Alslev Oct. 2011.
Visit in Castell’Umberto From the 5th – 10th oktober the teachers - Bodil Bjerre Jensen, Ingelise Ottosen, Torben Thuesen and headteacher Claus Larsen went to Sicily for a project meeting with ”Building Europe, Linking Lives”. The school which hosted the visit was Istituto Compressivo de Castell’Umberto.
After a jouney with a few hurdles we arrived in Castell’Umberto Wednesday after midnight at 00.30. Next day we were welcomed at the school with speeches, music, songs and dancing. The welcoming made it obvious to us, how important the project is to both the school and village. After the welcoming we had the opportunity to visit the classrooms and observe the Italian way of teaching. Later on all the guests were welcomed at the town centre – followed by a delicious Italian lunch provided by the village. After the lunch we went around the area and ended by the coast by Capod’Orlando In the evening we were invited to dinner at school. The parents had arranged both entertainment as well as dinner for us. What was significant on this evening was the Sicilian hospitality and the support of the parents. That is something we could learn from in Denmark. Locals of all ages were gathered to give us an unforgetable evening. They were all very enthusiastic. Next day there were visits to schools in Sinagra – and again we were met by music, song and dance. After the welcoming we participated in the classes. Some of our time went with answering questions and telling about how everything was in Denmark. After lunch at around 1400 we went to Tindari, where we saw some excavations from ancient times. We ended the day with a lovely dinner at a typical Sicilian restaurant.
Saturday started with another visit at a school the J. Kennedy in Castell’Umberto. After the visit we went to Taormina, which is a very exclusive tourist area on the eastcoast of Sicily. We had the opportunity to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing and play tourists. At around 18:00 we went to Capod’Orlando, where we had the final dinner for the participating schools. The evening ended at the hotel with all the partners saying goodbye to eachother.
On Sunday morning at 5.00 am we started the journey back to Alslev, where we arrived as planned in Billund at 17.40. Claus Larsen . Om