czwartek, 19 września 2019

MY UNFORGETTABLE HOLIDAYS

DiscoverEU is an initiative of the European Union aiming to promote European culture and
train travel. It is directed to all the eighteen-year-old citizens of the Member States and allows
them to travel around Europe for up to 30 days. It was launched in 2018 and so far there
have been almost 275 000 candidates, of which nearly 50 000 have been selected.
Surprisingly I turned out to be among the lucky ones.
My journey lasted from the 9th to the 19th of August. During that time I visited Budapest,
Vienna, Florence and Pisa. That was my first time abroad and I had decided to plan and
make it all by myself, what later turned out to be one of the best decisions I had ever made.
On daily basis not only was I trying to visit the most popular tourist attractions but also to get
to know each city from the local, authentic side. Though every evening I came back to my
hostel exhausted, inside I was really happy after an eventful day. I have seen the Hungarian
Parliament Building in Budapest, visited the Sisi Museum in Vienna, taken photos of
Michelangelo’s David and the Leaning Tower of Pisa… Honestly, the list is endless.
As I mentioned before, I travelled alone but hardly was there any time when I felt lonely and
the reason of that were all the people I met. Those were the other DiscoverEU participants I
had had contact with earlier as well as some random people met at the hostels or even on a
street. I am positive that without them I experienced even a half of things that are now some
of my most precious memories.
One of the biggest concerns I had had before setting off on a journey was the language
barrier. Fortunately it turned out to be a groundless fear. Due to my constant contact with
people around me, I broke the barrier down quite fast and over time it got much easier for me
to speak English. I did my best to talk as much as I could and I believe that in such a
pleasant way I have improved my language skills a lot. My trip has made me more aware of
the importance of knowledge of foreign languages. If hadn’t known English at a sufficient
level, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish such a journey. Furthermore, it is worth to
know some words and expressions in as many languages as it is possible. People really
appreciate attempts of foreigners to speak their language, at least partly. It is a very easy
way to win their affection and make new friends.
It is commonly said that travel broaden the mind and I’m unable not to agree with it. My
summer adventure was often a true survival school that developed my independence and
responsibility. I feel more aware of the current world situation and I’ve learnt much about the
history and culture of our continent, also meeting new people and talking to them in a foreign
language doesn’t frighten me anymore. DiscoverEU enabled me to gain lots of new
experience, get to know myself better and the world and simply make my dreams about the
journey of the lifetime come true.





Text and photos by Julia Michalska (language class III bL)

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