My trip to Vidin in Bulgaria as a participant of the Erasmus + project
'Friends across the water'
My trip to Vidin with the Erasmus + project 'Friends across the water' was absolutely amazing. Through this experience I have learned a lot, not only about Bulgarian culture and traditional food but also about other European countries. Furthermore, I have studied about peace symbols and common values in Europe. This international meeting was a perfect opportunity to improve my English skills as well as meet lots of teenagers of my age from other countries like Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Lithuania, Romania, the Netherlands and Bulgaria of course.
The first day we had time to explore the city. Despite the fact that Vidin looked quite different than typical Polish cities, I really enjoyed it. We've been to many charming places. Personally, my favourite one was the bank of the Danube where we were walking along. At the end of the day we had delicious dinner in the restaurant on a ship.
The next day we all met at school. We gave presentations prepared by us and presented our schools. Later, we got to know each other better by playing 'Uno'. I think it brought us closer. We also went to Baba Vida - a medieval fortress and tasted some traditional Bulgarian food.
On our third day we travelled to Belogradchik fortress and to the Magura cave. It was my first time in places like this so I was very excited. There were such beautiful places which I will never forget.
On the last day in Vidin we were making some projects about peace symbols in international groups. It was a unique opportunity for me to meet wonderful people from different countries and confront their culture with the Polish one. I was so proud of our final results. In the evening we went to a party where we were dancing not only typical dances but also traditional Greek, Portuguese, Turkish and many others. I had definitely a great time there.
We finished our visit in Sofia where we spent the whole day on sightseeing and shopping. It is a lovely city. Especially, I liked The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. I even bought a postcard with this building on it. I also bought a few other souvenirs for my family and they really loved them.
I definitely don't regret this trip. Primarily I met lots of amazing people with whom we are still in touch. I saw really beautiful places in Bulgaria that I had never been before. Above all, I have learned about really important things and issues. But most of all I had the opportunity to speak English, to check my language level among the international group.
Aleksandra Ossowska, 8th grade
Erasmus+ is a project for students from different countries. The name of the project is ‘Friends Across the water’ , because it is about migration, children’s rights, aims of the ONZ and water saving.
I’m so happy that I could participate in this project. It was held in Bulgaria, in a small town, Vidin. The countries taking part in it were: Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Poland and the Netherlands.
I made friends with girls from Portugal, they were very nice. I have learned a lot of interesting things from them, for example, that euro coins do not look the same in all countries where they are used, and that in Portugal when somebody wishes you happy birthday more than two days before the date of birth, it means that this person wishes you bad luck.
In Bulgaria I saw lots of very interesting places such as the Cathedral of Saint Aleksandar Nevski, the cave in Magura and Baba Vida.
In Vidin I could see photos of dead people hung on pillars and walls. That was very weird and surprised me a lot.
On the last day in Vidin we worked in groups. I was in the group with Ariana from Portugal and with Victor from Romania. We drew a picture about peace. In our picture there was a rainbow, the sun with a smile, a dove and the flags of all the Erasmus+ countries. I think that our drawing was very good, it contained many symbols of peace. For me it was the best day in the project.
I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to participate in this project. Thanks to that I could practise English in everyday situations. I met a lot of new friends from different countries. They were from different cultures and professed different religions. We discussed many important subjects during the meetings. That trip was a very interesting adventure.
Julia Żółć, 6th grade
On Saturday 11th May 2019 I went to Bulgaria with my teachers and three friends from our school, because we were taking part in the “ Erasmus+”project. We arrived in Vidin, a city in the north-west Bulgaria. We met students from Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Turkey, Greece and Romania there. We could spend time together and talk about our countries.
The purpose of this project was to teach us, how we can take care of Europe and its future. We also discussed that we have to be tolerant for each other and care about our environment.
Spending time together let us make friends with people from differentcountries. For example, I met Ariana and Matilda, who are Portuguese, and I have been in contact with them since then.
Moreover, we visited many interesting palces in Bulgaria. For example, we went to a fortress, called “Baba Wida and to a cave called “Maguna”. In the cave, there were many beautiful paintings on the walls. I really enjoyed it. I also liked the trip to Belogradchik fortress.The scenery was amazing there.
One day, we got special excercise. In mixed groups we had to draw symbols of peace. It wasn’t easy, because of the language barrier, but we did it.
At the end of this trip, we visitet Sofia - the capital city of Bulgaria. It was a nice place.
I am very happy, that I could take part in this project. It was a big adventure for me. I met peers from around the word and saw new places. Now, I have bigger knowledge and new experience.
NataliaDolińska, 5th grade
I went to Vidin in Bulgaria with my 3 friends and 2 teachers. Our trip was very long. We arrived on Saturday as the first group. All Sunday was ours. We took a walk around the city and went shopping. On the first day of the programme, we visited the host school for the first time. The hosts gave us some traditional Bulgarian bread with honey and specific spices. It was tastier than I had expected. We met two girls from Portugal named Matilde and Ariana. They were really nice, so we spoke a lot. Our group received gifts from the Turkish girls. It included a traditional Turkish game, Mandala and some sweets. Every team gave a presentation of shared values and peace symbols. In the evening we had a tour around Vidin.
The next day we went on the bus trip to Magura cave. The views inside were beautiful but the rocks were wet, so we had to be careful. After lunch, we visited a fortress the view from which was beautiful.
On Wednesday we had workshops at school. I was in the group with Matilde and a boy from Greece. We drew pictures of peace and then made an exhibition. I really liked such types of activities because we could integrate. After lunch - instead of visiting a Turkish mosque - we stayed at the hotel watching films. In the evening there was a disco. We were dancing all together. A few groups showed us their traditional dances. We danced polonez. We received certificates and diplomas.
The next morning we left the hotel and went to Sofia. We visited the most important places. Then we said goodbye to the Romanian group. We had dinner at a restaurant with the girls from Portugal. We went shopping for souvenirs etc. Later in the hotel, we had the last meeting because we were leaving at 3 a.m. and they were leaving at 5 a.m. We took some photos and some of us started crying. I tried to cheer up everyone.
And that's all. For me, the trip could be longer because e.g. I only started talking to the girls from the Netherlands on the last day. Anyway, I keep in touch with every single person I met. I hope that one day we could meet again.
Gabrysia Jastrzębska, 8th grade