By Zoe Christodoulidou-Bosko

Erasmus 2024/2025 was a wonderful experience. This exchange was between students from Germany and students from our school. In October some Year 5 students went to Germany as part of the program to a small city called Schloss-Holte Stukenbrock for 5 days. However, for February 2025, it was our turn to host them in return in our homes. It was so nice to see them again after almost 4 months and show them around our beloved island.

It was very interesting for them that the weather was so good everyday, they even said they would rather live here because they are bored of the German cold and gloomy weather. Also, they were quite surprised at how our school is so different from theirs, not to mention comparing the sizes of the two. Surprisingly, what they liked most about our school was our close relationships with our teachers, which are a result of our school being smaller thus making it easier for us to know almost everyone.

Our teachers made some fun activities on the programme which included educational objectives making it an interesting way for our German friends to learn about our school and Cyprus in general. One of these activities included a visit to the Archeological museum of Larnaka organised by the Med High History Department. We were split into teams and asked questions and riddles as part of an educational game. The answers were hidden in the museum in the midst of ancient artifacts. Of course, the competition was tense, especially with the boys who were determined to win the game. Apparently we were like 5 year olds running in the museum, which was not allowed (oh well), but it was so fun that even in a museum that usually it is a boring activity became an amazing time while we still learned a lot about the history of our city. Continuing discovering Cyprus history, we also visited the old part of Nicosia and later went to Kakopetria, where we saw beautiful architecture and met some new friends—ducks! 

Of course we also made some plans on our own to make the students’ stay more interesting. We did a lot of group activities, such as taking them to Jumbo, which was a must, and making a beach picnic where the Germans could enjoy the beautiful view of the sea and the sunset! They also visited the salt lake where they admired the flamingoes. On a personal note, my host loved this trip so much that she is actually planning to revisit again and I hope that others enjoyed it as well. 

That one week passed so quickly that it felt like seconds. Students from both sides bonded more and created a forever remaining friendship. The last day was full of tears and hugs as we realised how special this unforgettable experience was. 

New friendships, memories and adventure, is what Erasmus is all about. Every one of us is extremely grateful that we had the opportunity to be part of this. These friendships will stick with us forever while we cherish these beautiful memories!