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9th – 11th April 2018
Chiaravalle
When we started our trip everybody was very tired, because it was just 6 o’clock. We were looking forward to seeing our new friends from the first meeting in Treuenbrietzen. The bus ride was long and everyone got some sleep on the way.
After a few breaks and numerous driver changes, we arrived at about 20 o’clock. We were greeted warmly, and then we had typical Italian dinner. The food was delicious and everyone got on well. We talked for a few hours about various things, such as the trip, the Erasmus project and other things. At some point, everyone was exhausted, and we went to our beds. The teachers in the hotel and the students with host families. After our rooms were shown, we immediately went to bed. The next morning there was breakfast, for some more for some less. The Italians do not like it to start the day with a big breakfast. For some Germans, two to three cookies and a glass of milk are not enough. But that was clarified the next day. Then we went directly to the school, which in our opinion was relatively small. We have been watched by many students, because the first two lessons were already over. We all waited in the teachers’ lounge until everyone was there, and then we started the project together. First, we talked about what we have achieved and implemented after the last meeting. In addition, we met the mayor and the director of the school who warmly welcomed us. Before lunch, we still received useful information about the Europass, democracy and citizenship.
Then there was lunch, which we all ate together and where we talked together. With the music teacher, we then made some dance performances. It was a lot of fun and everybody was there right away, even the teachers. Then we could independently explore the city, which of course came very well to us students. We went alone on the way and met some students from the school, who kindly invited us to show us around. We laughed and had a great time. At 16:00 clock we all met again to take a closer look at the church and other sights. We have learned a lot, even though we were very tired after many steps. Then we went to dinner, which we took in an inconspicuous place to us. At first everyone did not know if it really was the place where we would eat dinner, because it looked like an abandoned shop. However, after the doors opened you could see set tables, food and other people. The food was delicious and everyone was hungry.
Unfortunately we had to make our way back to our beds, because it was getting late, if you were amused. The next day at school, we met early this morning with the music teacher. Together with him we did group exercises, sang and danced. After that, everyone was fit for the day. He’s a nice guy and it was fun for everyone. Now we students should get to know how it is to learn in Italy. That’s why we attended a math and history class where we were allowed to participate. We were separated in groups and had to work together with the Italian students. With some English, some hand signs and Google translator we managed to understand the tasks that were in Italian and where able to solve the tasks together. Overall, we think that the teaching is very relaxed compared to Germany, but we have noticed that the learning factor suffers a bit. Of course, we also talked to the students and made friends. We exchanged numbers and still communicate today. In the meantime, the teachers developed a survey, which we should hand out in our schools. We have already done so with great participation. Then we did an interview and got tips and tricks on how to take pictures properly. It was great. Everyone wanted to take pictures, especially we young people did not get away from the camera. The school was very well-equipped with light, sound and professionals, but also had students, who learnt to use a camera at school.
In the interview we had to answer questions like: “What does democracy mean to you?” Or “What is typically German / Italian / Polish?”. Since we had so much fun, we almost forgot the food, so we had to hurry. After we had eaten we went to the beach in another city, where we went into the water. Luckily it was not so cold and our teacher was also happy that he went in with us.
Again we had free time, and we teenagers could have a nice afternoon. After we visited the beach, we made our way to a wine plantation. There, we could taste a good glass of wine and eat some bread with cheese. The teachers enjoyed the wine so much that they took some with them. We learned a lot about the plantation and the wine, but in the evening we set off to have dinner at the same place as the day before. After we run the whole day we were glad when we were back in bed, and we looked forward to the last real day. In the morning there was again the warm-up program with the music teacher, which was terrific again, even though we students were a little tired. After that we discussed how the project should progress and each country gave its opinion. We discussed and then came to a conclusion. The lunch was a bit different this time. This time we made pizza with the slightly disadvantaged students. It was a huge experience for us, because in Germany we do not know something like that. Every student was treated the same. After this experience, we went to a church and once more went to the beach to let the whole end. The dinner this time was not the last on our schedule, because it was still a dance night before, which we students all wanted to do. In a bar people danced, laughed and sang and everyone had a lot of fun. Whether teacher or student, young or old, this evening we all felt the same. We adolescents would have loved to party the whole night, but we had to go. So we all went to our host families or hotel rooms, packed some things and then went to sleep. The next morning we all met at the hotel, had breakfast together, and then said goodbye to the hospitable Italians and Poles. We all had a wonderful time and have had unforgettable experiences. This experience has made us a to a big family so that we are already looking forward to the next meeting.
Chris Müller
Learn democracy 