Monday, January 27, 2020

My amazing trip to Reunion Island


Erasmus+ project “Too Bee or not to Bee in Nature”
My amazing trip to Reunion Island

Traveling is not only about moving your location, because I didn’t just go to Reunion, it’s about living through it and I lived through it. I saw it, I tasted it, I heard it, I smelled it, I touched it, I felt it. This project gave me the opportunity to do it and I became a part of this island, one true citizen of it.
For fourteen days I was living in the home of my partner and her friends, who I now could proudly call my friends. These people with their big welcoming smiles and big hearths not only showed me the beautiful views like the one you would probably see in the internet, they introduced me to the new culture. I had a chance to see their life, their homes and their school. The school facilities of our partner school from the island surprised us not only with their perfect for the students state but also with a completely new educational system in comparison to ours.
          We visited a lot of towns and places – each with its own story. In Saint Paul I tasted the strangest yet now my favorite ice cream flavor, in Saint Denis one of my dreams to visit a manga store came true, in Salazie cirque I saw the biggest bamboo tree I have ever had the pleasure to see.
As I said in the beginning it wasn’t only traveling to La Reunion, it was a chance to see it – to see the crystal clear water of the Indian ocean and the peaks of the volcanoes reflecting in it, it was a chance to taste it – to taste the creole cuisine and the sweetest fruits ever, it was a chance to hear it – to hear an unknown language, to hear the stories of the people there, it was a chance to smell it – to smell the freshly prepared tea of one of the last tea gardens on the island, it was a chance to touch it – to touch the hands of the people holding them out for a handshake to welcome me on board to this amazing adventure. And last but not least this project to Reunion gave me the chance to feel – to feel this little smile on my lips from the moment when my first flight took off, to feel the fatigue of one truly lived day, to feel my heartbeat in my chest on my 18th birthday which took place away from my home, away from the closest to me people and yet it was the best birthday ever…Thank you!

Polina Predoeva
Science and Maths Secondary School
Vidin, Bulgaria

My Amazing Trip to Reunion Island


Erasmus+ project “Too Bee or not to Bee in Nature”
My Amazing Trip to Reunion Island


Reunion Island was one of the most unique places I have ever been to, actually that was the school trip I will remember forever! As the time began to approach, I became more and more impatient!
Firstly, the project was really useful and of utmost importance because its purpose was to educate young people like us in nature preservation and to help us to improve our skills and knowledge in ICT and foreign languages. We had the opportunity to communicate with people from different nationalities and work together, which made us feel more comfortable and confident in the end. The distance we travelled to get to this place was definitely worth it! The things which impressed me the most were the friendly attitude of the local people and their educational system. We spent a lot of time together and learned to work as a team and to develop our leadership skills.
On one of the days, we were invited to visit their cooking classes and I could say that this was the most interesting part of the whole project for me. We were split into two teams. Some of us were at the bakery and the other attended the pastry classes. We had a lot of fun while we were preparing the dishes with honey products.
 Another important aim of the project was to increase our knowledge in foreign cultural fields. We explored some of the most beautiful tourist attractions– Piton De La Fournaise, Bassin Cormoran, Saint-Gills, The National Park and etc. That kind of experience widened our horizons, boosted our self-confidence and enriched our imagination. But, in my opinion, the most important things we achieved during our stay at this incredible place were that we created pure friendships and opened a lot of doors for our future development.

Monika Krasteva
Science and Maths Secondary School
Vidin, Bulgaria