The circle is complete. Today was the last class, the last sip, which is rather bittersweet as it means the end of a good cup of coffee… Despite the bitterness it was a pleasure to taste it though!!

Once you’ve had a taste of coffee and its benefits, you can’t do without it!(even if I do, oops…)

However, in this case, it also symbolises the beginning of a new adventure, a new quest and new flavours are in prospect!

The presentations of the fellow classmates were superb! I personally loved discovering, for the last time, a bit of their country, their person, their future… It was once again a very enriching experience. This course closes on a very high note, I am delighted and grateful to have chosen this course and to have been able to share it with others who played the game all along!

I will definitely miss writing these posts and especially having the opportunity to have such a unique course that emphasizes interaction, sharing and personal reflection.

On that note, I leave you with my final work. I hope it was as tasty as yours and that it made you smile as much as it was a pleasure to make!

Thank you for the experience, thank you for reading me, I wish you lots of happiness, success, and more storytelling ! Au revoir !

The end is coming, you can feel it. The deadlines are approaching, the heat is only intensifying, the days are getting longer… And this, even though summer is still a month away.
This week’s course also made us feel the end of the semester. Indeed, this course was focused on the final exam, the presentation to be done in class next week. The aim was to give feedback and advice on our duo’s DST.

Not only was this course a reality check about the imminent end of the Erasmus experience, but it was also another opportunity to get to know each other through a very interesting activity.

This allowed me to have an external opinion on my work and above all to have the possibility to take some distance in order to be more clear and precise in my message. But I was also able to give my opinion on the work of my fellow comrades. So, to see that despite a common exercise, we each have our own unique visions, our own unique proposals is very enriching. This visioning sounds really promising!

This photograph, chosen from a previous workshop, came to my mind when thinking about this course. It’s not only the colour that makes this photo beautiful but also the composition and the fact that multiple interpretations can be given. Just as we each have our own way of presenting something. These mountains, this particular landscape seems almost infinite… I think it can really enhances the fact despite the approaching end, this experience will always be remembered.

I look forward to the presentations next Thursday!

This week’s course was centered around the realization, the method but above all the technical specifics of the final assignment.

Indeed, after reviewing the instructions, the teacher gave us many resources to carry out this project in the best possible way.

Through a demonstration, we were able to see how to make a video from a PowerPoint presentation, and like the DIY videos that can be seen on various online platforms, it is more complex than it seems. Thus, you can easily get lost with all the functions and their various variables and let the chaos take control. It can be frustrating during projects to try out every solutions but nothing seems to cooperate, I found myself in this situation too many times, but hey, sometimes the chaos brings out the best …or not…

However, once you get the key to all the intricate functions, once you master all the little details, it gives something wonderful ! Patience is necessary and with it everything is possible!

So, I’m very thankful for the tutorial the professor took the time to present us so we can approach this project in a more serene way and produce beautiful realizations that I look forward to seeing!

Before heading to the Easter break, the class activity was quite exotic. Indeed, everyone was able to share their place of birth/childhood and this made us travel to the whole Europe. The virtual map combined with a personal explanation allowed us to discover a little more about each of us. It was really interesting to get to know each other this way.

This process of sharing felt like a road-trip, but above all has allowed us to highlight certain differences but also points of convergence in our experiences. Indeed, in this day and age, the notion of belonging to a certain place, be it a city or a country or even a continent, is troubling: does this place represent us? does it only represent our origins? our past ? our present ? our future ? our evolution? does it represent an era? a year? a single experience?
Whether it’s moving to another city for our studies, for work, for fun or to discover and learn about another culture… , I think that each place we visit impacts us and changes us. Each of these places is a part of us, of our history.
Each geographical space composes our existence, like a puzzle.

So, much more than a road-trip, this activity made us question this relationship of belonging to a geographical space while bringing us an enriching perspective on the history of others. We can thus see the power of DST, especially since it is here exarcerbated by our diversity as Erasmus students, that’s what makes its beauty!

See you Thursday !

After two weeks without coming to class, here we are, gladly, back!

For this week’s class, masks, googles and tuba were kinda required as it was all about being able to dive deep… So, take a deep breathe and prepare yourself to jump right into this week’s recap !

First, by focusing on a positive personnal experience, we were asked some questions. Therefore, this required some serious introspection. Each question took us a step further, as would another breath taken to dive deeper. I find it really fascinating to just take a moment to focus solely on ourselves and getting it written.

As you’ve already noticed, I delight myself in creating metaphorical comparisons to give some prospective to my thoughts. This week, to me, this experience really echoed with diving.

Diving, as amazing and entertaining as it seems, also looks scary, just as taking the time to reflect on ourselves and our past experiences. When you jump into the ocean you don’t always know what you will find, what you will see and witness in this other world. I think that diving in our memories, relate very well with this experience of exploring the ocean. My brain is too, sometimes, full of surprises ! We never know what’s gonna pop, what are we going to remember, what details might come up, what we are going to find out and understand better about ourselves… Reflecting is a new way of looking at our personal world, we might not find some cool fishes, corals or shells but maybe we can find knowledge about ourselves and change a perspective.

I find it particularly important to be able to focus on such things, and having – especially taking!- the time to do so in class is always a nice and quite new experience. Therefore, to reconsider our past choices, experiences, etc, gives some perspective and also allow us to see where we come from and grow.

Exciting and scary, this experience reveal a dichotomy that enlighten the comparison between diving and reflecting.

After this dive, it was time to reach the surface, catch our breathe and release the pressure. Indeed, it was the next step in the process : to express ourselves on a blank sheet of paper by drawing a representation of our experience. From the words to the real world, our thoughts collected as drawings, colorful ones might I add, take place in another dimension. From words to colors, shapes and symbols, our personals experiences became a physical reality. I find it quite comforting as words can be harsh sometimes, drawing allow another dimension, another perspective to see the light.

To conclude, the dive was deep but we manage to make it back at the surface safe. We can now catch our breathe and be ready for next week!

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PS : In the meantime, just as this week’s class make me think of diving as a comparison, I thought that I would share this song cover of Franck Ocean that pop in my brain as I was writing, so, yes, we stay in the theme in all aspects here! I recommend to listen to the song as its interpretation can lead to various conclusions that can be linked to the reflection’s experience and its outcomes. To me, among others meanings, it conveys the idea of a fresh start far away from the past and fears. I’d love to read your thoughts on this!

Well, hello fellow writers, this week we are back with some really interesting activity! When I read the mail about this task I was absolutely thrilled as I love to take pictures and want to make it a big part of my profession. 

So, now I’m gonna share one of my day. Please, grab a drink and follow my adventures !

Yes, I admit I’m an early bird, I love to wake up and be active when the streets are still quiet, nearly lifeless because it gives me the opportunity to witness skies like this and capture beautiful moments. I think the pic speak for itself. #Nofilter(yesforreal).

After my morning exercise, obviously, it is time for a cup of tea. Ironically enough I don’t especially drink coffee (even if Greek coffee is very good). So, here is a cup a mint tea, with a cloudy sky in the background. (The colors didn’t last long…) I enjoy it on my balcony while listening to the birds, to my thoughts, or to music when one of them is on strike. 

The calm right before I start to do some work. 

Usually in the afternoon, after or before class, I take a walk, meet some cats and enjoy a book. Here is a cat sunbathing and my favorite place to read (the bookmark is unvolontarily in the Athens’ theme…). 

This picture is very special, it was developed recently but it’s a place I see every day when I come back from class, it’s a sunset from the high view of the stadium in my neighborhood.

Even if the white stripe was not desired and just happened (it means that the film has been exposed to light), I quite enjoy it as it creates an interesting composition, it reminds me of the sun rays, which, cohabiting with the darkness creates something unique and unexpected. 

“I am forever chasing light. Light turns the ordinary into the magical.”
– Trent Parke

The classroom, as usual, particularly cold, contrasted with the nice warmth of the rays of sunlight we were getting on this Thursday. As the Professor highlighted, the fresh air of this classroom is probably going to be a constant throughout our semester, however, the other fresh air we were getting was the breeze that brought new students in. Therefore, the classroom, filled with novelty once again, felt more warm.

The special breeze of this Thursday being the new people also allows more interaction, more sharing, more informations to be displayed. It felt warm and good to be surrounded by news point of views, ideas and experiences. Also, through the video content we’ve seen, new possibilities were displayed. Indeed, they offered the ability to reflect on the power and role of DST in a more deeper way. The main aspect that stood up to me was the fact that each story has its own values and specificities, and DST allows more authenticity to be displayed. Each voice matter, in their own existence.

Overlaying the sensations and experience with the hindsight of putting it on paper (at least virtually) allows each week to become more and more aware of the depth of the DST.

This view below of the sea by the Greek artist Yiannis Kefallinos reminds me of the idea of fresh air by its singularity and the choice of black and white to illustrates this seascape. I find it very fascinating, the technique of woodcut is surprising and it creates something fresh while being artistically remarquable. Also, I think it correlates well with the idea of “new sip”, as I’ve never seen a representation of the sea, or even of a Mykonos’ representation like this before. The element of surprise and novelty is always present on Thursdays from noon to 2pm, which is what makes this class so special and interesting. Looking forward to the next course already.

First meeting, first post, first sip, one common point : the novelty. Or rather, I should say, a taste of something new. After all, every cup of coffee, even if you drink it every day, will never be the same. As Heraclitus said :

“No man flows into the same river twice, for it is not the same river and it is not the same man.”

Therefore, even if you are used to drinking coffee or going to class, every cup is unique and so is every course. The singularity of this one and the correlation with my studies sparked my curiosity: I had to try it.

This metaphor, perhaps a bit too far-fetched I admit, is inspired by my experience during this first course. Indeed, this first meeting, singular, made me very optimistic. My preconceived notions about the subject matter were deconstructed and replaced by vast possibilities and opportunities. Digital Storytelling is a much broader concept than I had imagined and I am really looking forward to discovering its different flavors. Moreover, the innovation in the methods and dynamics of work make the subject all the more interesting and alive! This first sip announces a very promising future and I can’t wait to savor this knowledge, as well as the meetings !