learned many things this week and I congratulate the teachers for this beautiful project.

Negoescu Bianca, Romania

I think of when I say italy I say pizza, pasta, fry potatoes but now I have learned that in this country there are wonderful people who welcome you with open arms.

The best moment was when I got home to my partner and I met her family. When I got to school I was very impressed by the fact that a lot of kids have treated us with hospitality. I attended their classes, but it was really not many enough to figure out that their matter is not so different as ours but much easier.

We visited Porziano Castle, which loved me because I was able to create with little things a true playground in miniature. I visited many tourist attractions including the Colosseum, Trajan’s Column, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di

Spain, Vatican, Ostia ruins, but the most I liked was Trevi Fountain where I put a desire and ate a very tasty icecream.

Besides these wonderful places, we have been to the sea where I liked very much and I took lots of pictures.

The separation of people where I stayed was very hard for me because they were our families for a week. These seven days were very beautiful but they quickly passed.

All these were possible by this Comenius project. I am proud to be a member of the team and to have such friendly European partners.

Bianca Sîrbu, Romania

Rome, one of the attractions of Europe, looked happy for a week and for us.

Our project partner school was an art school. We observed that students were more relaxed than us during the courses. I attended a concert held in our honor, then host parents in the schoolyard waiting for us with Italian dishes that we were very pleased.

My new friend, Diego, played in the play Pinocchio. He is a great guy and has a wonderful family. The show was held in a special room, like an amphitheater, which I would love to have it in our school, too.

In the park "Castle Porziano" I made some arrangements of stones and dead leaves. At the Vatican, the crowd struck me first and the museum impressed me through the works of art, stained glass and frescoes.

Touring Rome, we arrived at the Coloseum, where I got a reminder this miniature.

Our teachers were guide for us, and they were spoiled us all the time.On the penultimate day, we visited the ruins of "Ostia Antica", which in

antiquity was the port that served Rome. We had a full program: an exchange with another school, new knowledge,

visiting some of the most important attractions in Rome.

I'm glad I had the chance to be in the Comenius project team as this project enriched my knowledge about Europe and I learned that friends can keep close even if from a distance.

Safta David

Italy is a country that I always have dreamed to see. This multilateral Comenius project Comenius helped me to fulfill my dream. In addition, I flew by plane for first time. The experience by plane was unbelievable.

The family where I have stayed was so kind and my partner, Thomas, has impressed me since the first day with his behavior. I have felt since the first moment

that we will understand well even if they were Catholic. His parents brought us to school every day.

Their school was one of arts and they had, not only usual classrooms, but also a hall which seems to be a small theatre, where our gifted Italian pupil partners have acted in English language the adaptation of a play after the well-known story “Pinochio”. I noticed that some teachers were allowing sometimes their pupils to do what they want, but I don’t know if this is a good thing or not. Instead, most children play an instrument and practice a sport. I spoke with the pupils in English language that helped me to develop the capacity to communicate in this language.

Every day we were leaving from school by bus to more destinations. We saw many historical sights that improved a lot our general culture such as: Vatican Museum, Colosseum, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza di Venezia. We went to the park “Castel Porziano”, where each team of pupils from all the participating countries of the project (Spain, Italy, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Turkey) achieved some artworks and made poems about the creations. Ostia Antica and its seaport also fascinated me. But outside these wonderful sights, the most impressed me the very large parks.

After seven days of admiring the beauties of Rome and doing Comenius project activities together, I left regretfully to my house and these things remained in my memory. I will always think with pleasure at these days spent in Italy. This mobility has determined me to say that Italians are some wonderful people. I want to thank to all teachers involved in this multilateral Comenius project, which submitted much heart for ongoing and for the chance they gave it to me to participate.

Octavian Cononov

This project is wonderful because with the help this project I learned many things using IT and I learned better English. The visited Italian school seemed me to be a bit different than the schools in Romania. For example, in Italy the grade seven is very good, instead in Romania ten is very good.

The teachers, children and parents from there are wonderful. I thought I would be able to have problems because I am orthodox and they are catolics, but it was not true. They are like us.

“Say No to the Picking of a Living Thing” was always the motto with which we were guided to make artworks. It was very beautiful when I was in nature, in the forest, to search every leaf, every twig to make an artwork.

First I would want to tell to Mrs. Raffaela Puglia a big “Thank You” for all the activities. During that mobility week, the first day, I was very excited because I talked to Luca, my host partner, and all the other partners face to face.

The second day I saw at school many things. I ate tipical Italian food (it was very good). The third day I saw a natural park where together with my Romanian team, I made an artwork that we entitled “A Playing Place”.

The fourth day I saw Vatican Museums. It was lovely. That day I went shopping with my friends and I ate tipical Italian food. The fifth day I made the tour of Rome. Rome is very beautiful. I saw Coloseum and many other buildings. That day I took a T-shirt with “I love Rome”. The sixth day I went in Ostia to see some ruins and the port. The last day all partners joined at hotel for saying “Good bye”. The host parents took us to the airport by their own cars.

For me, this experience was very beautiful. And now I am waiting for my partner to come here in my country. I miss all my project partners.

Tavi Florescu

On Monday I was so happy when I met my Comenius partner from Italy. I stayed with his family and I ate a lot of pizza. He had such hospitable parents.

On Tuesday we went to his school where I participed at his classes and I ate Lasagna, Pizza, Spaghetti and a lot of food

prepared by the parents of the pupils involved in the Comenius project “The Voices from the Land”.

On Wednesday we visited “Presidential Estate of Castel Porziano”, an amazing park were we created artworks using materials from nature. After that, we came back to school to compose poems and to recite them on a stage, and later we went to Leonori Orchestra for a wonderful concert.

On Thursday we went to Vatican for a documentary visit to its museums. It was a beautiful experience. I am grateful to the Italian coordinator and headmaster for including this visit in our Comenius mobility in Rome.

On Friday we visited more places, such as: Coloseum, Fori Imperiali, Piazza Venezia, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, and tasted a good Italian icecream.

On Saturday we visited Ostia Antica and Ostia Antica Port.On Sunday we come back home, after an interesting Comenius

project, ready to tell about it to all pupils and teachers in my school.

Victor Vasile