DAY 5: Overwhelming expectations

At 7.30, after a really long night our Bojan was already waiting for us to go to Trieste, on the Italian side of the border. After a bus ride that nobody remembers, because everybody was sleeping, we walked in the rain to a Slovenian school. There, four girls with dual citizenships showed us the condition of Slovenian minority in Italy.

We had the chance to speak with members of an actual minority, so they had to answer many of our questions, often very personal. They were asked if they ever felt discriminated and to which side of the border do they belong.

Then we went to hear a lecture about the history of Slovenian National House in Trieste, an important building for the Slovenians and their culture. We were all really amazed after we learned so much from a Slovenian historian who told us the whole and complete story in the original language of the minority. Luckily we had it all translated. It overwhelmed our expectations. So did our lunch packages we ate in the bus. Many of us are still shocked by the size of slovenian bread and would love to know the secret behind it.

Bojan shared his knowledge of history of Trieste with us

After short ride Bojan told us that we were already on the Slovenian side, but we didn’t feel like it. That was the harbour city of Koper. After a walk along narrow streets and old buildings we all felt like we were in the middle of Italy. Actually we felt more like in Italy than we felt in Trieste.

Another group of bilingual girls introduced us the school of the Italian minority. After many questions (mainly from Shila) we could compare the situation of the Italians and their history with what we already learned in the other school.

A bit later we discovered the schools museum, the library and the amazing view from the toilets. A real enthusiasm was caused by the three plates of delicious cookies we were offered.

Amazing view from the toilet window.

Then suddenly our photographer Kristi showed up right at the time to eat it. Suspicious.

In Koper we really enjoyed the free time, discovering the harbour, the sun and the Adriatic, which connects both countries.

In Koper we had time to relax and also to think about what we heard and experienced today.

Taking photos, sharing good time. Two of our participants from far north, who are used to swim in ice-cold water during the winter really enjoyed taking a bath at the stone beach. The rest of the participants watched them sitting in their jackets and sweatshirts. The salty mist worked on these two. After taking off their shoes they decided to never wear them again. They are thinking about starting a religion, so if you are interested in joining The Free Foot Church just contact Noora or Oldrich.

Back in the bus, we kept on discovering interesting facts and anecdotes about the country. What is worth mentioning is that we rode the highest bridge in Slovenia!!!

Before dinner we did sketches about our final projects on which we will work tomorrow. Just wait patiently for the results.

By Aurelien & Olda

DAY 4: Let’s sail to the future together: Simulation in the city of Sleepyville

We started our fourth day very positively, since we had some sweet and necessary sleep after spending the night before eating a huge amount of sweets coming from different European countries (it would be impolite not to try at least one from each country). Our group of 23 young people is still enjoying the work, the excursions, the Slovenian atmosphere and the opportunity of getting to know each others’ nationality better and better.

Developing the political strategy

During our first group work and the following presentations of heated and interesting discussions in smaller groups today, we realized that for each and every one of us, nationality means something very different. For some of us it isn’t very important, others think it is a predominant factor that is truly a great part of who they are.

We connected these interpretations with our personal views on the question which factors, characteristics and values construct our personal identity. We discovered that our identities are decisively shaped by the influence of the culture we live in, our experiences and our knowledge. The surprising moment was, when we came to the question of gender being a factor of our identity, since only a few of us think that gender is one of fundamental factors affecting our personality.  This topic is something that we could discuss for hours, so we just kept talking about it during the lunch.

Afterwards we didn’t take a break, because we immediately began with some games outside, in the fresh air, to prepare our minds for the upcoming activity that required a lot of concentration.

Before the Council meeting

This activity was a simulation of the city council discussing the issue connected with minorities. We had to take the role of inhabitants of the small (former Slovenian) city ‘Sleepyville’ that became Italian after the war. Because of that, the Slovenians became a minority. The Slovenian Traditionalists Party proposed a law to the (Italian) mayor that would make sure that their language was obligatory taught in the secondary schools in Sleepyville.

The mayor, preparing…

To make this play work, we all got a new identity: there was a mayor, three journalists and 9 parties (each having two or three members). Every party had another point of view and they tried to convince the other parties to find a compromise or to completely agree with them.

In the end, everybody voted pro or contra the proposed law. Due to the democratic system we used, we made sure that almost everybody agreed with the outcome.

By Katarina and Varenka

Here you find the articles of the Italian Nationalistic Newspaper, Delo – the National Slovenian Newspaper and the blogger voice of young people

A VIDEO DOCUMENTARY OF THE SIMULATION COMING UP SOON…

DAY 3: The prison report and development of Eustorian democracy in Slovenia

Today some strange noises were heard at the heart of Ljubljana. Hawaiian music, toaster and mixer sounds, elephant trumpets. The only words, which reached us, were “Oh, James”. A reliable source of information revealed that the suspects were young historians from many European countries. They were accused of enjoying while studying a very serious subject. An expert jury found them guilty and sentenced them to one week of prison in the Celica Hostel.

It was discovered that it was not their first attempt to break the strict rules of the studying process. They have been doing it for the whole week in Slovenia and only today their guilt was proven. A thorough investigation showed that the verdict is fair. We are going to describe you what our super-modern devices recorded on the third day of their inadmissible crime.

At first, they shared their impressions from the previous day. Warm and friendly atmosphere made Eustorians more talkative and open. The freedom of expression and the participation of everyone were envied by the leading world politicians. They decided to follow the example of Eustorians and very soon the regimes are expected to change. A complete democracy of Eustorian type is going to take place. Finally a real democracy in the world!

Our Eustorians later continued their day with discussing important historical issues, connected with borders. After a short presentation of maps, they went on working in teams. A very serious mission was given to them – brainstorming about the reasons and consequences of shifting the borders. Some state-of-the-art posters were presented to the public. Not only were they aesthetically pleasant, but also full of creative ideas.

A special guest was so kind to visit our foreign prisoners. A representative of the Ministry of Education, Mr Matija Vilfan, gave a very informative lecture to Eustorians. They talked about the education system in Slovenia and all the problems they have to deal with. The young people showed great interest in the topic and asked plenty of questions.

For the hard work our prisoners were allowed to get some free time outside the hostel. Although some of them did have some problems with orientation, in the end they all managed to find the right way. (Mothers from all over Europe, don’t worry, they are okay). Bojan Balkovec provided valuable information about Ljubljana. The prisoners saw the most important tourist attractions of the city, including the Parliament, the Opera House and the Hotel Elephant. (If you are interested, just google the story of the hotel, we’ll keep it a secret). By the way, even Napoleon was so curious about Ljubljana that he spent two hours of his time in the city.

The time-off came to the end, and our prisoners had to return to their new home. A second portion of brainstorming was waiting for them. Again, some delicious posters were served. The main ingredients were the flavors of nations, identities and minorities. An interesting debate about the menu arose, which quickened the appetite, thus the logical end of the evening was a delicious Slovenian dinner. A variety of dishes pleased the Eustorians, so the last news is that they became big fans of Slovenian cuisine.  (Fathers from all over Europe, don’t worry, they eat here).

Completely ecstatic, the prisoners were going along the streets of Ljubljana, singing operas by Wagner.

Unfortunately, our Eustorians will not lose their enthusiasm and will continue enjoying while dealing with serious historical topics. Stay connected and wait for the latest news tomorrow.

*The story was written in complete Eustorian democracy. Any similarity to actual persons or places is purely coincidental.

The reporting ‘prisoners’

By Anna (Russia) and Martin (Bulgaria)

DAY 2: Into the Wild, crossing borders

When the alarms rang at 6:30 a.m., we were drowsy and still unaware that we would return to Celica Hostel twelve hours later with a new perspective on the Slovenian borders, minorities and history. But after a few cups of coffee, we were ready for a day in the name of exploration and expedition!

From the bus on our way to the first destination, Memorial Church of the Holy Spirit, we embraced the stunning Slovenian mountains, rivers and fields, and Bojan Balkovec provided us with a good dose of historical facts and anecdotes. As Danes were not used to the great mountains and crystal blue streams, so our noses were pressed against the bus windows during the entire ride. The drive concluded with steep, narrow roads on the mountain sides, which required us to trust the driver with our lives.

Looking for Polish names

Eventually, though, we made it to the Memorial Church of the Holy Spirit and were welcomed by a friendly guide who gave a brief introduction to the battlefields of WWI and the origin of the unique multi-religious chapel. Interesting fact: 2564 names of fallen soldiers are inscribed in its wooden walls.

Our second stop was a mass grave commemorating the Italian victims of WWI. Apart from visiting the stone memorial, we could admire the panoramic view and we also enjoyed brief moments of the Slovenian sun, gaining bits of Bojan’s historical insight. Some of the participants even found out that some of the fallen soldiers share their family names, which are engraved on the stones.

Next up was the Slovenian-Italian border cities ‘Gorizia’ and ‘Nova Gorica’ (meaning ‘small hill’ and ‘new small hill’ respectively). We split into pairs, each visiting one of the two cities to examine the significance of the opened border located in-between the nations by observing and talking to locals. We also had the chance to discover the municipalities on our own – some had coffee, others went for ice cream (or gelato, as they say in Italy).

After a long, but fascinating day, we finished with group work by writing an article about our findings, and we celebrated by starting the first day of exchanging our local candies  beginning with Eastern European sweets. We think we speak for everyone, when we thank Oldrich for his sugary suggestion!

Text by Shila & Jacob

Photos by Tina Gotthardt

Day 1: Handwritten…

This blog post reached us in a physical way: Handwritten on paper.

We decided to publish it like that, not because we were too lazy to type, but to keep its originality. Thank you, Elitsa

The story behind the video…

We want to present you the first in the row of videos that are going to present the captions of aspects and different stages of our work, research, creativity, inspiration and fun. Our aim is to show the diversity in our work as well as in approaches to the topic of changing borders and minorities, but at the same time highlight the many characteristics and components that connect us and finally contribute to the richness of our debates, presentations, time spent together and of course to the richness of the entire Eustory project.