2014 2015 Dutch-Basque Bilateral Comenius booklet by RAFA SANTXEZ MUXIKA

Projectbook ‘We need, we offer!’ Exchange Basque Country (AzkoitiaAzpeitia)/ The Netherlands (Landgraaf) 2014-2015 SECOND YEAR OF THE BILATERAL COMENIUS PROJECT

Juliët Chudy & Daan Pollaert CHARLEMAGNE COLLEGE LANDGRAAF – I.E.S. UROLA IKASTOLA AZKOITIA-AZPEITIA B.H.I.

Contents Preword ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Some assignments from Dutch students ................................................................................................ 3 The groups ............................................................................................................................................. 13 Matches ................................................................................................................................................. 16 Project work Basque.............................................................................................................................. 17 Hiztegia/dictionary/diccionario ............................................................................................................. 19 Day report.............................................................................................................................................. 22 Friday 9th January .............................................................................................................................. 23 Saturday 10th January ........................................................................................................................ 24 Sunday 11th January........................................................................................................................... 25 Monday 12th January ......................................................................................................................... 26 Tuesday 13th January ......................................................................................................................... 27 Liege .............................................................................................................................................. 28 Parkstad ......................................................................................................................................... 37 Ruhr ............................................................................................................................................... 46 Maastricht ..................................................................................................................................... 53 Wednesday 14th January ................................................................................................................... 61 Interview........................................................................................................................................ 62 Thursday 15th January ....................................................................................................................... 63 Friday 16th January ............................................................................................................................ 64 The questions that were asked in the European parliament. ....................................................... 65 Saturday 17th January ........................................................................................................................ 68 Sunday 18th January........................................................................................................................... 68 Monday 23th February ....................................................................................................................... 69 Tuesday 24th February ....................................................................................................................... 67 Wednesday 25th February ................................................................................................................. 72 Thursday 26th February ..................................................................................................................... 73 Friday 27th February .......................................................................................................................... 74 Saturday 28th February ...................................................................................................................... 75 Sunday 1st of March ........................................................................................................................... 76 Monday 2nd of March ........................................................................................................................ 77 Tuesday 3rd of March ......................................................................................................................... 78 Wednesday 4th of March ................................................................................................................... 79 The Final Word ...................................................................................................................................... 77

Preword Pfff, an assignment.. but, do you want to go to the Basque country? Then you have to make an assignment. Every one of the group had to write an assignment about the Basque culture, so you know a little about where you were going to and what you could expect. If the assignment was approved, then you had the permission to go. Finally, 16 students made a good assignment and with these 16 students we participated in the exchange, it was a fantastic group and we did a lot of unforgettable, nice things together. After the assignment we followed the “Basque-country-bandhours”, we came together with the whole group, they gave us information and we had to prepare a presentation for the Basque people about 4 regions. After two information evenings with the teachers and our parents, the “Basque Countrybandhours”, and the further regularly, we could pick up the Basque students at school. Unfortunately this doesn’t go as planned…. “Are they here yet?” No, they have had some delay.” “What do we have to do if they come in?!” “Hugs, kisses, give a hand?!” “Mister, when will they finally arrive?!” “About 18.00u, have some patience...” “Misteeeeer, we don’t want to wait anymore…” “AAAH, THERE IS THE BUS!!” And then, after almost an hour delay, our Basque guests came in. After giving a hug and saying hello, it was a little bit awkward, everyone stood there and the Basque students only spoke Basque, and the Dutch students only spoke Dutch. But okay, it was only the first meeting…. Of course, this atmosphere didn’t stick very long because the nice, spontaneous and active Dutch group did everything to make it unforgettable for the Basque students. I think this worked out very well and I believe that the Basque students had 10 unforgettable days here!

Some assignments from Dutch students:

2014-2015

Who are the Basques? Imke Helders Charlemagne College V4C 3

Geography of the Basque Country:

The Basque Country (Euskal Herria) is a region in northern Spain and southern France, that spans from the Bay of Biscay to the western foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. In France there live about 700.000 Basques and in Spain live about 2.7 million Basques. The people who live in Spain are divided over two autonomous regions: Basque Autonomous Community, which has Vitoria-Gasteiz as capital city and the region Navarra which has Pamplona as capital city. The climate of the Basque Country in the winter is cool with temperatures during the February nights falling to 1.4 degrees Celsius. During the day, temperatures reach a maximum of 10.5 degrees Celsius. Later, during May, temperatures in the Basque Country reach 18.7 degrees by day, falling over to 7.1 degrees Celsius by night. In August the temperature in the Basque Country is in the range of 12.5 and 25.7 degrees Celsius before the weather begins to cool down in November, when the maximum temperature is just about 12.1 degrees. The Basque Country has a landscape which includes mountains, rivers, forests and even desserts! Most of the mountains are at the western side of the Pyrenees. The highest mountain is the Hiru Errege Maila. The Ebro is the largest river that crosses the Basque Country. With a length of 910 kilometres, it flows along the southern border of the Basque Country, before it joins the Mediterranean sea in the east. The forest of Irati is the largest forest in country. The natural park of Barde is the largest desert of the Basque Country, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

located in the south east of Navarre.

History of the Basque Country: At the end of the 15th century, the Basque Country was an independent state. In 1876 the king of Spain, Alfons, conquered the country and forced them to speak the Castilian language and to take over the Spanish habits. After enjoying hundreds of years of autonomous rule, the Basques were now starting to lose aspects of their culture and identity. Because of this, Sabino Arana, who is considered to be the father of Basque nationalism, created the Basque National Party (PNV) and started a cultural rebirth. Everything that was considered Basque was celebrated. Arana also designed the Basque flag, called the Ikurrina, which is still in use throughout the Basque Country today. In 1959, a new chapter of Basque history began with the formation of ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which means: "Basque Homeland and Freedom"). 4

The group started off by just promoting the Basque culture, but later turned into a paramilitary group whose goal was: “having an independent Basque Country.” The ETA fought for independence for more than 50 years in what has been referred to as “Europe’s longest war.” The conflict caused the deaths of more than 1,000 people. Cultural and social aspects of the Basque Country: The Basque Country has some of the largest festivals in both France and Spain! There are an endless number of festivals throughout the Basque Country. The months of July and August are prime time. Just about every town and city has their own celebrations and festivals. These festivals are a time for the entire town or city to come together and celebrate their heritage and identity. Probably the most famous Basque fiesta is the fiesta of San Fermin, also known as the running of the bulls, in Pamplona. In the country side areas, most Basque households include the grandparents, as well as unmarried aunts or uncles. It is also not uncommon for cousins, even first cousins, to get married. In the cities, the family consisting of the parents with their children is the most common, sometimes they’re joined by a grandparent or an unmarried aunt. Families who can afford it may have a nanny. The Basques are well known for their excellent cuisine, which mostly involves seafood. Primary education for the Basques is, just as for Spanish children, free and required when you’re in the age between six and twelve years old. Secondary education is required for children aged twelve to sixteen. 23% of Basques students have an education partly Basque and partly Spanish. 50% of the students have an education in Basque with Spanish as a required language and 26% has an education in Spanish with Basque as required language. About one-third of the students in Spain are educated at private schools, many of those are ran by the Catholic Church. Leisure activities in the Basque Country: Just like (almost) everyone else in Spain, the Basques spent most of their leisure hours with friends in tapas bars. The national sport is pelote. It’s a game like handball or squash. The game has been played for centuries in an outdoor court. Another sport popular among the Basques is rowing. Almost every fishing village has a thirteen-member rowing team, and most of them attend the annual rowing championship in San Sebastián. Basque folk music is sung and played on traditional instruments, like the txistu, a three-holed flute, and the bagpipe-like dultzaina . Many villages have folk-dance groups that perform regularly. Two special dances are the Bolant Dantza (flying dance) and La Espata Dantza (sword dance).

My mental picture of the Basques at this stage: My mental picture of the Basques at this stage is, that I think that the Basques are very different than we are. They’ve different traditions and habits and also the social aspects are not exactly like ours: most of our households don’t include grandparents, which is the case in the Basque Country and for us it’s very uncommon to marry one of your cousins and the Basques are only required to go to school when you’re in the age of 6 and 14 and here in The Netherlands you’re required to go to school when you’re in the age of 5 and 18. The Basques have a rough past of fighting for their freedom and independence and I’m very curious about how these things are still visible in the country nowadays.

Who are the Basques?

Name: Wing Lohng Lam Class: V4B 7

Introduction

       

Short History overview Geography Some cultural aspects Social aspects Politics Leisure activities (sports, hobby’s, etc.) My mental picture of the Basques My expectations

History overview There are a few theories going on around the history of the Basque people. For example one of them is that they are originally habitants in south-west-Europe, even before the Celts went from the central of Europe to the west side of Europe and formed a dominant culture there. Another theory is that the Basque people are descendants of the Cro-Magnons (our ancestors), but this theory has never been proved. The Basque history as more people know starts at 100 B.C when the Basques defended themselves against the Romans, some say that their strive to be autonome comes from that time, in the period of 3 till 5 hundred A.D most of the Basque people became Christians. Around the sixth century they were attacked by the Visigoths (an east-Germanic nation) but the Basques have defended themselves from them . in the period after that they went north bound and established in the Pyrenees. In the middle ages the Basques were an autonome state, Biskaje(a state of the Basques) was vacant in the period from 1093 till 1370. At the end of the fifteenth century the Spain kingdom arose, even though there was a new kingdom the Basques kept their own laws, governance and most important their culture. At the time of 1876 the king Koning Alfons XII forced them to learn their language and customs.

Geography The place that the people call Basque country is actually bigger than they think that causes for some people a confusion. The historical, cultural and ethnic Basque country is much more than just the autonome place called Basque country, the places near Basque country just like Navarra and French Basque country has the same culture and holds the same ethnic things as the autonome state. Basque country adjacents to the south of France and the north of Spain. Basque country lies underneath the Atlantic Ocean. The weather in Basque country is different from what people actually expect, the summers are actually not that hot and the winters are not that cold. It rains every month there for about 14 to 15 days a month. Basque country has really beautiful landscapes, mountains and fields, and also some cities and small villages, Basque country also has a beautiful coastline to walk on.

Cultural aspects Their language (the Basque language) is different from all languages even language scientists cannot place the Basque language with other languages in one group. the Spanish language had a really big influence on the Basque language ( and also the other way around), the Basque language has now some Spanish words in their language. For the Basque people their language is as important as the Spanish one. The Basque people are for the most part Christians before their nation turned Christian, they had their own religion/believe called “Basque mythology”. The Basque people use a lot of symbols just like their flag (called “Ikurriña”) and a symbol called Lauburu it looks like a swastika and it symbolises live ( if the Lauburu is turned around it symbolises death). Many people in Basque country use symbols even the politicians use some symbols like Lauburu and Arrano beltza ( it looks like an eagle).

Social aspects Delicious food and beverages are the things that a Basque keeps in mind every day, in the cities and villages there is no difference, there are many restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and bistroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the cities and villages. The people are for the most part welcoming and good-natured . the Basque people cook for themselves and put a lot of effort in it. There are also a few (food)markets where you can purchase typical Basque food such as Pimiento Chonicero (a bell pepper).

Politics The Basque country strives to become autonome (it still belongs to Spain). They try to do that in a political and nonviolent way, Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea (EAJ) is the biggest faction in the Autonome Basque country, in Navarra their faction is less supported, the EAJ gets the most support from the people who speak the Basque language. In the French part of Basque country they are also al lot smaller and operate with other factions such as Abertzaleen Batasuna (AB). Batasuna is another faction that strives for an independent and autonome Basque country, the faction was forbidden since 2003 because the faction has contact with the ETA (a radical group of sparatistical people who strive for independence). Even though they were forbidden Batasuna still give publical readings and strikes, Batasuna encourages people to vote on other factions that strive for independence .

Leisure activities There are four popular sports in Basque country one of them is their national sport called Pelota, it looks something like our “Friese kaatsen”, everywhere in Basque country you have a wall to play Pelota on.

Another popular sport is football(soccer) Basque country has two really big soccer teams, Atletico Bilbao and Real Sociedad. The other two popular sports of Basque country are Rugby and cycle racing. Clásica San Sebastián is one of the big races of Basque country.

My mental picture I really hope that I get in touch with a different culture I have read not much about them yet so it is a big surprise for me, I have to say after writing this essay I got a whole lot wiser about their status, their strive for independence and most important their culture. I think that they are different than us (not in a bad way), because Spain and France (even though they want an independent or confederate state) has a big influence on Basque Country.

My expectations I have just one wish/expectation and basically what it is, is that we all get to know another country/state/culture better so we understand the things around them a bit more, I think that this will be an beautiful and educative way to get in touch with other cultures and I hope that the group leaders will help the people who are chosen for this project at their best to prepare them for the exchange.

The groups I think it’s nice to ‘meet’ the Basque group and the Dutch group before you read further: The Basque group:

MIREN CASTAÑO NUÑEZ

XUBAN ZABALETA HERRARTE

NAGORE AIZPITARTE GARCIA

MARIA BEOBIDE

MIREN GOENAGA ERRAZQUIN

NAROA MARTINEZ CRESPO

UNAI RODRIGUEZ RODRIGUEZ

ANE GURRUCHAGA OYARZABAL

ANE ODRIOZOLA FERNANDEZ

NAIARA VALDES TENA

ANNE LAPEIRA MENDIZABAL

OIHANE AIZPURUA OLABARRIA

OLATZ ERKIZIA SUINAGA

EIDER GALARRAGA BASTIDA

EIDER GARATE TENA

IRATI ETXANIZ

The Dutch group:

Saf Alberts

Janou Beaujean

JuliĂŤt Chudy

Tom Debets

Jorn Dekker

Glenn Erkens

Adriaan de Feiter

Amy Hanssen

Maud Hanssen

Tom Heckmans

Imke Helders

Wing-Lohng Lam

Ceriel Pelzer

Daan Pollaert

Roos Theunissen

Vivian Tillmanns

Matches: Below I mention the matches: Basken / Basque

Nederlanders / Dutch

Miren Castaño Nuñez

Janou Beaujean

Xuban Zabaleta Herrarte

Daan Pollaert

Miren Goenaga Errazquin

Saf Alberts

Unai Rodriguez Rodriguez

Tom Debets

Ane Odriozola Fernandez

Amy Hanssen

Nagore Aizpitarte Garcia

Maud Hanssen

Maria Beobide

Wing-Lohng Lam

Naroa Martinez Crespo

Juliët Chudy

Ane Gurruchaga Oyarzabal

Jorn Dekker

Naiara Valdes Tena

Imke Helders

Anne Lapeira Mendizabal

Roos Theunissen

Oihane Aizpurua Olabarria

Adriaan de Feiter

Eider Garate Tena

Vivian Tillmanns

Olatz Erkizia Suinaga

Glenn Erkens

Irati Etxaniz

Tom Heckmans

Eider Galarraga Bastida

Ceriel Pelzer

Project work Basque: LIMBURGISH AND BASQUE IN BAD TIMES: “WE NEED, WE OFFER” Teachers and students from a Dutch school in Limburg (bordering Germany, Belgian Flemish Limburg and French speaking Wallonia) and a Basque school (north of Spain and south of the Aquitaine region in France) will cooperate to create material which portray their Euro regions and list their liabilities and assets in a time of social, economic and political upheaval. 4 regions from the Euregion were divided over 4 groups of 4 students: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Maastricht and neighbourhood Ruhr Liege and neighbourhood Parkstad

The next 4 themes are processed in each PowerPoint presentation:  Employment  Culture  Infrastructure  Tourism Distribution activities: Group Maastricht:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Tom Debets Adriaan de Feiter Saf Alberts Daan Pollaert

Group Ruhrgebied: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Jorn Dekker Wing-Lohng Lam Ceriel Pelzer Amy Hanssen

Group Liege:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Tom Heckmans Juliëtte Chudy Vivian Tillmanns Imke Helders

Groep Parkstad: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Roos Theunissen Glenn Erkens Maud Hanssen Janou Beaujeaun

Camera-work Landgraaf: 1. Jorn Dekker 2. Ceriel Pelzer

Camera-work Basque: 1. Tom Debets 2. Imke Helders Diary with pictures in the Basque country (Dutch): 1. 2. 3. 4.

Vivian Tillmanns Roos Theunissen Janou Beaujean Glenn Erkens

Interview Alderman Landgraaf (English): 1. Adriaan de Feiter 2. Amy Hanssen Interview Jeroen Lenaers, Europian Parliament Brussels (English): 1. Saf Alberts 2. Wing-Lohng Lam PowerPoint result project: 1. Tom Heckmans 2. Maud Hanssen Projectbook: 1. JuliĂŤt Chudy 2. Daan Pollaert

Hiztegia/dictionary/diccionario Sarritan erabiltzen diren esamolde eta hitz batzuk aipatuko ditugu segidan. Hitz hauek ingelesez, gaztelaniaz, euskaraz eta nederlanderaz idatziko ditugu. We are going to say some everyday usual words and common expressions. We will write them in English, Spanish Basque and Dutch. Vamos a citar algunas de las expresiones y palabras de uso cotidiano. Las escribiremos en inglés, español, vasco y holandés. English Hello Goodbye Yes No Good morning Good night Thank you Please You are welcome Promenade Post office Way in Town hall Cinema Wine Beer White coffee Milk Black coffee Cider Tea Water Chemist Office Church Ladies Men Square Avenue No smoking Breakfast Beach

Castellano or Español Hola Adiós Sí No Buenos días Buenas noches Gracias Por favor De nada Paseo Correos Entrada Ayuntamiento Cine Vino Cerveza Café con leche Leche Café solo Sidra Té Agua Farmacia Oficina Iglesia Senoras Hombres Plaza Avenida No fumar Desayuno Playa

Euskara

Dutch

Kaixo Agur Bai Ez Egun on Gabon Eskerrik asko Mesedez Ez horregatik Pasealekua Posta bulegoa Sarrera Udaletxea Zinema Ardoa Garagardoa Kafesnea Esnea Kafe hutsa Sagardoa tea Ura Botika Bulegoa Eliza Emakumeak Gizonak Enparantza Etorbidea Ez erre Gosaria Hondartza

Hallo Goede dag Ja Nee Goede morgen Goede avond Dank u wel Alstublieft Graag gedaan Promenade Postkantoor Ingang Gemeentehuis Bioskoop Wijn Bier Koffie met melk Melk Zwarte koffie Cider thee Water Apotheek Kantoor Kerk Dames Mannen Plein Straat Verboden te roken Ontbijt Strand 19

Opened Closed Exit Restaurant Port Street Look out! Toilet Book shop Library Hospital Excuse me I We You (sing. Formal) You (sing. Familiar) You (plural) They How are you? What’s your name? Nice to meet you

Abierto Cerrado Salida Restaurante Puerto Calle Cuidado! Vater / Servicio Librería Biblioteka Hospital Perdóneme Yo Nosotros/as Usted (formal) Tú

Irekita Itxita Irteera Jatetxea Kaia Kalea Kontuz! Komuna Liburu denda Liburutegia Ospitalea Barkatu Ni Gu Zu

Geopend Gesloten Uitgang Restaurant Poort Straat Kijk uit Toilet Boeken winkel Bibliotheek Ziekenhuis Excuser me Ik Wij Je

Vosotros/as

Zuek

Jullie

Ellos/as ¿Qué tal estás? ¿Cómo te llamas? Encantado/ a de conocerte

Zij Hoe maakt u het Hoe heet u(jij) Aangenaam

I don’t understand Good Bad Wife Husband Daughter Son Mother Father Friend Home/house See you tomorrow See you later Dinner Car park Lunch Basque farmstead New Hut Stream

No lo entiendo Bueno Malo Esposa Esposo Hija Hijo Madre Padre Amigo/a Casa Hasta manana Hasta luego Cena Aparcamiento Comida Caserio Nuevo Cabaña Arroyo

Haiek Zer moduz zaude? Nola izena duzu? Pozten nau zu ezagutzeak / Urte askotarako Ez dut ulertzen Ona Txarra Emaztea Senarra Alaba Semea Ama Aita Laguna Etxea Bihar arte Gero arte Afaria Aparkalekua Bazkaria Baserria Berria Borda / Txabola Erreka

Ik versta u niet Goed Slecht Vrouw Man Dochter Zoon Moeder Vader Vriend Huis Tot morgen Daag Diner Parkeerplaats Warm eten Boerderij Nieuw Stal Stroom 20

Small town River Fountain Mountain Beech tree Wide Old Bridge Watch Sandwich Yellow Blue Green Black White Red I love you I hate you

Pueblo Rio Fuente Monte Haya Amplioa / Ancho Viejo Puente Reloj Bocadillo Amarillo Azul Verde Negro Blanco Rojo Te quiero Te odio

Herria Ibaia Iturria Mendia Pagoa Zabala Zaharra Zubia Ordularia / Erlojua Otartekoa Horia Urdina Berdea Beltza Txuria Gorria Maite zaitut Gorroto zaitut

Dorp Rivier Fontijn Berg Boom Wijd Oud Brug Horologe Boterham Geel Blauw Groen Zwart Wit Rood Ik houd van je Ik haat je

How old are you? ¿Cuántos años tienes? Zenbat urte dituzu? Hoe oud ben jij? What would you like to eat? ¿Qué quieres para comer? Zer nahi duzu jateko? Wat wil jet e eten? What time is it? ¿Qué hora es? Zer ordu da? Hoe laat is het? Where is the toilet? ¿Dónde está el servicio? Non dago komuna? Waar is de wc? What is on TV? ¿Qué ponen en la television? Zer dago telebistan? Wat is er op TV

Day report First I’ll tell you about the time the Basque students were in the Netherlands and after that I’ll tell you about the time we went to the Basque country. You’ll read below, day by day, everything we did and the presentations we made. (first I’ll give you a little impression with some pictures….)

Friday 9th January Calendar

Morning/Afternoon

Evening

13.45: Departure to Brussels by bus

17.15: Meet and greet at Location Eijkhagen by host families

Friday 9th January: Mrs. van Buren will meet and greet our guests at Brussels Airport (Zaventem). Departure bus from school at 13.45

15.20: Arrival plane at Brussels Airport

Basque teachers:

Flight number: SN3714

MIKEL ALBERDI IRIZAR IGOR ANDRES OLAIZOLA

The first day, I think the most excited day of them all! We would see the Basque students for the first time. At 17.15u we had to be at school to meet the Basque students. All of the Dutch students were on time, but the Basque students weren’t… We waited a very long time at school and finally at about 18.00 o’clock the Basque students arrived! In the beginning, it was a little bit awkward because we didn’t know what to say or what to do and they only spoke Basque with each other and we only spoke Dutch. Finally everyone went to their own house and the Basques met our parents. In the evening we went to the “Kingdom Club” in Kerkrade to have a party with the group. It was a very nice evening and I think everyone had a lot of fun!

Saturday 10th January Saturday 10th January:

Family day

Host family

Basque teachers: MIKEL ALBERDI IRIZAR IGOR ANDRES OLAIZOLA

Family day, everyone did something else. In the evening most of the group went out laser gaming in Kerkrade.

Sunday 11th January Sunday 11th January:

Family day

Host family

Basque teachers: MIKEL ALBERDI IRIZAR IGOR ANDRES OLAIZOLA

Also family day. In the afternoon we went ice-skating with the whole group, we took a lot of selfies and had, again, a lot of fun! In the evening we went to “Snowworld” in Landgraaf and we drunk something with the group, we made a lot of noise and we rebuilt the Café from “Snowworld” but it was very nice.

Monday 12th January Monday 12th January: Mrs. van Buren (8.30-11.30) and Mrs. Bergsma (10.00-16.00) are in charge Classroom 255 (8.30-10.00)

Dutch students involved in this trip:  Saf Alberts  Janou Beaujean  Jorn Dekker  Glenn Erkens  Maud Hanssen  Tom Heckmans  Imke Helders  Wing Lohng Lam  Roos Theunissen

Basque teachers: MIKEL ALBERDI IRIZAR IGOR ANDRES OLAIZOLA

8.30: Headteacher Mr. van Eyk welcomes the Basque teachers and students • Introduction of the project and walk around the school by Mrs. van Buren

Host family Students bring their own packed lunch!

10.00: Departure to Eurode Business Center and the city of Aachen 10.30: Visit of Eurode Business Center 12.00: Visit of Elisenbrunnen, Dom and Rathaus 13.30: Free time 15.15: Departure back to school 16.00: Arrival at school

On Monday the students had to be at school at the same time as us (08.30u) They walked through the school, went to the Eurode Business Center and to the city of Aachen. Some Dutch students went with them: Saf, Janou, Jorn, Glenn, Maud, Tom, Imke, Wing Lohng and Roos.

Tuesday 13th January Tuesday 13th January: Mrs. van Buren (8.30-12.00), Mr. Ketzer (8.30-16.15) and Mrs. Louvenberg (12.30-16.15) are in charge Classroom 212 (8.30-12.00)

From 8.30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12.00: All Dutch students are involved

8.30: Project work and presentation by Mr. Eussen Director RCE Rhine-Meuse / United Nations University

Host family Students bring their own packed lunch!

12.30: Departure to Fluweelengrot Valkenburg (special caves and castle ruin) 13.30: Guided tour around the caves 14.30: free time

Basque teachers: MIKEL ALBERDI IRIZAR IGOR ANDRES OLAIZOLA

15.30: Departure back to school 16.15: Arrival at school

On Tuesday the we had to give our presentations for the Basque students about some regions in our neighbourhood. Below you can read text in the presentations.

Liege Presentation

Liege is the capital city of the Belgium province Liege. With 190.000 residents is Liege the fourth largest town from Belgium. Because Liege mid-20th century the centre of mine industry and steel industry was, grew the city out till a rich area. Nowadays are the mine industry and steel industry barely important, with as result the economic problems. You see the economic problems back in the streets, but the culture has still the over poise. Tourism In Liege has the air pollution the over poise, as result of the blasts and the carbon emissions from cars is Liege a very polluted city. If you drive through Liege, you first think it’s a city in decline with little houses, dirty from the smoke and poor suburbs. But the tourists know the contrary, there’s also another Liege: The centre knows nice streets with terraces, a bubbly night live with nice cafes, a huge shopping centre with car free streets and old buildings. Some nice attractions are: - The 373 steps from Montagne de Bueren - The Palace of Justice - La Batte La Batte is the oldest market of Liege, lying along the Maas. This Market already exists from the 16th century, at that time they all sell fruit, vegetables and animals. Now it’s a very wide oriented market where especially Italians sell their stuff, reason: Much Italians are after the second world war immigrated to work in the mines in Liege. Infrastructure The first railway station of Liège-Guillemins was inaugurated in May 1842. The first international railway connection was born, linking Liège to Aachen and Cologne. The BeauxArts station was replaced in 1958 by a modern International style building that was used until June 2009, a few months before the opening of the new Calatrava-designed station. The new station by the architect Santiago Calatrava was officially opened on 18th September 2009. It has 9 tracks and 5 platforms. All the tracks around the station have been modernized to allow high speed arrival and departure. Liège-Guillemins station is served by InterCity- and InterRegio trains, connecting Liège with all major Belgian cities, as well as several international destinations such as Aachen, Lille, and Maastricht. In addition to the national traffic, Liège-Guillemins station welcomes Thalys and ICE trains, connecting Liège to Brussels, Paris, Aachen, Cologne, and Frankfurt. An example of a highway to Liege is the A2 in Maastricht. On the moment this is a very special highway. They are rebuilding this part of the A2. Is going to be a tunnel underground Maastricht. On top off it will most of the time green. This highway will make the time to travel from The Netherlands to Liege shorter. Another way to travel with your car to Liege is trough Antwerp or Brussel. When you arrive in Liege, never drive through the centre of Liege! Because the streets are very small and they cause a lot of traffic jams. Liège Airport, also called Liège-Bierset, is an important cargo airport in Belgium. At the end of 2011, it was the 7th biggest cargo airport in Europe. Liège airport is the biggest cargo 35

airport in Belgium and the third biggest for passengers after Brussels Airport and Brussels South Charleroi Airport. The international flights off this airport are mostly cargo. The passenger flight are mostly to small cities. The largest inland port in Belgium and the third leading one in Europe, ideally located at the hub of a closely linked network of multimodal communications, the Port of Liege oversees 32 port areas. The Liege Port Authority is currently developing Liege Trilogiport, a 100 hectares multimodal platform along the Albert Canal, 15h sailing time from the Port of Antwerp and 24h from the Port of Rotterdam. These various projects have enabled the Liege Port Authority to become a key player in the economic restructuring process of the Liege region. Employment The Local Agency for employment, helps you find jobs which can exclusively be performed in the territory of the city of Liege and it motivates the unemployed people to find a job. Financially, there is a sign of some upturn in the past recent years. After a period in which the debts piled up due to the economic crisis and the financial mismanagement. Economical aspects: Gemiddeld inkomen (average income): 13.633 euro/inw. (2011) Werkloosheidsgraad (unemployment rate): 26,27% (Jan. 2009) One of the largest employment providers is the cities very own airport. In Belgium it is the largest airport for cargo and third largest passenger airport after Brussels Airport and Brussels South Charleroi Airport. The number of directly employed people is currently 2,778 persons (1,630 full time and 1,148 part time), spread over 76 companies. Culture Liege is the cultural centre of Wallonia, and has a lot of museums like:  “Le Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain” (modern art museum)  Archeo forum, where you can see the emerge and flourishing of the city based on 9000 years of history, they built it in a special place, the fundaments of the former Cathedral of Liege.  The museum of “Waalse leven”? it is dedicated to folk art and folklore of the Wallonian Land. Steps of Buere:  It’s in the north of Liege  It was a mountain but they made a stair  374 steps, but in Snowworld 508 St Pauls Cathedral: 

First the St. Lamberts Cathedral was “hoogste rang”, but the St. Lamberts was destroyed systematically, so they ‘upgraded’ the St. Paul’s Cathedral (was elevated in rank) and is still the Cathedral of Liege. 36

Parkstad Presentation

Parkstad Tourism Pinkpop Every year, in summer, there's a big festival called Pinkpop in Landgraaf. It's the oldest festival in open air and it always takes place at Megaland. During this popular festival, famous artists and bands (also international) perform here. Especially the last couple of years, there have been very big and famous artists performing, like for example: Bruce Springsteen, U2, Metallica. Mondo Verde Mondo Verde is exclaimed as the greenest park of the Netherlands. Mondo Verde shows you many different parts of the world. In Dutch those parts are called "world yards". There are many different gardens and every garden presents a country from all over the world. In Mondo Verde, you can make a whole journey around the world in just a few hours, in Landgraaf. Snowworld Snowworld contents world longest ski slopes, situated in Landgraaf. Snowworld is built on a mass of coals and you can ski and snowboard here the entire year, so also in the middle of June during summer holidays. Except for skiing and snowboarding you can also enjoy the view from inside the restaurant or finish off your day with an après-ski in the “Tiroler Stube”. Thermen museum We also want to tell you something about the trips you can make in other parts of Parkstad, like for example Heerlen. In Heerlen, the Thermen museum is situated. It's a museum where you can take a look at the remains of a Roman bathhouses, but also at archaeological Roman objects. You can take a look at how the bathhouses looked for like 2000 years ago and you can visit the exposition about these subjects. Castle of Hoensbroek In Hoensbroek, there's a castle placed. It's one of the most beautiful and biggest castles of the Netherlands. The oldest part of this castle dates from 1250. When you visit this castle you can walk through the ballroom, you can climb up to the top of the castle tower and you can search for the "secret" room. You can visit this castle on your own or with a group, but you can also organize a children's party or have a walk around the castle. Parkstad Limburg Stadion The Parkstad Limburg Stadion is a soccer stadium, placed in Kerkrade , which has been opened in 2000. In the stadium there are 19.200 covered seats, 2500 business seats and 24 skyboxes. The stadium is mainly known as the home ground of Roda JC Kerkrade, but is also used as a location for concerts.

Brunssummerheide, Brunssum If you want to enjoy the nature, the best place to go in Parkstad is in the Brunssummerheide in Brunssum. This is the place to find many different kinds of flowers and plants, but also animals. In the Brunssummerheide you will also find a small creek, de Rode Beek. Kinderstad Kinderstad Heerlen is the biggest indoor playground of the Benelux (which means the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg). This playground consists of a water coaster, a bouncing castle, a climbing frame or monkey bars and many other attractions. Culture Limburg is the only province in the Netherlands where there have been coal mines. From 1910, the mining industry developed, which caused that the cities like Heerlen and Kerkrade grew very fast. Something that really distinguishes Limburg from the rest of the Netherlands is our language. At school we all speak Dutch and we get all our classes in Dutch, but at home, many of us speak "Limburgish". In 1997, the government acceded "Limburgish" as a regional language and it sounds like a mix of Dutch and German. Limburgish is spoken in different parts of Limburg and in every part, some words can be pronounced very different. Something else that distinguishes Limburg from the other province is called carnival. Carnival is always celebrated 7 weeks before Easter Sunday and it officially endures from Sunday until Tuesday. In Limburg, carnival is celebrated very big in comparison to other places in the Netherlands. People, wearing costumes, watch the parade and party after that. No other province in the Netherlands knows so many Catholics, as Limburg does. In the rest of the Netherlands, there are much more Atheists and Protestants. Already since the Roman period, Limburg is Catholic. Infrastructure Parkstad Limburg is located in the middle of the Euregio Maas-Rijn, an area with almost 4 million citizens. Towns like Luik, Aachen, Maastricht and Hasselt are located in the immediate vicinity, that means that when you drive it with the car, you will be there in half an hour, while Keulen, Brussel and Eindhoven are located about one hours. The road The national and international roads to and from Parkstad are good. Province, region and municipality work hard to create an inner and outer ring road, so that the complete Euregion is connected with each other. With this Parkstad will have an opening to a wide region of over more then 200 000 citizens. By train Parkstad is connected to the Dutch network of InterCityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Parkstad is committed to realize a good rail connection over the boarder especially to Aachen. That guarantees to a fast connection to the Europeans network of high speed trains.

In the Regional Traffic and Transport plan (RTTP) are mentioned all the projects and plans for the infrastructure in a row with more background information. The outer ring road Along with the N281 is the outer ring road after construction the complete ring road around the urban area of Parkstad. Completion of the road is provided by 2018. The Construction of the outer ring road will lead to a significant improvement of the connections to the national and interregional connecting roads. This is beneficial for the accessibility of Parkstad and road safety in the region. The outer ring road will be a provincial road. The Province Limburg is the responsible authority for the plan preparation and the implementation. Parkstad Limburg performs for the eight Parkstad municipalities the legal rules. They request the subsidies at the Province of Limburg. Each year there are around ten projects implemented by the municipalities, with a total amount approx â&#x201A;Ź 1 million Euros. With these subsidies municipalities realize various projects; from the construction of cycle paths and roundabouts to provide access to more than 300 bus stops for disabled people. Employment One of the main employments of Parkstad used to be the work in the mines. Almost everyone worked with the mines. But after a while the mines were being closed and many people in Parkstad lost their job and there werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t any other jobs so most of the young people left Parkstad and went to the cities with more jobs. This caused that there were many older people left here. And that is how we got some new jobs: The healthcare for the older people, many old people! They want to be back on the map. But not only that, Parkstad also wants to get more smarter people back. And for that reason they are also trying to build some universities (which also creates many jobs)!

Ruhr Area Presentation

Ruhr area Tourism After the heavy industry and the closure of coal mines remained a landscape full of huge scars: empty factories, heaps and pits. Garbage that in recent years transformed into special landscape art, cultural centers, and the Route of cultural plants. If you follow this route, you can discover that the Ruhr area isn't a gray, smoky industrial area, but a surprisingly green city landscape where is much to explore. Coal area derby Is a derby with Dortmund and Schalke, those cities lay in the Ruhr area and the derby is called coal area derby because of the past coalmines. The capacity of this contest lays between 60.000 and 80.000. It depends on witch stadion. Dortmund stands 17th at the moment and Schalke 04 stands 5th. They had every reason to tear down all plants in the 80’s when the last miners closed the gates behind them, but it was a good thing that the bombardment was spared. Because the region that once was the largest industrial landscape of Europe and therefore an unattractive destination, has been given a new opportunity, that they grabbed with both hands. Many old factories, gas holders and factory ovens were renovated in recent years to museums, theatres, concert halls and restaurants. At the moment you can walk, cycle and ride the 500 and up to 700 km route. In one of the huge gas tanks, you can even learn to dive in the largest dive tank of Europe, only accessible through many stairs along the outer wall of the gas tank. As a reward for all the courage and strength in the past decade, Ruhr-areas new style is rewarded with the name cultural capital of 2010. All 53 cities and towns in the region, with more than five million people saw the beautiful transformation from industrial to culture. In the Metropolis Ruhr are excellent museums located in former industrial buildings. The Küppersmühle Museum exhibits modern art in Duisburg and the Dortmunder U exhibits the Ostwall in Dortmund. Works of classical and modern art can be admired between Hamm and Duisburg. Industrial Terrain First it was an industrial terrain but now a days it’s a recreation centre. Since the middle ages there were the most mines, later there were steel factories, engineering and electronics. Because of all the factories there was a lot of work to do, so many people could work there. After World War 2 the most earnings came out of the industrial terrain. Now most of the factories are closed and it’s very good for tourism. It became a recreation centre en there are lot of things to do, as example Legoland discovery centre and sea life. Instead of tearing everything down, you can do things like this there, sports and museums. Duisburg, Essen, Bochum, Dortmund, Oberhausen are ‘The important 5’, most important places in the industrial terrain. Also there are a lot of polder areas and most parts are wood. Since 1977 it is a conservation.

Industrial development The Ruhr was used as Industrial plant from the 19th century on. Before then the Ruhr was just a kind of country side. The development of the steam engine was a big step forward because it made possible that the people could mine huge amounts of Coal. The Ruhr was attractive for the steel industry because of the high amount of iron ore in the nearby regions. The opening of a Railroad from Paris to Berlin made cheap and fast transportation of the coal and the iron ore possible. Because of the expanding industries in and around the Ruhr other Industries were attracted that would process the iron ore or the coal, such as a chemical business, heavy duty machine factories and car factories (a well-known factory is the one from Alfred Krupp, his factory made rails and locomotives, they also made heavy weapons and artillery). First and Second World War: In 1923 the Ruhr was occupied by Belgium and France troops, because of a reparation they had to pay (because of the treaty of Versailles). Because of the occupation there were massive strikes, in 1924 all the troops left. During the Second World War the Ruhr was the industrial heart of Germany, that’s why the Ruhr was bombed that much. In 1945 American and British soldiers surrounded the Ruhr and took place after a large scale fight (the industry was completely destroyed). After the Second World War the Ruhr was built up quickly. During the “economical wonder” (Wirtschaftswunder) the heavy industries rose from the ground up and they produced in a hypermodern way. In 1957/1958 was a coal crisis, the mine owners made the prices for coal more expensive, therefor made the federal government the prices of American coal and oil cheaper.

Ruhrgebied-Cultural capital city 2010 At the Ruhrgebied most people think to heavy industry and coal. In recent years has the region however undergo a major transformation and is these transformation from a grey industrial area to a modern and hip cultural metropolis. In 2010 is Essen and the hole Ruhrgebied metropolis for that proclaimed to Cultural capital city 2010 from Europe. In the Ruhrgebied is today a lot of culture to find , but also scenery and different recreation opportunities. There are spacious 200 museums, several malls, nice fun parks and a large network of cycle paths.

Infrastructure The Ruhrgebied lies in the West off Germany in the state Nordrhein-Westfalen and is from Utrecht in approximately one and a half hour by car to achieve . In the hole region live such a 5,7 million people in 11 big cities and 42 smaller municipalities. The area from spacious 4400 square kilometres is surrounded by rivers. The river the Ruhr flows in the South , the Rijn in the West and in the North lays the Lippe.

Cities and themes The Ruhrgebied is in 2010 divided in five called visitors portals. Each portal has a Central city with a one theme. So is Bochum the festival- and theatre city, Dortmund the creative city, the port city Duisburg is 'Kulturhafen', Essen artistry and Oberhausen specially popular and spectacular. Many factories blast furnaces and shaft. The cities have been converted to cultural and tourist attractions and are definitely worth a visit during the year. Environmental sticker in German city centres: In more and more German city centres, including those of the Ruhr 2010 cities, are banned polluted cars. These city centres (Umweltzone) are only accessible with an environmental sticker. NB: these regulation also applies to foreign tourists. The environmental sticker (Umweltplaketten) are among others to buy at the ANWB.

Maastricht Presentation

Maastricht Maastricht is the capital of Limburg, the most southern province of the Netherlands. Many say it’s the most beautiful historian city of the Netherlands, not only people in the Netherlands think it is because Maastricht was nominated to be Cultural Capital of Europe. The name is derived from Latin, Mosae Trajectum, meaning Crossing at the Meuse, which is referring to the bridge built by de Roman Empire. Maastricht University Maastricht University is a public university in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Founded in 1976, the university is the second youngest of the 13 Dutch universities. The university’s arts, humanities and social sciences faculties are located in Maastricht’s city centre, west of the river Meuse. Most of the university’s inner city properties have official monumental status. Maastricht University (UM), the most international university in the Netherlands, stands out for its innovative approach to learning and international outlook. With almost 16,000 students and 4,000 staff, UM offers a wide choice of academic programs, all of which are designed to bring out the best in its students. UM can easily call itself the most international university in the Netherlands, almost 45% of our students and more than 30% of our teaching staff come from abroad. Most of our programs are taught in English and European and international themes are deeply rooted in research and education. That creates an international atmosphere that's attractive to Dutch as well as international students and employees. Tourism Maastricht is known in the Netherlands and beyond for its lively squares, narrow streets, and historical buildings. The city has 1677 ‘rijksmonumenten’ (national heritage sites), more than any Dutch city, outside Amsterdam. The entire city centre is a protected city scape ("beschermd stadsgezicht"). The tourist information office (VVV) is located in the Dinghuis, a medieval building overlooking Grote Staat. Maastricht annually attracts over 3 million visitors. Maastricht's main sights include: Meuse river, with several parks and promenades along the river; inner-city district with pedestrianized shopping streets including Grote and Kleine Staat; Onze Lieve Vrouweplein, a picturesque tree-lined square with an abundance of pavement cafes; Markt, the town's market square, completely refurbished in 2006-07 and now virtually traffic free. Bonnefanten Museum is the foremost museum for old masters and contemporary fine art in the province of Limburg. The collection features medieval sculpture, early Italian painting, Southern Netherlandish painting and contemporary art. History of Maastricht Roman Times Maastricht is possibly the oldest city in the Netherlands, the only reason people say it’s not the oldest city is because Maastricht never received Roman city rights, and Nijmegen did, however according to archeological finds, Maastricht can claim be have been an uninterrupted habitation since Roman times and Nijmegen doesn’t. It’s not known when exactly the Romans arrived in Maastricht, or if they even founded the settlement, but it is known that the Romans were the first to build a bridge there. This bridge was an important bridge that connected the main road between Bavay and Cologne (2 Roman City’s).

Middle Ages In the early Middle Ages Maastricht was along with Aachen and the area around Liège part of the heartland of the Carolingian Empire (an empire controlled by the Franks), in this period of time Maastricht was an important centre for trade and manufacturing, the Merovigian coins minted in Maastricht have been found in many places through Europe. In the 10th century Maastricht briefly became the capital of the duchy of Lower Lorraine. During the 12th century Maastricht was flourished culturally. The provosts of the church of Saint Servatius held important positions in the Holy Roman Empire during this era. During this era the poet Henric van Veldeke wrote a legend of Saint Servatius, one of the earliest works in Dutch literature. 16th to 19th centuries The important strategic location of Maastricht resulted in the construction of an impressive array of fortifications around the city during this period the Spanish and Dutch Garrisons became an important factor in the city’s economy. In 1579 the city was conquered by the Spanish army under General Alexander Farnese, this battle was later called Siege of Maastricht 1579, for 50 years the Spanish took over the role of duke of Brabant and the joint sovereignty of Maastricht. In 1632 Maastricht was conquered by Frederick Henry and the Dutch States General, who replaced the Spanish in the joint government of Maastricht. Later in 1673 another Siege took place during the Franco-Dutch War, in June 1673 Louis XIV laid siege to the city because the French battle supple lines were being threatened. During this siege Vauban the famous French military engineer developed a new strategy in order to break down the strong fortifications surrounding Maastricht. This new strategy became the standard method of attacking fortresses until the 20th century. The French occupied. Maastricht from 1673 until 1678. In 1748 the French occupied Maastricht ones again, in what is known as the Second French Siege of Maastricht during the War of Austrian Succession. The French took the city one last time in 1794, after the French took Maastricht for the last time, Maastricht became capital of the French département of MeuseInférieuere. After the Napoleonic era, Maastricht became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. Maastricht became capital of the newly formed province of Limburg. When the southern part of this newly formed province seceded in the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the Dutch garrison in Maastricht remained loyal to the Dutch king, even when most of the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding area sided with the Belgian revolutionaries. However it was not until the Treaty of London in 1839 that the city of Maastricht was officially allocated in the Netherlands. But even though Maastricht was officially located in the Netherlands, it’s integration into the Netherlands did not come easy, mainly because of its location near Belgium. This led to a non-Dutch appearance during most of the 19th century until the First World War when Maastricht was forced to look northwards to stay neutral and not get stuck in a war with Germany like Belgium. 20th Century and onwards Sadly Maastricht and the rest of the Netherlands did not have this luxury in World War 2, Maastricht quickly taken by the Germans, during the Battle of Maastricht in May 1940, the 3 Meuse Bridges of Maastricht at that time were destroyed or severely damaged in an attempt to slow the German advance in to the Netherlands. On the 14th of September 1944 Maastricht was the first Dutch city to be liberated by the Allied forces. In the 4 years that Maastricht was under German occupation the majority of Jews from Maastricht were 58

murdered in the Nazi concentration camps. In the second half of the 20th century Maastricht decided to change from its traditional industries like the famous Maastricht potteries to an service economy. Several European institutions have found their base in Maastricht, in 1992 the Maastricht Treaty was negotiated and signed in Maastricht, what lead to the creation of the European Union and the Euro. In more recent years, Maastricht launched a campaign against drug-related problems. Infrastructure: where is Maastricht? Place • South Netherland • South West Limburg • Capital city of Limburg River • The Meuse • Important for transport Avenue 2 • The avenue 2 is for a better flow through Maastricht. • The above floor is for walkers and cyclists. • The floor under it is for the highway to Liège/Luik. Employment of Maastricht • • • • •

Industrion city Maastricht Aachen Airport Center (shopping) Mecc Center Airport

Culture The city Maastricht has annually 3 million visitors. The city has been nominated for the Culture Capital of Europe in 2018. In the city you can visit 10 different museums. A few of them are: -Bonnefantenmuseum: museum where you can see art from the past and art from now -Museum Aan Het Vrijthof: museum where you can see how the people from Maastricht lived in the 19th century -Natuur Historisch Museum Maastricht: historical nature museum Annually you can see 21 different events. A few of them are: -Carnival: party where people dress themselves in crazy costumes and then they go crazy -Amstel Gold Race: famous cycling race through the hills of South-Limburg and it starts in Maastricht -Bruis: free popfestival -Flikkendag: it means cop day; meet and great with the actors from the famous policeserie Flikken Maastricht (set in Maastricht) -Magisch Maastricht: means magic Maastricht, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Christmas market where you can eat and/or drink something A few famous people who are born in Maastricht are: -AndrĂŠ Rieu (famous violist and conductor who travels all over the world with his orchestra) -Theo Bovens (governor of the Province of Limburg) -Tom Dumoulin (famous cyclist who participates in big cycling races) -Bram Moszkowicz (lawyer, but he has been in the news for the past few months because he did something with black money)

Wednesday 14th January Wednesday 14th January: Mrs. Bergsma is in charge (10.1512.00) Mrs. Van Buren is in charge (8.3016.00) Dutch students doing interviews in Town Hall:  Adriaan de Feiter  Amy Hanssen

Basque teachers: MIKEL ALBERDI IRIZAR IGOR ANDRES OLAIZOLA

8.30-10.00: study time (multimedia centre) 10.15: Visit to the Town Hall Interview with Alderman concerning the project theme 12.00: Back at school

Host family Students bring their own packed lunch!

13.00-14.00: Presentation by Mr. Chudy, Manager “Eurode Business Centre” (classroom 356) 14.00-15.00: Presentation by Mr. de Bruijn, Police district South-Limburg (classroom 356) 15.00: Project work (classroom 356) 16.00: Back at home

On Wednesday the Basques went to the Town Hall and in the afternoon we had a presentation about the “Eurode Business Centre”, we all had to come and listen to the presentation. Adriaan and Amy had an interview with the alderman of Landgraaf (Ben Rewinkel), you can read this interview below.

Interview Alderman Landgraaf What are you doing about unemployment in Landgraaf? The Landgraaf aldermen are working to reduce the level unemployment, they are doing this by stimulating the unemployed to find new jobs by reducing their alimony if they stay unemployed for a long time, and by offering training in how to do your job interview and trainings in skills you need for certain jobs, for example, Castle Strijthagen, which lies in ruins now, it is going to be rebuild over a time of 20 years, and only by people who are unemployed, so these people can learn construction skills. What are you doing to improve Landgraaf’s infrastructure? To improve Landgraaf infrastructure, we are planning to build more cell towers, new roads, for example, we have plans to build a ring around Landgraaf, to make everything better accessible. What are you doing to keep our culture from getting lost over time? For example Pinkpop? How are you planning to improve Pinkpop? About culture, to stop it from getting lost over time, the aldermen of Landgraaf, are spending more money the preserve our culture, as in Snowworld, Pinkpop, Brunssummerheide and the mines, but even though they are preserving our culture, they are at the same time offering space for other cultures. Pinkpop for example, the aldermen are working closely together with the organizers of Pinkpop to try to make Pinkpop bigger than it already is. On what level is Landgraaf working together with its neighbouring towns, Heerlen and Kerkrade as Parkstad? The level Landgraaf is working together with neighbouring towns Heerlen & Kerkrade & … as Parkstad, is pretty high, for example, they need a new public swimming pool, this is very expensive, so for Landgraaf alone this is a huge investment, so to downscale the costs, the aldermen from Landgraaf asked the aldermen from Heerlen & Kerkrade, if they also needed a new public swimming pool, and if they maybe wanted to buy it together, lucky for Landgraaf, Heerlen & Kerkrade also needed a new public swimming pool, and were interested in buying one together, so the expenses would be lower for all, and by placing it somewhere in the middle of the 3 towns everyone could use it. And last but not least, how are you planning to attract tourist? And how will this affect Landgraafs income? We have Pinkpop, carnival, a ‘worldpark’ mondoverde, etc. with those kind of things we are trying to attract tourists to Landgraaf. Also we are trying to make Landgraaf a modern place by having new employments so people can make the best of Landgraaf. We want to make it stand out from the rest of Limburg so people think it’s a special place and worth to visit it. Tourism is a big income, because people spend a lot of money on the things to do here in Landgraaf, for example, on hotels, food and entertainment, especially during Pinkpop, when there are about 68.000 tourists a day for the festival.

Thursday 15th January Thursday 15th January: Mr. Ketzer is in charge (8.30- 16.00) Mr. America is in charge (8.30-16.00) Dutch students involved in this trip:  Juliët Chudy  Tom Debets  Adriaan de Feiter  Amy Hanssen  Ceriel Pelzer  Daan Pollaert  Vivian Tillmanns

Basque teachers: RAFA SANCHEZ MUXIKA OHAINE PRIETO GOENAGA

8.30-9.30: study time (classroom 510) 9.30: Departure to Maastricht

Host family Students bring their own packed lunch!

10.30: visit to the University Maastricht 12.00: City Walk including O.L. Vrouwe Basiliek, Fortification of Maastricht 13.00: Free time 15.15: Departure back to school 16.00: Arrival at school

On Thursday the Basque students went to Maastricht to visit the University and make a city walk to see some statues and to do some sightseeing. Some Dutch students went with them: Tom, Adriaan, Amy, Ceriel, Daan and Vivian.

Friday 16th January Friday 16th January: Mr. Ketzer, Mrs. Bergsma and Mrs. Louvenberg are in charge during that trip The whole group of Dutch and Basque students take part in this excursion Interviews will be done by: ď&#x201A;ˇ Wing Lohng Lam ď&#x201A;ˇ Saf Alberts

8.00: Departure to Brussels 11.00: Visit European Parliament Mr. Jeroen Lenaers Dutch MP member

Host family Students bring their own packed lunch!

13.00: Guided tour Brussels to Grote Markt and Manneken Pis Free time till 16.00

Basque teachers: RAFA SANCHEZ MUXIKA OHAINE PRIETO GOENAGA

18.15: Arrival at school

Friday was a beautiful day, we went with the entire group (so including all the Dutch students) to the European Parliament in Brussels. We had a tour in the Parliament, which was very interesting I think, and a lot of free time to shop. In the Parliament, Wing Lohng and Saf held a little interview, you can read it below. I will also give you a little impression of the Parliament so I put some pictures below.

The questions that were asked in the European parliament. Sadly though the employee we had to interview said that we/they were short of time and that we had to be in time to be able to go to the conference room where all the people from the European parliament si tand would debate. So we had the chance to only ask him Four main questions. 1. When did you start as an employee for the European parliament, is it hard to get employed by the parliament ? I’ve worked here not that long maybe like three or four years, yes it is rather hard to get employed by the parliament because it’s not like an ordinary job where you’ll get an interview and after that you get to know if you get the job or not. It’s way different than that, you have to sign up for the job, one’s you’ve done that (there are a lot of people that are signing up for it) they will elect a group from the whole lot and then they will process further and further until they have the right one for the job. 2. Have there been (many) big changes since you’ve started up till now ? As I’ve mentioned I do not work here for that long so I am about to say “no” because of the short period of time I’ve worked here.

3. Are all the countries in the European parliament willing to help others ? I’d guess that I have to say no because the countries even when they are part of the European parliament still have their own belongings that they want to take care of. What you get is that the rich countries have the money and some also the power to help don’t do 65

it, because they have problems themselves that they want to deal with first. Even though not all (rich) countries do that and they would also help if there is the need to. 4. Has there been one time that when there was an idea that every country agreed with it ? Actually no, there have been times where almost everyone has agreed upon something but not all. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect all countries to agree on something because you know they have their own things they find important so they always keep those things in mind when they are voting/debating about something.

We (Saf and Wing Lohng) said thank you to the employee and we went of to the conference room as you can see from some pictures that you have seen in the interview.

Saturday 17th January Saturday 17th January:

Family day

Host family

Basque teachers: RAFA SANCHEZ MUXIKA OHAINE PRIETO GOENAGA

The day before they left…. I think everyone was a little tired, it was a very exhausting week where everyone did/saw/heard a lot of new things. Every day, in and out, with the same people isn’t that easy, and it’s also not easy to have a stranger in your house for 10 days!! But to forget all the stress from the whole week, we had a big party at Jorns house to have a beautiful last night and to make a lot of new memories.

Sunday 18th January Sunday 18th January: Mrs. Van Buren is in charge Basque teachers: RAFA SANCHEZ MUXIKA OHAINE PRIETO GOENAGA

Departure from Eijkhagen by bus: 15.00 Flight to Bilbao from Brussels Airport (Zaventem) at 20.40: Flight number: SN3715

Host family

They’ll leave today in the afternoon (15.00u). But, in a short time we’ll see them again, so the farewell wasn’t very hard. Of course there were some tears, but everyone knew we would see each other again soon.

Monday 23th February: 23-02-2015: SN3713 departure Brussels 11.05 / arrival Bilbao 12.50 +-14:00 Azkotiko liburutegi aurrean eta Azpeitiko Ikastetxe aurrean +-14:30 ikasle holandarrak jasotzeko. +-14:00 Delante de la biblioteca de Azkoitia +-14:30 delante del edificio de Azpeitia para recoger a los estudiantes holandeses.

Vandaag, zijn wij vertrokken naar Baskenland. Wij moesten om 6:15 goed en wel op school zijn en in de bus zitten, zodat we naar Brussel konden vertrekken. Vanaf hier vloog ons vliegtuig namelijk om 11:05 richting Baskenland zodat we eindelijk onze Basken weer konden zien. De vlucht duurde niet zo lang, namelijk iets minder dan twee uur. We wisten van te voren dat het de eerste vijf dagen alleen maar zou regenen, maar omdat het daar boven in de lucht zo mooi was hadden we toch nog wel een beetje goede hoop. Maar toen we geland waren viel dat toch wel zwaar tegen… het regende namelijk best wel behoorlijk hard… Nadat we onze koffers hadden opgehaald, stond ons nog een busreis te wachten van ongeveer een uur van Bilbao richting Azkoitia/Azpeitia. Als eerste hebben wij Daan/Janou/Saf en Tom afgezet in Azkoitia en zijn daarna door gereden naar Azpeitia, waar de rest bleef overnachten. In Azpeitia zijn wij rond 14:20 aangekomen. Nadat we op de school waren aangekomen, zijn de meesten met een auto opgehaald en zijn we naar hun huis gereden, zodat we onze koffers neer konden zetten en we even thuis konden rond kijken. Nadat we wat met de ouders hebben gepraat, zijn we al weer zo goed als meteen weer vertrokken. We zijn met z´n allen naar ´local´ gegaan, dit is een soort van garagebox die een aantal jongeren samen afhuren zodat ze een plek voor zichzelf hebben en hier kunnen afspreken wanneer ze willen. Hier hebben we ook niet al te lang gezeten, want ze wilden ons graag de stad laten zien (in de regen…). We hebben niet al te lang rondgelopen (door de regen haha) maar zijn bij een bar naar binnen gegaan. Hierna zijn we toch nog even terug naar ‘local’ gegaan en hebben we hier met z´n allen nog even wat zitten praten. Het ´s avonds hebben we rond negen/half tien avond gegeten en heeft (zo goed als) iedereen nog wat tv gekeken en zijn we gaan slapen.

Tuesday 24th February 7:40-09:00 Presentation Erabilera Anitza

09:30 Departure to Iruñea-Pamplona

11:00-13:30 Guided walk 11.30-12.30 Museum of Navarre 12.30-13.30 Guided walk

13.30-16.30 Free time in Iruñea-Pamplona

Departure 16:30 Azpeitia Azkoitia

Vandaag was de eerste dag dat we met z’n allen bij elkaar zouden komen en iets van de cultuur in Baskenland zouden gaan opsnuiven. Om te verzamelen zou iedereen gewoon met hun Bask naar school lopen en dan vanuit daar met de bus richting ons uitje vertrekken. Dat betekende voor de mensen die in Azkoitia verbleven dat zij om 8:00 op school moesten zijn en voor diegene die in Azpeitia verbleven om 7:40. Toen iedereen van de Nederlandse groep uiteindelijk in Azpeitia op school was kregen we eerst een korte rondleiding door de school van een Engelse leraar uit Baskenland. Nadat deze rondleiding was afgelopen hebben wij een korte presentatie gehad over Baskenland en zijn we om half tien naar Pamplona vertrokken, dit was een rit van ongeveer anderhalf uur. Toen wij in Pamplona aankwamen hebben wij eerst rondgelopen voor ongeveer anderhalf uur. Hierna zijn wij bij een museum naar binnen gegaan en hebben daar voor onszelf wat rondgekeken voor een uurtje. Na het bezoek hebben we weer een uur samen gelopen met de groep en hebben wij ook wat informatie gekregen van onze gids over een aantal gebouwen daar en hebben we tot slot van half twee tot half vijf nog vrije tijd gekregen en mochten we voor onszelf nog wat rondkijken. Het was de bedoeling om na Pamplona met de bus weer naar school te rijden en dan de mensen die in Azkoitia verbleven daar af te zetten en de andere in Azpeitia, maar in plaats daarvan was iedereen in Azkoitia uitgestapt en zjjn we hier ‘Churos’ gaan eten. Dit is ook iets typisch Spaans/Baskisch wat daar op veel plekken verkocht wordt. Het wordt altijd geserveerd met suiker en als je wilt kun je er ook nog een soort chocolade melk bij bestellen alleen is dit dan veel dikker en kun je je ‘Churos’ hierin dippen. Hier hebben we nog een tijdje gezeten en wat gepraat met elkaar en daarna zijn we met de bus terug naar Azpeitia gegaan.

Nadat we aan waren gekomen in Azpeitia was iedereen naar hun gastgezin gegaan en hebben we hier avond gegeten, wat voor ons natuurlijk heel raar was omdat we gewend waren om rond 6 uur te eten, maar i.p.v. 6 uur zaten we om negen uur/half tien aan tafel. Aangezien we gisteren aan waren gekomen en we vandaag alweer vroeg op waren, waren de meeste van toch al heel moe en zijn we op tijd gaan slapen zodat we de dag erna weer fris en fruitig klaar waren voor de volgende dag.

Wednesday 25th February 7:40-09:00 Homework Project work

8:30 Departure departure to Gasteiz-Vitoria

10:00-11:00 Welcome by the president of the Basque Parliament Ms Bakartxo Telleria Talk with the president of the Parlamenrtary Commission for International Affairs Ms Isabel Celaa Gasteiz-Vitoria

12:00 Sightseeing the Old Quarter of Vitoria-Gasteiz

13.30-16.30 Free time in Vitoria-Gasteiz

Departure 17:30 Azkoitia Azpeitia

We moesten vandaag weer om 7:40 of om 8:00 uur aanwezig zijn op school. Hier mochten we dan tot half 9 zelf studeren. Mensen die daar behoeften aan hadden mochten in een aparte ruimte gaan studeren en de Basken moesten ons lokaal verlaten zodat wij in alle rust konden studeren. Om half negen vertrokken we naar het parlement van Victoria Gasteiz. Om 10:00 uur kwamen we dan in het parlement aan en hebben we een hele rondleiding gehad. Ook zagen we zo de grote verschillen tussen het Europees parlement en dit parlement in Baskenland. Zo begon het al met dat onze gids geen Engels sprak, eenmaal daar binnen zag je ook de verschillen qua grootte, het parlement in Baskenland was veel kleiner dan het Europees parlement in Brussel. Deze rondleiding duurde tot 11:20 uur. Daarna zijn we met de bus naar het centrum gegaan en hebben daar een rondleiding gekregen van Rafa. Hierbij hebben wij een hele grote kerk bezocht en ook hebben we het verschil tussen de oude stad en de nieuwe stad goed kunnen zien wat wel heel jammer was, was dat het nog steeds de hele dag regende (paraplu’s waren dus alle dagen heel handig ;) ). Deze rondleiding duurde tot 12:00 uur. Om 12:15 uur waren we bij een heel groot winkelcentrum aangekomen en hadden we daar vrije tijd tot 15:45 uur. Om 15:50 uur liepen we samen naar de bus en gingen we weer terug naar Azpeitia en Azkoitia. s ’Avonds hebben we weer met z’n allen afgesproken en lekker in een barretje wat gedronken en vooral heel veel gekletst. Daarna ging iedereen naar huis met de bus of te voet om daar nog avond te eten.

Thursday 26th February 7:40-08:30 Homework

Departure 8.30

9.30-11:30 Donostia International Physics Center Talk by Dr Jesus Ugalde and visit to the laboratories http://dipc.ehu.es/index.php?lng=eng

12:30-17.00 Free time in Donostia-San Sebastian

17:15 Departure Guided visit 18:00 to Galarreta Azpeitia pelota Azkoitia court

Vandaag moesten we om 7:40 uur of om 8:00 uur op school aanwezig zijn. Hier hebben wij 40 minuten de tijd gehad om te leren of 20 minuutjes de tijd gehad voor de mensen van Azkoitia. Vandaag zaten de Basken wel weer in het lokaal erbij en hebben we ook wel even gekletst in plaats van heel veel geleerd. Dit was vanwege de weinige tijd die we maar hadden om te leren. Om half 9 vertrokken wij naar Sant Sebastian. Om 9:15 uur kwamen wij aan bij een chemische bedrijf in Sant Sebastian. Hier kregen wij een workshop en werd ons veel uitgelegd over scheikundige dingen. Omdat ze niet zo’n hele grote ruimtes hadden werd de groep in twee groepen gedeeld en kregen we de workshop van verschillende mensen uit verschillende landen. Ook waren die mensen heel erg verbaasd dat wij a zo veel snapte van iets wat zij zeiden. Dit was heel grappig om te zien want veel dingen kregen wij al uitgelegd in de eerste les van scheikunde en dat was hier dus niet heel normaal. Rond half 12 werd ons een lunch aangeboden. Stokbrood (met Spaans omelet) met water en een appel. Om 12:00 uur was het weer tijd om te gaan. Om 12:15 uur kwamen we aan in het centrum en kregen we weer vrije tijd. Rond 16:15 uur hadden we weer afgesproken om elkaar weer te zien. We zijn toen weer samen naar de bus gelopen en naar een hal gereden waar de beroemde sport van Baskenland werd uitgevoerd (pelota). Het is een sport waar je met je hand of een speciaal hand ding een bal tegen de muur op slaat. Dit moet om de beurt gebeuren. Dus eerst team rood en daarna team blauw. Hier was een wedstrijd bezig die wij mochten bezichtigen. Hier zijn we tot 17:50 uur geweest en zijn toen weer gezamenlijk naar de bus gelopen en naar Azpeitia en Azkoitia gereden. s’Avonds hebben we weer met z’n allen afgesproken in Azkoitia. Hier zijn we de stad met z’n allen ingegaan. Vandaag was de dag dat als je een drankje nam je daarbij een gratis pincho kreeg. Een kleine snack wat altijd verschillend is (voor ons een best grote snack). Rond kwart voor 9 is iedereen weer naar huis gegaan om daar wel nog avond te eten. Sommigen hebben dit niet meer gedaan omdat ze al bom vol zaten van de pincho’s.

Friday 27th February 7:40-09:00 Homework Project work Info

9:30-11:00 Mr Oskar Arantzabal “On Global, European and Basque Economy”

11:30-12:00 MUTRIKU

12:30-14.00 Along the Basque coast: BermeoGaztelugatxe

15:30 Azkoitia Azpeitia

Om 9.30 kregen we een presentatie over de economie van Baskenland door mr. Oskar (die een paar jaar in Den Haag heeft gewoond). Na afloop met de bus naar Mutriku waar we een rondleiding kregen over golfenergie en we hebben zelfs nog een beetje zon gehad dus pakten we een terrasje. Eigenlijk zouden we nog naar de kust gaan maar dat was te gevaarlijk vanwege de regen en wind, dus gingen we weer terug en zijn we naar Loiola gelopen en hebben we de ‘Basilico’(kathedraal) bezocht en zijn vervolgens in een cafeetje churros gaan eten.

Saturday 28th February Family day

Vroeg opgestaan om met de bus naar Azkoitia te gaan om Maria en Oihane te gaan aanmoedigen bij hun basketbal wedstrijd waardoor ze een overduidelijke winst behaalden, na afloop zijn we met de resterende groep naar een bar geweest en hebben daar wat gedronken en olijven gegeten, daarna weer met de bus terug naar Azpeitia een middagdutje doen en â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s avonds weer met de bus terug naar Azkoitia. Daar een hele zak belegde stokbroden gehaald om vervolgens op te gaan eten in een soort local boven een bar en rond 23.00 zijn we in Azkoitia uitgegaan. Om 05.00 zaten we weer in de bus terug naar Azpeitia om lekker te gaan slapen.

Sunday 1st of March Family day

Vandaag was een dagje waar we eens goed bij konden komen van de vorige avond / nacht / ochtend. Een late start, zo hadden veel mensen moeite met opstaan en sommige mensen zijn zelfs pas om 16:00 opgestaan. Ook was er vandaag een ezel race in Azkoitia die we MOESTEN zien haha. Later bleek deze niet zo interessant als verwacht (voor zowel voor de Nederlanders als de Basken) en besloten we dus om weer ergens iets te gaan drinken. Nadat we het ook daar gezien hadden besloten we om naar een ander stadje te gaan waar we weer wat hebben gedronken en Churros hebben gegeten (wat even duurde omdat sommige besloten te voet te gaan). Nadat we hier een mooie avond hebben gehad zijn we allemaal weer naar huis gegaan en hebben we de dag weer afgesloten.

Monday 2nd of March 08 :00 Departure

9:00-13:00 Zamudio-Derio Technology park and Robotics workshop http://www.parke.eus/bizkaia/?lang=en

13.30 Bilbo Guggenheim

17:30 Back home Azkoitia Azpeitia

Vandaag moesten we zoals vaker om 7:40 op school aanwezig zijn. Zo vertrokken we vandaag al om 8:00 naar Zamudio – Derio waar we naar het Technology park zijn geweest (aankomst: 9:00) en in verschillende ruimtes kwamen met steeds een andere vorm van techniek. Hier hebben wij verschillende dingen mogen zien en mogen proberen. Zo waren er veel interactieve dingen waar je wel even zoet mee was. Deze dingen waren niet alleen leuk om te doen, maar waren ook erg leerzaam ! Verder kregen we ook een kleine workshop waar we kleine robots zo moesten programmeren, dat deze een bepaald parcoursje moesten afleggen. We zijn hier tot ongeveer 12:40u gebleven en zijn vervolgens naar het Guggenheim (Bilbao) gegaan waar we om 13:15 aankwamen. Hier hebben we even rondgekeken en hebben we zoals gewoonlijk 600 foto’s gemaakt. Een half uurtje later kregen we vrije tijd en splitsten onze wegen, waarbij de meeste gingen winkelen en sommigen lekker rustig op zoek gingen naar wat leuke souvenirs en vervolgens op een terrasje gingen zitten. Om kwart voor 5 moesten we weer verzamelen om terug te lopen naar de bus waar we rond 17:00 instapten. Tijdens deze busreis van ongeveer anderhalf uur had ieder zijn eigen vorm van tijdsbesteding. Zo zaten de meeste gewoon gezellig te praten, sommige mensen muziek te luisteren en dan heb je nog een stel gekken die zich weten te vermaken met een simpel kaartspelletje. Eenmaal aangekomen gingen sommigen “rusten” en de anderen gingen rustig ergens in een barretje / op een terrasje chillen in Azpeitia. Daarna is iedereen weer naar huis gegaan, waar we weer van alles lekkers te eten kregen en om vervolgen weer heerlijk te gaan slapen.

Tuesday 3rd of March 7:40-10:00 Project work Study time Info

10:00-11.00 Ms Harriet Malcom How we see Europe from the UK.

11.30-13.00 Presentations

13:00 Loiola Home

Ook vandaag moesten we weer om 7:40 uur of om 8:00 uur aanwezig zijn op school. Om 08.30u werd een presentatie gegeven door de Engels ondersteunende lerares van de school. Zij ging het met ons over de VS hebben. Maar voordat de presentatie begon wilde ze wel eens weten wat wij allemaal wisten over Europa. Dit deed zij op een hele leuke manier door ons een kaart te geven van Europa en wij de landen moesten aanwijzen. Degene met de meeste landen goed werd dan ook beloond met een kitkat. Daarna begon zij met een presentatie over de VS. Deze presentatie duurde tot 10:00 uur. We kregen toen een kleine pauze van een half uur waarin we zelf mochten weten wat we deden. Sommige zij toen naar de winkel geweest om daar iets voor de lunch te kopen, maar vrijwel alle Nederlanders zijn gewoon in de school gebleven en hebben we met z’n alle liedjes super hard mee gezongen. Om 10:30 uur gaven de Basken aan ons een presentatie die ze zelf moesten voor bereiden. Dit ging over het onderwijs van de Basken maar ook de sporten, typische dansen en typische liedjes. Hier waren we om kwart voor twaalf mee klaar. We zijn toen met z’n allen naar de supermarkt gegaan om daar nog de laatste lekkere dingetjes te kopen voor ouders of vrienden. Daarna zijn we met de hele groep naar een van de ‘local’ van de ouders van een Bask geweest (Eider). Hier hebben we zitten wachten op een paar Basken, die de lunch waren halen in de supermarkt. Toen ze binnen kwamen hadden ze 2 karren vol eten en drinken. Als voorgerechtje kregen we stokbrood en chips. Vlak daarna kregen we ook een grote kom met sla op iedere tafel. Als hoofdgerecht kregen we kip met frietjes in de oven gebakken. Nadat we dit op hadden zaten we al vrij vol op een paar mensen na maar tuurlijk kregen we ook nog een lekker nagerecht: 4 verschillende soorten cake waar we uit mochten kiezen. Dit was een zeer geslaagde middag, maar nog lang niet afgelopen want het was namelijk onze laatste dag samen. Na deze super lekkere en gezellige lunch zij we nog met z’n allen de stad in gegaan en hebben daar nog wat samen in een barretje gedronken. Hier hebben we ook met z’n allen nog een spel gespeeld. Rond 19.00u ging iedereen naar huis om zijn of haar koffer in te pakken en nog avond te eten. Na het avondeten zijn er nog een paar mensen met hun Bask in de stad geweest en hebben daar nog een leuke avond van gemaakt. Deze laatste dag was zeer geslaagd! Maar toen was het toch echt tijd om naar bed te gaan. 78

Wednesday 4th of March 7:40-8:30 Homework

DEPARTURE 10:30 from Azpeitia CHECK-IN TIME 12:00 04-03-2015: SN2714 departure Bilbao 13.30 / arrival Brussels 15.20

Vandaag gingen we dan alweer naar huis... We moesten gewoon zoals altijd weer op dezelfde tijd op school zijn, alleen hadden we vandaag onze koffers bij ons... Omdat we pas om 10 uur de school zouden verlaten hebben we eerst nog twee uur in en klas lokaal gezeten en hebben we de kans gekregen om te studeren. Maar om tien uur moesten we dan toch echt gaan... Iedereen keek op tegen het afscheid nemen, we hebben tenslotte toch echt een band met hen opgebouwd in de totale 20 dagen, die we met hen om zijn gegaan. En alleen al van het idee dat je ze misschien wel nooit meer zou zien, schoten bij sommigen al de tranen in de ogen. Om tien uur hebben we onze koffers gepakt en zijn we naar buiten gelopen om een groepsfoto te kunnen maken aan de voorkant van de school. Na deze foto begon iedereen elkaar te knuffelen en somige begonnen te huilen, we waren nog niet eens bij de bus... Toen we daarna toch echt de bus in moesten drong het eigenlijk pas ĂŠcht door dat we ze waarschijnlijk nooit meer zouden zien... Maar toch moesten we ze los laten en reden wij weg met de bus. Eenmaal op het vliegveld aangekomen waren wij ruim op tijd ingecheckt en mocht iedereen nog even voor zichzelf rondlopen. Om half twee hadden wij dan uiteindelijk het vliegtuig terug. De vlucht zelf was in principe wel oke, alleen hadden we helaas wel even wat turbulentie, maar voor de rest was alles perfect. Om 6 uur kwamen wij weer terug aan op school.

The Final Word So, here we are! We looked back at twenty beautiful days in The Netherlands and Basque-Country. This trip was well organized, especially the Bus Trips. The students from the Netherlands loved the Basque-Country for almost everything, the food, the very kind people, the beautiful cities and last but not least the nightlife. The only thing we didn’t liked was the weather, but we made a lot of fun! The Basque group was very kind and we think it worked very well together with the Basque people. It was a pity that we needed to go, but I think we will meet again. The time after the school program was also very well organized by the Basque students so we weren’t bored. We hope the Basque students liked The Netherlands as well, we tried to make them happy and when they were going back to Basque-Country they didn’t liked it to go, so we think we have succeeded. This was a very nice experience for us, because we learnt a lot to be alone. So this is it, we think this trip was one big success and we hope the Basque students think that too.