Luna Keller

Tenerife- rediscovering my home with ERASMUS+ (by Luna Keller)

      Last week a small group of students in Los Cristianos got the chance to be the host for students of four other nationalities. I had the pleasure of being amongst them, and having an Estonian student living at my house for a week. It was a great chance to learn more about other cultures and countries, but also to see my home through other eyes, as if it was the first time again.

      The delegations from Estonia, Portugal, Croatia and Turkey arrived Saturday and Sunday. On Monday we had a welcome ceremony where the local authorities and our principal said a few welcoming words.

 Me and Ivar

      After this we showed our guests the school and they got a Spanish lesson. The most interesting part of the day was our visit to the Mar y Sol hotel, the only one of it´s kind in Europe, 100% adapted to handicapped guests, it gives them and their family the opportunity to spend a nice holiday together. After this inspiring visit we took a bus to El Médano. Its windy beach received us with many colorful kites and sails from the surfers. We had a great time eating ice cream, talking and watching the wind surfers. We also took great pictures and got to know each other better. After this lovely day we all needed a long night of sleep to meet again the next day at school in the morning.

      Tuesday we had a short day at school where the Estonians gave us a video editing and photography course, and we participated in some lessons. After that we had a free afternoon which all the students decided to spend together on the beach. Here we played volleyball, some went into the water and we had a great time.

       I can´t tell you anything about Wednesday as I couldn't join the group on the trip to the Teide. But everybody told me that it was beautiful and the pictures looked great.

      

Carnival feeling in La Laguna

       Thursday was wonderful, we went to La Laguna and I got to see some parts of it I had never seen before and learned a lot about the city's history. After the tour we got some free time which I used to show my Estonian friends a carnival shop, after all it is a big thing over here. We had a lot of fun trying hats on and some of us even bought one that we wore for the rest of the day, on our trip to La Orotava, to everyone's amusement. That day I realized that I had gained many new friends.

       Friday was the best day according to my new friends. First we went to the Aloe park where we learned a lot about local agriculture and got to see some beautiful animals. I specially enjoyed feeding the donkey. After that we went to the Siam Park (this is probably why everyone loved this day too much). Here we teamed up to go to the rides together and had a lot of fun screaming. After this we went back to the school for a goodbye party where we got international music and food and heard some very moving words by everyone. I played some songs, and enjoyed dancing. It was also a sad night filled with goodbyes.

The Estonians saying goodbye

       Some of the students spent the rest of the evening at the beach remembering the wonderful time we shared. It was very emotional.

       On Saturday we brought everyone back to the airport, we were sad but also grateful for the experience we got to share. It was certainly an unforgettable week, an adventure that brought a group of strangers together, building new friendships and creating memories that we will take with us forever.