4th Senior High School of Xanthi - portraits of students
When I first walked into the 4th Senior High School of Xanthi, I didn’t know what to expect. I had my phone’s camera with me and a rough idea of what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t until I started talking to the students that everything came together. Each photo alongside them became more than just a memory, it became a small glimpse into someone’s world.
In the few days of our stay we met lots of different people with a bunch of hobbies and distinct personalities, but only a few caught my eye. I’m talking about the group of students that welcomed us in their town and helped us discover the beauty of Xanthi.
At first glance they seemed a united group and seemed to have a very well-developed student-teacher relationship with their math teacher, but after some time I came to realize that they are more of a family and during the days we spent together they wanted to make us part of their big family.
It was very easy to understand one another. Of course, the first hour was hard but after that, we all clicked and instantly started talking as if we had known one another for years.
Everyday we could feel their excitement when they met us and we spent time together. We would talk about new subjects everyday and find out something new about everyone. They made us feel as if Greece was our home and we were born in Xanthi; and they made some of us never want to leave.
In the end, after two days that felt like hours with them, we had to do the hardest thing that none of us was ready to do: leave our friends and the people that we seemed to have known for years and go back to our families in our country.
I’ll always remember those days like it was yesterday: we met wonderful people and made new friendships that we hope we will never forget.