Fatma Zehra Yeşilyurt:
Firstly, since our main goal in the ESC project was volunteering, we helped students in kinder gardens. We played games with them, introduced them to our culture, and observed how they spent their days and what they did. Although neither we knew Romanian nor they knew English or Turkish, which was difficult for both sides, we communicated with them. We communicated with each other through body language and were able to understand each other. It was a wonderful feeling that all the children loved us so much; whenever they saw us, they would hug us and show us what they had been doing.
Along with this, there was an Erasmus project involving five countries, and we met many people from different countries. Everyone introduced their own culture and taught each other dances from their own cultures. Everyone was warm-hearted, and we had a wonderful atmosphere. We became friends with people we might not have met otherwise. This was the best part for all of us. Not only did it help us improve our English, but it also made talking to foreigners less intimidating than we had imagined.
The traditional days organized in the city were also very beautiful. We had the opportunity to watch Mexican, Romanian, and Bulgarian dances. Since it was our first experience abroad, we found it a bit challenging, of course, with new people, languages, cultures, and, most importantly, food. Over time, we slowly overcame these challenges and improved our financial management and leadership skills. By hosting our own traditional day, we saw how the process was carried out and how we could share our responsibilities together.
Thanks to this project, we also had the opportunity to visit other countries and saw that we could do the same there. I think all of these experiences were very valuable to us. Managing them was more challenging than planning them. At first, you’re afraid of everything in a different country, a different language but as you do it, you realize there’s nothing to be afraid of. I must say that all these experiences have greatly changed our lives and given us a new perspective.
