Breaking the ice and circles.
Most of the participants arrived on Saturday, 20th of July, and after dinner headed for a party at the outskirts. Many people from Bergamo work in busy Milan and want to enjoy a peaceful night, and because of this there are no bars in the city. Another problem of parties is that people start dancing in a circle and the atmosphere dies. Therefore Richie (AEGEE Bratislava) started to break the circle in order to make the party flow.
Day I: Kick off with beach volleyball
Let’s start from the beginning. The Summer University organized by AEGEE-Bergamo named Summer Games: Sun, Fun & Sport really kicked off on Sunday morning with ice breaking games, a presentation on AEGEE-Europe and beach volleyball tournament. People were woken up by music, a mix of Italian & foreign. Most of the shops in Italy are closed on Sunday, therefore it is wise to steal some cakes from a typical sweet breakfast with toasts and Nutella.
Day II: Active participants and Old Town Crawl
On day two we went hiking into the nearby mountains over the river Serio. While waiting for lunch, Richie and Erik from AEGEE-Bratislava gave a non-formal workshop on body-weight exercising, which was an example how participants can help the organizers. Nudly from AEGEE-Budapest suggested a great way how to count people. Make a circle (sorry, Richie) and everyone remembers the person on their right and left. City crawl at the Old Town[1]at night was non-traditional but nice. Citta Alta is the original part of the town with medieval buildings and churches, now turned into a residential area. It looks great at night, especially if you have a drink in hand.
Days III: healthy lifestyle and how to speak Italian
Finishing a 1.5 liter of vodka and eating jamon at 3:35 in the morning is not the best idea, but on the second day, we had a healthy lifestyle lecture, where Matteo Rovetta explained to us how should a healthy diet look like, and how to fit modest alcohol consumption into sport activity. In the afternoon we played sport games – football, basketball and handball. Raffaele Pirozzi managed the football session like Carlo Ancelotti and we also met some guys from the professional street ball-team. Later we had the opportunity to try the BMX track. The instructor was a former professional and introduced us to the basics of this extreme sport. No injuries, luckily. On our way back, I had a conversation with an Italian and realized that locals appreciate when you learn a few phrases in their language. You must start with buongiorno and end each phrase with polite per favore or prego.
Day IV: The Old Fashion in Milan
On Wednesday we visited the swimming pool, regardless of the Sangria party the night before. During a Summer University, you rarely sleep longer than 3 – 4 hours. However, you do not feel tired because the AEGEE spirit takes over the body, helped by adrenaline and serotonin released by the sport activity, if I am to put it right. A short swimming lesson held by Lucka Dvořáková and Paula Cores Barral helped. In the evening we did some sightseeing in Milan. It started raining and the 2,500 statues of the Duomo were completely wet. Later we headed for a party. There is an Erasmus party every Wednesday at The Old Fashion, a great way how to bring young people together.
Day V: The attack of the cupid and cinnamon
Thursday morning it was raining and the participants coud sleep in a bit longer. Everyone was looking forward to the archery session, and on day 5, some people were already hit by Cupid’s arrow and a desired target for our photographer Martin Ondroušek. In the evening, we went for a pool party at Matteo’s place. Some people made bets that they cannot speak their own language during the SU in order to be understood by everyone. Who broke the challenge, had to make a punishment: Erik and Richie drunk a can of beer upside down and Erdős Kata with Paula had to eat a teaspoon full of cinnamon. Not as easy as it seems.
Day VI: Climbing & Colour.
Sports like climbing push you over your limits. Up there, you can’t disappoint nature, as if you were on a real mountain. The climbing took place at the Bergamo’s Alpine club. Our organizers cooperated with many sports clubs when preparing the activities. At the workshop on Youth Mobility we discussed our experience with stereotypes and racism and agreed that it could be helped by cooperation and more education about the other cultures. This is one of the aims of the Summer University Project. Evening Colour Party organized by AEGEE-Bergamo was featured even in the Italian newspapers. Imagine 30 young people all dressed up in white t-shirts like a stag party. Each participant got powder colours. You can even cover your hands in colour and touch people’s body parts. All the girls had colourful… legs.
Day VII: Lake Como and European Night – breakfast
On Saturday, most of the participants went for a trip to Lake Como to see the big lake surrounded by the mountains and small towns where the tourists sip Italian café and the brick Gothic buildings host the high street shops. Nice place to relax before the main party. European Night started at 9:30 with a hamburger dinner. We had to fill in a questionnaire – voting on the best participants, which was followed by the exchange of the presents and the award ceremony. Richie was voted the best participant. Around 11:30, we finally got to the tables and tasting. I would like to point out to the rich presentation of Hungary. The most abundant Spanish group also did a good job, like everyone. We, Slovaks, presented the Tatra Tea, Borovicka and wafers with the same charisma and determination that earned us 4 ‘best of’ awards. Also respect to Silvia Cannarozzi, the main organizer, who survived tasting all the products.
On Sunday we took the optional sightseeing tour of the Citta Alta with Michele Bezzi. And this was the end. I realized it when I saw the half-cleaned gym and the beds of the remaining participants lined up in a row. Well, I hope that everybody had a great time. Unfortunately, I could not mention every person, every sport performance and every story from the gossip box. If you feel like it, add your bits in the comments. Do not dance in a circle and do not forget to thank the organizers & give back the care at your SUs.
Written by Erik Redli, AEGEE-Bratislava
Pictures by Erik Redli (AEGEE-Bratislava), Lucka Dvořáková (AEGEE-Praha)
[1] Originally, Citta Alta means ‘the upper town’. I purposely replaced it with the Old Town as it better grasps the character of the place.