Voltaire once said “It is really difficult to understand the world, both geographically and morally without leaving home” and those who want to leave home need to know how to seize every opportunity. Me, Luca Mondino, and five other guys, Enrico Marc, Francesco Tesio, Martina Lovera, Michelle Francone and Paolo Sanfilippo, did it.
We took part in a cultural and practical exchange between our Liceo “G.B.Bodoni” in Saluzzo Italy and the school “Stredná Odborná Škola Technická” in Michalovce Slovakia.
The experience lasted four weeks, from 30 September to 27 October, the first two weeks in Italy and the other two weeks in Slovakia.
Six boys of our age were staying in our homes working in couples in 3 different local companies: LA.RA., NAZARI and SUPERTINO.
We got to know and became friends, good boys with different habits but open to understand us. We went out after work in the evenings and at weekends we all went to Turin for a day-trip.
On the thirteenth of October they came back home and we reached them the following day.
We were their hosts in their home town Michalovce. For two weeks we were working from Monday to Friday six hours a day in the company B/S/H/ specialized in the production of engine for washing machines and dishwashers. Our Slovak friends and their families were very hospitable, some of us even gained weight J and they prepared perfect activities for us every afternoon. We went skating, hiking, sightseeing in Košice, we made a trip to Vinné Castle, Lake Morské oko in their region. The family of one of them even took the Italian student to a private flight by small plane. We tried a lot of different traditional meals “bryndzové halušky”, “pirohy”, “rizky a šalát”, “nalečniky”. We visited their grandmothers who prepared it for us. Some of them were really tasty and delicious.
It was a great experience, which allowed us to understand a different type of life, make some new friends and confirm once more that traveling is the best way to learn. We agreed to see each other again, maybe next summer…so see you soon guys…it was worth it!!!
Luca Mondino