On this year’s call Hello, this is the Slovenian Mediterranean! just over 40 participants from England, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Ghana, Italy, Japan, China, Mexico, Germany, Russia, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine, Uruguay and the United States responded.
The courses are intended for everyone who would like to learn Slovene or deepen their knowledge, and the reasons for learning it vary. Some people learn the language because of their Slovenian roots, which they want to explore and preserve, some want to improve their knowledge in Slovene because of their work, some have found love here and therefore want to learn the language, and there are also some future students who would like to learn the basics of the Slovenian language before coming to Slovenia. For these reasons, the students traveled from all over the world and gathered together at the UP FHŠ to learn Slovene.
Assist. Prof. Klara Šumenjak, Head of the Centre for Slovenian Language and Culture at the UP FHŠ, said that the summer school is a place where different stories, experiences and views meet, and where new friendships and intercultural understanding are formed. She says that although Slovene is a small language in terms of the number of speakers, it is the language that connects us with our ancestors, with our stories and values, and allows us to share these values with others.
The Slovenian language carries an extremely rich cultural heritage and identity of our nation. Language is more than just a means of communication; It is the key to understanding the history, culture and soul of the nation, but it is also an opportunity for a career path. And these are also some of the reasons why the students traveled from all over the world and gathered together at UP FHŠ to learn Slovene. Mirko from Italy said that he wants to refresh his Slovene for his doctoral studies, as he is researching, among other things, the history of Slovenian schools in Italy. Katarina from Serbia wants to learn Slovene because of her studies in Slovenia.
They not only learn from textbooks, but also explore the language in practice
The students spent the mornings at the lectorates, and in the afternoon and evening hours they prepared numerous activities and a rich cultural program for them. Last Saturday, they went on a day-long excursion to the Karst, visited the Divača Cave, the Museum of Slovenian Film Actors and the Ferrari Garden in Štanjel. Kanako from Japan didn’t expect the Divača Cave to be so big. Milan from Serbia admitted that he was often in a dilemma while solving crossword puzzles as to which is the most famous Slovenian actress with seven letters. After visiting the Museum of Slovenian Film Actors in Divača, he finally knows the answer. Anna from Ukraine liked the fact that she had the opportunity to get to know the mysterious pearls of the Slovenian Karst on the trip, as she had already visited all the other famous tourist attractions of Slovenia. Daniel from Germany, said that the glittering stalactites made him feel like he was in the Lord of the Rings movie.
As part of the evening activities, the students were able to show how well they know Slovenia, Slovenes, Slovene and everything that starts with Slovenia. The proofreaders prepared a dynamic evening quiz for them.
Courses at various levels are held under the auspices of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Primorska, in cooperation with the Scientific Research Centre Koper and with the financial support of the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Slovenians Abroad and Abroad.
