Lucka Dušková'diary

It was on 26th September and we got on a plane. I was extremely looking forward to getting experience from this journey. What experience and where did we go?
Gymnazium Pacov as a participant of a Comenius project and because I won a competition - My ideal future family – I became a member of a meeting in Italy. I went there with my schoolmate Michaela Plzakova and of course the coordinator of the project in our school Blanka Vondrasova. The name of the meeting was: „How young people spend their free time“. We involved all possible and impossible aspects to show how our schoolmates spend their leisure time.
As soon as we got to Rome and then to Pontedera we were accommodated in hosting families. The name of my family was Dal Canto and Misa stayed at the Fagiolini´s family. The first meet with foreign English wasn´t easy but soon I realized that sometimes it is also difficult to find some Czech equivalents, too . And thanks to great English of my Italian family I learned a lot of new information about this country, culture, customs and the life style.
Each meeting is connected with sightseeing and so was this one. The first day we saw The Leaning Tower in Pizza. In nearby cathedral and also baptistery there we could feel some really ethereal effect. In the afternoon we went to Luca, historical town with amphitheatre, St. Martin doom, St. Michele church or the birth house of Giacomo Puccini.
The second day we were welcomed by the headmistress of I.T.C.G. Fermi School and later on invited to a Vespa Museum where a welcoming by member of local government took place. In the afternoon we worked. Most of the coming countries showed their presentations -„How young people spend their free time“ (Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Turkey). The evening we spend in a table tennis bar with some Italian students.
The third day we were taken to Siena. I liked best the Piazza del Campo square. Horse riding competition takes place here every year. In the evening we got to San Gimignano, a medieval town. This town I like best of all. When we looked round we could still feel like in the Middle Ages.
Next day was devoted to Florence. It is a town of art and therefore of galleries, too. The first gallery wasn’t my cup of tea despite the fact there were displayed masterpieces of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti. But the Gallerie dell’Accademia was more interesting for us - statue of David, photo exhibition, …
And the last day in Pontedera started with our presentation of „How young people spend their free time“. The presentation consisted of two parts. The first one – a photo book – showed free time activities of me, Michaela and our schoolmates in pictures and I accompanied it with my explanation. The second part was a “brochure” explained by Michaela. It showed the most interesting activities of us and mainly the meeting with Lukáš Vlček, called– "The breakfast with our mayor”. During this meeting we, students of Gymnazium Pacov, discussed all the interesting activities that happened in our town and also the activities which we would like to have here. I think we surprised all the others participants of appointment in Italy by our originality and creativity in solution of our needs. We handed out both our books to main participants in Pontedera. And I am sure that our work was one of the best.
This week in Italy brought me not only development in English and finding out new interesting places but also new friends who I´m in touch with. My host family welcomed me to Italy any time I´d like to. This year my Italian student Giada Del Canto and also Michaela´s friend Giulia Balestracci are coming to Pacov to visit us. It is because the next meeting is taking part in our town Pacov at the end of November. We help in organizing it and look forward to having here all the participants from 8 European countries very much.

Michal's diary of his stay in Italy

We arrived in Bologne on Saturday. We got on the minibus and set off for Pontedera. When we reached Pontedera a very nice family welcomed us. Everybody was happy and smiling which is rather a not a common sight in Poland. Although it was quite late they were full of energy having the time of their life. When I got into the car with my new friend Max we quickly started to talk on the way home. We went through the town and they showed me some things there. On arriving home I was welcomed by Max’s mother- a very kind and energetic woman. I looked around the house – everything seemed to be the same as in Poland, still I had a strange feeling that life had a different pace there. Time passes slowly and the people are kind and not as busy as in Poland. They have enough time for everything.
Next morning we were to go to Pisa. When I got on the bus I met some Turkish students and quickly made friends with them. The German girls were sitting behind me. They didn’t smile and I couldn’t work them out. But after some time they turned out to be cool – they were so serious because they didn’t know anybody there. We started to ask questions: where are you from ? what are your hobbies ? and so on. While talking we got some information about each country, for example we knew that the Greek students went to their own farm to pick olives just after finishing school. They also help their families to produce olive oil. They don’t have much time for learning. But the Turkish students have a very fine life – there isn’t any obligation, they just do what they feel like doing. The German students are very strict, everything must be planned. And finally we reached Pisa. Now I am sitting and looking at some pictures from Italy. I would like the same students to come to Poland but if others come it will be fine ,too.

Michał Skit

Katrin's diary about her stay in Pontedera

I lived with a very nice and friendly family. There were the parents and an eighteen years old daughter. I did really feel at home and comfortable there because I got a really warm hearted welcome and they always fulfilled my wishes.

Their house was basically like our houses in Bocholt – I had not expected that this would be the case.

It was a bit a pity that the parents did not speak English. However this is the same in Germany: many people in the older generation are not able to speak English.

I experienced the family as very family oriented, beause we always spent the evenings together. This was one big difference to Germany.

They served a big dinner in the evening at about 20:30. We had first course, main course and fruit or desert. We in Germany have only bread for evening meal and that at about 19:00.

Breakfast was also unusual for me because they had cake ad cookies for breakfast. I did not like that for breakfast and so they gave me normal bread.

On the whole it is really difficult to say what was typically Italian in this family. Maybe I did not spend enough time so see the typically Italian things because I did not spend so much time in the family. I also saw the host student only in the morning and evening because she did not take part in the program of the visit. I thought this was really a pity.


Diary of my stay in Pontedera/Italy 26 September to 3 October 2009
By Katrin (German student):

Saturday:
We arrived in the evening and our host students came to take us to their home. Then she showed me my room and her family welcomed me. There was a family party so I also got to know her aunts, uncles and grandparents.
Some time later Elisa`s (my host student) friend came and we went to another party where I met her friends. It was in a hut in a forest and we ate their and played music. It was great fun.

Sunday:
We could sleep relatively long and then I had breakfast together with Elisa and then we went to the railway station to meet the other students. Together, but without the Italian students, we went to Pisa. There we had a guide who explained us many things. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is really leaning.
After that we had some time to walk through Pisa, but we were very tired, so we slept. Afterwards we went to Lucca by bus and there we also had time and we walked a little bit through the town and sat in a nice café.
In the evening I came home to my host family and we had dinner together . It took a long time and they eat very much in the evening.
After that we went into the village to meet some of her friends. We sat together with them and talked and had fun.


Monday:
On Monday we had to get up early and went with the bus to school. Then my host student had to go to her class and we went to the Aula Magna. There the headmistress welcomed us and the English-teacher translated it for us.
After that we went together to the Piaggio Museum and there we were welcomed by the mayor. Then we visited the Vespa museum and it was very interesting. After that we had free snack there and it was very delicious.
Then we went to the Easy Food Restaurant where we could eat lunch. After that we went back to school and some countries started to show there presentations.
Before we met our host students we went through Pontedera and saw the town. IN the evening I had again dinner with my host family and then we stayed at home, so Elisa could show me many pictures and I could also show her some.

Tuesday:
On Tuesday we went to Siena and there we visited a museum and a cathedral and afterwards we had time to walk through the town and do some shopping.
Then we went with the same guide to San Gimignano and there we sat in a nice café.
In the evening I went home to my host student and we went to Casciana and met her friends and had a nice evening.

Wednesday:
Today we went to Florence. It was a little bit confusing because we lost the others. Then we met them again and went together to the Uffizi: Afterwards we had time to go shopping and we found out that Florence is a really nice city. In the afternoon we met again and went to the Galleria dell`Accademia. Unfortunately we could not go there because one of our students felt ill. But all in all it was a nice day and it was worth it.
In the evening we went to the village again and also met her friends again.

Thursday:
In the morning we went to school to listen to the other presentations. After we finished we went to the gym and did some sports. Then there was a little free time left so we did a little bit shopping and ate the delicious ice-cream. In the afternoon we visited Vicopisano. Although we had bad weather it was a nice trip.
That was our last day were we were all together so in the evening we all went together to a pizza place and afterwards we went to a pub.

Friday:
That was our last day. Only a few students from some countries were left so we went to the seaside and we enjoyed a very nice day at the sea where we could go swimming or lying in the sun.
In the evening I went together with my host family to a pizza place where we ate together pizza and afterwards I went with my host student to a café in the village where I met her friends for the last time.

Gessica's Diary about her stay in Portugal and Sevilla

Dear diary, I want to tell you about my fantastic experience in Portugal this year. I left for Portugal on 28th April with two teachers of mine and three school friends: Ilaria, Daria and Viola. I made this trip to take part in the project called “Comenius”; a project where you need to talk in English to interact with other guys of other European countries like: Greece, Turkey, Czech Republic, etc. In that week I made some friends and even today, I continue to hear them over the Internet. I’m very happy about it.
On the first day all the teachers and all of the guys, we went to visit some towns and a city called Lagos. It’s very beautiful. We visited some churches, gardens, parks… We walked a lot but it was really great! We took some pictures with the other guys and I enjoyed that day very much. In the evening, after dinner, I went out with the girl who hosted me there and she introduced me to some of her friends. We went to the beach that night, we had a drink and we talked a lot. I was very well with them. But at a certain time I was very tired and not only me, so we went back home to sleep.
On the second day, in the morning we went to school with the Portuguese students and we visited their school and the town where the school is. We stayed with them the whole day, as always, and we talked about everything. In the evening the Portuguese guys decided to take us to a dance show. That was really cool, the music was great and the dancers were nice!! We enjoyed it!
The following day we went to Spain with our Portuguese friends because we had a free morning. So we stayed there all the morning and for lunch too. I would have liked to stay there but in the afternoon we had to go to school for a presentation. Every European country had to present their work about the Comenius project. It was very funny. After this, we did a kind of game where we had to answer some questions about our life. It seemed boring, but it was interesting. In the evening we had to go back to school because we had the “final dinner”. That would be the last night there for the other countries. It was nice, there were dancers typical of that country too. After the dinner, some guys, me too, we went to a pub to say good-bye. It was very sad.
Finally, the last two days the girls that hosted us, Ilaria and me decided to go camping. I thought: Cool! But Ilaria and me stayed there just for one day because there were problems so we decided to go back to Vila Real, the town where there were our teachers and we decided to stay with them and go to the beach. Ilaria and me we were really happy about it.
Before leaving, we Italian students and our teachers went to Sevilla, in Spain. The best days!!  We visited the city, some churches and we walked a lot, but it was fantastic. Me and the other girls we had so much fun!... That was C O O L !!!
Now… I’m here in Italy, again! And I’m waiting for September, because in that month all the students from the other countries are coming to Italy and I’m very excited about it. I can’t wait! I want to see the guys again because they’re very nice and honestly I miss them. So… I’m waiting for September! Bye Bye diary… C u soon! : - )

Gessica!!

Ilaria's diary about her stay in Portugal

Dear diary…

I wanted to write to tell you about my experience in Portugal.
On 28th with Gessica Daria and Viola we left from the airport of Pisa to Seville; in the same afternoon Margarida came to pick me up and took me to her house. We had dinner very late and after that I went to bed because I was tired.
In the morning, I woke up early, I had breakfast, we waited for her boyfriend and we went to school.
I met Gessica and Daria and we went to the library together.
In the evening I went to dinner at Filipa’s house. After dinner we went to a dance show!
On Thursday morning, we took the ferry and we went to Spain, we came back home for lunch, because at 3 o’clock we presented the work we had done, a video about “Our Ideal Family”.
On Friday morning, with Gessica and some Portuguese students, we went to camp on Tavira island.
On Saturday morning we called the teachers, because we didn’t like it and we went back to Vila Real. We went to the beach, in the evening we had dinner at a restaurant and we slept in a hotel.
On Sunday morning we went to the beach and in the afternoon we went to Seville; we visited the cathedral: IT’S FANTASTIC!
The next morning we visited Seville.
On Tuesday we went back home!!!
It was a fantastic experience…
I had fun!!!

My Turkish Diary (by Giada)

On March, the 15th, a wonderful experience started for me: the trip to Turkey!
The Comenius project allowed Joara, Alessio, Maria, Davide, Davide , Edoardo, and me to take part in this cultural exchange for one week.
The trip started from the airport of Florence, we had to take the airplane, it was my first time that I took the airplane and I was really afraid! Really, while I was climbing the stairs, I would have liked to get away from that place! But I couldn’t…the hostess led me to my seat and later, after 10 minutes, finally we took off to Zurich.
During the departure I was seated between the teacher Girlanda and Joara, but I saw very well what was happening out of the airplane! We were going very fast, and when the plane stood up from the ground I took the hand of Joara; and, yes, I think she was hurting ‘cause I was grasping her very strong XD
Arrived in Zurich, I was the happiest person in the world ‘cause finally I got out from that terrific plane! Later we took the second flight to Istanbul, and that was terrific too!
Arrived in Istanbul I met the girl that had to host me during the week, her name was Cansu and she was 18, she was a very nice girl, it has been easy to meet her because I knew her by the Internet, on Messenger.
When I met Cansu’s family I understood that it was really a united family, they were very welcoming and nice, there was always a nice athmosphere in her house.
With the other guys of the project there was a good friendship too, because we got on well together.
It has been a beautiful experience because I learnt a lot of things about the Turkish culture and I saw a lot of mosques, very beautiful mosques, and the most important thing is that I improved my English!
My stay there taught me that people from all over the world can enjoy themselves together and spend time in a funny way.

Our Turkish Team

Alessio's Diary of his stay in Gelibolu

Last week we went to Turkey, in Gelibolu… It was a beautiful week. The departure was from Florence Airport at 7.40 to Zurich… At about 9.30 we left and when we arrived at Zurich Airport we took another flight. I enjoyed it, except for the food which wasn’t very good.
When we arrived at Istanbul, we took the bus to go to our Turkish friends’ houses…
Once we got there, I met the parents. They were very friendly!! After the dinner we went to sleep.
I had a good night! The following day we went to school, like the next days, at 7 am. We listened to the presentation of the results of our questionnaire. We showed the pizza recipe, and the presentation of our house and our family. We listened to the presentations of the students of the other countries too. There were 9 countries: Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Greece, Romania, Portugal. The guys from these countries were very friendly. I loved them, especially the Greek and Lithuanian girls, who the other Italian students liked too. The following days we visited some mosques, and on Thursday we went to Troy, to see the ruins and the horse. It was very beautiful! We visited Troy, we came back and we went, like the other evenings, to a pub. The following day, we went to Istanbul, at the hotel, and we slept all together, in the same room. On Saturday morning we went to visit some monuments, museums, and Constantine’s house. In the evening we visited a big bazaar, where I bought a nargile, a traditional Turkish water pipe, and on Sunday morning, we took the plane and finally we went back home!

What are we doing in Gelibolu?

15-22 March 2009

Sunday 15th

Transfer by bus from the İstanbul Atatürk Airport to Gelibolu (arrival at about 10 pm)

Monday 16th

At 09:00 school presentation and exhibition of photos that the students have brought. After lunch visit of Gelibolu (a visit to the education administration of Gelibolu and governor of Gelibolu- maybe a visit to the Major of Gelibolu, too). In the evening at the hotel there will be a welcome meal with live Turkish music.

Tuesday 17th

A visit to the 1st World War Battlefields around the Gallipoli peninsula.

Wednesday 18th

A full day visit to the ancient Troy and Çanakkale across the sea - in the Asian continent. Visit of the Çanakkale Province. According to the weather forecast, there will be a mountain visit (the mountain called IDA was the place where the first Best Model of the World competition was held in ancient times) with grilled salmon trout fish.

Thursday 19th

At school there will be some art activities arranged by teachers. The evaluation of the photo exhibition and the comparison of the results of the questionnaire. In the afternoon a visit to a 450-year old Mevlevihane (the temple of the whirling dervishes with sufi - divine - music)

Friday 20th

At school in the morning evaluation of the visit of Gelibolu and some activities like Ebru Art activity (a kind of painting with Turkish paper). After that visits to some villages and some bays around Gelibolu. Farewell ceremony with live music in the evening.

Saturday 21st

In the morning we are setting off for the visit of Istanbul and staying there for a night…..

Sunday 22nd

It's the day you can fly to your countries with nice smiles on your faces, we hope….

Levent, the coordinator of the project in the Turkish partner school, is doing a great job!