At Cepa of Avilés, we were warmly welcomed by our Spanish colleagues who introduced us to the entire facility, the classrooms and the staff.
As we walked up the stairs, we were struck by numerous posters relating to the in-depth studies carried out with the students: on mental health, socioemotional education, comedy with cartoons and jokes, psycho-physical health (healthy and/orharmful behavior), the quantities of sugar present in some of the most popular drinks, the exploitation and overuse of fresh water in Spain, an abecedary of famous women through the ages and … photos of the women of Cepa.
We photographed them and made notes to propose them to our students in Italy.
We were then involved in an activity that impressed me with its simplicity but also its effectiveness: the Goose Hunt.
It involved setting up mixed groups, Italians and Spaniards, and going hunting in the city for some information and sending photos and voices to the teacher judges team lea at Cepa: finding 0 km food, finding products unsustainable because of the amount of km required for importation, interviewing shopkeepers and supermarkets about the disposal of unsold fresh produce, looking for shops linked to the anti-waste app Too good to go.
All the subsequent activities took place in the company of the Spanish students who would later come to Italy; we visited historical sites, the old city, attended in-depth debates, the presentation of Cepa.
Our student musician, Salam Abdo, entertained us with a short concert at Cepa, telling us about the diaspora of the Kurdish people; we visited the Arnao coal mine and felt part of that great poor humanity that tries to live in dignity and solidarity, respectful of the planet.
In fact, our ancestors, also because of their poverty, preceded us in the anti-waste act, and not just food.
On 19 April, our last day of mobility, we received a text message from Iberia informing us of changes to our flight.
We immediately tried to get in touch with the airline, but unexpected difficulties with the internet system prevented us from speaking to an operator until the evening.
Here we learned that our flight had been suspended and our group dismembered, we would have to return to Italy separately, with little Confidence Asemota (19 years old who has never travelled alone) travelling separately, and the next day.
Having contacted the Tartaruga agency manager by mobile phone (it was now midnight), she advised us to go to the airport the next morning anyway and insist to the bi9er end that they find us a single flight home.
So, we did, and at the airport we learnt that the displacement was due to the fact that Malpensa was on strike just for that day: so Iberia had resolved to sca9er us here and there and even had someone arrive in Bergamo.
At our insistence, thanks also to the resourcefulness and persuasive capacity of our Cuban student, Milagros Mayan, after hours spent at the airport, we managed to get us all to leave the next day. (Back)
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