Our trip was great and was received well by all delegates. We were offered a short live art show; an opportunity of being with the students, practicing their English language skills; a lunch in a highland restaurant; a live art show in which we all participated and were given our work back;  a visit to the hazelnut factory; a live presentation by the secondary school students, and finally  a meal in a local restaurant.

Overall, people in Giresun were very friendly and active. The scenes were lively; the sea and the mountains were superb. Our partners did not leave us at all. Delegates from Greece sadly were with us only the first day. Otherwise our meeting would be more inclusive, fun and lively. We missed them.

The delegates also had a live music in a local restaurant.

On the last day, I tried to carry out an evaluation session as part of our project. All participated. 

The following is the summary of the feedback about the trip in general. That’s what have learnt;

Two delegates from Estonia stated that they have made good friends, and liked the food.

“We do not have many mountains in Estonia; only one that is 300mt high.” They said.

‘Giresun is said to be hotter than Tartu. There are 9 months in Estonia’

They also added that they were slightly scared by the crowdedness in Istanbul as there is not many people on the streets in Estonia.  Also in Giresun, it seemed to be everybody was outside. They stated that even aeroplanes were different. (Perhaps quicker!)

Both ladies felt that women are the same in many cultures in terms of responsibility and the work they carry.

They liked the Kokev, the mountain restaurant. Both ladies hugely enjoyed art session and produced nice personal paintings.

Two delegates from Sweden:

One stated that his great grandfather was a Turkish sailor. He had been to Antalya before but felt that Giresun was a better place to get the real picture of Turkish people in terms of hospitality, being friendly and showing true selves.

‘Life is much natural and normal in Giresun’ he added.

The other delegate focused on the importance of the projects like this to get to know other cultures. She enjoyed the live music and show.

I (a delegate from the UK) were impressed by the fact that the management of the school spent all their time with all delegates until the end, shared everything and were really friendly. I especially like the functionality of a hazelnut factory; amazed how special microclimate Giresun has   to produce the best hazelnut in the world. 

It was a nice experience to experience a gentle debate over who has the best hazelnut in Turkey: Giresun or Trabzon (which is her hometown near Giresun) with experts. I am emotionally still not convinced!! But, I think half of Trabzon that is closer to Giresun produces very good quality hazelnut.

We love that nut anyway. My father used to say when he irresistibly ate nut everyday ‘Let the horse day by eating malt!' His heart benefited from it.

Enjoy eating the ones we were given.

One delegate from Ireland

He was one of the liveliest delegates in our group. He joined in every activity with full attention. He stated that he was firstly puzzled about the point of the project, but coming to Giresun cleared his mind in a positive way.

“But I got it when I came here. Relationship between people is different.’

He was also impressed by the fact that all the teas they were offered until the end was free!

He also stated that he was impressed by the fact that how effective the project was with small budget. It has achieved a lot.

‘It transforms people and countries, excellent project.’

‘It is a qualitative event, it is not about number.’

‘This project creates cohesive consciousness.’

He also felt that Turkey is a very important partner in EU. This was shared by other as well.

Perhaps this statement summaries the underlying idea of knowing other culture better by being there and sharing the culture.

These are the extract from my quick notes. There were more to write. All delegates contributed apart from the ones left earlier. However I and we would be happy if they share their view on the trip and the places they visited.