Varna meeting (May 2019)
Travelogue
Day 9: The Way Back
Everything will come to an end at some point. So it was with the joyful time in Varna, too.
At 10 a.m. we were at the airport saying farewell greetings, queuing to the check-in and finally in the plane waiting for the take off.
The way back was nice and relaxed. The flight was on time, the bus was on time and everyone got safely back home.
We are proud of our team. Many of them took brave steps away from their confort zone and managed well!
We all have great memories from this week. We made new friends. We shared the bread and thoughts. We shared the rhythm.
Thank you.
At 10 a.m. we were at the airport saying farewell greetings, queuing to the check-in and finally in the plane waiting for the take off.
The way back was nice and relaxed. The flight was on time, the bus was on time and everyone got safely back home.
We are proud of our team. Many of them took brave steps away from their confort zone and managed well!
We all have great memories from this week. We made new friends. We shared the bread and thoughts. We shared the rhythm.
Thank you.
Days 4 to 8: The Meeting
It's always nice to stroll around the city, see new places and meet new people. The Erasmus meetings are not just about freewheeling, as there are presentations, performances and different kind of works to be prepared, rehearsed, presented and discussed.
We were welcomed at school most warmly: A Bulgarian tradition is to share a special kind of bread with their guests by the time of their arrival. The symbolic gesture is strongly related to the main goal of our project: As the project Song of Joy is about sharing, understanding and co-operation, could you not start a project in any better way?
All the countries presented themselves and we enjoyed a dance performance by the students of our hosting school. After a short break we got to work:
The dance workshops, visual arts lessons, discussions and quizzes about the common European ground and cultural specialities were the backbone of the meeting in Varna.
As the official theme for this project is "the new rhythm of Europe", this was also the focus of the meeting. The rhythm is a crucial part of human thinking: the patterns of literature, traditional decorations, dance and music all are different expressions of rhythm. A rhythm may also be seen within our society; the pace of life in every country is slightly different thus expressing rhythm of everyday life.
The meeting in Varna was more or less a prism through which we had a chance to take a peek in many aspects of rhythmical patterns described above.
It was clear that despite of various cultural differences there was even more in common: the songs had same kind of rhythmical patterns, the tales had similar kind of heroes and villains, the dances were about being together and physically in touch with another person. It really doesn't matter if you are dancing to a 7/4 rhythm, and afro-cuban beat or a Finnish polka. The very meaning of sharing is built-in everywhere.
We were welcomed at school most warmly: A Bulgarian tradition is to share a special kind of bread with their guests by the time of their arrival. The symbolic gesture is strongly related to the main goal of our project: As the project Song of Joy is about sharing, understanding and co-operation, could you not start a project in any better way?
All the countries presented themselves and we enjoyed a dance performance by the students of our hosting school. After a short break we got to work:
The dance workshops, visual arts lessons, discussions and quizzes about the common European ground and cultural specialities were the backbone of the meeting in Varna.
As the official theme for this project is "the new rhythm of Europe", this was also the focus of the meeting. The rhythm is a crucial part of human thinking: the patterns of literature, traditional decorations, dance and music all are different expressions of rhythm. A rhythm may also be seen within our society; the pace of life in every country is slightly different thus expressing rhythm of everyday life.
The meeting in Varna was more or less a prism through which we had a chance to take a peek in many aspects of rhythmical patterns described above.
It was clear that despite of various cultural differences there was even more in common: the songs had same kind of rhythmical patterns, the tales had similar kind of heroes and villains, the dances were about being together and physically in touch with another person. It really doesn't matter if you are dancing to a 7/4 rhythm, and afro-cuban beat or a Finnish polka. The very meaning of sharing is built-in everywhere.
Day 3: Host families
A meeting a new host family is always an adventure: Different habits, different kind of food and more or less a house full of people you actually don't know.
Regarding all possibilities of incidents that might happen, it's really a miracle that usually everything goes fine and after a week it's hard to leave these previous strangers. After two weeks at Golden Sands we checked out from the really nice hotel we had and headed to the city center.
At 3 p.m. there were families waiting for our students. Now the real adventure began.
There's always some things to adjust, but as a whole, these adjustments are usually managed swiftly. After an hour all students had found their place and on their way with their hosts.
Now the teachers had some time to look around. It was pleasant to notice how near the school was and how really nice was the huge park just by the coast line in Varna.
The following day was free for the students to be with their families and to get to know each other. Even if this part is the most important part of international projects at school, there's not much to write about. Sorry. Maybe you have to participate some project to just experince this part yourself.
Regarding all possibilities of incidents that might happen, it's really a miracle that usually everything goes fine and after a week it's hard to leave these previous strangers. After two weeks at Golden Sands we checked out from the really nice hotel we had and headed to the city center.
At 3 p.m. there were families waiting for our students. Now the real adventure began.
There's always some things to adjust, but as a whole, these adjustments are usually managed swiftly. After an hour all students had found their place and on their way with their hosts.
Now the teachers had some time to look around. It was pleasant to notice how near the school was and how really nice was the huge park just by the coast line in Varna.
The following day was free for the students to be with their families and to get to know each other. Even if this part is the most important part of international projects at school, there's not much to write about. Sorry. Maybe you have to participate some project to just experince this part yourself.
Day 1: Here we come
When we left Kuopio, it was snowing. A lot. More than a lot.
As the morning of Saturday 4th of May saw the first traits of sun, we were at Helsinki-Vantaa airport passing through the passport control. In Kuopio there was 20-30cm of snow. Yes, in May.
After the three-hour flight to Varna we really started to feel almost embarassingly lucky: 20 degrees, the sun shining from bright blue sky. It was definitely a good choice to spend a couple nights in a hotel, take a short direct flight to Varna and totally escape the horrid weather at home. Believe it or not, this travel plan was mainly set due to the reduced costs. Well, guess sometimes it happens that all the odds are on your side.
At this point it was quite clear that - once again - we have an excellent group of young people travelling to the Erasmus meeting: The atmosphere was supportive and light from the very beginning. So, maybe the reward you see in the photo below is already earned.
There's a lot more to come. Looking forward to the events during our stay in Varna.
As the morning of Saturday 4th of May saw the first traits of sun, we were at Helsinki-Vantaa airport passing through the passport control. In Kuopio there was 20-30cm of snow. Yes, in May.
After the three-hour flight to Varna we really started to feel almost embarassingly lucky: 20 degrees, the sun shining from bright blue sky. It was definitely a good choice to spend a couple nights in a hotel, take a short direct flight to Varna and totally escape the horrid weather at home. Believe it or not, this travel plan was mainly set due to the reduced costs. Well, guess sometimes it happens that all the odds are on your side.
At this point it was quite clear that - once again - we have an excellent group of young people travelling to the Erasmus meeting: The atmosphere was supportive and light from the very beginning. So, maybe the reward you see in the photo below is already earned.
There's a lot more to come. Looking forward to the events during our stay in Varna.
Transportation & accommodation
3.5.
Train to Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport @ 17.12
The group should be at the railway station @ 17.00.
Arrival at the airport @ 21.48.
Overnight stay at Hilton Helsinki Airport.
4.5.
Early breakfast.
Check-in @ 6.30
Flight D8 492 (Norwegian airlines) to Varna @ 8.00
Arrival to Varna @ 11.00
Transportation to the hotel.
5.5.
Students to the hosting families.
6. - 10.5. Meeting programme
11.5.
Meeting at the airport @ 9.00
Check-in.
Departure from Varna @ 11.50, flight D8 493
Arrival to Helsinki @ 14.45
Lunch at the airport
Minibus to Kuopio @ 15.30
Arrival to Kuopio appr. 20.00
Train to Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport @ 17.12
The group should be at the railway station @ 17.00.
Arrival at the airport @ 21.48.
Overnight stay at Hilton Helsinki Airport.
4.5.
Early breakfast.
Check-in @ 6.30
Flight D8 492 (Norwegian airlines) to Varna @ 8.00
Arrival to Varna @ 11.00
Transportation to the hotel.
5.5.
Students to the hosting families.
6. - 10.5. Meeting programme
11.5.
Meeting at the airport @ 9.00
Check-in.
Departure from Varna @ 11.50, flight D8 493
Arrival to Helsinki @ 14.45
Lunch at the airport
Minibus to Kuopio @ 15.30
Arrival to Kuopio appr. 20.00