We asked the three young Romans who took part in the mobility of the Big Time Take Over project what the experience lived away from home between Matera and Skopje was for them and what it left them as legacy for the future.
“First of all it was an opportunity to speak in English” says F. “English is the language of the world. Maybe in twenty years we will all study Chinese, but for now, this is it. We study English at school, we watch videos and movies in English, but having to communicate seriously is a different thing”.
“It was a surprise for me to realize that I could be understood and able to understand by expressing myself in a language that is not mine” adds A. who underlines how much the most beautiful thing was the people they met “What really defines a city, a place or a situation are the people who “inhabit” it. Encountering different thoughts and lifestyles enriches you inside, especially if these people come from an environment that is extremely different from yours”. “When in Matera on the last evening we gathered in front of the Idris Cathedral, the whole beautiful city lit up and we, coming from all over Europe, from Poland, England, Macedonia, Cyprus and Italy, I felt for truly a child of the world, of a peaceful world. Thet was a moment, a picture that I will carry with me forever” says F.
“The most complicated thing, but also interesting, was adapting to the diversity of places, situations, even the things we were called to do. Working in a group, speaking in public, developing and concluding a work, speaking to a generation different from ours. Personally, I’m happy that I managed to remain myself and to integrate “my style” with the situation” says D. “I struggled, but I learned to appreciate things far from me and from my comfort zone: public speaking, eat a new dish. I realized the thrill of putting myself to the test” adds A. “I was truly struck by the multi-ethnicity that I breathed in Macedonia, by the coexistence of different ethnic groups. It was truly something surprising and new for me” says F. “The real difficulty, however, was taking home and making use of the incredible experience we had lived together when we found ourselves at a distance, each in their own country. I felt in crisis, I was one of those who had the task of coordinating the group, but in turn I found myself solicited and taken back by my tutor because I was lost in my everyday reality. Together, in Matera everything was different, everything seemed incredibly easy. I realized VR is truly a tool, but not life,” he concludes.
For all, a truly extraordinary experience.
