The first day of the Exchange
The first day of the exchange
Our trip to Germany started at 2 o'clock a.m. on Monday, in front of our school. We met there and after few minutes, we got into the bus. Then we traveled to Katowice-Pyrzowice to the Airport. For some of us it was the first flight in the airplane.
When we landed in Dortmund we met the German teachers who gave us a lift to their school. There more than half of us found paradise. Ask me why? The answer is very simple, we had breakfast! We could choose between 3 types of rolls, many kinds of ham and cheese and of course Nutella. We could drink tea, coffee and orange-juice too. After that marvelous meal we started sightseeing the school. We stopped for a while in a school library, where we got some German gifts (mug, sweets etc.).
Later we took part in one lesson, and we decided to choose maths. That was incredible. They just sat in a class and every student was doing something else but the teacher didn't mind it.
After such a big shock we had leisure time. We devided into groups (boys were in one, girls in the second one) and we went to the Center of Bochum. We saw many shops, restaurants and leisure centers. In Bochum there is a big and modern Planetarium and for example a big line of subway. After 2 hours we decided to go home, so each of us went to a different direction with our new German friends. At home we met the host families, ate dinner, tried to talk and relaxed. It was an extremely long day, full of new wonderful experiences.
Kasia & ArturThe second day in Bochum
The second day in Bochum.
It was our second day in Germany. We met all together at school in the morning, after the first night in new families. Everybody talked about first impressions. We were so excited!!!
We went into the class and we were waiting for an art teacher. The topic of the workshop was „ Who is the hero for you?". We divided into small groups, we were mixed ( Polish students with German students). We had to think about heroes and idols, and show the other people what we think about our own hero. We had a big piece of paper, felt-tips and ... colorful silicon! Everybody worked hard...
... because everybody wanted to have the best hero!!! We worked for 2 hours. Then we had a break for visiting the school. Polish students could see what the school in Bochum was like and talked about the differences with our new friends. German students will see our school in March! The school in Bochum is bigger and more modern than our school in Poland. We liked it a lot.
After the break it was time for our projects. Every group showed their idea for the best hero, all of pictures were great! It was very funny when we watched our heroes together!
After our presentation we went to Museum of Hero in Hattingen. We went there by bus with our teachers. Then we could visit Hattingen- a beautiful German city. We went to the museum through a little village with pretty, small houses.
In the museum we had another project to do. Every Polish student with his or her German partner got a name of a hero. We had to find out our hero and answer the questions about him. It was a lot of fun, because we could work together and got to know our partners and their opinions better. After the questions one student of the Polish-German couple had to put on the clothes of his hero, and another student said something about him to the whole group...
After the Museum exhibition concerning Heroes a surprise waited for the Polish students! The German students invited us to go bowling! Some people went bowling for the first time in their life. There was a lot of fun and we could play with our new friends. It was a nice present from German students!
The second day in Bochum was super! The school, the museum, workshops and bowling were exciting but, a little bit tiring too, so everybody enjoyed the idea of going home. In our German new families we felt really 'at home' thanks to our wonderful hosts' hospitality, kindness and friendship.
The third day of our stay in Bochum
The third day of our stay in Bochum
On the 27 th of October the Polish group went to Köln. We arrived at Erich - Kästner Schule with our German partners at 8:30 in the morning. Then we got on a direct train to Köln and about an hour later we were in the city.
We visited the church of Saint Ursula and the cathedral in Köln. We got to know that Saint Ursula is the patron of Köln. She is also a patron of our school as it is run by the Ursuline Sisters, so the church was exceptional for us.
The cathedral, in turn, is the heart of Köln. It was built between 1248 and 1880 and it is in a Gothic style. The cathedral is very imposing - it is 157 meters high. The area of the building is about 6480 m². When we went inside we were really delighted! The size of the cathedral is exceptionally large, so we felt very small. When we went out of the cathedral we visited the city.
In the afternoon we went to the Museum of Chocolate. It was very sweet inside. Each of us could taste the chocolate from the chocolate fountain. It was delicious! A very sweet end of the sightseeing!
We went by train to the Bochum Station, where our German partners waited for us. It was a wonderful day! We think that Köln is worth visiting, because it has got wonderful cultural monuments like the cathedral or the church of Saint Ursula. When we were visiting the city, we were really fascinated.
Marta KrupkaThe last day
The last day
The last day of our amazing exchange was very sad, because we had to say "good bye" to our new friends from Germany. At 9 o'clock we met in the school hall and we took part in an official farewell. After millions of kisses and hugs we got presents from our partners and we went, by subway to the big Planetarium in Bochum.
Asia's partner- Sami went with us. The visit in this place was wonderful and exciting. We saw a show about the first parts of the beginning of our galaxy. First we saw every planet and we could look at its area. A show of colorful mists in space fascinated us there were so many different colours and shapes!
After the show we went to the airport in the German teachers' cars. We went on board. That flight was even more exciting than the first, because it was 2 p.m. and we could see very beautiful views. The clouds and sun were amazing.
After 2 we landed in Poland at the Katowice airport, then we went to Rybnik by bus. We were very happy and also tired, so all of us slept on the way.
The time spent in Bochum was pleasant for us and we hope for German partners, too. We got to know interesting people and a different culture. And the school was different than ours- more modern. The worst thing about the visit was that it was too brief...
Barbara Stysz / Joanna Pieszek