We have been made Polish - European

WE HAVE BEEN MADE POLISH Students’ reports

12 – 18 MAY 2016

My trip to Warsaw 12th May - Thursday My day started at 7 am at the station in Reurieth. Me and my mum waited for the train and after a few minutes it arrived. I said goodbye to my mum and then I entered the train. Mr. Roßt and my friends Janine, Vivian and Theresa were already sitting there. After 20 minutes, we changed the train in Grimmenthal. In Zella-Mehlis Mrs. Härter entered the train too. We drove 1 hour again and then we were in Erfurt. Our teachers and we went to the next train, which went to Berlin. We drove 3 or 4 hours. Then we were at the station in Berlin. There we had half an hour before the next train would leave. Janine, Vivian, Theresa and me took the time to look around. Later we met the teachers again and we entered the train to Warsaw. It was an old, pink train. Mr. Roßt, Mrs. Härter and we four girls sat in a compartment with 6 seats. With this train we drove for 6 hours. As we arrived in Warsaw, our host families were waiting for us. My host sister, her name is Magda, and her mum picked me up from the station and we drove home with their car. The whole family spoke German and so it was very easy for me to understand them. Magda introduced me to her dad, her little brother and their cute dog.

They lived in a wonderful flat and the family showed me all of it. After this we ate dinner. After dinner Magda and I went to the park with her cute dog and later I talked with the familiy about Germany and Poland and then I went to bed.

13th May – Friday At 8 am Magda and I drove to her school by car. All students from the other countries were meeting there. Magda and the other Polish students had lessons. After a few minutes, we went to the Old Town of Warsaw by the subway. At 10 am we visited the Royal Castle with a guide. The castle was very big and looked very great. After the guided tour we had some free time. In this time Janine, Vivian, Theresa and I looked around, made some nice pictures of the town and changed some money.

Then the whole group went to the Heritage Interpretations Centre and watched a documentary about Warsaw. At 2 pm it was lunch time. The teacher of the Polish students gave us some money to eat something. Theresa, her host sister Ola, Janine, Magda, two friends of Magda and their two host sisters and I went to a restaurant. There we ate „piroggen“. These are noodles filled with meat. It was very delicious. At 3:30 pm we played a street game in five multiculture groups. We got asked questions about the Old Town of Warsaw and went to different places, to answer the questions there.

But later it was raining very much so we had to stop the game. At 5:30 pm Magda and I went home by bus. At home we had dinner and I talked to the family. At 11 pm I was very tired and went to bed.

14th May – Saturday At Saturday we had a train trip to Gdańsk. All students met at the Central Train station at 5:50 am. The ride was very long, from 6:20 to 9:10 am. In the train I sat next to Janine and we had much fun. At 10 am, we had a guided tour in the European Solidarity Centre.

This was an museum, which had an unusual architecture. From the roof we had a nice view over Gdanzg and I took some cool photos.

At 12:30 all teachers and students had lunch in a restaurant. After lunch, we went to the Old Town of Gdańsk and the guide showed us some famous places in the city. After we finished the guide tour, we had some freetime. Magda, Janine, Vivian, Theresa and I were in a group together. In this time, we ate ice cream and waffles. It was very delicious. At 6.02 pm our train drove home and at 8:46 pm we were in Warsaw. Magda‘ s mom picked us up from the station and we went home by car. A few hours later I went to my bed.

15th May - Sunday At Sunday we had family day. Magda‘s dad and her brother were not at home, because over the weekend they went sailing. Magda, her mom and I slept very long, till 10 am. Then we ate brakfast. At 12, we three girls went by car to a cake shop and ate something there. It was so delicious and I ate the best chocolate cake I ever had in my life. At 1:30 pm Magda and I met Vivian and Janine with her host sisters and some other girls in the Ĺ azienki Park. This park was very beautiful and looked wonderful. We fed squirrels, ate ice cream and took nice photos of the park. After this, we went to the Palace of Culture. We were in the 32nd floor. From there we had a great view over Warsaw. At 5 pm we went to a shopping mall and ate something. After this we went to some shops and to starbucks. At 7 pm Magda and I were at home. We talked with her mom about the day and I told her something about my home village and our school. At 11 pm I was very tired and so I went to my bed.

16th May - Monday At 8:30 am all students met at the primary school. From 9:00 to 11:30 am we had drama activities. In this time we played the story about Europe and in the end every country sang the first verse of the European hymn in their native language. After the rehearsal we showed the play to the kids of the primary school. At 11:30 am the teachers from the Polish school showed us around in the school. From 12:15 to 13:00 pm the students from other countries were attending the lesson. Me and some other kids were in the music lesson. The kids sang songs, but I didn't like the lesson, beacause in the class it was very loud and the teacher said nothing to the kids. At 1.45 pm we went to secondary school and there was a puzzle competition. That was very boring and I didn't like it as well. At 2:30 pm we ate lunch at the school. After that, we drove by bus to the Wilanรณw park and visited the Wilanรณw Palace.

The park and the palace were very great and wonderful. At 7 pm the tour was finished and Magdas mum picked us up from the park. We drove to a shop by car and after this, we went to a restaurant and ate dinner. At home we watched a film and after that, we went to bed.

17th May – Thuesday

At 8:30 am we met at the secondary school. We walked down the Royal Route and our Polish students made a guided tour for us. They showed us famous places in Warsaw. For example the university, some churches and a lot of memorials, which was very interesting. After that all students and teachers met at the seat of the Civic Educational Association. There the presentation of the orienteering results took place and everybody got a diploma for the street game. Then we also got paticipation confirmations. We said goodbye to our friends from the other countries and then Magda and her friends, Vivian, Theresa and I went to a big shopping mall. There we ate ice cream and bought some souveniers. At 6 pm Magda and I went home with her mum. At home we had a big dinner and Magda`s mum brought the delicous chocolate cake again. After the dinner we all talked together. Then I grabbed my bag and went to bed.

18th May - Wednesday At this morning my host family and I stood up very early. We took a last picture together. I said goodbye to Magda‘s mum and her little brother. Then Magda, her dad and I went to the train station by car. At 6 am I met my teachers, and my German friends there. We told good bye to everyone and then we entered our train and drove home.

Conclusion I think, this week in Warsaw was very great. My host family was so nice to me and I really felt like I am home. In the whole week we did all kinds of interesting things. We had the opportunity to see the city and to travel to a new country. The students from Poland, Cyprus, Italy and Croatia were very nice too. It was very funny and interesting to learn something about the countries, but especially about Poland. The trip was a new experience for me and I liked it very much. With this eTwinning and Erasmus+ projects I would consider repeating such a trip, because I have many new impressions now, I improved my English and I met some new people, which are very nice and I hope we keep in touch with each other.

Franziska

Thursday On Thursday morning I met my friends and Mr. Roßt at the train station in Hildburghausen. Together we went by train to Erfurt. On the way Ms. Härther joined our group, so we were ready to start our long journey to Warsaw. We changed our train in Erfurt and went straight to the capital of Germany - Berlin.

At the main train station we had lunch and went to Warsaw. While the journey we played cards, listened to music and learned a few polish words. We arrived there at 5:45 pm and met our host families at the train station. At my arrival I could see a rainbow over the big skyscrapers of Warsaw.

The traffic in the city was very busy, because of too many cars. We went by car to the home of my new host family to get to know them. After we had dinner, I told them something about my home Thuringia.

Friday At Friday morning I had breakfast and after, I went with Gosia to the underground station to go to school. At the secondary school we met the students from Croatia, Cyprus and Italy. Together we went to the Old Town of Warsaw. There we had time to take photos of the colorful buildings of the Old Town. Later we met our teachers and with the group we visited the Kings palace. We saw great paintings and impressive rooms with golden-decoration in the room. We had a guide, who told us interesting facts and stories about the history of the palace. After this fascinating visit, we went to a historical museum, which told the history of the destroying and rebuilding of Warsaw after the Second World War. We watched a movie there and visited the exhibition. After we had time to eat lunch, so me, my friends and some polish girls went to a charming restaurant. I tried some polish pierogis with feta cheese and spinage.

My friends had some with meat. Both versions were very delicious. But on the plate were so many pierogies, that we have been full after this delicious meal. The group met again after lunch and we started with the city game. We were divided in 5 multinational groups. As a group leader I tried to lead my group through the streets of Warsaw. We had to answer questions about monuments and memorials of the city. Suddenly it started raining, and we got wet really fast and we couldn’t finish the city game. Because of the bad weather, we met the other groups at the market place and went home. In the evening I went to bed after we watched the ESC together.

Saturday – trip to Gdansk At Saturday morning we had to wake up very very early because our train to Gdansk left on 6 o'clock.

We went 3 hours by train to visit the city for one day. First we walked to the European Solidarity Centre and visited the modern exhibitions about the history of Poland.

We spent time until lunch in this interesting museum with our guide, who told us informations about the ESC. After the visit, we went by elevator at the top of the museum, where we had a wonderful view over the city of Gdansk.

Then we went to a restaurant where we had lunch. The potato soup and the main dish were very good. After the lunch we visited the Old Town of Gdansk with our guide of the ESC and we have seen many colorful and impressive houses, which are standing along the main street of the Old Town. After the guided tour we had time off to eat something. I went with my friends to an ice-cream restaurant where we ate some tall ice-cream. This was one of the best ice-creams I’ve ever ate! This ice-cream is called świderki and we also had some waffles called gofry. Then we went back to the train station and went to Warsaw. Gosia and her dad picked me up from the train station and we went to a light show that took place in Warsaw because of the museum night in the city. Many museums were open and you can go there for free, but those museums were very crowded too. So you had to wait very long for visiting the exhibition in the museum. After the lightshow we went home, and I went to bed because it was very late then.

Sunday – Family day At Sunday morning I slept longer and had breakfast. We decided to go to a part of Warsaw called Praga. There we visited a charming museum - PRL. We also saw some sights of that part of the city. It is a bit older than the others but I liked it. Then we went to the Łazienki Park to go for a walk and to meet friends from Germany and Poland. We saw many squirrels, which you can feed with nuts. They have been so sweet! We saw many birds too and the sun was shining often, which made it a great walk. In the park we also ate an ice cream and bought a postcard to send it to our class in Germany. After the walk we went to the Culture Palace. There we used the elevator to go to the view point, which is situated in the 30th floor. The view over Warsaw is great, but the sun wasn't shining anymore.

After that my friend and me visited the Hard Rock Café and bought a t-shirt. We had lunch very late - at 3 pm but I ate a sushi box which was really delicious. Than we wanted to go to some other shops, but they were closed. So we went to Starbucks to drink something before we went home. In the evening we watched Asterix and Obelix in English.

Monday In the morning I woke up and had breakfast and Gosias dad brought me to the meeting in the secondary school. Gosia couldn’t go with us this day because she had an excurse with her class. We met at a hall and the Polish teacher told us to do some drama activities. We performed the story of Europe and we sang the europesong in our language and in English. All the students watched our performance and then we had a look at the three school buildings with a polish teacher in groups. After that we joined a lesson of the kids in the primary school. I visited a lesson of the youngest children of the school. They learned something about dinosaurs.

While waiting for lunch we had a puzzle competition in our groups of the city game. Our group made the second place. After lunch we went by underground to the Palace Wilanów. That's a great castle where you can see high and majestic rooms and colorful paintings of famous artists. We had a guided tour through the whole castle. Than the parents picked up Gosia and me and we went to a restaurant and ate pierogies. I had some with meat and it was very good. At home we played a funny game called Dixit.

Tuesday Tuesday morning I woke up and we ate breakfast together. We had to meet in school. Gosia and I went there by underground. At school I was getting to know some students of Gosia’s class. From the school we went to the Old Town and the polish students talked about some monuments and memorials in the city. Sometimes it starts raining but that wasn't important. We went to the STO main building after we had lunch in an Italian restaurant. We bought some sweets in a polish sweetshop. In the STO main building we got some diplomas and took a group picture together. Now we had to say goodbye to the others. Than Gosia and me went to Tiger, that is a mixture of drugstore and stationery shop. After that we went by underground to the national stadium of Warsaw. There was an exhibition about prehistorically ocean animals. Than we visited the stadium and we went to the view point of the stadium. After we went by underground to a shopping mall where we drank a bubble tea inside. In the evening, as we have been at home again, I showed some pictures of our school and my village. Than I had to pack my suitcase.

Wednesday On last morning in Poland I woke up and had breakfast. Gosia and her dad brought me to the train station and we said goodbye. Now we drove from Warsaw to Berlin. In Berlin we had some time for having lunch and we continued our way to get home again. We missed our train in Erfurt. But we took one to Suhl and our parents picked us up from Suhl.

Visiting Warsaw has been a wonderful journey, where I met many interesting people, a friendly host family and where I have seen impressive buildings with enormous history.

Janine

‚My trip to Warsaw’ by Theresa 12th May – Thursday On Thursday morning I met my friends Vivian and Janine and our teacher Mr. Roßt very early at the train station in Hildburghausen. Our train was leaving at 6:59 am so we met us at 6:45 am. We said at 6:55 am to our parents goodbye and went in the train. On the way to Grimmenthal, our first change, Franzi joined us. In Grimmenthal we waited 15 minutes for our train to Erfurt. In Zella Mehlis we picked our teacher Mrs. Härter up so our group completed. In Erfurt changed the train one more time to get into German capital city - Berlin. In Berlin we had one hour freetime so we took some photos and ate something, because it was already 11:30 am. We entered our last train at 12:30 am to our destination Warsaw. While the journey we played cards, listened to music or talked a little bit. At 5:45 pm we arrived at the Warsaw central train station where our host families waited. My host sister Ola and her mum where waiting for me there. To my surprise my host mother could speak German so we talked much together but Ola was interested in that too so I talked the most time English. As we left the train station I was very impressed of the big buildings and the nice architecture. On the way to my host families’ home we saw even a rainbow so everything was very impressive for me. At home Ola showed me their home. After that we ate dinner and talked about or schools, friends and the differences between Germany and Poland. We talked very long but in the late evening we went to bed.

13th May – Friday On the next day we went up at 7:00 am had breakfast and left the house at 8:00 am to go to Ola’s school.

Her mom drove us to her school so we were very early there. I was a bit surprised because the school was quite little. It looked like normal house. It was very full inside the school, because some people from Cyprus, Italy and Croatia were already there too. The Polish students had to go to their lessons and the whole group of guests went the royal castle. After the visit we had some free time. In this time we changed some money and took some nice pictures from the old town. Then we walked to the Warsaw Heritage Interpretation Centre where we watched a video about the history of the destroying and rebuilding of Warsaw after the Second World War. At 2:00 pm we were all hungry so we had time to eat lunch. Franzi, Janine our host sisters, some girls from Cyprus and I went into a little restaurant where we ate Pirogge, a traditional Polish food. I tried some with meat, Janine ordered some with fata cheese and spinach. It was so delicious but the smallest version with only 9 Pirogge where way too much for us but their where still tasty. We met the group after the lunch and started the city game. We were divided in 5 multinational groups. I was in a group with a girl from Cyprus, a boy from Italy and tree boys from Poland.

We had to answer some questions with the help of our Polish students so we learned much about the Warsaw history. But suddenly it started raining so we had to hide under a gate so we had to stop the game. At 5:30 pm Ola and I went home by bus and talked about our experiences form the street game. At home we ate dinner and I phoned my mum and told her something what we’ve done.

14th May – Saturday At Saturday morning we had to go up at 4:00 am because our train to Gdańsk at 6:00 am. All students met at the train station at 5:30 am. We went 3 hours by train to Gdańsk to visit the city on the Polish coast. First we walked to the European Solidary Centre. In front of it is a memorial for the fallen shipyard workers in 1970.

We had a break and took some nice photos there too. After a while a women came out of the building and told us something about the memorial and the museum. She guided us through the whole museum about 2 ½ hours. This very new museum with an unusual architecture was very interesting and from the rooftop we had a nice few all over Gdańsk. At 12:30 am we all together had a nice lunch in a cool restaurant.

After lunch the women showed us the Old Town with very colourful houses. We got a few minutes free time after the guided tour where we could buy something to eat for our journey back to Warsaw. We bought some delicious ice cream and waffles. Everything was so delicious there. But the time came to go back to Gdańsk so we went back to the train station. My host mother picked me up at 8:45 pm on the train station and we went home.

15th May – Sunday On this day my whole family slept longer because the last days where very long. We went up at about 9 o’clock. After the breakfast with the whole family we decided to go by bus to the Łazienki-Park there we listened to the concert with the songs from Chopin but we walked through the park too. There we saw some peacocks but no squirrels where the park is famous for. But we were hungry so we went home to eat lunch. After lunch we waited for Ola’s friend to go to the Copernicus science centre. This centre is a permanent biology, physics and chemistry exhibition. You can try out everything that is displayed there so for example you can try out a hamster wheel for humans or only try to make big soap bubbles. After a while trying out some experiments we went to a pancake restaurant and ate something again. Because of the weather we went to the roof of the library of the Warsaw University. The few from the rooftop was very nice so we took many photos. From there we saw the river Wisła, the Culture and Science Palace and many other sights. We watched the whole sunset so ended another eventful day.

16th May – Monday

This day began like each other day very early but this day was a bit other because Ola’s father brought us to the primary school. Some other students where there already so we joined them and waited for the other students. At nine o’clock everyone was here so we began rehearsing for a play. We rehearsed the say about the European formation and at the end we sang the first verse of the European Anthem in our native language and all together in English. After the rehearsing we performed the play to the kids from the primary school. After this the guests could join in different lessons in the primary school but first the teachers showed us the two buildings of the school and different projects they’ve worked on. I joined a Polish lesson in the 4th grade. In this lesson they had to draw and describe a picture of a hero they’ve read in their book but the difficulty was for them to discuss about which hero they choose because everyone read a different book. After the lesson some girls gave me their hero as a present. It was very nice to see what they’ve done but one bad thing for me is I can’t read any word on their poster. But we had to say goodbye to the kids because our next thig on our timetable waited. We went back to the secondary school to do there a puzzle competition in our multinational groups. My group made the first place so we got some chocolate. After waiting a few minutes we got our lunch in the school cafeteria. The meal was one more time very delicious but we had to go. We went to the Wilanów Park and Place. This museum was not so big but it was interesting like the other Museums too. Ola’s dad picked us there up and we went home. After lunch we went to Ola’s sister to help her a bit but this day ends also and we went to bed.

17th May – Tuesday This day was the last day in Poland before our journey so we met our group the last time in the secondary school so Ola’s mother brought us the last time to it. Ola showed me her classroom and introduced me to her friends. From the school we walked with the Polish students as guides trough the Royal Route. On every memorial another Polish student told us something about the history and some important facts. The route was very long but we already finished at 11:00am so we ate lunch. After our lunch we had a ceremony were everyone was getting a diploma for the street game and also participation confirmations. But after that we had to say goodbye to our friends from the other countries but Vivi, Franzi, Ola, some others and I went to a big shopping mall. There we bought some souvenirs and ate later some frozen yoghurt. At 6pm Ola and I went home by bus because I had to pack my things together. It lasted very long so I went to bed very late.

18th May – Wednesday This day my whole host family woke up very early to say bye to me. We ate a last time breakfast together and then Ola and her dad brought me to the train station. Our train was leaving at 6:00am so we said good bye to our host students. With this train we went to Berlin. In Berlin we had at 11:00am some time to eat something.

So we entered our train to Erfurt at 12:00am but it was a bit too late so we missed our train to Home. But we had another option to get home. We took a train to Suhl and there our parents picked us up there.

Conclusion For me was this trip to Poland a very great experience because we met so many nationalities and also to see how our host live was a nice experience too. We saw charming places and took part in different activities like school and history. The impressive history was every interesting too and to talk to many people in English was nice experience too. You could see it too how the families live and how they work together. So for me Warsaw and Poland was a country which was very clean, friendly and welcoming. If I get another chance to get this opportunity to go a country with such projects I would do this again because you see more from the country than visiting it as tourist and maybe you can keep in touch with the people and become friends.

Theresa

Warsaw impressions On our trip to one of our partner schools in Warsaw we have seen a lot of interesting things and have met many people all over Europe. I would like to tell you about things we have done in Poland.

My German class members, my teachers and I arrived the train station in Warsaw at 19.15 and we met our Polish host students right there. My host student Zosia is a twelve years old girl with funny curly hair. She has showed me a big shopping centre next to the train station and we went to her home by car. Zosia lives in a big flat near our partner school with her older sister Gabriela and her mother. After I have given them my guest presents, we have eaten Sushi for the dinner. Zosia told me that her sister had been a short time in Germany so she can understand a few German words too. I didn’t understand any of the Polish sentences they spoke, because the Polish language is spoken very different than English or German.

On the next day we’ve woken up at 7 o’clock and walked to their secondary school. There we met the other students taking part in the project from Italy, Croatia and Cyprus. After that we went to the old town of Warsaw, where we met the English teachers from the different countries. First we’ve visited the castle Zamek Królewski with a travel guide, who showed us the impressive interior design. Then we walked to a big square with a statue of a mermaid in the middle and visited a museum about Warsaw during the Second World War. There we’ve seen a movie about the people in this time and the destruction of the Old Town.

At 12 o’clock we met our host students, to go eating with them. Zosia and I went to a little café called Green 0 Nero. In the afternoon we played a special game in multinational groups.

The aim of the game was to find special places in old town and answer questions about the places there. The game stoped because of the bad weather on this day and we went home with our host students.

On Saturday we travelled by train to Gdansk and visited a memorial about the Polish uprising.

After a short break we went to the European centre of solidarity and learned something about the Polish history. As we finished we walked through Gdansk with a travel guide and also had some free time. On a big square we bought us some special Polish ice cream and tasty waffles. We went home by train at 6 o’clock in the afternoon.

Sunday was the family day for the students. So we were able to do some things alone with our host students. We went together in a big group to the Łazienki Park, walked around and fat little squirrels. The park was full of beautiful plants like lilac or tulip and we also met our teachers there. Then we went to the famous palace of culture and science, went with the elevator to the 30th floor and watched the wonderful skyline of Warsaw. Then one of my friends and I walked to the Hard Rock Café to buy a T-shirt about Warsaw. In the evening Zosia wanted to go with me and her family to a restaurant to celebrate the holiday in Poland this day.

On Monday we were at the primary school to prepare common with the other students about the abduction of Europa. The students from the primary school read the story in English and in Polish, so the younger students, who didn’t speak English very well could follow the story too. The students taking part in the eTwinning project acted the sun, the clouds, the grass, the flowers and the sea with coloured cloth. When the story about Europa finished all the students went into their national groups and sang the European anthem in their main language and in English. After the performance we visited in multinational groups both primary schools. I was very surprised about the different school systems between Germany and Poland. The primary school in Poland is until the 6th grade and the school classes are smaller than in Germany. In all classes we’ve visited weren’t more students than 15. The second interesting thing about the school was that the whole school was in different buildings. The first classes were in another building than the 3rd and the 4th class. Then we visited an art lesson of very young students. The teacher was painting a picture with white crayons, so the kids weren’t able to see something on the paper. Then the teacher took a brush with a blue colour and covered the painting with blue. The result was, that the part of the paper, which was covered with wax, was still white, but the other part of the paper, which was only covered by colour, was blue. After the lesson the teacher gave us our paintings we made, so we always can remember her art lesson. Back at the secondary school we took part in a puzzle competition. The puzzle showed a photo from the place we have been on Friday. After the lunch we went to the Wilanów Park and visited the Wilanów castle.

In the castle hanged a lot of paintings and our travel guide told us the story about the castle.

On our last day in Poland together with the other students we walked to the old town again and visited more famous buildings in Warsaw. The Polish students told us the histories of the buildings and memorials and went with us into a church where the heart of the famous Polish composer Frédéric Chopin is buried. In our free time we’ve eaten lunch with our host students and went to a little candy manufactory. In the little shop we could see how the candies where made. All the things in Poland we bought were so much cheaper than the same things in Germany. I think if I have bought the things I’ve bought in Poland in Germany, I would have spent more than the half money I spent in Poland. In the afternoon we visited the mall next to the train station again and bought some Polish souvenirs for our family and friends in Germany. In the evening Zosia and I went home and I said good bye to her family members.

On Wednesday we woke up at 4.30 and went to the train station per taxi. The train to Germany left the station at 6 o’clock and we arrived our home at half past 4.

Vivian

MY IMPRESSIONS It was Wednesday the 11th. I was packing my bag for the trip. I did not have a feeling that I am going to a country that is about 1000 km away, that I am going to Poland. But as soon as I got to the airport I’ve got that feeling that I was missing. It was strange, I wasn’t nervous but I did not know what’s going to happen the following days. After we landed in Warsaw we met our new familys. I was really lucky because I think I’ve got the best family I could.

On Friday we met in the school. The school was really small. Then we went to the city centre. I was impressed how big everything was and how big the city is. The weather was really weird every few minutes it changed.

On Saturday we went to Gdańsk, a city on the northern part of Poland that lies on the Baltic Sea shore. We traveled to Gdańsk with the Pendolino train I think (Polish TGV :) ) and it was a great experience. Gdańsk is a smaller city then Warsaw but I really liked the old town and all the little amber shops that you can find on every street.

On Sunday we had a family day, I went with my family to watch football match because Bogdan was playing, they actually won the game and they played really good. After that we went to a Egyptian restaurant. My family and I visited many restaurants in the city and I really liked that part of the trip. We tried Egyptian food, American food, Polish food etc.

The last two days we spent in Warsaw, we played a street game that was really fun and I learned many things about Warsaw.

The last day I was really sad because we had to fly back. But all in all it was a really great experience, I met many new people and learned many things about Poland. I hope that one day I will visit Poland again :) Luka K

It was Thursday the 12th, the day of our trip to Poland. This was our first time going to Poland and we were all pretty excited. I got up, got ready, packed my things and we headed out to the airport. The second we all got together at the airport this weird feeling got a hold of us, up till this point we didn't actually think this was real. We got to the plain and flew of to sunny Warsav. When we landed we met our new family for the next week. We all went our separated ways and planned to met tomorrow. When we got to the apartment I was really amazed by the view because we were located on the 14th floor. I also met their cure kitty whose name I still can't remember. We had something to eat and we talked about everything that popped in our mind. We talked about TV, soup operas, movies, animals, family, interests, Croatia, Poland...I really wanted to know everything there was to know.

The next day we all met at their school which was pretty small. And then I felt as something was not right, I felt my throat was soar and I felt a bit cold. I decided to ignore the warnings. We spent the day exploring the Old city od Poland and we had so much fun, we laughed all day. We met some new friends which is always interesting. The strange part was the weather. First it's sunny and beautiful, and then out of a blue it starts pouring rain, and maybe that was the main reason I couldn't go on with the exploring that day. In the end of the day I felt really sick so I told my professors and Julia's family . Everyone was so worried and tried to help me as much as they could.

I stayed the next two days at home and on Monday I was reborn. I met my friends and we had two most amazing days that we hopped we would have when we first landed in Poland.

The best part was that we met a lot of people from around the Europe and really bonded with them. This was a very beautiful experience and I will never forget my Warsaw friends.

Mia

Impressions of Poland The trip to Poland was an excellent experience for me. I liked it very much and I hope I will come to Poland and Warsaw once again. Meeting new people was a pleasant experience. I am glad that I met them all and I hope that we will stay in touch.

The family that I was staying with took really good care of me. I can’t say more thanks to them and I hope to see them as soon as possible.

I must say that food was really good. I’d like to eat it again.

The cities, Warsaw and Gdansk, are both very nice. I would like to visit and enjoy them again.

Noa

MEETING IN POLAND A trip to Warsow was very exciting and interesting. I met a lot of new people. We were in the Old Town of Warsaw and it was great.

The next day we went to Gdańsk. By its size Gdańsk is like Zagreb so I liked it. There is more people in one place on street in Gdańsk than in Warsaw, but I think that is because Warsow is a bigger city.

Last day in Warsaw was excellent because me and my friend Luka ate so much ribs in some Egyptian restaurant and it was delicious.

I think I improved my English and I want to go to Poland at least one more time.

Luka V.

Trip to Poland I have to admit that I was sceptical about going to another country to live with people that I didn’t know and I don’t speak the same language with. But at the end of the day I felt so happy and grateful that I took this opportunity. It was a great experience for me. It gave me the chance to meet new people from different countries and with different cultures. I was lucky enough to live with a wonderful family that made me feel like home. I had such a great time with them, and now I feel like have a second family in Poland.

The Programme was well organised. They showed us brilliant palaces, and beautiful churches I was shocked to hear that this magnificent town was rebuild with the exact same architecture line after it was destroyed during the Second World War. I feel very lucky that I took part in this trip and I wish I will have an opportunity in the future to take part on this programme because I believe that is really successful and it makes you feel as a part of European Union.

Constantinos

If I had to choose the best trip of my life until now this would be Poland! It was a journey full of incredible friends from around Europe with lots of visits to castles and other monuments. I was surprised by the vast areas and their wonderful green parks!

Through this experience I met a different culture and customs.

I would also like to thank the family that hosted me where I met warm people who did whatever I asked them...!

This trip left me with wonderful pictures and memories. I would highly recommend such a trip to others.

Marina

They finally visited us!

That time finally came. People from other countries: Croatia, Germany, Cyprus and Italy came to Poland. My partner in exchange was Chrysovalanto from Cyprus. It was fantastic to meet her. She is a lovely person, I hope to meet her in the future again.

I picked up her from Chopin’s airport in Warsaw. I was so stressed even though it wasn’t the first time I took part in that type of a project. Then we ate dinner and we were talking a lot because we wanted to know as much as we can say about each other.

The next day we had a street game in Warsaw Old Town. It was fun but the weather started to ruin it so we had to stop.

On Saturday we went to Gdańsk by train. It was a really nice trip. We spent some time together. We saw Gdańsk Old Town and also a museum of Solidarity. Amazing experience especially because I have never been there before.

On Sunday we had free time. We just went to the Ĺ azienki Park with some other people from the exchange. We talked and laughed.

On Monday we had some creative exercises in NOK. We prepared a performance about Europe for younger students from our school. Then we visited WilanĂłw Park and Palace which was really nice.

On Tuesday we had sightseeing and also an official ceremony. Then we went shopping.

I am really sad that I will not see my foreign friends for a long time!!! It was amazing to meet them all! Thank you!

Dominika

Our guests arrived on Thursday 12th May. Every host welcomed them home.

On Friday 13th May teachers organized a visit for foreigners to the Royal Castle, in the afternoon we met our guests in the Old Town and had lunch together. After that we played game in the streets of Warsaw Old Town. When the game was over we came back home.

Next day I had a day off because my guest went on a trip to Gdańsk with other members of Erasmus+. During my day off I was preparing a plan of sightseeing on Sunday. I decided to take my guest to Łazienki Park first. Secondly we went to Copernicus Science Center and to see view of Warsaw from the roof of University Library. In the evening we had supper at Mr. Pancake.

After such an active weekend we went to my school and spent the whole day there.

We had a performance for our primary students about European Myths. Then we did puzzles and had lunch tohether. In the evening we went to Wilanów Palace to visit palace of Jan III Sobieski (one of Polish Kings).

During the last day we had a walk along the Royal Route (a route in Warsaw with a lot of monuments). Polish student were guides. After that we had an official ceremony (diplomas, certificates, prizes). In the afternoon we went shopping to Złote Tarasy shopping center. Everybody was interested in getting souvenirs because next day all of them would come home.

Ola

DAY ONE My foreign friend was Noa. He came to Warsaw by plain straight from Zagreb, Croatia. I went with my mum to the airport to pick him up. When we came back home with our guest on board we had dinner and we talked a lot. Noa told us about his family, his interests, and then we watched together “The Hobbit” – part one of the great movie, which I had seen before and Noa had not.

DAY TWO The next day started very nicely with bathroom, tasty breakfast and an interesting talk about our countries.

After that I had to go to school for 5 hours and Noa went for sightseeing Warsaw with other foreigners. Then at 1:00 pm we went together to the Old Town and we played a street game there. Then we came back home, ate dinner, talked a little bit with my parents and watched the second part of “The Hobbit”.

DAY THREE

The third day wasn’t very nice, at least to me because my guest went for an excursion with other foreigners to Gdańsk. Unfortunately, I could not go with the group. Noa saw there many interesting places like: The Old Square and Harbour. It was quite late when he came back. He had dinner and then we were talking for couple of hours about his trip. We finished at 1:00 am.

DAY FOUR The fourth day was the best day of Noa’s visit. We woke up at 8 o’clock and after bathroom and breakfast we drove to Warsaw Uprising Museum where we spent about 4 hours. Then we got back home for lunch and decided to go to a playground near my house to play football with my friends. On the playground we spent 3 hours and we had a great fun there. Then we played cards with my younger brother, talked to my 16-years old neighbor friend Miron who visited me and about midnight we went to beds.

DAY FIVE On the next day we visited the Palace in Wilanów and we played puzzles with the whole group of visitors and their Polish friends. These activities were in fact very interesting. When we finished, my mum picked us up from Wilanów. At home we had dinner and watched very interesting movie “The Seventh Son” about witches.

Then we went to sleep.

DAY SIX The last day of our adventure was a little bit sad because I knew that it was the last day which I was spending together with my new friend. We spent all this day walking around the Old Town and looking for some famous and interesting buildings. Then we ate lunch and then we had a final celebration when we got to know what team had won the street game. We were drinking tea and juices and speaking with our guests.

Then we came back home with Noa and spent some time playing cards and talking about Poland and Croatia. He showed us the map of Croatia and places worth visiting there. We had a good-buy “sushi” dinner with my parents and gave some souvenirs to Noa and his family. At about midnight we went to beds.

DAY SEVEN On the next day we woke up, had breakfast and drove to school, where we split up. I went for lessons while Noa drove to the airport. That was one of the best weeks of my life. I will never forget my new friend Noa. Mateusz

The project has been funded by European Commission.

This publication reflects the authors’ stance, therefore the European Comission is not responsible for the content of the above work.

Zespół Szkół Ogólnokształcących Nr 1 STO - Warszawa – Poland - 2016