Aurora Riverol

Erasmus+ Los Cristianos

(by Auroral Riverol)

I´m proud of saying this was the first time hosting someone in my house and that I´m sure I will do it again if I could.

Even before Manuela (the girl I was going to host from Croatia) came to Tenerife (Spain), I was really nervous about all of this experience. I already knew that it would be an unforgettable week in my life.

I couldn´t wait more for her arrival on 21^st January, and so was it, that I welcomed Manuela with a bunch of flowers and a cardboard with “Welcome” written on it in the airport. I will never forget how happy she was because of it!

I was in good terms with her since the beginning. There was no night in which we didn´t end talking and laughing. She shared bedroom with me…and I still miss her there.

The next day started with the welcome ceremony for both exchange students and teachers, and a guided tour of the whole high school. After mid-breakfast, we visited the hotel Mar y Sol, best known thanks for being completely accessible for disabled people. There we had a fantastic lunch to fill our hungry stomachs.

We can all be thankful because of the people we just met at the beginning of this first day, their kindness and hospitality.

After that, we went to El Médano beach, where some of us went into the water while other just wanted to sunbathe, thanks to the awesome climate we have in our island.

There we made sure that all of the international students learned a bit more about how our climate affected to the huge tourism we have here.

On Tuesday 23^rd we finally decided the logo we would use on our project. Then, we watched the videos of each country from the trip our teachers did to Istanbul, Turkey.

The next thing we did was trying the experience of going to a normal class, and for the group I was in, it was Chemistry.

We all had fun thanks to the experiments the teacher Félix made with us, also because some of us had not did them before.

The last thing we did in the high school was a little course of Video editing and Photography, in which the Estonian students and their teacher showed us what they were studying.

The afternoon of that day was, for me, the best time of all the week. It was a free afternoon, and all of the students decided to just go to the beach and relax there.

We played volleyball, laughed at everything, took a bath, and in general, just spend enough time together to know each other better and become real friends.

Wednesday 24^th was the day we went to Vilaflor, and later, to El Teide, the third highest volcano in the whole world. We went hiking in that breathtaking scenery. Also, we visited a museum about it and did a short trip by bus around it. This was the most tiring day so far.

We all did a guided trip around La Laguna, where we could go shopping on Thursday 24^th. After that, we visited a wine cellar in La Orotava. Views were so amazing that no one could stop taking pictures and more pictures there!

Eventually the last day came and it was actually really busy. We went to the Aloe Park, and then to the best water park in the world according to Trip Advisor, Siam Park.

At the end we went again to the high school to have a farewell party where some of us made a concert in honour of this experience.

They all were left by the 27^th, but I know that such a great experience will always remain in our memories. I still miss them and I don´t know how to express how thankful I am with everything and everyone that made it possible.

Thank you!