Last stop: Falticeni

 At last, and after a pandemic and an armed conflict in Ukraine, a country less than an hour’s drive from Falticeni (Romania), we were able to carry out this mobility during the last week of June and beginning of July. We had all sorts of problems, but, finally, with great help and outstanding flexibility of the host partner, we were able to make it. Besides, the dates of the meeting were not the best for any of us, as most schools were starting their summer holidays or in their final days at school. To top it all, in those days we had airlines delays and cancellations in many flights all over Europe, including low-cost flights provided by Easyjet and Ryanair due to flight attendants strikes, which also caused an incredibly high rise in the prices of flights, which were already high because of the start of the peak season.

DAY 1

The first day, we had a welcome speech by the school management and some ice-breaking activities. We had to modify the program as the Spanish team arrived at mid-morning and the Portuguese team arrived in the afternoon after incredibly long flights.

Students were divided into international groups, and participated in two workshops. One was dedicated to making bouquets with lavender, a typical plant of the Bucovina region of Romania. The other one was dedicated to making decorative bracelets. After the coffee break, we had an interactive presentation about Romania, the Bucovina region and Falticeni, their traditions, culture, food, ecosystems, language, etc.

After lunch, we visited Falticeni city centre. The students were divided in international groups and with the help of the hosting students and a geography and history teacher, they had to complete a questionnaire about famous buildings or places in the town that would lead them to a secret message. Then, we had a Welcome Dinner all together, students and teachers.

DAY 2

The next day, we visited the Humor monastery considered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and the Wood Carving Museum in Campulung Moldovenesc.

Then, we had lunch in Pietrele Doamnei Natural Reserve and we did a trekking hike in the Moara Dracului Keystone area.

We had dinner at Comoara Bucovinei guesthouse, which was an outstanding example of new rural tourist resort facilities in the Bucovina region.

DAY 3

On Wednesday, students from Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain presented their presentations on “Sustainability in daily life”. After the coffee break, we left for Suceava to visit Suceava University. We had a lecture on sustainability from a university professor and then visited the Planetarium, where, besides enjoying a very good explanation of our universe and its physics, we had the chance to have a short meeting with two Ukrainian refugees and a Portuguese-Romanian volunteer with refugee-aid responsibilities, who gave us first hand insight on the consequences of an armed conflict on the lives of normal citizens.

It was a really impressive experience for all of us. After lunch at the university canteen, we visited the Village Museum and Fortress, where we could see different types of traditional wooden houses throughout history in the area.

DAY 4

The following day, we visited the Bison Observatory, where we could see some of these animals and learn that this area is one of the few places in Europe where you can find this species living in the wild.

Later that day, we visited the Bicaz Electrical Powerplant and its Dam. We learnt with the help of an engineer of the plant about electrical power and different types of hydroelectric plant. We later had lunch in the Red Lake Natural Reservoir of the Bicaz river, and also had a boat trip in the lake. We had to change some of the planned activities due to the rain. We had dinner all together at the Hotel.

DAY 5

On Friday, we saw the Romanian students ́ presentation. Then, we had a very interesting lecture on the Ecological Footprint by the Romanian coordinator (also a Geography and History teacher) followed by a workshop to put the newly acquired knowledge into practice. Another activity was to carry out an international debate in small groups about actions for saving energy, water or natural resources at home and in their schools. As a result of this debate, a small group of students created a Google Form with questions made for the other students ́ groups.

After that, we had the Closing Ceremony and a short speech by the coordinator of the project in which she thanked all the participants for their hard work and contributions to the project, and also encouraged all our students to participate and benefit from the opportunities Erasmus projects will provide at different moments in their future formation.

The students had lunch with their Romanian peers and the teachers with their fellow teachers too.

In the afternoon, the students went to the local swimming pool accompanied by some Romanian teachers. This was an excellent idea as the temperatures in Romania were unexpectedly high for this time of the year. Meanwhile, the teachers had a working meeting about pending tasks for the final report and evaluation of the project.

Finally, we had a Farewell Dinner, the teachers with their fellow teachers and students had dinner with their Romanian peers and also, a Farewell party.