Iciar Monsell Valdés
Hello, I’m Iciar Monsell, and I’m one of the lucky people that have participated in this project. Specifically, I travelled on the 8-11-2021 to Norway, where I lived one of the best experiences of my life.
The entire project was about “Yes to Migration, No to Extremism” which is why all the activities were focused on it. Thanks to the different talks and activities we learned lots of things, most importantly we learned how to be open-minded, which was important as these problems are caused by narrow-minded people. We also learned about the importance of talking about extremism, and not forgetting humanity's past mistakes, because if we do, tragedies could be repeated.
During the whole Erasmus stay I felt at ease, I spent lots of time with special people with lots of desire to learn like me. Obviously, I would recommend this experience to everyone that could have this opportunity, they wouldn’t regret it, and would live out lots of unforgettable moments with marvelous people.
Eva Martínez Martínez
Hello, I am Eva and I recently participated in the Erasmus project “Yes to Migration, No to Extremism”, and I would like to share my experience.
I have had the great opportunity to participate in this project and I think that it is and will always be one of the best experiences that I will have throughout my life. Every day spent in Norway was an adventure, I got to learn about new cultures, I adapted to a new schedule, I made new friends and I grew as a person. I personally think that this project has helped me to be a little more independent and to look out for myself.
I honestly feel like a lucky person to have lived this experience, which I will always remember with great affection and love. Both my classmates from Spain and the other students I lived with during those 5 days made me enjoy every moment there. The laughs, the emotions and the moments that I lived there are, and will always be, irreplaceable.
I would like to personally thank the school for having made this experience possible in such difficult times, and those who were with us (Andrés and Amparo) for making this experience so unique. The house I was in gave me warmth and I felt very comfortable there. With this I must say that the 5 girls who were with me made it much more special, and with that I formed new friendships that I hope will last for a long time.
Rebecca, Aurora, Zsofia, Kristiane and Emily were the names I heard on my first morning in Norway, having breakfast together in a spacious kitchen, which in a few minutes was flooded with laughter and questions of all types. The best feeling when meeting someone is undoubtedly laughing in a short time, and I was able to live it.
Mar Hidalgo
Hello, my name is Mar and I was one of the lucky students that went to Norway thanks to the project of Erasmus + “Yes to Migration, No to Extremism”, so I’m going to talk about my experience here:
It was an incredible experience, every day was awesome; one day we went bowling, another we went around Bergen, then we went to a pizzeria to eat together… But what I loved most about the trip was discovering another culture and meeting a lot of new people like the girl that lives in the house I went to: Wilma. I think that on this trip I learnt to be more self-confident and I also grew as a person.
We were lucky to visit Herdla, Bergen, Askoy and Voss, all gorgeous cities / villages where we learnt about their history in relation to migration and extremism. One day, a woman gave us a presentation about Utoya. This woman had lost a daughter in this disaster. I think this presentation gave us another perspective of disasters like Utoya: the broken families and the broken lives that can result from intolerance and extremism when they are taken too far.
I feel so lucky I was able to visit Norway and I think I will always remember this trip with happiness and fondness. All the people involved helped me enjoy this trip and I hope to see them again. I also feel very grateful because of the house where I stayed in, because they were very kind and nice to me. Every night they made me hot chocolate because it was cold outside.
My only criticism would be that I think this trip was a bit short. I wish I had stayed there for a few weeks more, but anyway I had so much fun and I learned a lot of things about Norway and immigration, so I am so grateful to the people that made this trip possible. Now, I am looking forward to the people I met coming to Spain.
Paula Andrea Lundberg Esmera
Hi I’m Paula and today i would like to tell you about my experience of the very first trip that I went on with the Erasmus project, which was Norway. I will start talking a bit about what we did during those 3 days.
The first day we went to the school and they told us a little bit about the history of Norway and the classes which are completely different from the Spanish system. Then, the same day we all went to Bergen (which is known for being Norway's second largest city) and we visited a museum and a kind of wooden square called Bryggen.
On the second day, we went to Voss, a mountain town, where we met other Norwegian students and we got the chance to talk with them for about an hour until we had to go back to our island, and on the last day before going back to Spain we went to the Herdla Museum”. The topic they talked about in the museum was related to extremism, since our project is about that.
Another thing I would also like to tell you about is how I felt during those days in Norway. Well, I felt like I was dreaming, because I had waited for so long to go to one of the countries that were from the project. Norway was the one that caught my attention, but I know for sure that I would have enjoyed it as much if I had gone to any of the other countries. When it comes to the people, I must say that all the people I met were very kind and friendly.
I felt really comfortable there, with both the people and with the beautiful landscapes I was able to see. One thing that made me feel extremely comfortable there was the fact that I had the opportunity to talk with the Norwegian people in Swedish, and that was one of the best things of the trip except for the people who were also very nice.
I would absolutely recommend this trip to anyone, even if you are not good at English, because it is a great opportunity and you never know if you will get another chance like this in the future, so why wouldn’t you accept it? I guarantee you that you wouldn’t regret it at all.
Pablo Catalá Angeloni
Hello, I am Pablo Catalá, and I am a 4th year ESO student at the Dominicas Paterna school. I am 14 years old and I live in Valencia (Spain) and I am going to tell you how it was one of the best experiences of my life.
It all started on a normal day at school. I was in class when they told us that our course was going to participate in a project that had been going on for more years, called Erasmus KA2. They told us that we had to make a presentation of "Yes to Migration, No to Extremism". Obviously, I already had an idea of what these two things were but had never dedicated any time.
It wasn't until a year later that they told me that I was going to Norway with my classmates and that I was going to work on extremism and migration. At first, I was not very excited, since my level of English is not very high, but they explained to me that it would be a wonderful experience, and that I was going to learn a lot. Little by little I began to look forward to the trip, and when the first day came, I was very nervous.
Once at the airport, I knew where I was going and how lucky I was. I arrived at Bergen (Norway). I met the family that I had been assigned to, and they were all super nice and treated me like just another kid. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. The next day I met the students who were part of the project, I loved talking with them and learning about their traditions and culture. Little by little I began to relax with people and learn more and more. Then the talks and activities came to migration and extremism, thanks to which I can now continue to form my own criteria. One of the activities that marked me the most, without a doubt was the attack on Utøya, I find it incredible how strong that lady was when she came and told us about her experience as a victim, and that one day you can have everything, and then you can lose it. It has certainly taught me to value and appreciate the people who love me the most.
When I returned to Spain, I felt super satisfied with myself and noticed that my English had improved and my own judgment had changed. Without a doubt, this journey has been one of the best experiences of my life, which has taught me a lot and I have met wonderful people.
