TRIP TO NETHERLANDS

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The main purpose of the meeting was a survival training - without which  one could not survive and a discussion concerning the needs of immigrants, especially children. The teachers and two students of each partner school met in Nijmegen. Poland was represented by two students and two English and German teachers. Due to the fact  that the leitmotiv of the trip was SURVIVAL, teachers and students lived together in  small houses in the forest. The evening meetings and conversations on the subject of difficulties that the immigrants struggle with, were favorable for integration of teachers and students of the partnership countries. The main point of the programme prepared by partners from the Netherlands were forest games and plays. Teachers and students from each partnership country had to cooperate in  one big team and in international pairs and groups, performing different types of tasks: leading meetings, questionnaires, interviews, surveys, performing short theatrical scenes, playing hare and hounds at night and racing in pairs. A real challenge was to climb a tree in the rope park.

The crucial part of the programme took place on the first day, when students presented their countries and schools. Afterwards, they visited a vocational school, Mondial College which  astonished us with its modernity and utility. We were warmly welcomed by the principal of the school and other teachers who gave us a tour around the building. It was a very interesting experience. We could see a well-developed school base and  lessons there. Students of this school learn how to be a hairdresser, make-up artist; they learn architecture, electricity, wood processing, operating machines, enterprise, cooking, childcare and elderly care. In the school canteen we had an opportunity to taste Dutch dishes prepared by the students of the school. The interesting part of the programme was visiting the centre of Nijmegen, where we saw the most important monuments of the city and we visited an uncommon  museum, where the sense of sight was replaced by the other senses. All of us were able to feel like a blind person. In the museum we could  learn the communication methods of the blind and visually disabled people, such as: Braille’a alphabet or a special speaking computer programme. On the second day of our stay we went on a trip to Amsterdam. During our walk around we saw Rijksmuseum, the house of Anne Frank, Vondelpark, Dam Square, where there is a  monument of  Dutch soldiers who died during the Second World War. Next,  a boat trip on the canals of Amsterdam took place, during that tour we could see charming canals and historical buildings from a different perspective. We spent the last day in the camp, where we summarized everything that we had managed to accomplish and how we managed to survive in difficult conditions, tackle all the challenges prepared by the organizers and last but not least, met the culture of a foreign country.