Thanks to the Erasmus+ project and the HAPPY SCHOOL 2020 project, Jana Chynoradská, together with Monika Miklánková from HARMONY ACADEMY and IPA Slovakia Ambassador Zuzka Marejková, had a truly unforgettable week in Latvia. However, the end of the trip took on a horror scenario, after all, judge for yourself!
I lived it together with my colleague Monika Miklánková from HARMONY ACADEMY and IPA Slovakia ambassador Zuzka Marejková in Latvia. Everything was done as part of the HAPPY SCHOOL 2020 project from Erasmus+/KA1, in which we set the environment for people to live in a happy school. We're pioneering a new setting of an organization where people understand each other, support each other, and respect each other. The goal of all is to fulfill the mission of the school and understand the needs of themselves and others for a happy life at school. In this environment, there is room only for generous and knowledgeable people, aware in their opinions and courageous in their promotion. At the same time, they are open to learning new things, they are convinced of the need for a system of lifelong learning, learning and maturation, developing themselves, their school and the environment in which they operate. Let me start by giving you a few reflections:
- Time is a value that, with each of its minutes, brings us closer to our end here on earth, which is why it is important to use each of them to live a happy life. We do not need to be unnecessarily wise, rich or successful. What really matters in life is the feeling of happiness that we are. And when we realize that we are, we feel a natural need to be loved, accepted, creative, free, the need to belong somewhere.
"We don't need to be unnecessarily wise, rich or successful. What really matters in life is the feeling of happiness that we are."
- From the moment of our birth, our life develops, and we with it. Like nature around us, we go through our life cycles, in which we experience "spring, summer, autumn and winter". It is not right to stop at developing thinking, learning or personality transformation. The older we get, the more we see and perceive, we have the opportunity to decide whether the old patterns of thinking in which we grew up help us live a happy life or not. If we are prisoners of our own beliefs learned from the past, it is again only we ourselves who are able to free ourselves from these shackles and replace them with new, modern, acceptable conclusions about life for us and those around us.
- Every person around us has their own destiny in life, so we should treat it with respect and dignity.
- If we are in a working relationship with a person, then it is important to be aware of our powers and responsibilities, which help us in the development of relationships with others as well as with ourselves. If love shines on this path as a beacon to which we are approaching, we can contribute step by step to building a new world in which we have a desire to live. In it, we can forgive and accept everything and everyone as a gift. It's okay if we break up with someone on our development journey. If we feel tension and misunderstanding, let's try to empathize with the other and if he/she is also interested in strengthening the relationship with us, let's look for a way forward together. Let us not run away, let us not blame, let us not blame others. They, too, have their story and their journey through life. Let us be courageous, curious, understanding and empathetic.
- Let us be as we want others to be with us. Let's show people that we care about them and are ready and open to seeing how they perceive us and our work. We also have a story to tell, and naturally we have the opportunity to expect understanding, tolerance, respect or forgiveness for the failures we have committed in our lifetime.
When we were in Latvia, positive news from the "home" came to us one after another, and we only gradually enjoyed more and more. Zuzka's daughter took the last exam before the bachelor's statesmen, her son was admitted to the University of Žilina and won 2nd place in the school football tournament. Monika was an amazing guide in English and Russian, spewing out one idea after another and surviving her first Learn&Lead mobility to an excellent degree. Our Kubko was accepted at the SpŠ transport in Trnava, Betka took the exams in the first year at PedF UK in Bratislava and I was accepted into the Google team. In this week, we've each covered more than 70 km, trained together in the EFQM Model of Excellence for Learning Organizations, and heard the most Russian in a lifetime. The greeting from the "babushka" from the market hall, who said goodbye to us after we bought cheese from her, will also remain memorable for us "salvation dévačka, dasvidania".
I felt at home here and I will definitely be happy to come back here. For work but also for a trip with your family. Only 25min by train journey (return ticket costs 2.73 Euro/person) from Riga is the coast of Jurmala. It is a beautiful part of Latvia, full of ancient and modern architecture. It will surprise you with the excellent service of local salespeople and merchants. The beaches are clean and the sand is gorgeous, pale and delicate, almost like the one in Italy. Latvia offers a varied diet full of fish, seafood specialties and a healthy diet.
However, the conclusion of the mobility took an unexpected turn. EMERGENCY LANDING. When it was heard on the plane on our way home, we measured them all. The captain's nervous voice in brittle English told us that due to a technical error, we had to go back to Warsaw. At a certain height, the plane stopped climbing, and my hunch that something was wrong was confirmed. Subsequently, the staff started preparing us for EMERGENCY landing and I was covered in sweat. So far, I have only seen it in a movie; but now we were the "actors" ourselves. We exchanged several glances, held hands for a while and gave each other the confidence that everything would turn out well. In silence, I prayed and thought of those closest to me. The tension on the plane rose as we approached the airport. The silence was punctuated only by the monotonous repetition of HEAD DOWN ... HEAD DOWN ... HEAD DOWN, which is how one of the staff called us. Even now it sounds in my ears. The landing was hard and the speed at it was certainly higher than prescribed by aviation safety. However, since my head was tilted down and leaning heavily against the seat in front of me, I couldn't see us approaching the ground. When I looked up, I saw that there were firefighters, police officers, ambulances around us ... The luminous beacons and brakes went at full speed. The noise was tremendous, and although I was happy that we were on the ground, I was still waiting for the moment when the plane would land completely. At one point, all three of us spontaneously embraced each other, and the crying let go of us completely spontaneously. When we finally landed safely, all the people spontaneously applauded, and the relief that reigned on the plane could weigh tons. I'm glad I am.
Thanks to the Erasmus+ Happy School 2020 project, we learned the basics of the EFQM model, learned a new culture and strengthened personal as well as working relationships and cooperation. Unexpectedly, but all the more rarely, we discovered firsthand what indescribable and incalculable value LIFE itself has.
Jana Chynoradská, HARMONY ACADEMY, Trnava
