Imagine you take your laptop, open the Summer University page, browse through the list and make your choice. You write the application, get accepted, buy your tickets and months later… you are THERE.
For us, “there” was at first Catania, on the island of Sicily. It all started like a unbelievable dream, because as soon as we arrived, we became pirates.
We were divided into teams, we made our own flags and we started hunting points and golden coins.
We all had great expectations but I believe nothing could prepare us for what was to come soon: the welcome party at which we ended bathing in the sea in our underwear, the photo contest in Catania which tested our creativity, the trip to Taormina and the pranks in the bus, the funny theatre plays in which we impersonated pirates, the sandcastle building, the trip to Siracusa and the famous gossip box, the European Night with its incredible stories, the Alcoholic Treasure Hunt which made us drink and run like crazy, and finally the pre-parties, the crazy pool parties and the unforgettable after-parties which we enjoyed each and every night during the whole SU.
After one week of sleepless nights and crazy adventures, we thought things could not get better. But in fact they did. Because it was time to fly to Malta. How many times do you get to see a group of 50 crazy AEGEEans embarking on a flight from one Mediterranean island to another in the middle of August? … Yes, that is what I thought.
We arrived to Malta after a sleepless night, excited about the week to follow, and it did not disappoint us. Our pirate adventure continued in the same, crazy way it started: plotting about stealing flags and asking for ransom, searching for hidden golden coins, and giving our very best during each challenge, hoping to win.
It was now time to explore Valletta during another challenging treasure hunt, visit the Three Cities and play games, discover Mdina -The Silent City- dressed like Greek gods and goddesses, watch the sunset at Golden Bay after a body painting workshop and party (again) like crazy in Paceville, the Maltese Las Vegas where everything becomes possible. By the end of the SU, each after-party ended up near or actually in the pool of our residence, sometimes because we enjoyed swimming, other times because we were victims of pranks and thrown mercilessly into the water.
Our SU started like a dream and it ended like one: with a private boat (or rather a yacht) trip to Comino and the famous crystal-clear waters of the Blue Lagoon. We danced, drank, sang and swam all day until in was finally time to come back to reality and face the end.
The last after-party found us all crying, laughing, promising to see each other again and singing the “AEGEE-Catania” song between tears and smiles, to the Catanese organisers who were returning to Sicily.
For both Italian and Maltese organisers, it was a proof that all their work was worth it and they succeeded in organising the best SU of 2012. Because no matter what the official results will say, all of us feel that this was indeed the best SU of this year.
And it cannot be otherwise, when we look back and see that two teams of motivated young people in red T-shirts, managed to pull out a perfect organisation, with great activities and insane parties in two awesome islands. And all that while keeping alive the thematic content of the SU and keeping us involved until the very end of the event.
The farewell was a little bit of a “shock” for all and I am sure that after the SU finished many of us asked themselves: “Where are the red T-shirts now?”
Well…right now they are in our memories, our pictures and our wishes. Because we all want to meet each other again and because in AEGEE there is no goodbye, but rather “see you soon”. Somewhere in Europe or beyond…
Written by Lavinia Manea, AEGEE-Bucuresti