Erasmus + Project- Art Shaping our Cultural Identity:

We were given the opportunity to participate in an Erasmus+ project with another school. 4 students along with one teacher from our school started the preparations needed on ETwinning Platform. We learnt how to use different software to create innovative resources that were shared with all the participants in the group.

The most awaited day arrived and we made our way very early at the airport to start our adventure. Below are the write-ups of the students that took part in the experience. Read their stories to get to know how it all went.

My experience:

This was the first-time taking part of on Erasmus project. For sure it won’t be the last time as if I will have the opportunity to apply again as it was a nice experience.

During this Erasmus project, Art shaping our cultural identity, I learned a lot of things, especially how to work in a team with different people from different countries. Although we had a bit of a barrier language, we manged to find different ways to communicate by using different means of communication like google translate and non-verbal communication too. Workshops helped me to make new friends especially with the French team as they did their best to make us feel at home.

This experience was relevant to what I am doing at school as well. It helps me when it comes to Home Economics as we learned about France cuisine especially about croissants and baguettes.  Also, the opportunity to learn about different cultures- I was in charge of costumes. I had the opportunity to learn about and use different types of transport like train that in Malta we do not have.

One thing that may have been done differently was the age group- the others were far older than us even though we were told that the group will be 13-14 years. Less walking may be also considered to allow more time and strength to discover the place that will visit. This experience was very interesting and educational that I will never forget. Looking forward to have the opportunity to take part of anther Erasmus project.

Written by Emma Caruana

My experience in France

Last week, I was in France participating in an Erasmus+ project called, Art Shaping Our Cultural Identity. It was an unforgettable and educational experience.

During this experience, I learnt many new things related to art and history. On Monday, we visited the Louvre Lens Museum. There, I learnt all about the different art works and their very interesting history. On Tuesday, we had a workshop at the Behal Lycee school. We were separated in different groups, and we made a stop motion video. It was very interesting and I’m glad that now I know how to make a stop motion video. This workshop also helped me make new friends. Later that day we went to Arras and we visited Carrière Wellington tunnels. There, we were toured around the underground caves used during WW1. I learnt all about the history of Arras as well. During this experience I also learnt about the different cultures of different countries. The Bulgarians showed us how a traditional Bulgarian wedding is performed and the Turkish and those from Chez Republic performed their traditional dances while wearing their traditional costumes.We also presented our own dances and traditional Maltese food.

I made several new friends during this experience. I made friends with the students from the other countries, and I became better friends with Jade, Alessia and Emma too. Since we were together most of the time, I got to know them better.

My favourite part of this project was when we went to Paris. I was looking forward to seeing the Eiffel tower, and even though it was raining when we went, it was still very impressive seeing it in real life.

This experience was relevant to what I was doing at school. I learn French, and it came in handy when it came to communicating with others. I had the opportunity to practice my French langugage and my listening skills improved. This experience also helped me a lot when it came to Hospitality. I learnt a lot on the set ups of the different hospitality businesses (cafeterias, restaurants, hotels) and on how the employees treat the guests.

The one thing I wish was different was the amount of walking we had to do. We walked a lot, however, I do understand that it was something new for me but not the others since Malta is small and we don’t travel a lot on foot. I hope that I will have the opportunity to take part in another Erasmus+ experience, because this experience was fun and educational.

Written by Juliette Bartolo

Erasmus+ France – March 2022

For the Erasmus+ project I took part in, me and four other students from Immaculate Conception, Tarxien went to France. From the trip I learned many things. I learned how to always find a way to communicate with people who don’t speak the same language as there were some language barriers mostly when communicating with the French students. This also happened with people we met when visiting places and when shopping,

Besides, I learned about the culture and history of France. When we visited Arras, we went to a place called Carriere Wellignton tunnels. This was dark tourism. There I leared more about what the soldiers did and where they stayed in WW1.

There were many things I liked on the trip but the highlight was when we went to Paris for a day. Although we walked a lot and it was tiring, I really found it interesting to see new things and buildings which are not found in Malta and which we usually get to see on films or the internet. I got to try new food from there too! The architecture there is mind blowing and I was really amazed by it as you get to see all the detailed buildings and structures. Moreover, I was pleased that I got to see the Eiffel Tower for the first time and take a photo to keep as a memory.

I also enjoyed the times when we went to the Lyche Behal school as I had the opportunity to interact with new people and make new friends, not only French people but also from other cultures. I enjoyed the fact that everyone was open to get to know each other so it didn’t feel weird and I felt comfortable. It also helped me to get to learn new French words together with the few I remember from the two years I studied it at school. I also got to hear and listen to other languages for the first time as on the trip there were also Bulgarian, Turkish and people coming from Czech-Republic. Each country did a dance which showed me the different customs the countries have and their traditional costumes. My friends and I also wore the Maltese National Costume and danced to a lively Maltese song. What I also learned from were the presentations given about the different countries by someone from each partner country. Before going to France, it was also entertaining to read the student introductions which each student wrote as well as the information about different cultures. I like using technology so I liked the fact that we used apps like Kahoot.

Furthermore, this trip also gave me the chance to experience new means of transport like trains. I was happy with the fact that I got to go on a train for the first time!  At the airport in Paris there was a moving walk way or a horizontal escalotor which helps one to walk faster. The teacher accompanying us also made the travelling part more relevant to us as students, letting us take the lead in seeing what we had to do in different parts of the airport and at the train stations. The hotel we stayed at was very basic but comfortable.

I also had fun during the art workshop in which we all took part in. I was paired with two French students who did their best to communicate with me in English and we also used google translate to communicate better. The project which we worked on was murmurations and I got to explore an area of art which was quite interesting and totally new to me.

The only thing I would change from this experience was how much we walked as I think we could have reached certain places with other means of transport such as the bus. Most Maltese people are not used to walking such a long distance as Malta is small so that was the only downside to this trip.

If I get the chance to apply for another Erasmus+ project I would but only if it has to do with Hospitality and Home-Economics as those are my main two subjects which I study at school and which I’d like to have a career in in future. It would be a very good experience for me if I had the opportuity to explore other cultures in the kitchen and cooking area as well!

Overall it was an enjoyable trip and I am pleased that I learned a lot and met new people.

Written by Jade Fenech Ishmael.

In this Erasmus+ project I learned a lot of new things. I learned how I can share my knowledge with others and I also learned a very important quote which is “there is nothing that I cannot do”. I also learned how to communicate with other people who do not speak the same language as me.

I enjoyed doing a lot of things with the students from other countries but my favourite thing to do was the art shaping our culture project where we created a video animation by taking pictures and combining them altogether to form a video. I wish that we could have walked a bit less as my country is small and we usually don’t walk that much to go from one place to another. I also made some new friends, most of them were French students. They were very helpful and nice.

If I had the opportunity I would definitely consider to apply again for an Erasmus+ project. This helped me to have a better understandment to what I am studying at school. I learned about a lot of different means of transport (including : metro, train and buses) and I also learned about the French cuisine (the most famous are the croissant and pain du chocolat). My favourite thing that i learned about is the culture, we got to meet people who have a different culture than us. We saw Turkey, Czech Republic and Bulgaria dance their traditional dance and do traditional acts which was very interesting.

Written by Alessia Briffa