My Erasmus Experience - Statte

We were on our way to meet our host families for the first time, I began to worry about whether it might be awkward or maybe I wouldn’t get along with them. However, after spending less than an hour with them, I thought, why had I worried at all! They were amazing people, and I couldn’t have dreamed of staying with nicer people. My host family included Marco, his parents and his younger sister. Altogether, they made sure I had one of the best weeks of my life that I would never forget, and I cannot thank them enough!

Over the course of the week, I became very good friends with Marco, despite the language barrier. He introduced me to his friends, kept me constantly entertained and always made sure I was feeling accepted and having fun. His mum was also an incredibly caring person, who treated me as if I was her son and always made sure I had plenty of amazing food to eat! Every evening they always had something to do, whether it was playing basketball with his club, watching football with his friends, or going to the arcade! There was never a time when I wasn’t having fun or making incredible memories I will never forget.

During the daytime, we were either in the school or having tours of the beautiful places nearby. Some of the time was spent in Marco’s class, which was full of incredible people who tried their best to have conversations with me and make me feel a part of their class (even adding me to their class WhatsApp group and trying to teach me Italian words, which they either found funny or thought would be useful!). Some of whom, I was lucky enough to make friends with and I certainly hope I will be able to see them again in the future.

During the tours of the various amazing places, I was able to speak to many different people from different countries and form friendships with them regardless of whether they spoke much English or not (and also eat lots of the amazing ice cream). I also hope to try and meet with these people again in the future.

Overall the experience was incredible and thanks to the Erasmus+ Project I was able to meet all of these amazing people and share the incredible experiences with them. The experience has also reassured me that wherever you go there will always be nice people who are very accepting. Finally, I think it is safe to say that I will definately be returning to Statte to reunite with many of the amazing people I met during my stay!