Before Sirli came to me , I thought that I couldn´t talk English very well .I was afraid to talk with her. I didn´t want to make any mistakes. I was confused confused, because a strange person came into my family. I was worried, that she didn´t like my home or my family or our food. After the Erasmus plus programme: Now I realize that mistakes are okay, because everyone could make mistakes. After a few hours it was easier to talk with her fluently and we had no problems to understand each other. I like that experience to meet a person from another country , I learned a lot of new things . It was nice to see that she liked my family and enjoyed our food. I would say , that we are friends now. I even cried a little when she left and we write on Instagram to stay in contact.
Duha Alhamoura (2019)
No one stayed with me this week, but I noticed for the first time how difficult it is for me to speak English with one single person. I sometimeshad a real problem if I did not know a few words. That’s a good experience for the future. Unfortunately, I did not speak so much to the Estonian and Finnish students. Nevertheless, I could learn a lot about their lives. I found the time actually nice and I could also learn something about our topic “water”, but it was often difficult for me because I did not understand all the words. I especially liked the day when we went to “Schloss Burg”, because we got a better impression of Solingen. The trip to Dusseldorf was also very nice. I’m definitely looking forward to the flight to Estonia and I’m curious how exactly life is different from ours there.
Andre Iwanowsky (2019)
What have I learned ? During this week I learned that hikes and walking over 10km is totally not for me, but I realised and learned how different for example Finland and Germany are. Not concerning political or social structures, but how much more people respected , treated and took care of nature. I learned that we should protect the nature more and find solutions to protect and develop things such as paths in forests, no more plastic and waste in our rivers and lakes , no more pollution and how good a walk through the forest can be . We should appreciate the nature more and try not to destroy it . I also learned how amazing friends can be, if they´re basically internet friends even bette . They´re people that don´t know each of your moves, so it brings up more subjects one can talk about , there´s more time you spend to know someone , you´re there for them more often.
How did I felt ? What was most exciting ? I felt good and liked clearing myself , emptying myself from things such as stress and bad thoughts/negativity . I was surrounded by friends, exploring nature together, going through the same things , there were people understanding me . The most exciting thing was that we were reunited with the Finnish students and got to know new people . It was a nice week full with adventures and it felt good that I could be with them again.
What touched me the most ? It must be on the second day , on Sinna´s birthday when we gathered in front of a statue in front of Schloss Burg and we took pictures of her with her gift and all sang her
Happy Birthdayas well as wishing her happy birthday . I loved seeing her so happy and surprised , everyone could see that she didn’t expect that.What influence did the week have on you and your future ? It made me want to meet with my friends more and spend more time exploring things , going out as time goes fast and a week goes so fast , like from when they arrived till they left , all went so fast it was as fast as someone would snap his fingers . It made me appreciate who´s with me and where I am. I´m not sure how much this influenced my future , it did for sure but it´s hard explaining how , how much or how . You´re living the moment collecting memories, you want to live again with the same people, so that you can remember what you did together and recall impressions.
Irina (2019)