Visiting Republic of Poland thanks to the project of Comenius
Our bus-journey to Poland began early morning on 18th May. The entire drive was about 18 hours, so by mid-night we finally arrived to our destination city called Czestochowa. We were picked up by our host families from the hotel where all the teachers were accommodated
Our host families were really nice and kind taking such a good care of us. We appreciated it a lot and would like to thank them for that!
At our first morning in Poland all students from different countries gathered together to get to know each other. We were introduced the school building and just after that we had our first presentation about smoking, drugs, and alcohol which was the main topic this time. In the late afternoon we walked around Czestochowa and did some sightseeing. The longest stopover was at the friary of Jasna Gora which has been the most important abbey for polish Catholics as the pilgrimage destination. We also visited the local city government where we were told about its doings and activities.
On Tuesday we were split into two groups in a way that both groups would be as international as possible. One of the groups created commercial brochures in the computer, the other group drew the posters – the outcome of both creations had to bring out aspects how to avoid bad habits. It could be said that the final results were successful. All the brochures and posters were presented on the last day. In the evening we visited the historical ruins of the castle near the Olsztyn city. As these were located at the top of the hill, we got a very beautiful view down to the city.
Wednesday morning began with the concert given us by local young people which slogan was „No to bad habits! “. Afterwards sports-games followed. During the timeout of the games rescue team, medical workers, and also policemen introduced their skills to us. Police officers had taken police dogs with them, so observing their show was definitely the most interesting part. After lunch we had our second presentation called „The Spirit of Olympics“. In the middle of presentations we had a quiz about the countries taking part of this project. Aili represented our team and achieved the 3rd place! Well done, Aili! In the evening we had a festive occasion at school, which was organized by local youths, their parents and teachers. At this event we got to taste very delicious local dishes made by our host families.
Early morning on Thursday we drove to the third largest city of Poland – historical Krakow – which is located at Wisla River. We were introduced the most famous sightseeing in there, also we were given some time for shopping.
All the evenings during the week in Poland we spent with our new friends. We visited local cafés, visited each other’s’ host families, danced, played cards... It was such a fun week! On Tuesday evening we celebrated Aili’s birthday altogether. Thanks to the colourful and international company it was an experience by itself!
On our last day, Friday 23rd May, we had presentations about the topics that we discussed the entire week, mostly about healthy lifestyle. Those presentations were prepared by Polish students. There was also an exhibition that was set up by locals with the help of guest students. At the end of the day we said goodbye to everyone and headed back to home where we arrived around 10am next morning.
Our trip was very interesting and fun. We gained a great experience for our further meetings. It is worth to mention that Polish people are hard-workers and detailed-oriented, but at the same time very friendly as well!
Aili and Marilin