Alice in Europeland - Icsanticosmaedamiano.it

Alice in Europeland - Icsanticosmaedamiano.it

Alice in Europeland
A history written by students from Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland
Traunstein - Santi Cosma E Damiano - Salamanca - Lubicz - Toruń
2010
Introduction
I'm Alice. My friends, not very numerous, call me Ally. I live in Alice Springs. I am fourteen and it seems
to me I'm an ordinary teenager. Perhaps it is only what I think; however, I'm the only redheaded
person at school. When I was younger I would always act a carrot in our school performances. It's
a pity but I can't get tanned like all my schoolmates. I turn red immediately and look like a peony, or
even more, like a boiled lobster. It isn't easy to live in Australia, love surfing and get tanned. What are
sun tanning lotions with high factors for! ( I recommend them to everybody). The colour of my eyes
changes with the weather; when it is sunny my eyes are green, when it is cloudy they are grey. Even my
mum gets confused when I ask her “Mum! What colour eyes have I got?”. Then she looks at me
carefully and says” One shouldn't look in the mirror.” I'm tall and quite thin for my age; although I eat
enough for ten, I don't get on weight. It is so irritating.
Art! It's something I am really interested in. Frankly speaking, lots of things turn me on. Surfing,
cycling, art, singing, dancing, acting, clothes designing, travelling but most of all learning about new
cultures. There are so many fantastic areas I love but I'll stop now. The worst thing is that I want to do
a lot of things at the same time but it's naturally impossible. I've got school and the grades mean a lot
to me.
People are often surprised by my clothes style. I wear what I like. Recently I found some scarf in my
mum's wardrobe, it was long enough and had fantastic stars so I used it as a top. Mum says I am either
old-fashioned or too creative. She's right, there must be something to it.
Lately I came up with a superb idea! I stuck my room walls around with old newspapers showing the
most incredible places on Earth. One day I would see them in person , I'm sure of that. I like
discussing my travelling plans with Tim. He is my close friend whose entire life is dominated by surfing.
He is Aborigine. He doesn't show his feelings but we both like spending time together. Wherever I go,
from Coral Reef to Sydney, I write letters to him.
I live with my grandparents because of my school, but before I haven't seen them often. Staying with
my Grandpa Norman and Granny Hedwig made me fond of my family history. Grandpa Norman is
German, but he spent many years in Italy, loved that country and travelled a lot, perhaps I took my
travelling enthusiasm after him. After he'd moved to Spain he met Hedwig, my Granny. She was
Polish and she went sightseeing to Spain, too. They fell in love from the first sight. Grandpa says he
was the first to see Granny, but Granny's story is exactly opposite. Now they sometimes squabble
about it. My grandparents got married and moved to Australia to earn a living. Soon my mum came to
this world, and next I was born. I sometimes listen to these family stories at tea in the evening.
Grandparents talk continuously but I always want to know more. Now I've got an opportunity to meet
my family because I'm setting off to see the old continent. Many relatives live in Europe; for example
my grandparents' and my mum's brothers and sisters. I've got some invitations and believe me I'm
going to accept them. It's going to be a new experience. I will see many magnificent, new places, meet
many new people and perhaps I will walk in the snow! When we have holiday in summer in Europe
they have winter and snow. I'm sure in the Alps, where my Grandpa was born, there is enough snow.
My European cousins promised I would see their schools. I'm so excited! It's going to be a journey of
my lifetime!
1
Chapter I
INVITATION TO ITALY
Dear Alice, we have just heard you will represent your school in the intercultural Comenius project
“Different languages, one smile” and that you're coming to our Comprehensive Institute “G. Rossi” in
SS. Cosma e Damiano as the first leg of your journey. We are really thrilled about the news and eager to
meet you personally and we're getting ready to welcome you in the best way. We are organizing a little
concert at school and a display of our local traditional customs as we would love to let you know more
about our country.
SS. Cosma e Damiano is a cosy and characteristic
village situated on the border between Lazio and
Campania central Italy- lying on the slopes of Aurunci
mounts, not far from the sea. Our region is rich in
archeological finds and sites like “Minturnae”, a Roman
amphitheatre situated by the banks of our Garigliano
river, or Montecassino abbey which is very beautiful
and suggestive. There are also many other famous
places not far from here to visit, like Pompeii,
Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvio, a dormant volcano
on the bay of Naples; they are all important
destinations attracting thousands of visitor in a year.
You won't miss a leg in Rome, the capital of Italy it takes
about two hours from here where you will admire St. Peter's Basilica, a late Renaissance church
located within the Vatican City, and other famous historical buildings like the Colosseum.
Well, we're looking forward to welcome you with open arms and we hope you'll have a lot of fun and
meet new friends.
Lots of love, your Italian friends… see you soon!
2
INVITO IN ITALIA
Cara Alice, abbiamo appena saputo che sarai tu a rappresentare la tua scuola nel progetto di
intercultura Comenius “Different Languages One Smile” e che la tua prima tappa sarà il nostro Istituto
Comprensivo di Santi Cosma e Damiano.
Siamo davvero entusiasti e ansiosi di conoscerti di persona e ci prepariamo ad accoglierti nel modo
migliore. Stiamo organizzando un piccolo concerto a cura dei nostri compagni ed una presentazione
dei costumi tradizionali locali. Speriamo di comunicarti qualcosa in più sulla nostra nazione e sulle
nostre tradizioni locali.
Santi Cosma e Damiano è un paesino piccolo ma
accogliente e caratteristico, arroccato sulle pendici dei
monti Aurunci e a pochi chilometri dal mare, al confine
tra il Lazio e la Campania.
La nostra zona è ricca di reperti storici e siti archeologici
come “Minturnae”, anfiteatro romano situato sulle rive
del Garigliano, e l'abbazia di Montecassino, molto bella
e suggestiva. Ci sono anche altri luoghi famosi da
visitare non molto distanti da qui, come Pompei,
Ercolano e il Vesuvio, un vulcano importante, tutte
mete turistiche che attirano migliaia di visitatori ogni
anno. Non mancherà una visita a Roma, capitale
d'Italia, a sole un paio d'ore da qui, dove potrai
ammirare la Basilica di San Pietro nella Città del Vaticano, residenza del Papa, e tutti i monumenti più
famosi, come il Colosseo.
Ti aspettiamo quindi a braccia aperte e speriamo che qui da noi ti divertirai molto e farai nuove
amicizie.
Tanti saluti dai tuoi amici italiani. A presto!
3
ALICE VISITS ITALY
After receiving this letter everything went crazy: the weeks started to run fast, everyday was a day less
between me and the trip, and just then I began my little odyssey in search of something new in Santi
Cosma e Damiano, Italy. Thus, after preparing my entire luggage and with some adventure spirit I left
to Italy.
I arrived at Minturno's station after a long, tiring plane and train journey, and as a kind of sweet
surprise my new family was there waiting for me. And then the formal greetings and introductions,
and we went home speaking slowly in the car using our bodies in some cases in a definitively funny
way of conversation. We arrived home and had our first dinner together spiced with a warm
atmosphere and a continuous exchange of information about our lives and how the week was going to
be: what to do next day and these kinds of things. We were quite tired that night, so we went soon to
bed, wondering how our next day was going to be.
The next day we went home by car experimenting the curious way of driving in Italy not without any
fear, of course. Finally, we arrived at “la scuola” in Santi Cosma. Here I could meet my Comenius
foreign friends from Poland and Germany without mentioning lots of Italian people whose names we
couldn't even remember at first but who were going to be our friends and school-mates all the week.
And then the first classes and the general introduction in the school gym adorned with different
games and songs which made the first contact much easier. We played many kinds of very funny
games with the other international students, and started knowing each other. After that, the
headmistress of the school greeted us and wished a great stay in Italy, and that's what it was, and our
teachers and the other student's introduced each school.
Afterwards, they showed us the school, a really big building, full of murals made by the students and
very kind people excited about The Comenius Project.
We spent a good time at school meeting a lot of pupils working in class. They all were very interested in
us, and about our city, so we talked a lot to them. The language was not a problem; we mixed English,
Spanish, Italian and even French, what made the situation funnier.
At the end of the classes, we got home by the school bus. Our families were at home, waiting for us to
have lunch. They prepared a different meal each day, with the most typical things from Italy, but caring
about what we preferred. It was always delicious.
In the afternoons we used to do different things: sometimes, we just followed the pace of life, going
with them to their out-of-school activities, to meet some of their friends or relatives... One day they
took us to the beach, and we spent a great time having an ice-cream with them in the sand, and our
family explained us where we were and what we were able to see from there: the islands, the
seaside...
The next morning, my family explained to me what activities we were going to have the following days.
That's when we knew we were going to visit Pompeii, Rome and a very interesting cemetery from
WWII! We were very excited because of that.
So on Friday we visited the cemetery. It was enormous and magnificent and we think that, in some
way, it was also beautiful. In this graveyard we could see tombs of many Polish soldiers who died in the
Second World War so I think for some of our friends it could be quite emotive.
Well, in fact it was emotive for everybody in some way because it is always impressive the fact of
looking so directly at the consequences of our past history.
4
Tras recibir esta carta todo fue una locura: las semanas empezaron a pasar rápidamente, cada día
era un día menos entre el viaje y yo, y entonces empezó mi pequeńa odisea en busca de algo nuevo en
Santi Cosma e Damiano, Italia. De este modo, después de preparar todo mi equipaje y con algo de
espíritu aventurero, partí hacia Italia.
Llegué a la estación de Minturno tras un largo y cansado viaje de avión y tren, y, a modo de
agradable sorpresa, mi nueva familia estaba allí esperando por mí. Después de las presentaciones
formales y los saludos, nos fuimos a casa hablando despacio en el coche usando nuestros cuerpos en
algunos casos en una divertida forma de conversación. Llegamos a casa y tuvimos nuestra primera
cena juntos especiada con una cálida atmósfera y un continuo intercambio de información sobre
nuestras vidas y sobre cómo iba a ser la semana; qué íbamos a hacer al día siguiente y ese tipo de
cosas. Estábamos bastante cansados esa noche así que nos acostamos temprano, preguntándome
cómo sería todo al día siguiente.
Al día siguiente fuimos en coche experimentando la curiosa manera que tienen de conducir en Italia
no sin algo de miedo, por supuesto. Finalmente, llegamos a “la scuola” in Santi Cosma. Allí pude
conocer a mis compańeros polacos y alemanes de Comenius por no mencionar a todos los italianos
cuyos nombres no pudimos recordar al principio pero que iban a ser nuestros amigos y compańeros
toda la semana.
Y entonces llegaros las primeras clases y la presentación general en el gimnasio de la escuela
adornada con juegos y canciones que hicieron que el primer contacto fuera más fácil. Jugamos
a muchas clases de juegos divertidos con los otros estudiantes internacionales y empezamos
a conocernos unos a otros. Después de esto, la directora de la escuela nos saludó y deseó una
agradable estancia en Italia, como así fue, y nuestros profesores y los demás estudiantes presentaron
cada escuela.
Después de todo esto nos mostraron la escuela, un gran edificio lleno de carteles hechos por los
estudiantes y por gente muy amable entusiasmada con el proyecto Comenius. Pasamos un buen rato
en la escuela conociendo a muchos alumnos en sus clases. Ellos estaban muy interesados en nosotros
y en nuestras ciudades, así que hablamos mucho con ellos. El idioma no era un problema; mezclamos
inglés, espańol, italiano e incluso francés, lo que hacía la situación más graciosa.
Al finalizar las clases volvimos a casa en el autobús escolar. Nuestras familias estaban en casa
esperándonos para comer. Nos prepararon una comida diferente cada día, con lo más típico de Italia,
pero preocupándose de qué preferíamos. Todo estaba delicioso.
Por las tardes solíamos hacer distintas cosas; a veces simplemente seguíamos su rutina,
íbamos con ellos a sus actividades de después de clase, a ver a sus amigos o familiares… Un día nos
llevaron a la playa y pasamos
bastante tiempo tomando un helado con ellos sentados en la arena, y nuestra familias nos explicaron
dónde estábamos y qué se podía ver desde allí: las islas, la costa…
La mańana siguiente mi familia me explicó las actividades que íbamos a hacer los siguientes
días. Ahí fue cuando nos enteramos que íbamos a visitar Pompeya, Roma y un cementerio muy
interesante de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Estábamos emocionadísimos.
El viernes siguiente visitamos el cementerio. Era enorme y magnífico y pensamos, que en cierto modo,
también hermoso. En ese cementerio pudimos ver las tumbas de mucho soldados polacos que
murieron en la Segunda Guerra Mundial por lo que creo que para algunos de nuestros amigos fue muy
emotivo. Bueno, en realidad fue muy emotivo para todo el mundo de algún modo porque es siempre
impresionante el hecho de ver tan directamente las consecuencias de nuestra historia pasada.
5
Afterwards, we went to a re-built monastery, where we had such beautiful sights of the region's
country-side. Here a guide told us all about the building and the frays who had taken place there and
how it had been destroyed by the bombs in the Second World War too. We also could see the passages
where the monks and the priests had resisted the bombings.
General View of Montecassino Abbey
At the end of the day, once more, in the bus, funny sequences of conversations and jokes
helped us not to accuse how tired we were. Here we already started to invent the idea of a “comenius
bus” because it was in these trips by bus when we could better know each other.
And, finally, we arrived home where our families were waiting for our host friends and us. That
night we went to have a true traditional South-Italian pizza. It was so good but we were so tired that we
had to ask my host parents to leave early because a new day, beautiful and full experiences was just
waiting for us the next day.
The day of the visit to Pompeii arrived. We got up very early, because we had to take the bus at
6 o'clock in the morning, but we were full of energy and impatient to meet again our new European
friends. Once inside the bus, some of us just wanted to sleep, to have more energy during the visit, but
others were talking and exchanging experiences about how we felt until that day of our adventure in
Italy.
We found Pompeii even more interesting than we had thought: it was like a trip to the past,
and we could imagine Roman soldiers everywhere. The guide showed us the most important buildings
in the city, like the Gladiator's Academy and the theatre, and also one of the best preserved houses,
with a lot of paintings inside. We could go for a walk through those ancient streets.
6
Más tarde fuimos a un monasterio reconstruido, desde donde se contemplaban hermosas vistas del
paisaje de esa región. Aquí un guía nos contó todo lo relacionado con los frailes y el edificio y lo que
había ocurrido allí y cómo había sido destruido por las bombas de la guerra también. Pudimos ver los
pasadizos donde habían resistido a los bombardeos.
Al final del día, una vez más, en el autobús, conversaciones graciosas y bromas que nos ayudaban
ano mostrar lo cansados que estábamos. Aquí empezó a surgir la idea de “comenius bus” porque era
en estos viajes en el autobús donde mejor nos conocíamos.
Y nuestras familias no estaban esperando. Esa noche tuvimos una auténtica pizza del sur de
Italia. Estaba riquísima pero estábamos tan cansados que pedimos a nuestra familia irnos temprano a
casa porque al día siguiente nos esperaba otro nuevo día lleno de experiencias agradables.
Y llegó el día de la visita a Pompeya. Nos levantamos muy temprano, porque teníamos que
coger el autobús a las seis de la mańana, pero estábamos llenos de energía e impacientes por ver otra
vez a nuestros amigos europeos. Una vez dentro del autobús, algunos simplemente queríamos dormir
para tener más energía durante la visita, otros iban hablando e intercambiando experiencias sobre
cómo nos habíamos sentido hasta ese día con nuestras experiencias en Italia.
Pompeya nos pareció todavía más interesante de lo que habíamos pensado: era como un
viaje al pasado, nos imaginábamos a los soldados romanos por todas partes. El guía nos mostró los
edificios más importantes de la ciudad, como la Academia de Gladiadores y el teatro y algunas de las
casas mejor conservadas con muchas pinturas en su interior. Dimos un paseo por esas calles tan
antiguas.
7
Pompeii
We also saw the remains of Vesuvius' eruption, including the corpses of the people surprised
by the lava, as they were when that catastrophe occurred.
After that, we could buy some nice souvenirs for our families and we got in the bus again to
visit the Vesuvius. The bus stopped and we started climbing the mount, waiting to see the fantastic
view of the crater we had been told before. When we arrived to the top of the Vesuvius, we just could
admire what we were able to see from there, and we took a photo all together.
We were again waiting impatiently to visit another city: Rome. The day arrived, and it was as usual:
getting up very early, but full of energy. During the trip, we spent the time joking, talking and,
sometimes, sleeping. When we arrived in Rome, the first thing we did was visiting Vatican City, the
ostentatious sign of Church's power.
We waited the queue to get into St. Peter's Basilica, where we could admire a lot of paintings and
sculptures. We also went up the stairs to the cupola, from where there's a great 360º view of the
whole city of Rome.
8
También vimos los restos de la erupción del Vesuvio, incluyendo los cuerpos de la gente sorprendida
por la lava, así como estaban cuando ocurrió la catástrofe.
Tras todo esto pudimos comprar recuerdos para nuestras familias y regresamos al autobús
para visitar el Vesuvio. El autobús paró y empezamos a “escalar” la montańa, con la esperanza de ver la
fantástica vista del cráter que se nos había anunciado. Cuando llegamos a la cima admiramos todo lo
que se veía desde allí y nos hicimos una foto de todo el grupo.
Comenius team near Vesuvius Crater. October 2008.
Y otra vez impacientes por visitar otra ciudad: Roma. El día llegó y, como era habitual, otra vez
a madrugar pero llenos de energía. Durante el viaje contamos bromas, hablamos y, a veces,
dormíamos. Cuando llegamos a Roma, lo primero que hicimos fue visitar La Ciudad del vaticano, la
ostentosa muestra del poder de la Iglesia.
Esperamos a la cola para entrar en La Basílica de San Pedro donde pudimos admirar muchas pinturas y
esculturas. También subimos las escaleras de la Cúpula desde donde hay una gran vista de 360º de
toda la ciudad de Roma.
9
After that, we visited a lot of memorable buildings, like La Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Navona, the Roman
forum and the great Colosseum. Then we met the other students to leave for Santi Cosma e Damiano,
and we talked about what we had seen and how lucky we felt for having visited that wonderful and
full-of-history city, and experiencing a sort of feeling of being part of the old civilization of Rome.
The rest of the days were calmer, we went again to school with our Italian class-mates, and
participated in their class of art, where we did some colourful murals we still keep in our rooms.
But all good things come to an end... and sadly our last day in Italy arrived. Our families told us
that we had to go with them to the gym of our school, and we got there around 8 o'clock in the
afternoon. Then, we found out what our hosts had prepared for us: it was all full of balloons; our
murals were exhibited as if they were works of art; there was a lot of food to have dinner with our
friends, teachers and families, and they all were very smartly dressed.
10
Tras esto visitamos muchos lugares memorables como La Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Navona, el foro
romano y el Coliseo. Nos unimos al resto de estudiantes para iniciar el regreso a Santi Cosma e
Damiano, y hablamos de todo lo que habíamos visto y de lo afortunados que nos sentíamos por haber
visitado esta maravillosa ciudad tan llena de historia y haber experimentado la sensación de habernos
sentido parte de la antigua civilización de Roma.
El resto de días fueron más tranquilos, volvimos ala escuela con nuestros compańeros italianos y
participamos en su clase de arte donde hicimos posters llenos de color que aún conservamos en
nuestra habitación.
Y todo lo bueno llega a su fin… y tristemente nuestro último día en Italia también llegó. Nuestras
familias nos dijeron que teníamos que ir con ellos al gimnasio del colegio y llegamos allí a las ocho.
Entonces descubrimos lo que nuestros anfitriones habían preparado para nosotros: estaba todo lleno
de globos, nuestros posters estaban expuestos como si fueran obras de arte, había mucha comida
para compartir con nuestros amigos, profesores y familias y todos ellos elegantemente vestidos.
11
At that moment, we really had a strange mixture of feelings: on the one hand, we were happy
because of the experience we had lived and how well we had been treated by our families and all the
people involved in Comenius Project, in general. But, on the other hand, we couldn't avoid thinking
about the next day, when we had to go, and leaving behind so many friends maybe we weren't going to
see again...
Teachers and pupils at the I.C. Santi Cosma e Damiano
Anyway, we tried to enjoy our last night, dancing, singing, laughing, talking as if we had known each
other for a long time, and we took a lot of photos we still look at from time to time, to remember all
those good moments spent together.
The next morning we got up to take the train at half past eight. At the train station, we said
goodbye to our Italian families with tears in our eyes, promising we would go to Italy again, and
inviting them to our homes whenever they wanted… In the train there was almost only silence, no one
talked or laughed too much, because we all knew that was our last moment together, and we started
missing each other, even being with them…
We finally said goodbye to our German and Polish friends at Termini, Rome, in a mess of hugs
and promises about meeting again one day in the future... and we went to take our planes to our
countries.
12
En aquel momento sentíamos una extrańa mezcla de sensaciones: por un lado felices por las
experiencias que habíamos vivido y lo bien que nos habían tratado nuestras familias, profesores y
toda la gente implicada en el proyecto Comenius en general. Pero, por otro lado, no podíamos evitar
pensar en el día siguiente, cuando nos tendríamos que ir y dejar atrás a tantos amigos a los que quizá
no volveremos a ver…
Bueno, intentamos divertirnos aquella noche bailando, cantando, riéndonos y hablando como si nos
conociéramos desde hacía mucho tiempo y nos hicimos fotos a las que de vez en cuando miramos
para recordar aquellos buenos momentos pasados juntos.
A la mańana siguiente nos levantamos para coger el tren a las ocho y media. En la estación
dijimos adiós a nuestras familias italianas con lágrimas en los ojos, prometiendo volver a Italia e
invitándolos a nuestras casas cuando quisieran… En el tren sólo había silencio. Nadie hablaba o reía
demasiado porque todos sabíamos que eran nuestros últimos momentos juntos y empezábamos a
echarnos de menos incluso entonces…
Finalmente dijimos adiós a nuestros amigos alemanes y polacos en Termini, Roma, en un lío de
abrazos y promesas de encontrarnos algún día en el futuro… y nos dirigimos hacia nuestros aviones de
vuelta a nuestros países.
13
But our personal Comenius Project hasn't finished yet! So, wait for us, because we know we'll meet
again, the place doesn't matter if we can remember together the moments we lived in Italy, and of
course, with new anecdotes for the future.
14
Pero mi personal Proyecto Comenius aún no ha terminado. Así que, esperad por mí, porque sé que
nos volveremos a ver, el lugar no importa si podemos recordar juntos los momentos que vivimos
juntos en Italia y, por supuesto, con nuevas anécdotas para el futuro.
Con mis mejores deseos para todos vosotros y deseando volver a encontrarnos de nuevo.
Vuestra amiga Alice.
15
Chapter II
INVITATION TO SPAIN
Hi Alice!
I wanted to invite you to Salamanca. I know it's a long trip from Australia but if you come I'm sure that
you will have a good time here.
In Salamanca we will visit the main square where we can sit down and have fun, sometimes there are
some people giving free hugs and making photos.
We will also visit the Cathedral. The new part was built in the 16th century while the Gothic style was
expanded in Europe. The old part was built in the 12th century with a Romanic style.
There are also a lot of beautiful parks and squares where you can sit down and read a book or talk with
your friends without interr
But the streets of Salamanca get really awake from Thursday to Sunday, about ten o'clock in the
evening, when all the students go out to parties and pubs.
We have also some good museums like the DA2 of modern art, situated in an old prison and the ''Casa
Lis'', a beautiful house with modernist style, inked glass windows and big collection of dolls from
different places and moments ( some of them cute, some of them funny, some of them scary...)
There are also a lot of music concerts of all styles in different pubs, parks and theatres, and there are
also a lot of cinemas and street performances like jugglers, musicians, clowns and a lot of different
theatre performances.
We will also visit Avila with its big walls of the middle age and Zamora which has got a lot of
Romanesque churches.
We will also travel to the Sierra de Francia, in the south of the province, where I hope we will enjoy lots
of excellent views of the region around.
Of course we will go to Madrid and there to the Prado, Thyssen and Santa Sofía art museums, to the
science museum, the park of ''El Retiro'' where we can rent some boats in a little artificial lake and lay
in the grass for hours. We can also go walking around the centre and see the main square, the Espańa
square, the Gran Via with all its theaters and more interesting places.
And remember. If you come, you will never forget Salamanca and its people. We will help you in
whatever you need.
I hope I'll see you soon.
IES FERNANDO DE ROJAS
MAIN SQUARE
16
Hola Alice.
Querría invitarte a Salamanca. Sé que es un largo viaje desde Australia pero estoy seguro de que si
vienes te lo pasarás bien.
En Salamanca visitaremos la Plaza Mayor donde podemos sentarnos y divertirnos, a veces allí hay
gente dando abrazos gratis y haciendo
También visitaremos la Catedral. La parte nueva fue construida en el siglo XVI mientras el estilo Gótico
estaba expandido por Europa. La parte vieja fue construida en el siglo XII con estilo Románico.
También hay muchos bonitos parques y plazas donde te puedes sentar y leer un libro o hablar con tus
Pero las calles de Salamanca despiertan de jueves a domingo al rededor de las diez de la noche,
cuando todos los estudiantes van a fiestas y a bares.
También tenemos algunos buenos museos como el DA2 de arte moderno, situado en una antigua
prisión y la Casa Lis, una preciosa casa de estilo modernista, con cristaleras de colores y una gran
colección de muńecas de distintos lugares y momentos (algunas adorables, algunas graciosas, algunas
terroríficas...).
También hay muchos conciertos de música de todos los estilos en diferentes bares, parques y teatros,
además hay muchos cines y actuaciones de cale como malabaristas, músicos, payasos y muchas
diferentes actuaciones de teatro.
También visitaremos Ávila con sus grandes murallas de la edad media y Zamora, que tiene muchas
iglesias románicas.
Viajaremos igualmente a la Sierra de Francia, en el sur de la provincia, donde espero podremos
disfrutar de estupendas vistas de los alrededores.
Desde luego iremos a Madrid y allí a los museos de arte del Prado, Thyssen y Santa Sofía, el museo de la
ciencia, el parque de El Retiro donde podemos alquilar unos botes en un pequeńo lago artificial y
reposar en la hierba durante horas. También podemos ir a dar una vuelta por el centro y ver la plaza
mayor, la plaza Espańa, la Gran Vía con todos sus teatros y más sitios interesantes.
Y recuerda. Si vienes, nunca olvidarás Salamanca ni a sus gentes. Te ayudaremos en todo lo que
necesites.
Espero verte pronto.
IES FERNANDO DE ROJAS
PLAZA MAYOR
17
ALICE VISITS SPAIN
Tuesday
I got off on the runway of the Madrid airport Barajas and everything started.
A great adventure of my life was about to happen but I didn't realize it yet.
I was both excited and tired of the journey. To my surprise lots of people were awaiting at the airport:
all my cousins, but also my friends from Italy, Germany and Poland. They informed me that the school
to which I was invited had many guests from other European countries. At first I was afraid to speak
but then I had an idea that “the devil is not so black as it is painted”, as the befriended Poles say,
because we all could understand one another without any problems.
I was greeted very warmly and we headed for the coach to take us to Salamanca, a town about three
hours away from Madrid. The company was a bit confounded at first but after a while we all were
having nice chats. The Italians and the Germans appeared to be very lively and talkative. The Poles
were observing their foreign friends but soon they also joined the conversations mainly about music,
the basic topic during the journey to Salamanca.The idea that I couldn't deal with stress and the
question if I could manage during my stay in Spain haunted me. It was the first meeting with so many
strangers. Could I understand them? My languages abilities were the key point to enjoy the stay. But
again everything went right. The people were so friendly especially Juliet the first person to meet who
was my guide and a great friend. At last I felt how it was to have a sister. A great feeling! Juliet was so
protective as an “older“ sister and thanks to her every Spanish moment was superb and
unique.When we arrived Hose, a teacher from the Spanish school, said “See you tomorrow” and
Juliet, her aunt and me started to the car. We walked along narrow and winding streets talking about
the buildings passed by. It was in the evening but Salamanca beamed with a special light. It was then
when I fell in love with this place.When we got home I was so exhausted that everything I dreamed
about was to go to bed quickly. Juliet had another plan. She gave me a while to unpack and invited me
to see the town. “ The town? Now? Greeeeat!”, I thought. I stopped thinking how tired I was and we
went out. Our destination was a nearby park where we met Julia's friend Maria with her foreign friend
Oliwia from Poland. It was a nice meeting. The girls showed us round the area and revealed their
plans for the next day. I liked Mary at once. At that moment I stopped being afraid of the next day. I
was excited and I didn't want the evening to end. Back at home I felt so sleepy that I couldn't eat
supper and I went to bed right away.
18
Wtorek, 24 marca.
Wysiadłam z samolotu na madryckim lotnisku Barajas i od tego wszystko się zaczęło.
Rozpoczęła się wielka przygoda mojego życia, chociaż sama jeszcze nie do końca zdawałam sobie z
tego sprawę.Byłam zmęczona podróżą, ale jednocześnie podekscytowana. Okazało się, że na lotnisku
czekali na mnie nie tylko kuzyni, ale i przyjaciele z Włoch, Niemiec i Polski. Okazało się, że trafiłam na
czas, kiedy szkoła , do której i ja miałam chodzić , przyjmowała gości z różnych krajów Europy. Na
początku obawiałam się bariery językowej, ale już po krótkiej chwili rozmowy doszłam do wniosku, że
„nie taki diabeł straszny, jak go malują”- co zwykli mawiać zaprzyjaźnieni potem Polacy- i rozumiemy
się wzajemnie bez większych problemów. Zaraz po powitaniu, udaliśmy się wszyscy do autokaru,
którym mieliśmy dojechać do oddalonej o jakieś 3 godz. drogi od Madrytu- Salamanki. Całe
towarzystwo, najpierw nieco speszone, już po chwili zaczęło żywą konwersację. Włosi i Niemcy okazali
się bardzo rozmowni - przez pewien czas buzie im się nie zamykały. Polacy natomiast
z początku tylko obserwowali, ale już po niedługim czasie również włączyli się do rozmów
o muzyce, które w czasie trasy Madryt- Salamanka zdecydowanie przeważały
w autokarze. Około godziny 18:00 czasu lokalnego dojechaliśmy na plac Palacio Arzobispo Fonseca,
gdzie czekała na mnie reszta rodziny oraz mnóstwo innych ludzi. Stres mnie nie opuszczał. Ciągle
myślałam , jak ja sobie poradzę? Przecież widzę ich pierwszy raz w życiu! Czy znajdziemy wspólny
język? Od tego przecież miało zależeć, czy tydzień przeze mnie tam spędzony, będzie udany, czy też nie.
Kolejny jednak raz, zdenerwowanie okazało się zupełnie niepotrzebne. Wszyscy okazali się tacy
sympatyczni i przyjaźnie usposobieni, a szczególnie Julia, którą było mi dane poznać chyba najlepiej,
bo to jej przypadł obowiązek czuwania nade mną. Nareszcie mogłam poczuć, jak to jest mieć
rodzeństwo! Wspaniałe uczucie! Julia bardo przejmowała się rolą „starszej siostry”- dzięki jej
wsparciu każda 'hiszpańska chwila' wydawała mi się cudowna i jedyna w swoim rodzaju.
Po tym jak pan Hose, nauczyciel z hiszpańskiej szkoły, przekazał mnie mojej nowej rodzinie,
pożegnałam się z wszystkimi i rzucając krótkie „see you tomorrow” wraz z Julią i ciocią udałyśmy się w
stronę samochodu. Stawiając pierwsze kroki na salamandzkiej ziemi, idąc bocznymi, ciasnymii
krętymi, uliczkami, słuchałam opowieści cioci i Julii, które pokazywały mi coraz to nowe budynki. Był
wieczór, ale nawet wtedy Salamanka promieniowała jedynym w swoim rodzaju światłem. Już wtedy
zakochałam się w tym mieście. Kiedy dojechałyśmy do domu, byłam taka zmęczona, że jedyne, o czym
tak naprawdę marzyłam, to porządnie się wyspać. Julia jednak miała nieco inne plany i dając mi chwilę
na rozpakowanie, zarządziła wyjście na miasto. „Na miasto!? O tej porze? Ale suuuper!” pomyślałam. I
zmęczenie jakoś mi przeszło. Za chwilę byłyśmy już na ulicy i skierowałyśmy się w stronę pobliskiego
parku, gdzie po krótkiej chwili spotkałyśmy się z przyjaciółką Julii- Marii, która także przyprowadziła
swoją podopieczną- Oliwię z Polski. Było bardzo miło. Dziewczyny pokazały nam okolicę
i opowiedziały, co będziemy robili jutro. Marii też od razu polubiłam- pomyślałam wtedy, że jeśli oni
wszyscy są tacy fajni, to naprawdę nie ma się co bać kolejnego dnia. Zmęczenie mi minęło i chciałam,
aby ten wieczór nigdy się nie skończył. Kiedy jednak dotarłyśmy do domu, senność wróciła i, dziękując
za kolację, położyłam się do łóżka.
19
Wednesday 25th
The alarm clock kept ringing. I woke up at 7 o'clock. Juliet and me didn't want to get up so we turned
lazily in bed but it was time to go. First the bathroom, next the kitchen to have great breakfast and
then to school. I met Julia's and Mary's friends there. Great people! The first lesson was mathematics
which I'm not into but it was no problem to survive there because the mathematician didn't ask me
any questions.
I guess I didn't understand a word during the lesson but I felt that maths in Spanish is much more
interesting than in Polish.
Next hours we spent in the garden at the back of the school. No teachers of course! It was great. The
garden was fantastic. Green lawns and no litter, I'm sure I wouldn't have such a clean garden in my
school, and here it was very clean. We used bilingual dictionaries German-Spanish, Spanish-Polish,
English, Italian and God knows which more. We stayed there until lunch. Around 2 p.m. we went home
to eat something.
After lunch the teachers and students from Italy, Poland, Germany and Spain went to sightsee
Salamanca. The time went by quickly. Salamanca was such a pretty town. There are loads of Gothic
buildings but different from the Polish ones, they were all yellow not red, which made Salamanca
sunny even on rainy days. Young people were strolling up and down the streets, mainly students from
one of the oldest universities in Spain. The young people and the old town it was very strange like a
young girl dressed up in an pretty Gothic dress. And I immediately knew I wanted to come back here,
to study maybe?
20
Środa, 25 marca
Obudziło mnie uparte dzwonienie budzika. Była 7:00 rano. Obydwie z Julią leniwie przewróciłyśmy się
na drugi bok a tu już czas wstawać. Po porannej toalecie udałyśmy się do kuchni na śniadanie, a potem
do szkoły. Tam poznałam resztę znajomych Julii i Marii. Było super. Pierwszą lekcją okazała się być
matematyka, czyli to, za czym z reguły nie przepadam, ale tym razem przeżyłam tę lekcję bez
większego problemu, głównie z tego powodu, że nauczyciel taktownie mnie taktownie o nic
związanego z matematyką nie pytał.
Pomijam oczywiście, że nic z tych zajęć nie zrozumiałam, ale z sali wyszłam z głębokim przekonaniem,
że matematyka po hiszpańsku wydaje się o wiele ciekawsza.
Następne godziny, zamiast na lekcjach, spędziliśmy wszyscy razem w ogrodzie na tyłach szkoły - krótko
mówiąc urwaliśmy się z lekcji i było ekstra. Wracając do ogrodu - prezentował się wspaniale. Zielona
trawa na zadbanych trawnikach, żadnych śmieci - jestem pewna, że w wielu szkołach taki ład
i porządek nie utrzymałby się dłużej niż przez pierwszy tydzień istnienia szkoły- a tu proszę - czysto
i przyjemnie. Czas na rozmowach i przeglądaniu niemiecko-hiszpańskich, hiszpańsko-polskich,
angielsko- włoskich, itp. słowników upłynął nam aż do pory obiadowej. Tzn. do czasu lunchu. Około
godz. 14:00 wszyscy rozeszliśmy się do domów na obiad.
Następnie, po krótkim czasie spędzonym z rodziną, wszyscy razem nauczyciele i uczniowie z Włoch,
Polski, Niemiec i Hiszpanii - udaliśmy się zwiedzanie Salamanki. Dzień upłynął mi bardzo szybko.
Salamanka to naprawdę piękne miasto. Mnóstwo w nim gotyckich budynków, ale różnią się od tego
gotyku, który znałam z innych miejsc kamienie są żółte, nie czerwone, przez to Salamanka nawet
w chmurny dzień wygląda jak zalana słońcem. Po ulicach spacerowało mnóstwo młodych ludzi. To
głównie studenci z najstarszego w Hiszpanii uniwersytetu. To takie dziwne, stare miasto z młodymi
mieszkańcami. Jak młoda dziewczyna ubrana w przepiękną średniowieczną kreację. Już wiem, że chcę
tu wrócić, może na studia?
21
Thursday 26th
Wake up! It's 7 o'clock. At 8.15 we went to school. The best lesson was P.E. We had loud music
from the loudspeakers by the ceiling and everybody was making various acrobatic movements. It was
incredible! The fit boys arranged their shows with turnovers and jumps. Simon, one of the Germans,
joined the Spanish in a complex arrangement and he was great.
After school at about 11 a.m. our international group went to the Town Hall. Many important persons
said hello to us there and we took fine pictures in the reception hall and on the balcony overlooking
the main square of Salamanca. I felt like a queen who greeted the crowds. I was more cheerful than
she was I think.
At noon we visited Casa Lis Museum and in the lunchtime we went home. The next meeting was in
the afternoon. The teachers and the students met to see Leronimus Cathedral. There were two
cathedrals in Salamanca amazing! The younger one was built because the town needed a more
attractive place, according to the bishop of that time. To me, he was wrong but now Salamanca has
two really fantastic cathedrals.
We parted our teachers next and went to the park so beautiful that it made me think I was in a fairy
tale. That park was perfect for me. I could give play to my imagination about various things that is
what I love doing. On the way there we bought some food and we ate it on the grass talking about our
countries. It was fun.
The Spanish surprised us with a fantastic supper in a Chinese restaurant. We were sitting at a very
loooong table to midnight. Julia acted a teacher and instructed us how to use sticks to eat. More
laughter than teaching but at last I could use them. Pablo was a better student. He fixed pieces of food
on a stick and straight to the mouth. Fast and efficient. Julia didn't notice that of course. Genius! The
last thing we did was a pyramid of empty plastic cones, of which the most belonged to Pablo. He was a
dedicated ice-cream addict! Relaxed and full we went home. Julia and I were late for about two hours.
It was midnight so we went to our room very quietly. That day was one of the best Thursdays in my
life.
22
Czwartek, 26 marca.
Pobudka o 7:00 rano i na 8:15 do szkoły. W środę najzabawniejszy był w-f. Przy muzyce
wydobywającej się z głośników zawieszonych pod sufitem na sali gimnastycznej leciała muzyka,
a uczniowie wykonywali różne, czasami nawet bardzo dziwne figury akrobatyczne. To było
niesamowite! Sprawniejsi chłopacy montowali świetne układy z elementami przewrotów, wyskoków
itp. Miło było przyglądać się temu wszystkiemu. Zwłaszcza, że Simon - jeden z Niemców - zdecydował
się brać udział w skomplikowanym pokazie. Simon za co się zabierał, był w tym świetny, wic okazał się
tez niezłym akrobatą.
Po pobycie w szkole, o godzinie 11:00, wraz z międzynarodowa grupą udaliśmy się na wizytę do
Ratuszu. Zostaliśmy tam przyjęci przez ważne osobistości, robiliśmy sobie zdjęcia
w pięknej sali, a potem spoglądaliśmy z balkonu na główny plac Salamanki i przez chwilę czułam się jak
angielska królowa, która pozdrawia tłumy. Może nawet lepiej, bo sądzę, że było mi znacznie weselej
niż jej w takiej chwili.
Następnie, około godziny 12:00, udaliśmy się na zwiedzanie Casa Lis Museum, później nastał czas
lunchu. Rozeszliśmy się do domów i umówiliśmy na wspólnie z nauczycielami na zwiedzanie Katedry
Leronimus w godzinach popołudniowych. Katedra, a raczej katedry w Salamance są imponujące.
Rzadko się zdarza, aby w jednym mieście były aż dwie. Ta druga, młodsza powstała podobno dlatego,
że jeden z dawnych biskupów stwierdził, iż pierwsza jest zbyt mało reprezentacyjna. Moim zdaniem się
mylił, ale dzięki jego pomysłowi Salamanka ma się czym pochwalić.
Po wizycie w katedrze rozstaliśmy się z nauczycielami i całą grupą udaliśmy się do położonego
niedaleko parku, który od razu wydał mi się przepiękny, niczym z bajki. Takie miejsca są stworzone dla
mnie. Mogę w nich do woli fantazjować na różne tematy, a to jedna z moich specjalności. Po drodze
zaopatrzyliśmy się w niezbędny prowiant i rozkładając się w pełnym słońcu na zielonej
przypominającej łąkę trawie opowiadaliśmy sobie o naszych państwach. Było bardzo wesoło. Potem
okazało się, że Hiszpanie przygotowali małą niespodziankę - kolację w chińskiej restauracji. Było
świetnie! Siedzieliśmy tam przy baaardzo długim stole i gadaliśmy o wszystkim do później nocy. Julia
przejęła się rolą nauczycielki czuła się w obowiązku nauczyć nas posługiwać się chińskimi pałeczkami.
Śmiechu było więcej niż nauki, ale pałeczki- jakimś cudem- nauczyłam się chociaż trzymać- co innego
z posługiwaniem się nimi. Pablo znalazł dla nas lepszy i zdecydowanie mniej skomplikowany sposób nakłuwanie jedzenia na jedną z pałeczek i szybkie kierowanie tego w stronę ust, tak żeby Julia nie
widziała. Genialne! Wszyscy mieliśmy niezły ubaw. Na zakończenie wieczoru na środku stołu stanęła
wieża z naszych opróżnionych kubeczków od lodów- jej monstrualną wielkość zawdzięczaliśmy
w szczególności Pablowi, któremu ewidentnie lody smakowały. Późnym wieczorem, najedzeni
i zadowoleni leniwie udaliśmy się do domów. Spóźniłyśmy się z Julią tylko o 2 godz - ok. 00:00 cicho
skierowałyśmy się do swojego pokoju. Ten czwartek, był zdecydowanie jednym z najlepszych
czwartków w moim życiu.
23
Friday 27th
It was to be a very interesting day. After breakfast we went to school as usual. But something was to be
different we were to have workshop and a basketball match. Yeees! I was looking forward to it. During
the workshop we were instructed how to write a funny story to our international book. Julia was
writing a song it was funny! Later she showed us a typical internet page tuenti. All Spaniards had
profiles on that page. Afterwards, a basketball match. At last! I was so excited by the match and Pablo
by picking up the team. We started about 11. The competition was hard because all Spanish were
masters who had started playing many years before. But it wasn't the reason to worry. We decided to
have fun and even scored a point for our team! Amazing experience. Julia was our fan and it was a real
match for me.
After lunch we went to Zamora. Great place. Twenty one Romanesque churches in one place is really
something! I have to admit that Salamanca was more interesting for me. “Perhaps because of the
people”, Carlos implied. He was right.
At dawn we were back home. In the evening Julia's sister Sophie played the piano. It was so sweet.
I am not sentimental but I felt touched and happy to be there.
24
Piatek, 27 marca.
Piątek zapowiadał się naprawdę ciekawie. Po śniadaniu standardowo udałyśmy się z Julią do szkoły.
Ale dzisiaj miało być trochę inaczej- czekały nas warsztaty i mecz koszykówki. Taaak! Meczu nie
mogłam doczekać się najbardziej. Na warsztatach każdy miał za zadanie napisać śmieszną historyjkę
do wspólnej książki, albo chociaż coś w tym rodzaju. Julia w naszym wspólnym imieniu pisała piosenkę
- było śmiesznie. Później, kiedy zostało nam jeszcze trochę czasu, Julia pokazywała mi typową
hiszpańską młodzieżową stronę internetową- tuenti. Podobno ma tam założony swój profil większość
uczniów ich szkoły i nie tylko. Później nastał czas na koszykówkę. Nareszcie! Byłam bardzo
podekscytowana meczem, a Pablo- znajomy, przesympatyczny Hiszpan - kompletowaniem drużyn.
Zaczęliśmy grę około godziny 11:00. Konkurencja była nieprzeciętna, a nawet powiedziałabym
mistrzowska, ponieważ ludzie, którzy grali po stronie hiszpańskiej trenowali koszykówkę już od
dawna, ale dlaczego mielibyśmy odpuścić z tego powodu?! Zamiast martwić się o wynik postawiliśmy
na zabawę. Walczyliśmy zajadle i wygraliśmy ostatni mecz! Do dziś nie wiem, jak się nam to udało!
Wszyscy byli bardzo szczęśliwi. Udało mi się nawet zdobyć punkt dla naszego zespołu! To było
niesamowite przeżycie. Julia przez cały czas kibicowała nam z trybun, a ja czułam się jak na
prawdziwym meczu
Po przedpołudniu pełnym wrażeń rozeszliśmy się do domów na lunch. Razem z Julią opowiadaliśmy jej
rodzicom i siostrze o naszym dzisiejszym, wielkim zwycięstwie w tak trudnym meczu.
Po obiedzie miałam wyruszyliśmy w na wycieczkę do Zamory. Miasto okazało się bardzo interesujące.
W końcu 21 romańskich kościołów w jednym mieście to nie byle co! Ale muszę wyznać, że Salamanka
zdecydowanie bardziej przypadła mi do gustu. Może to zasługa ludzi, jak to zasugerował Carlos?
Wydaje mi się, że mógł mieć rację.
Po powrocie, już o zmierzchu, wszyscy skierowali się do domów. Tego wieczora, siostra Julii - Sophizagrała mi jeszcze wyjątkowo poruszającą melodię na pianinie. To było takie miłe, nie jestem
sentymentalna, ale poczułam się wzruszona i po raz kolejny szczęśliwa, że tu jestem.
25
Saturday 28th
Saturday, so what? They dragged me out of my bed at sunrise. The coach was waiting for us. Our
destination was Sierra de Friancia sounds exotic, doesn't it? On the bus we had lots of topics to discuss
and jokes to make. Boys bet that Pablo could kiss sleeping Bartek. Besides… nobody there was at their
wits. What a great team!
We went to the top of a very high mountain. The temperature was low, as for Spain, and we were a bit
frozen but we visited an exceptionally interesting church. The fog covered everything so thickly that it
was difficult to see anything, which made a very uncommon atmosphere.
The serpentine down and very picturesque towns at the foot of the hill. I bought some sweet, tasty
nuts in a honey coat. They were so delicious that I ate everything quickly and than bought some more
to give them away in Poland. Grandad Norman would like them for sure!
Lunch in Miranda del Castaòar and a free afternoon with mad Spanish, Poles and Germans. I would
like to have more visits at Salamancan Mc Donald's!
26
Sobota, 28 marca.
Sobota, a mnie zwlekli z łóżka bladym świtem. Już bardzo rano czekał na wszystkich podstawiony
autokar. Naszym celem stała się Sierra de Friancia - brzmi egzotycznie, prawda? Oczywiście
w autokarze nie brakowało tematów do rozmów, a tym bardziej pretekstów do robienia sobie
kawałów. Chłopacy zakładali się o kanapkę, czy Pablo pocałuje śpiącego Bartka? Z resztą... tam nikt nie
był do końca normalny. Lepszego składu ludzi ze świecą szukać!
Wracając jednak do mojej opowieści... wjechaliśmy autokarem na sam szczyt wysokiej góry.
W każdym razie było to coś takiego. I tam - gdzie temperatura była wyjątkowo niska, jak na Hiszpanię,
zmarznięci zwiedzaliśmy wyjątkowo interesujący mały kościół. Jeszcze bardziej jednak od zwiedzania
podobała mi się mgła, która spowiła w górach dosłownie wszystko - z początku nie było praktycznie nic
widać, ale za to atmosfera tego miejsca była niesamowita.
Potem zjechaliśmy serpentyną w dół i zwiedzaliśmy urokliwe hiszpańskie miasteczka, które wyglądały
tak jak wieki temu. Na jednym ze straganów kupiłam wyjątkowo słodkie, pyszne, orzechy w czymś, co
przypominało miodową polewę. Zajadałam się tym przez cały pobyt na rynku, a kiedy nadszedł czas na
powrót zrobiłam duży zapas do domu. Dziadkowi Normanowi na pewno się to spodoba!
Potem był Lunch w Miranda del Castańar i wolne popołudnie spędzone w mieście
w towarzystwie szalonych Hiszpanów, Polaków i Niemców. Życzyłabym sobie więcej takich wypadów
do hiszpańskiego Mc Donalds'a!
27
Sunday 29th
Visit to Madrid!!! I was so excited. The capital of such a country like Spain was really something to me.
Three hours' long journey was nothing compared to a visit. Madrid was twice bigger than I had
expected, perhaps even more.
The first was Prado Museum the biggest in Spain.
I had a thrill down the spine to enter the place of which I had been dreaming for a long time. How
couldn't I become a lifetime optimist? One of my dreams came true with the opening of massive brass
door … and the stands to check whether I was not a terrorist in a teenage girl disguise. Nobody
promised to come into paradise without any effort.
I was checked against guns and other weapons and left all unnecessary things in the cloakroom. We
went to meet Goya, Velazquez, Bosch, Brueghel and many other gifted artists whose art impressed
me totally.
At the end of a day in Madrid we were surprised once more. On the way back to Salamanca we visited
Avile a town of one of Pablos. Almost immediately Pablo volunteered to be our guide and during the
tour round the town he frightened us that he lost the way and we wouldn't manage to get home that
day, which were the jokes of his. He led us to his uncle's restaurant who was waiting for us to meet us
warmly in the entrance. Pablo's uncle served fantastic tapas, that is small snacks among which
a crunchy bacon and nuts made us eat them hungrily but with great pleasure.
28
Niedziela, 29 marca.
Viisit to Madrid!!! Ale byłam podekscytowana! Stolica takiego kraju, jak Hiszpania to jednak jest coś. Przeszło
3 godzinna podróż, była niczym w porównaniu do tego co zobaczyłam wraz z minięciem tablicy informującej
o w j e ź d z i e d o s t o l i c y. M a d r y t o ka za ł s i ę d w a ra z y w i ę k s z y, n i ż p r z y p u s zc za ł a m ,
a może nawet jeszcze trochę bardziej.
W planach mieliśmy najpierw największe w Hiszpanii „Prado Museum”.
Przed samym wejściem poczułam dreszczyk emocji, pomyślałam, że zaraz znajdę się w miejscu
o którym od dawna marzyłam, żeby się znaleźć. I jak tu w takiej chwili nie stać się dożywotnim optymistą? Jedno
z m o i c h w i ę kszyc h m a r ze ń o t w i e ra ł o p r ze d e m n ą s wo j e w i e l k i e , m o s i ęż n e d r zw i ,
a zaraz za progiem ukazywało serię bramek sprawdzających, czy nie jestem aby terrorystą w przebraniu
nastolatki. No cóż, nikt nie twierdził, że do raju wchodzi się od tak.
Po chwili oczekiwania na 'rewizję' i pozostawienia wszystkich zbędnych rzeczy w szatni, udaliśmy się w końcu na
spotkanie z Goya'ą, Velazquez'em, Bosch'em, Bruegel'em, a także wieloma innymi, równie utalentowanymi
artystami, których dzieła wywarły na mnie niesamowite wrażenie.
Pod koniec dnia spędzonego w Madrycie czekała nas wszystkich jeszcze jedna niespodzianka w drodze powrotnej do Salamanki odwiedziliśmy jeszcze rodzinne miasto jednego z Pabl'ów- Avile. Pablo
niemal od razu ogłosił się przewodnikiem i kilka razy żartował, że zgubił się i chyba dzisiaj nie wrócimy tak
szybko do domu. Potem zaprowadził nas on do restauracji swojego wuja, który przywitał nas bardzo serdecznie,
częstując typowymi dla jego pubu przekąskami. Największą furorę zrobił chrupiący boczek i różnego rodzaju
orzechy, które pochłonęliśmy natychmiast.
Wyczerpani ogromem wrażeń, zmęczeni, wróciliśmy do domów.
29
Monday 30th March
Monday morning was blue to me. We started thinking about returning home to Poland but everybody
wanted to stay in Spain as long as possible. I tried not to think about the next day and enjoy the last
“Spanish” day.
In the morning we went to school for the last time. First chemistry and we were let spend the
afternoon by ourselves. Our group gathered without teachers supervision and we had a shopping
spree. Suddenly it started to rain then to hail. We found a shelter quickly and observed that strange
weather. The Spanish were as much surprised as we were. That was really something! It was raining
for about 3 minutes and then the sun appeared. It could only happen when we were there and on the
last day!.
Immediately after lunch, ironing, and packing Julia and I went to catch a bus. Julia's mother was to
come later. It took us short to get to the hotel, which was our checking point. It was chilly that evening
so everybody a bit frozen and anxious was waiting in front of the hotel restaurant for others to come
and enter the building.
The party was getting better every minute. At first we heard some official speeches to thank the
guests, some songs performed in groups and then we started talking. I think that on the last day
everybody felt how close be become to each other. We were sitting at the round tables speaking
English only. To me everybody tried not to think about the journey, our homes back in our countries
but enjoy the moments together.
Around midnight the party ended. Later we took many photos. I was to get up at 3 a.m. in the morning
the next day but nevertheless I couldn't sleep thinking about the passing week. Not knowing when I
fell asleep but in a bad mood.
30
Poniedziałek, 30 marca.
Poniedziałek zaliczyłam do grupy tych „smutnych dni”. W powietrzu wisiał wyjazd, który wszyscy
tak bardzo chcieli odłożyć, próbowałam nie myśleć o jutrze i cieszyć się ostatnim 'hiszpańskim dniem'.
Rano, po raz ostatni udaliśmy się do szkoły. Posiedzieliśmy tylko na chemii, a potem pozwolono nam
spędzić razem wolne popołudnie. Zebraliśmy się całą 'grupą' bez nadzoru tym razem, rzecz jasna,
w mieście i urządziliśmy sobie ostatni już rajd po sklepach. W pewnej chwili, zupełnie
niespodziewanie, zaczął padać deszcz, a właściwie grad. Schowaliśmy się w jednym ze sklepów i
bacznie obserwowaliśmy to dziwne zjawisko. Z rozbawieniem stwierdzam, że Hiszpanie byli tak samo
zaskoczeni jak my. To dopiero było coś! Deszcz popadał z 3 min, a zaraz potem wyszło piękne słońce.
Takie rzeczy to tylko z nami i akurat w mój ostatni dzień pobytu w Salamance!
Po całym męczącym popołudniu, spędzonym na zakupach, udaliśmy się do domów, szykować na
kolację pożegnalną, na której mieliśmy pojawić się o godz. 21:00.
Zaraz po lunchu, wyprasowaniu ciuchów, wybrałyśmy się z Julią - jej mama miała dojechać później - na
autobus. Dość szybko znalazłyśmy się na miejscu. Tego wieczoru było wyjątkowo chłodno, więc
wszyscy, zmarznięci i zniecierpliwieni, czekali przed hotelową restauracją, aż uzbiera się komplet
zaproszonych gości i będziemy mogli zacząć 'imprezę'.. tyle, że pożegnalną.
Zabawa z każdą chwilą się rozkręcała, były oficjalne podziękowania, jak i wspólne śpiewanie, zdjęcia
i niekończące się rozmowy. Myślę, że tego ostatniego wieczoru wszyscy najsilniej odczuli, jak bardzo
się do siebie zbliżyliśmy, zżyliśmy ze sobą. Przy stolikach panowała radosna atmosfera 'only english'
i zdawało się, patrząc na to wszystko, że ludzie starają się nie myśleć o jutrzejszym wyjeździe, o
powrotach do swoich domów, w swoich krajach.
Przyjęcie trwało w najlepsze do późnej nocy, a zakończyła je seria grupowych zdjęć pamiątkowych. Po
powrocie do domu - choć następnego dnia pobudkę miałam mieć już o 3 rano - długo nie mogłam
zasnąć. Myślałam o tym całym tygodniu, który upłynął mi szybko. Nawet nie wiem, kiedy w końcu
zapadłam w sen, wiem tylko, że tym razem w nienajlepszym humorze.
31
Tuesday 31st March
The description of that day wouldn't show the feeling we had tears, planning next meetings. The
farewell with my Spanish family was very sad all the time with wet eyes. I don't remember when I had
felt so moved before. It definitely wasn't my style.
After 15 minutes of hugging and crying we said goodbye and see you awaiting for next meetings very
soon!
Julia whispered that it was the last opportunity to flee and go home for a week longer, what the
difference indeed? She amused me with this ideal plan and we started laughing with tears coming
down our cheeks. That moment was really sad but I will remember the week in Spain, the people, the
food, the climate and many other experiences for the rest of my life and a day longer… Besides, I'm
planning to come here again to enrich my memories.
32
Wtorek, 31 marca.
Opis tego poranka zmieścić można w słowach - ciągły płacz i planowanie kolejnych spotkań.
Pożegnanie z moja nową hiszpańską rodziną i przyjaciółmi było łzawe, oj bardzo łzawe, nie pamiętam
już, kiedy ostatni raz wzruszyłam się aż tak bardzo. To przecież nie w moim stylu.
Ale płaczu tym razem nie dało się opanować, minęło dobre 15 min zanim wszyscy odpowiednio mocno
się wyciskali i powiedzieli ostateczne 'goodbye' albo - co wydawało nam się lepsze - 'see you'- bo
w końcu mamy zamiar się jeszcze zobaczyć. I to niedługo!
Julia w ostatnim momencie dla rozładowania atmosfery szepnęła mi do ucha, że to już ostatnia szansa
na szybka ucieczkę, że wrócę do domu z tygodniowym opóźnieniem najwyżej, bo w końcu co to za
różnica? Rozbawiła mnie tym 'planem idealnym' i w końcu razem śmiałyśmy się przez łzy. Odwrót
z miejsca odjazdu nam się niestety nie udał, ale tydzień w Hiszpanii, ludzi, kulturę, jedzenie,klimat i
długo by tak jeszcze wymieniać- zapamiętam do końca życia i prawdopodobnie o jeden dzień dłużej...
Zresztą, planuję tam oczywiście jeszcze wrócić i wzbogacić wspomnienia rzecz jasna.
Wróciłam do domu szczęśliwa i spełniona. Ta wyprawa dała mi bardzo wiele - teraz czas pomyśleć nad
następną wycieczką - może gdzieś w drodze znowu się spotkamy, Hiszpanie, Włosi, Polacy? To
niewykluczone. Tydzień zamknięty, a ja mam najlepsze na świecie wspomnienia.
33
Chapter III
INVITATION TO GERMANY
Hello Alice,
We are very happy that you will come and we are really looking forward
to meeting you (get to know you). I'm sure you like to already learn some
things about our city and it's environment.
Traunstein is situated in the middle of Europe. Traunstein is in the southeast fo Germany, close to the Austrian border, in south-east Bavaria.
It is very important for you to know all of that, because southern Bavaria
differs quite a lot in language, habits and customs from the rest of
Germany. It has a certain independence. In many parts of the world
people think that our clothing, our dances and our music is "typical for
Germany", although it only concerns a little part of Germany in the very
south.
The City Traunstein
Traunstein is situated in the Chiemgau at the river "Traun". The
Chiemgau is a very appealing area between the edge of the alps in the
south and the lake Chiemsee in the north. The city's height about the
sea level is 591 m and it has about 18.000 inhabitants.
History of the city
The name "Traunstein" means "Castle at Traun" and was documented in
1245 for the first time. But the first settlements head back to 790 A. D.
In the past the city experienced an economical boom by trading with
salt. When the wood for seething the salt became rare in Bad
Reichenhall, the court's architect Hans Reiffenstuel, after whom our
school is being named, built a brine pipeline from the old saline in Bad
Reichenhall to the new one in Traunstein. It's being considered as the
world''s oldest pipeline, as it had to overcome an altitude of 1.000
metres with the help of pumping stations. At that time it was
considered a great technical sensation. The saline in Traunstein has
been operating untill 1912.
There were two heavy town fires in Traunstein in 1704 and 1851. Almost all houses and towers of the
city had been destroyed during these fires.
Now, you know something about our region, all the other sights and nice places I will show you by
myself.
I am glad to see you
See you soon
34
Willkommen in Traunstein
einer europäischen, deutschen und bayerischen Stadt
Hallo Alice,
heute laden wir dich nach Traunstein ein und freuen uns auf dein
Kommen. Wir können es kaum erwarten, dich endlich kennen zulernen.
Es wird dich sicher interessieren, jetzt schon einiges über unsere Stadt
zu erfahren.
Traunstein liegt in der Mitte Europas und im Südosten Deutschlands,
nahe an der Grenze zu Österreich, in Südostbayern.
Es ist sehr wichtig für dich, das zu wissen, denn das südliche Bayern
unterscheidet sich in sei-ner Sprache, seinen Sitten und Bräuchen stark
vom übrigen Deutschland. Es hat eine gewisse Eigenständigkeit. In
vielen Teilen der Welt betrachtet man unsere Kleidung, unsere Tänze
und unsere Musik als „typisch deutsch“, obwohl es sich nur um einen
kleinen Teil Deutsch-lands ganz im Süden handelt.
Die Stadt Traunstein
Traunstein liegt im Chiemgau am Fluss „Traun“. Der Chiemgau ist eine
besonders reizvolle Region zwischen dem Alpenrand im Sü-den und
dem Chiemsee im Nor-den. Die Stadt liegt 591 m. ü. NN und hat rund 18
000 Einwohner.
Traunstein ist eine Einkaufs- und Behördenstadt und hat mit ihren 17
Schulen eine weitere Bedeutung als Schulstadt. Auch an unsere Schule
kommen Schüler aus der ganzen Region mit Bussen und Zügen und
fahren nach Schulschluss um 13:45 Uhr wieder nach Hause.
Geschichte der Stadt
Der Name „Traunstein“ bedeutet „Burg an der Traun“ und wurde 1245
erstmals urkundlich erwähnt. Besiedelungen sind aber seit 790
nachweisbar. Eine große wirtschaftliche Blüte erlebte die Stadt in der
Vergangenheit durch den Salzhandel. Als das Holz zum Sieden des
Salzes in Bad Reichenhall knapp wurde, baute der Hofbaumei-ster Hans
Reiffenstuel, nach dem unsere Schule benannt ist, von 1616 bis 1619
eine Solelei-tung von der alten Saline in Bad Reichenhall zur neuen
Saline nach Traunstein. Sie gilt als die erste Pipeline der Welt, denn es
mussten 1000 Höhenmeter mit Pumpstationen überwunden werden. Zu dieser Zeit galt die
Soleleitung als große technische Sensation. Die Saline in Traunstein war bis 1912 in Betrieb.
Traunstein erlebte zwei große Stadtbrände (1704 und 1851). Dabei wurden beinahe alle Häu-ser und
Türme der Stadt zerstört.
So, nun habe ich dir schon einiges erzählt, alle anderen Sehenswürdigkeiten und schönen Orte
werden ich dir dann selbst zeigen.
Ich freue mich schon sehr.
Bis bald
35
ALICE IN GERMANY
As soon as I received the invitation from my German “colleagues” to go and visit their school, my
heart filled with joy and I rushed to prepare my luggage. I started throwing into the suitcase all the
necessaries……
……suddenly I found myself at Munich airport which was extremely tidy and clean. While I was waiting
for my luggage I had a glimpse from a distance of the German boys holding a notice with my name
written on it. I ran to hug them at once and, smiling at each other, we got to know. Along with them
there were also the Polish, Spanish and Italian students who had just arrived for the Comenius project.
We felt we were very important persons since we had been called to represent our schools: in that
very moment we realized what a great opportunity we had been offered to meet and compare
different cultures. It was so nice the way we welcomed and, even if we didn't know each other yet, we
realized we were on the same wavelength and that made me understand how friendship and getting
on well together go far beyond the boundaries.
After that we got our luggage the
German friends took me to the family
that would have had me as their guest in
Traunstein, a little town on the river
Traun, in the low Bavaria, a little more
than a hundred kilometers away from
Munich.
As soon as I got to my new house I met
the members of my hosting family; they
soon conveyed to me that happiness
that made me feel as if I were at home.
They showed me my room and in a little
while I made friends with all of them,
showing pictures of my town and my
family. During dinner we arranged the time to go
to the toilet next morning; at first it seemed to me
a little exaggerated and I was astonished at this
habit of theirs. The next morning… wake up at
five! I observed the timetable for the toilet, then I
went downstairs to have a big breakfast with
toasts and sliced ham; the table was very
appetizing, laid with various courses and peculiar
drinks. Soon after breakfast they gave me a
packed lunch to bring to school. My German
friend and I had to take a train to get to school: it
looked like a toy train so clean and brand new it
was. Then I realized that waking up early and observing fixed times is the best way to go through a
long day without problems.
Once we arrived at school, the “Reiffenstuel-Realschule” we bumped into a coming and going of
students in and out of their classrooms. The teachers welcomed me heartily and showed me their
school: it was big and decorated with many coloured pictures made by the students and they
conveyed a lot of happiness.
36
ALICE IN GERMANIA
Appena ricevuto l'invito dei miei “colleghi”
tedeschi per andare a visitare la loro scuola, mi
sono precipitata a fare i bagagli piena di
entusiasmo, buttando nella valigia tutto quello
che mi sarebbe potuto servire……
.…mi sono ritrovata all'improvviso
all'aeroporto di Monaco, estremamente
ordinato e pulito. Mentre ero intenta ad
aspettare i bagagli, ho intravisto da lontano i
ragazzi tedeschi che avevano un cartello con il
mio nome scritto sopra. Mi sono precipitata
subito ad abbracciarli e, tra un sorriso e l'altro,
abbiamo iniziato a conoscerci. Con loro c'erano
ad aspettarci anche i “colleghi” polacchi, spagnoli e italiani, arrivati anch'essi per il progetto Comenius.
Ci sentivamo come delle persone particolarmente importanti perché eravamo stati chiamati a
rappresentare le nostre scuole: in quel momento ci siamo resi conto della grande opportunità che ci
era stata offerta per conoscerci e confrontare culture diverse. E' stato bello il modo il cui ci siamo
accolti e, pur non conoscendoci, si è subito creata una sintonia che mi ha fatto capire che l'amicizia e lo
stare bene insieme non ha confini. Dopo aver preso i bagagli, i ragazzi tedeschi mi hanno
accompagnato dalla famiglia che mi avrebbe ospitato, a Traunstein, una cittadina situata sul fiume
Traun, nella bassa Baviera a poco più di cento chilometri da Monaco. Appena giunta nella mia nuova
casa ho fatto conoscenza con i membri della mia famiglia ospitante che mi hanno subito trasmesso
quella felicità che mi ha fatto sentire come se stessi a casa mia. Mi hanno mostrato la camera dove
avrei dormito per una settimana e ho fatto presto amicizia e mostrato loro immagini della mia città e
della mia famiglia. Durante la cena abbiamo fissato gli orari per andare al bagno la mattina seguente .
Al primo impatto mi è sembrato un po' esagerato e sono rimasta sbalordita da questa loro abitudine.
L'indomani mattina… sveglia alle cinque! Ho
rispettato gli orari del bagno per poi scendere a
fare una ricca colazione con toast e affettati; la
tavola era molto invitante, imbandita con varie
pietanze e bevande particolari. Subito dopo
colazione mi hanno dato un porta merende con il
mio pranzo da portare a scuola, per raggiungere la
quale io e la mia amica tedesca abbiamo dovuto
prendere un treno che, per la sua pulizia e ordine,
sembrava un giocattolo. Lì allora mi resi conto che
svegliarsi presto e seguire determinati orari è
importante per trascorrere meglio e senza
problemi una lunga giornata. Una volta arrivate a
scuola, la “Reiffenstuel-Realschule”, ci
imbattemmo in un via vai di ragazzi che entravano ed uscivano dalle classi autonomamente. I
professori mi hanno accolto calorosamente mostrandomi la scuola: era molto grande e decorata da
numerosi e coloratissimi disegni fatti dagli alunni, che trasmettevano tanta allegria.
37
Downstairs a bar and some ping-pong tables allowed the kids to amuse themselves and relax during
the two morning breaks. All the students were perfectly autonomous and went from one classroom to
another without making noise. The atmosphere was so quiet and familiar that everybody liked doing
the school activities and they were able to be diligent and manage responsibly their spaces.
To welcome us they had prepared a big hall where some of the school band students performed some
pieces of their repertoire. The beginning of the show was very suggestive, with a group of flag-wavers
coming into the hall dancing and waving the flags of our different countries and the European one, as a
symbol of the meeting and the joining of our cultures.
Another group of children performing a characteristic dance in the typical Bavarian costume was
suggestive and cheerful as well. They also offered us a delicious heart-shaped biscuit with the name of
the project on it. Late in the morning I attended some classes with my German friend and on the next
days I could take part into various school and extra school activities. I was particularly involved in the
“decoration group” made up by students who enjoyed painting the school walls, creating very
beautiful murals.
38
Ai piani inferiori un bar e dei tavoli da ping-pong permettevano ai ragazzi di divertirsi e distrarsi un po'
dalle lezioni durante i due intervalli mattutini. Tutti i ragazzi erano perfettamente autonomi e si
spostavano da una classe all'altra completamente da soli senza creare chiasso. L'atmosfera era
talmente serena e familiare che tutti provavano piacere a svolgere le attività scolastiche ed erano in
grado di essere diligenti e di gestire responsabilmente i propri spazi. Per l'accoglienza avevano
preparato una grande sala dove alcuni alunni appartenenti alla banda musicale della scuola hanno
eseguito con molta bravura dei pezzi del loro repertorio. E' stato molto suggestivo l'inizio dello
spettacolo, con un gruppo di sbandieratori che sono entrati nella sala danzando e sventolando le
bandiere dei diversi paesi e quella europea, a simbolo dell'incontro e dell'unione delle nostre culture.
Altrettanto suggestiva e allegra è stata l'esibizione di un gruppo di bambini che ci hanno mostrato una
caratteristica danza in tipico costume bavarese. In segno di affetto ci hanno poi offerto un biscotto a
forma di cuore con la scritta del progetto. Ritornando in classe ho assistito a varie lezioni e, di mattina
e durante alcuni pomeriggi, ho potuto partecipare a varie attività scolastiche ed extrascolastiche. Mi
ha particolarmente coinvolta il “decoration group” formato da un gruppo di ragazzi che si divertivano
a dipingere le pareti della scuola, creando murales veramente belli.
39
For the next day they had organized
a trip to Berchtesgaden to visit its
salt mine. It was opened to visitors in
1525 and it is an important tourist
destination, which is visited every
year by thousands of people going
into the core of the mountain as a
revival of the history of salt digging.
My experience in that mysterious
and charming underworld was really
unforgettable.
It was curious and unexpected:
before entering the mine they made us wear special miner overalls; then an expert guide took us by a
smart electric train down and down to the different levels of the subsoil, till we got to a depth of three
hundred meters and came into a big cave all of a sudden. Here we watched a holographic projection
showing the catch basin of the salt.
Then, walking through long galleries and passing from a level to another down long breathtaking
wooden slides, we ended the trip crossing by raft a little lake and stood in open-mouthed watching a
glittering salt cave, and then we went up again by lift.
On my third day in Germany I went to visit
Munich with my fellow travelers and we first
stopped at the stadium of the Bayern football club
where everybody took a lot of photos.
Then we made for the Olympic village and walked
through it; we particularly liked the Olympic tower
of telecommunication on top of which there was a
revolving restaurant that can show you a
panoramic view of the whole center in about an
hour.
40
Per il giorno dopo avevano
organizzato una gita a
Berchtesgaden per visitare la sua
miniera di sale. Aperta al pubblico
nel 1525, è un'importante meta
turistica, visitata ogni anno da
m i g l i a i a d i p e rs o n e c h e s i
addentrano nel cuore della
montagna per rivivere la storia
dell'estrazione del sale. La mia
esperienza in questo misterioso e
affascinante mondo sotterraneo è
stata veramente indimenticabile.
Curioso e inaspettato, prima di
entrare nella miniera ci hanno fatto
indossare un'apposita tuta impermeabile da minatore; così equipaggiati e guidati da un minatore
esperto, ci hanno condotto a bordo di un trenino elettrico sempre più giù ai diversi livelli nel
sottosuolo, fino ad arrivare a trecento metri di profondità, sbucando all'improvviso in un'ampia
caverna. Qui abbiamo assistito ad una proiezione olografica che mostrava il bacino di raccolta del sale.
Poi, camminando per lunghe gallerie e passando da un livello all'altro su lunghi e mozzafiato scivoli di
legno, abbiamo concluso il viaggio attraversando un laghetto a bordo di una zattera mentre
osservavamo a bocca aperta una rilucente grotta di sale, per poi risalire in superficie con un ascensore.
Il terzo giorno dal mio arrivo in Germania sono
andata a visitare Monaco e come prima tappa ci
siamo fermati allo stadio del Bayern che, per la sua
forma caratteristica, è stato sicuramente il più
fotografato.
Ci siamo diretti quindi al villaggio olimpico, che
abbiamo percorso in lungo e in largo, fermandoci
ad ammirare in particolare la torre olimpica delle
telecomunicazioni, alla cui sommità si trova un
ristorante che, ruotando su se.
41
We also happened to see the Olympic village
foundation stone.
We could not miss “Marien platz”, the most famous square in Munich. We got there before midday
just in time to admire the working of the clock on the imposing tower of the old Town Hall, much above
the façade of the building. That big chiming clock, the “Glockenspiel”, made rotate some figures that
went out dancing or proceeding on horseback, to the music of a theme which alternated five different
melodies.
42
Stesso, compie un giro panoramico in un'ora; abbiamo anche potuto ammirare la prima pietra posta
per la costruzione del villaggio olimpico.
Non poteva mancare una tappa alla famosissima piazza di Monaco, Marien Platz. Ci siamo arrivati
poco prima di mezzogiorno, in tempo per ammirare il funzionamento dell'orologio sull'imponente
torre del vecchio municipio. Posto molto al di sopra della facciata dell'edificio, questo grande orologio
a carillon faceva ruotare delle figure che danzavano o procedevano a cavallo, al suono di una
musichetta che alternava cinque diverse melodie.
43
Nearby Marien Platz there was the market square full of
colors, sounds, stalls, sweet smells; right in the middle, a
funny statue representing a woman holding a big beer
mug soon drew our attention.
We went on wandering happily along the market for a
long while, enjoying the warm sun while shopping, until it
was time to reach the bus and get back to our “German
families”: by then it was as if they had adopted us, so
much we got along well together.
I could feel that tender Bavarian hug even the
morning after when we went to visit Traunstein's Town
Hall to meet the mayor. Within the big, modern, threestoried building there was the old part where the mayor
welcomed us warmly.
We admired the ceiling of that wide room which was
decorated in gold and gazed upon the vivid colours of the
town's banner on the wall. They let us sit and lots of
refreshments were served. The mayor told us the history
of his town and his speech was so involving and
interesting. Soon after he took us into a little museum next to the Town Hall where we could see
Traunstein plastic model.
Four days had passed in a flash, wonderful instants of shared joy following one another, a fantastic
exchange of thoughts and experiences as different as alike on the background of a country offering us
unforgettable views! Like Burghausen, an old fortified town which opened before my incredulous eyes
on that Saturday morning, deep in the warmth of the October sun.
Once within the fortress it was as if
you were back in time: different
characters wearing old traditional
clothes were strolling about the little
streets paved with cobblestones…
44
Vicino a Marien Platz si apriva la piazza del mercato,
piena di colori, suoni, bancarelle, profumi e, nel mezzo,
una statua un po' curiosa raffigurante una donna che
regge un bel boccale di birra ha subito attirato la nostra
attenzione.
Abbiamo continuato a girovagare felici per il mercato e le
vie circostanti ancora per un bel pezzo, godendoci il bel
sole tiepido e comprando souvenirs, finché non fu ora di
risalire sull'autobus per tornare alle nostre famiglie
tedesche, che ormai ci avevano quasi “adottato”, tanto si
stava bene insieme.
Questo caldo abbraccio bavarese
l'ho potuto avvertire anche l'indomani
mattina quando siamo andati a visitare
il municipio di Traunstein per
conoscere il sindaco. La struttura era
grande e moderna, a tre piani e
all'interno si trovava la parte antica
dove il sindaco ci ha accolto
calorosamente. Il soffitto della stanza
era tutto decorato d'oro e lungo le
pareti spiccava lo stendardo del
comune affiancato da alcuni quadri di
alto prestigio. Appena arrivati ci hanno
fatto accomodare e sono stati tanto
gentili da offrirci un rinfresco. Il
discorso del sindaco è stato così
coinvolgente da catturare particolarmente la nostra attenzione, poiché ci ha raccontato la storia del
suo paese. Ci ha anche accompagnato a visitare un piccolo museo accanto al municipio, dove abbiamo
potuto ammirare il plastico della cittadina di Traunstein.
Quei quattro giorni era passati in un lampo, un susseguirsi di splendidi momenti di gioia
condivisa, un fantastico scambio di idee e di esperienze così diverse e così simili sullo sfondo di un
paese che offriva panorami indimenticabili! Come quello di Burghausen, antica città fortificata che si
aprì davanti ai miei occhi increduli quel sabato mattina, immersa nel piacevole tepore del sole di
ottobre. Situata quasi al confine con l'Austria, si snoda lungo le sponde del fiume Salzach, dalle acque
di un bel verde smeraldo. Una volta all'interno della fortezza sembrava di essere tornati indietro nel
tempo: vari personaggi in antichi abiti tradizionali andavano e venivano per le stradine pavimentate
con ciottoli...…
45
… and a group of young harp and violin
players made the air vibrate with a
sweet melody.
Looking down from the bridge you could see the “old town” and the front of the houses colored in
different pastel shades, indicating different social classes living there.
When we were tired but satisfied with the
sightseeing we stopped at a little restaurant where we
ordered the famous “schnitzel”, a typical German dish
with pork chop and chips that rewarded us for our long
walking. The servings were so plentiful that we were
soon full up and it was so funny when the German and
Spanish boys who were very hungry asked us for the
food we had left: they literally ate it up!
46
……e un gruppo di giovani suonatrici di
arpa e violino facevano vibrare l'aria
con dolci melodie.
Dal ponte, in basso, si poteva ammirare la “città vecchia”, con le facciate delle case colorate in diverse
tinte pastello, ognuna corrispondente ad un cetosociale diverso.
Piacevolmente stanchi della visita della città, ci
siamo fermati in un piccolo ristorante all'aperto dove
abbiamo ordinato il famoso “schnitzel”, tipico piatto a
base di cotolette di maiale e patatine fritte, che ci ha
ricompensato della lunga passeggiata. E' stato molto
divertente quando i ragazzi tedeschi, e spagnoli,
particolarmente affamati, ci hanno chiesto di poter
finire il cibo che avevamo lasciato nel piatto, che era
veramente abbondante, e lo hanno letteralmente
divorato!
47
I spent the whole Sunday with my German family and it was a day I won't forget. It was a special
national holiday and they had arranged a fine program. After the usual abundant breakfast we went to
church. I was curious about listening to a German mass and though I understood very little, I could
breathe a serene and suggesting atmosphere. I noticed that the priest was not wearing the usual frock
but he was commonly dressed and when the celebration was over all the people queued up to go and
shake hands with the priest.
After lunch my German friend invited me to join a spectacular afternoon at Chiemsee lake, so much
wide to be called “the Bavarian sea”. When we got there I was astonished: I couldn't see the other
shore, it was all a wonderful light-blue outstretch with many inlets and boats sailing it. We decided to
go around and we went on board a very peculiar boat which looked like an old steamboat. We reached
in a short while a little island with an ancient monastery and we got off to visit it. Within the monastery
there was a garden that struck me most, so rich it was in colorful flowers, bushes and trees; I
particularly admired a millenary tree with its imposing and massive trunk.
When we got on the boat again it was late in the afternoon; the sunset was splendid and the surface
of the lake was quiet and incredibly orange-blue.
The day before the parting was the saddest and happiest of all: I felt very close to my German fellows
and didn't want to leave, nevertheless I was looking forward to go back home and hug my family.
48
Anche la domenica è stata una giornata indimenticabile, trascorsa completamente in famiglia. C'era
una ricorrenza speciale da festeggiare, il giorno della liberazione della Germania. Dopo l'abituale ricca
colazione mattutina, ci siamo recati in chiesa. Ero incuriosita all'idea di partecipare ad una messa in
tedesco e, anche se ho capito molto poco, ho respirato un'atmosfera serena e suggestiva. Ho notato
che il sacerdote non indossava la tunica, ma era vestito con giacca e cravatta e, alla fine della
celebrazione, tutti i partecipanti hanno formato una fila per andare a stringere la mano al sacerdote.
Dopo pranzo, la mia amica tedesca mi ha proposto uno spettacolare pomeriggio al lago Chiemsee,
famoso per la sua estensione, tanto vasto da essere considerato il “mare bavarese”. Appena arrivati
sono rimasta veramente sbalordita, perché non si vedeva neanche l'altra sponda: c'era solo una
stupenda distesa azzurra con tante insenature e molte barche che solcavano la sua superficie.
Abbiamo deciso di fare un giro turistico su un'imbarcazione molto particolare che ricordava un antico
battello a vapore. Durante il percorso abbiamo scattato molte foto e osservato lo splendido
paesaggio. Dopo un po' abbiamo raggiunto una piccola isola dove si trovava un antico monastero e
siamo scesi a visitarlo. Il giardino del monastero, ricco di fiori coloratissimi, mi ha colpito
particolarmente e soprattutto un imponente albero dal fusto alto e massiccio che aveva più di mille
anni.
Durante il viaggio di ritorno, ho ammirato dal battello un fantastico tramonto, che porterò per
sempre nel mio cuore.
Il giorno forse più triste da una parte, ma felice dall'altra è stato il penultimo, perché mi ero molto
affezionata ai miei compagni tedeschi e mi dispiaceva lasciarli, però non vedevo l'ora di ritornare a
casa e riabbracciare la mia famiglia.
49
For the last evening our German partners organized a memorable farewell party together with the
hosting families. The students and their relatives prepared the big hall of the school, where they had
welcomed us the first day, with tables and a delicious buffet. When we entered the room we were all
very moved and joined the party dancing the typical dances of the different countries.
Then we tasted all sorts of delicious dishes the German mothers had cooked for us. The party came
to an end with photos, laughter, hugs, kisses and applauses and we parted reluctantly to go and pack
our luggage for the next day departure……
……Suddenly we found ourselves before the school early on the next morning to say goodbye. Looking
at my friends' faces I could see a joyful look in their eyes because they had made friends with so many
people, and a sad look as well because they were not sure they would have met again. Then there
started a chain exchange of e-mail addresses, phone numbers, photos and everybody promised
solemnly not to forget and to keep in touch forever. It was a never ending hugging and taking photos in
order to delay the parting. Right then we realized how important our experience had been: we had
spent a whole week with our foreign partners, away from our home, and we had grown up more
responsible and self-confident, exchanging our living experiences.
50
I tedeschi ci hanno dato un addio veramente memorabile l'ultima sera, organizzando insieme alle
famiglie ospitanti una festa particolare e speciale per salutarci, allestendo dei tavoli e un ricco buffet
nella grande sala della scuola dove ci avevano anche accolto il primo giorno. Appena entrati abbiamo
provato una forte emozione e, per festeggiare, ci siamo uniti tutti insieme a ballare le danze tipiche
tedesche e degli altri paesi.
Abbiamo poi gustato vari e deliziosi piatti tipici della cucina tedesca preparati per noi dalle mamme
ospiti. La serata si è conclusa tra foto, risate, abbracci e applausi e ci siamo separati a malincuore per
andare a preparare i bagagli per la partenza del giorno dopo….
…. Ci siamo ritrovati tutti la mattina presto davanti la scuola per darci l'ultimo saluto. Osservando i volti
dei miei compagni di viaggio si vedeva quella felicità di aver fatto amicizia tra loro, ma allo stesso
tempo tanta tristezza al pensiero di non incontrarci mai più. All'improvviso è scattata una catena di
scambi di indirizzi e-mail, di numeri telefonici e di foto con promesse solenni di non dimenticarsi e
restare sempre in contatto. Non si finiva mai di abbracciarsi e scattare continuamente foto ed era una
specie di scusa per rimandare il momento della partenza. In quei momenti ci siamo resi conto di
quanto fosse stata importante questa esperienza perché, vivendo una settimana lontano dai nostri
genitori e insieme ai nostri coetanei, eravamo diventati più responsabili e consapevoli di noi stessi,
scambiandoci le nostre esperienze di vita.
51
And here I am on the way back, keeping in my heart an inestimable treasure of friendship and
togetherness, ready to start again my daily routine but I know it for sure that another Comenius
meeting is coming soon and we will be all together in one smile again!
52
Ed eccomi di nuovo sull'aereo, portando nel cuore un tesoro inestimabile di amicizia e appartenenza,
pronta a ritornare alla mia vita quotidiana con la consapevolezza di poter vivere in futuro un'altra
simile esperienza.
53
Chapter IV
INVITATION TO TORUN IN POLAND
Dear Alice,
you don't even have a clue of how happy I am to hear that you are finally coming to my hometownToruń. As you have mentioned your knowledge of the city is quite small, therefore I'll be more than
glad to recommend you a few places worth seeing.
Whenever I think of you, Alice, I recall my mother's words taken from one of Lord Chesterfield's
letters : “The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.” It is
amazing how you get to realize everything that Lord Chesterfield tried to pass us.
I can't wait to show you the Old Town during our walk by the river. The river is called Vistula and it
flows throughout the whole country, as it has its beginning in the mountains and the end in the sea.
Lucky us, don't you think? We have everything as far as landscapes are concerned- the mountains and
the sea. Surely in Australia you end up on a desert wherever you go. In Poland we have plenty of
developed areas and new buildings constantly pop out. Sounds interesting, right?
When you get to Torun, you are sure to drive over our famous bridge, which was built in 1934. It is
famous for two most basic reasons- it is named after our famous leader Jozef Pilsudski and it is the
only bridge we have in Toruń.
The view from the bridge, which is most spectacular at night, is absolutely breathtaking. The Old
Town is placed on a slope and as night falls down it is illuminated with mild light perfectly bringing the
beauty of the gothic buildings to the eye of the viewer. Actually, people say that Torun is the only
place where you can touch gothic, as many of the buildings placed in the Old Town were built in that
period. I am sure that this sight will forever haunt you.
Torun, my hometown, is really beautiful and I can't wait to show the beauty to you.
I'm really looking forward to hearing from you.
54
ZAPROSZENIE DO TORUNIA W POLSCE
Kochana Alicjo,
nawet nie wiesz, jak bardzo się cieszę, że zdecydowałaś się przyjechać do Polski, do mojego miasta
Toruń. Zapewne mało wiesz o tym położnym w środkowej Polsce, a dokładniej w województwie
kujawsko- pomorskim mieście, więc pomogę Ci się odrobinę przygotować i postaram się jeszcze
bardziej zachęcić do odwiedzenia mojego miasta.
Na myśl przychodzą mi słowa, które zawsze powtarza mi moja mama. Jest to cytat z Lorda
Chesterfielda: „Wiedzę o świecie można zdobyć tylko w świecie, nie w domu." gdy tylko go słyszę, na
myśl przychodzisz mi Ty Alicjo. To takie fascynujące. Realizujesz to, co chciał przekazać sam Lord
Chesterfield.
Nawet nie wiesz, jak bardzo oczekuję Twojego przyjazdu. Nie mogę się doczekać, kiedy będziemy
spacerowały brzegiem Wisły, która wypływa z gór, płynie przez całą Polskę i wpada do Morza
Bałtyckiego. Szczęściarze z nas, co? Mamy morze i góry. Hmmm. Pewnie w Australii, jadąc
gdziekolwiek, wciąż trafiasz na pustynię. A u nas? U nas jest mnóstwo terenów zabudowanych i wciąż
coś się buduje. Brzmi ciekawie, prawda?
Gdy już dojedziesz do Torunia, będziesz przejeżdżała przez most drogowy, który został zbudowany w
1934 r i nosi nazwę im. Józefa Piłsudskiego do dziś.
Widok, który możesz zobaczyć z mostu nocą jest nie do opisania. Na wysokiej skarpie znajdującej się
po drugiej stronie można ujrzeć pięknie oświetlone miasto, które otacza mur, a z niego wyłaniają się
sylwetki wielu gotyckich budowli. Zresztą cały Toruń to prawdziwy „gotyk na dotyk”. Tutaj wszyscy tak
mówią. Widok, jaki zobaczysz, pozostanie Ci w pamięci do końca życia i jeszcze jeden dzień dłużej,
uwierz mi! Sama często spaceruję mostem i przyglądam się temu gotyckiemu miastu mojemu
miastu. Moje miasto jest naprawdę piękne i już nie mogę się doczekać, kiedy wybierzemy się na
wspólny spacer po Toruniu.
Czekamy na Ciebie
55
Welcome to Lubicz in Poland
Dear Alice,
We would like to invite You to Lubicz which is a beautiful village in the northern part of Poland. The
village is located near a historical city of Toruń. Now, join us in our trip around Lubicz!!!
In the past Lubicz was an important place of the commerce and industry because it was located near
the main trade route going through Torun. The interesting fact is that according to the historical
documents in Lubicz in 1330 one of the Polish kings - Wladyslaw Lokietek lived there for some time.
That was because he must have liked Lubicz a lot. The patron of Lubicz is Saint Andrew and he is in the
blazon of Lubicz.
Lubicz is located in the northern part of Poland. There are many forests and some lakes there. Lubicz is
devided into two parts (Lubicz Górny and Lubicz Dolny) by a beautiful river called Drwęca which goes
through the village. The river is famous for being an excellent place for fishing. A lot of local people
catch there big fish such as catfish, trout, cod and pike. Drwęca and its beautiful nature. This area is
often visited by wonderful storks.
56
Witamy w Lubiczu, w Polsce
Droga Alicjo!
Chcielibyśmy zaprosić Ciebie do Lubicza, pięknej wioski w północnej części Polski. Lubicz znajduje się
blisko Torunia, miasta o bogatej historii i tradycji. Dołącz do naszej wycieczki po Lubiczu!!!
W przeszłości Lubicz był ważnym miejscem ze względu na handel, gdyż był umiejscowiony blisko
popularnego szlaku handlowego przebiegającego przez Toruń. Interesującym faktem jest to, iż
zgodnie z dokumentami historycznymi w Lubiczu w 1330 roku jeden z polskich królów Władysław
£okietek - mieszkał tam przez jakiś czas. Pewnie dlatego, że bardzo polubił Lubicz i okolice
Patronem Lubicza jest święty Andrzej. Jego postać znajduje się w herbie Lubicza.
Lubicz jest usytuowany w północnej części Polski. Jest tam wiele lasów i jezior. Lubicz jest podzielony
na dwie części (Lubicz Górny i Lubicz Dolny) przez piękną rzekę Drwęcę przepływającą przez wioskę.
Rzeka ta jest znana z tego, iż jest doskonałym miejscem na łowienie ryb. Wielu lokalnych ludzi wędkuje
tu i łapie takie ryby jak: sum, pstrąg, dorsz czy szczupak. Nad rzekę często wiosną przylatują bociany.
57
A few kilometers from Lubicz there is a beautiful lake where we often have our school picnics.
We usually go swimming there in the summer time. There are a few beautiful villages around Lubicz.
We often go cycling there with our family and friends at the weekends. We always have a great time.
There are a few historical churches in villages near Lubicz. The ones worth seeing are the gothic church
in Kaszczorek built in 1243 and the church in Mlyniec built in 1750.
Many tourists visit this historical church and admire its unique architecture.
Come and visit us in Lubicz!!!
There is a lot to do and see!
We are waiting for You Alice
58
Kilka kilometrów od Lubicza znajduje się piękne jezioro, gdzie często odbywają się nasze szkolne pikniki. Latem
zawsze chodzimy tam pływać. Dookoła Lubicza znajduje się kilka pięknych wiosek. Często udajemy się tam na
wycieczki rowerowe z rodziną i przyjaciółmi. Zawsze się razem cudownie bawimy.
W pobliżu Lubicza znajduje się wiele historycznych budowli takich jak np. gotycki kościół
w Kaszczorku z 1243 i kościół w Młyńcu zbudowany w 1750 roku.
Wielu turystów odwiedza ten historyczny kościół i podziwia jego unikalną architekturę.
Serdecznie zapraszamy do Lubicza!!!
Jest tu wiele ciekawych atrakcji!
Alicjo, czekamy na Ciebie.
59
ALICE VISITS POLAND
Friday
As my last trip through Europe, I wanted to accept the nice invitation to Poland along with my German
friends. We were pleased to see all friends again, who we already knew from Italy, Spain and Germany.
The day before the departure I was not as excited as I had thought to be, because I already knew how
flying on a plane feels. With some delay we lan-ded at Chopin airport in Warsaw. There the Spaniards
already waited for us. I was the first one to be greeted with a kiss on my left and right cheek. It was very
funny. While waiting for the arrival of our Italian friends we were playing cards. That worked very well,
because our knowledge of English was just enough to communicate with each other. But our patience
was put to the test, because the Italians kept us waiting for a long time. Slowly I became tired and
impatient. To while away the time we rehearsed a welcome-song, "Welcome to Poland, la la la lala la
..." and still waited and waited. Finally! There they were. We immediately rushed towards them to
greet them with a kiss on their right and left cheek, but they were really exhausted from the long flight
and frustrated because their suitcases had not arrived with them due to a strike in Rome.
It took an eternity, until all formalities at the airport were finished and we finally drove to Torun by bus,
with a long delay.
The Spaniards were not concerned by all the bad luck and entertained us with their loud songs during
the whole journey. They had so much energy! But I thought of our poor host parents who had to wait
for us for so long and because of being really tired I didn't feel the excitement anymore, which I had
always felt before, when I thought about living with a host family. The welcoming at 00:30 am was very
heart-warming although it was raining cats and dogs and we didn't really talk much. They showed me
to my room, and it wan't long before I was in bed and fell asleep immediately.
60
Alice besucht Polen
Freitag
Als letzte Station auf meiner Reise durch Europa wollte ich nun der netten Einladung nach Polen folgen
und meine deutschen Freunde fuhren mit mir. Wir freuten uns schon darauf, alle, die wir schon aus
Italien, Spanien und Deutschland kannten, wieder zu sehen.
Am Vortag der Abreise war ich nicht so aufgeregt, wie ich befürchtet hatte, denn ich wusste schon, wie
es beim Fliegen ist. Mit einiger Verspätung landeten wir am Chopin-Airport in Warschau. Dort
warteten schon die Spanier auf uns. Ich war die erste, die mit einem Kuss links und rechts begrüßt
wurde. Es war sehr lustig. Wir vertrieben uns die Zeit bis zur Ankunft unserer italienischen Freunde mit
Kartenspielen. Das klappte prima, denn unsere Englischkenntnisse reichten voll aus, um uns zu
verständigen. Aber unsere Geduld wurde auf eine harte Probe gestellt, denn die Italiener ließen lange
auf sich warten. Ich wurde langsam müde und ungeduldig. Um uns die Zeit zu vertreiben probten wir
ein Empfangslied "Welcome to Poland, la la la la la la ..." und warteten und warteten. Endlich! Da
standen sie. Wir stürmten gleich auf sie zu, um sie mit Küsschen rechts und links zu begrüßen, aber
vom langen Flug waren sie sehr erschöpft und frustriert, denn ihre Koffer waren wegen eines Streiks in
Rom nicht mitgekommen. Es dauerte nochmals eine Ewigkeit, bis alle Formalitäten am Flughafen
erledigt waren und wir mit einer riesigen Verspätung endlich mit dem Bus Richtung Torun abfuhren.
Die Spanier ließen sich von all dem Missgeschick nicht beirren und unterhielten uns mit ihren
lautstarken Gesängen auf der gesamten Fahrt. Ei- ne Energie hatten die! Ich aber dachte an unsere
armen Gasteltern, die so lange auf uns warten mussten, und vor lauter Müdigkeit spürte ich die
Aufregung nicht mehr, die mich bei dem Gedanken, in einer Gastfamilie zu leben, früher immer
beschlichen hatte. Bei strömendem Regen fiel die Begrüßung um 00:30 Uhr zwar sehr herzlich aus,
doch wurde nicht wirklich viel gesprochen. Sie zeigten mir mein Zimmer, ich fiel ins Bett und schlief
sofort ein.
61
Saturday
The next morning there was plenty of food at breakfast.
There was so much on the table that it bending under the
strain. From cornflakes and bread to small sausages and
soup everything was there. I was sorry that there was so
much food because I can never eat a lot for breakfast.
However, I had aldready talked a lot to my host sister
Gosia and got on well with her. Two ex-cursions were
planned according to our program, one to Golub, a castle
of the Knights of the Cross, and afterwards a visit to the
Chopin museum of Szafarnia, where a concert with nice
melodies from Chopin was performed, exclusively for our
group. It was very cold during the day and all of us still
were a little bit tired from the long journey, so I can't
remember much of these excursions.
But what a surprise - in the evening we were highspirited again. We changed into some nice clothes and
went to the Old Town of Torun. We danced and talked and
became really good friends in no time at all. After a while
two Spaniards and Germans with their partners came
and we even managed to persuade Martin the most stubborn student to dance. At 23:00 pm we were
at home again and chatted, until we went to bed.
62
Samstag
Am nächsten Morgen wurde zum Frühstück richtig aufgetischt. Der Tisch bog sich schon fast nach unten, so viel stand darauf. Von Cornflakes und Brot bis zu Würstchen und Suppe. Es tat mir leid, dass sie
so viel Aufwand gemacht hatten, da ich zum Frühstück nie viel essen kann. Ich habe aber schon viel mit
meiner Gastschwester Gosia gequatscht und verstehe mich prächtig mit ihr. Auf unserem Programm
standen zwei Ausflüge, einmal nach Golub, einer Burg der Kreuzritter, und anschließend ein Besuch im
Chopin-Museum von Szafarnia, wo extra für uns ein Konzert mit schönen Melodien von Chopin
gegeben wurde. Es war sehr kalt an diesem Tag und wir waren al-le noch irgendwie müde von der
langen Anreise, sodass ich nicht mehr allzu viel von diesen Ausflügen weiß.
Aber - Überraschung - am Abend waren wir wieder munter. Wir haben uns in Schale geworfen und ab
ging es in die Altstadt von Torun. Wir haben getanzt und gequatscht und sind in kürzester Zeit super
Freunde geworden. Nach einer Weile kamen auch noch zwei Spanier und Deutsche mit ihren Partnern
und wir haben es geschafft, selbst hartnäckige Verweigerer wie Martin zum Tanzen zu bringen. Um
23:00 Uhr waren wir wieder zu Hause und haben uns wieder unter-halten, bis wir dann irgendwann
ins Bett gehüpft sind.
63
Sunday
On Sunday we drove off very early on an excursion to Gdansk,
because it is approx. 180 km away from Torun. In the Solidarnosc
museum,which is on the premises of the Gdansk Lenin-shipyard
in which we were shown steps of the Polish people's fight for
independence which took place and which sacrifices the
involved people had to make for it. Afterwards we visited the
wonderful town of Gdansk, the harbour, the old market place
and the "Marien Church". There was also a lot of interest in the
"Amber Street", in which one shop after another lines up, selling
amber jewellery. There the first souvenirs were already bought.
While dawdling through the streets and during lunch we got to
know each other better and the first friendships began. We were
really astonished because in Poland pizza is eaten with garlic
sauce.
In the afternoon there was one more
visit - Sopot, a tradi-tional health
resort on the Baltic Sea.
Unfortunately, a strong and very
cold wind was blowing, so we could
not stay there too long. Well, at least
I was at the Baltic Sea, even if it was
only for a short time.
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Sonntag
Am Sonntag brachen wir bereits sehr früh zu einem Ausflug nach Danzig auf, denn es liegt ca. 180 km
von Torun entfernt. Im Solidarnosc-Museum auf dem Gelände der Danziger Leninwerft wurde uns gezeigt, in welchen Etappen sich der polnische Befreiungskampf vollzog und welche Opfer dafür von den
Beteiligten gebracht werden mussten.
Anschließend besichtigten wir die wunderschöne Stadt Danzig, den Hafen, den alten Marktplatz und
die Marienkirche. Viel Interesse fand auch die "Bernsteinstraße", wo sich ein Geschäft mit
Bernsteinschmuck an das andere reiht. Hier wurden schon die ersten Souvenirs gekauft.
Beim Bummeln durch die Straßen und beim
Mittagessen lernten wir uns näher kennen und
die ersten Bande der Freundschaft wurden
geknüpft. Wir staunten sehr, dass hier die Pizza
mit Knoblauchsoße gegessen wird.
Am Nachmittag stand noch ein Besuch von
Sopot
a u f d e m P ro g ra m m , e i n e m
traditionellen Kurort an der Ostsee. Leider pfiff
ein starker und sehr kalter Wind, sodass wir
uns nicht so lange dort aufhalten konnten. Na
ja, immerhin war ich jetzt einmal an der
Ostsee, wenn auch nur kurz.
65
Monday
Today was our first day at school in Torun. From my host sister I knew that they wanted to greet us with
a varied programme and we were very excited. They selected something typical of each country. First
they showed us a spirited Polish polka. For the Spanish students they danced a typical Spanish dance
(Paso doble) with a perfection that impressed us very much. With the "Fliegerlied", a party song from
Germany, everybody was immediately animated to take part, but the calmer shows of the choir and
the instrumentalists were wonderful. After the greeting we could dance in the gymnasium to the
"dance hall track " and many other great songs.
Then we went to visit the mayor of Torun. In the city hall, we
were welcomed politely with tea and tasty biscuits and got to
know a lot about this charming town. We were astonished by
the modern technical equipment of the meeting hall. My
German friends Martin and Sebastian played some traditional
Bavarian songs on the accordion as a greeting from their country
and Sebastian even danced a "Schuhplattler", the well known
Bavarian dance, for which they received a lot of applause.
After a big foto shoot with the major we were all invited to the school canteen for lunch.
In the afternoon we visited a paper museum and learned everything
about the production and the history of paper and the printing of
paper. We were allowed to try out old writing tools. I wrote my name
very big with a goosequill on a piece of paper. However, it was difficult
to write. We could also scoop (make) a sheet of paper ourselves.
I dipped a square sieve in a tub with distraught cellulose fibers, lifted it
out and overthrew the sieve on a wooden board. After-wards the
water was squeezed out with a press. Now the paper only had to dry
and then was finished.
The next stop was at the gingerbread museum in Torun. A promising
smell of all kinds of spices like ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg made us
curious on what we were to expect. We were shown the craft of
gingerbread baking in an old bakery from the Gothic period and we
also could make our own gingerbread. It was a lot of fun to knead the
dough and to work with the traditional tools.
This day was very interesting because I learned a lot and I would visit
the paper museum and gingerbread museum again at any time.
66
Montag
Heute war unser erster Tag in der Schule in Torun. Von meiner Gastschwester
wusste ich, dass sie uns mit einem abwechslungsreichen Programm begrüßen
wollten und wir waren alle schon total aufgeregt. Sie suchten für jedes Land
etwas Typisches aus. Zuerst zeigten sie uns eine temperamentvolle polnische
Polka. Für die Spanier tanzten Schüler einen typischen spanischen Tanz (Paso
doble) mit einer Perfektion, die uns sehr beeindruckte. Beim "Fliegerlied", einem
Stimmungslied aus Deutschland, wurden gleich alle animiert, mitzumachen,
aber auch die leiseren Beiträge des Chores und der Instrumentalisten waren
wunderschön. Nach der Begrüßung durften wir in der Turnhalle zu "dance hall
track" und vielen weiteren tollen Liedern tanzen.
Dann ging es weiter zum Präsidenten von Torun. Dort
im Rathaus wurden wir mit Tee und leckeren Keksen
höflich empfangen und erfuhren sehr viel über diese
bezaubernde Stadt. Wir staunten über die moderne
technische Ausstattung des Sitzungssaales. Meine
deutschen Freunde Martin und Sebastian spielten als
Gruß aus ihrer Heimat einige traditionelle bayerische
Lieder auf der Harmonika und Sebastian tanzte dazu
sogar einen Schuhplattler, den bekannten bayerischen
Tanz, wofür sie großen Beifall bekamen.
Nach einem großen Fotoshooting mit dem
Präsidenten waren wir in der Mensa der Schule zum
Mittagessen eingeladen.
Am Nachmittag besuchten wir ein Papiermuseum und lernten alles
über die Herstellung und die Geschichte des Papiers und des
Papierdruckes. Wir durften alte Schreibwerkzeuge ausprobieren. Ich
schrieb meinen Namen ganz groß mit einem Gänsekiel auf ein Stück
Papier. Das war allerdings ein mühsames Schreiben. Wir konnten auch
selbst ein Blatt Papier schöpfen. Ich tauchte ein viereckiges Sieb in
einen Bottich mit aufgelösten Zellstofffasern, hob es heraus und
stürzte das Sieb auf ein Holzbrett. Anschließend wurde das Wasser mit
einer Presse herausgepresst. Nun musste das Papier nur noch trocknen
und war fertig.
Der nächste Halt war das Lebkuchenmuseum in Torun. Ein viel
versprechender Duft nach Gewürzen aller Art wie Ingwer, Zimt und
Muskat machte uns neugierig auf das, was uns erwartete. In einer alten
Bäckerei aus der Zeit der Gotik wurden wir in die Kunst des
Lebkuchenbackens eingewiesen und durften auch eigene Lebkuchen
modellieren. Es machte sehr viel Spaß, den Teig zu kneten und mit den
traditionellen Werkzeugen zu hantieren.
Dieser Tag war sehr interessant, weil ich vieles dazugelernt habe und
ich würde auch jederzeit nochmals das Papier- und Lebkuchenmuseum
besichtigen.
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Tuesday
Today I could sleep a little bit longer. In the morning we
had a meeting in the city hall of Lubicz. There we got to
know a lot about the meaning and the problems of the
place close to Torun. Afterwards we were warmly
greeted at the school in Lubicz with a welcome arrangement. It was a diverse program with theatrical scenes,
dances and songs but also linked to the guests' countries,
similar to the greeting in Torun. I was really impressed.
We also visited some classrooms and had lunch in the
canteen. We were very impressed at the cleanliness of
this school, because there were cleaning ladies in every
hallway, who wiped the floor several times in the
morning. There was not even a small piece of paper on
the floor!
The walk in Ciechocinek, a health resort with a sole
spring, could have been very relaxing with sunny
weather. Unfortunately, it was raining, so that the large
construction covered with twigs running with water for the enrichment of the air with salt did not
impress us very much. But I was looking forward to the good dinner, which was waiting for me at
home.
68
Dienstag
Heute konnte ich ein bisschen länger
ausschlafen. Für den Vormittag stand ein
Treffen im Rathaus von Lubicz auf dem
Programm. Wir erfuhren dort sehr viel über
die Bedeutung und über die Probleme des
Ortes in der Nähe von Torun. Anschließend
wurden wir an der Schule von Lubicz mit einer
Willkommensveranstal-tung herzlich
begrüßt.
Es war eine abwechslungsreiche Vorstellung
mit Theaterszenen, Tanz und Gesang mit
einem Bezug zu den Ländern der Gäste,
ähnlich wie in Torun. Ich war sehr
beeindruckt.
Wir besichtigten auch einzelne
Klassenzimmer und aßen in der Mensa zu
Mittag. Auffällig an dieser Schule war, dass es
extrem sauber war, denn in allen Gängen
standen Putzfrauen, die die Gänge mehrmals
am Vormittag wischten. Es lag wirklich kein
Papierchen auf dem Boden herum!
Der Spaziergang in Ciechocinek, einem Kurort
mit einer Solequelle, hätte bei heiterem
Wetter sehr entspannend sein können, aber
das Wetter war leider ziemlich regnerisch, sodass uns die großen Anlagen zur Anreicherung der Luft
mit Salz (Gradierwerk) nicht sehr beeindrucken konnten. Umso mehr freute ich mich schon auf das
gute Abendessen, das mich zu Hause erwartete.
69
Wednesday
Wednesday morning was a climax of our trip, because
today the big handball match was to take place in Lubicz.
Nevertheless, before that we had a "special lesson" in
chemistry and mathematics and Alexander, a German
student, tested the chairs for their stability and - you won't
believe it - the chair legs in the back gave way, folded down
and he almost sat on the ground. Everybody laughed and
we had a lot of fun. The next task of folding paper was
quite irritating, we needed help of our Polish teachers over
and over again, but we did not understand them properly,
because it was very difficult for them to say the special
expressions on English.
Then there came the big
moment - the handball match!
A girl's team from the school
played against the Comenius
team. Although we had never
played together before, our
team spirit and our ambitions
were huge, so that we led with
5:6 at the end.
This achievement was made
thanks to our great audience,
because the Polish students
cheered us on loudly and had
even made banners for us.
Unfortunately and to our
surprise the referee added 20
seconds of play time and during
this time our opponents scored
a goal, so that the match finished in a draw. Of course we found this a little bit unfair, but it was only a
friendly match. I'm still surprised how quickly we had managed to become a team, although we didn't
even know each other for one week. It was an interesting experience.
In the afternoon we had a guided tour through Torun. We visited this old Gothic town with its thick
town walls, its brick churches, the town hall and the house of Kopernikus. Kopernikus is the most
famous son of the town. He was born there and the university was named after him. The skew tower
on whose walls only respectable people can lean was amusing, too.
Everybody who can't do that must have done something dishonourable I and all the others could not
do it! Maybe we should think about it again.
In the evening another climax was the disco at the school of Lubicz. I was excited and hoped that it
would become amusing. At the beginning only Polish music was played, but then we have asked for
other music, and sometimes they even played DJ Bobo. With his song the mood rose. I was asked to
dance with some different students. One of them danced the Discofox with me like mad. Luckily I had
already learned the steps for a school presentation. The evening was a lot of fun and it was very
exhausting. The end of the evening was at 9 pm and I fell into my bed being very tired.
70
Mittwoch
Der Mittwochvormittag war ein Höhepunkt unserer Reise, denn
heute sollte in Lubicz das große Hand-ballturnier stattfinden. Vorher
hatten wir jedoch eine "Spezialstunde" in Chemie und Mathematik,
wobei Alexander, ein deutscher Schüler die Stühle auf ihre Festigkeit
testete und - du glaubst es nicht - die hin-teren Stuhlbeine gaben nach,
klappten um und er saß fast auf dem Boden. Jeder lachte und wir
hatten einen Riesenspaß. Die anschließende Faltarbeit war je-doch
ziemlich nervig, wir brauchten immer wieder Hilfe von unseren polnischen Lehrerinnen, aber wir verstanden sie nicht, denn es war für sie sehr schwer, die
Spezialausdrücke auf Englisch zu sagen.
Dann kam der große Augenblick - das
Handballturnier! Eine Mädchen-Mannschaft aus der
Schule spielte gegen das Comenius-Team. Wir hatten
zwar noch nie zusammen gespielt, aber unser
Teamgeist und unser Ehrgeiz waren enorm, sodass wir
am Ende mit 5 : 6 in Führung lagen. Diese Leistung
hatten wir auch unserem tollen Publikum zu
verdanken, denn die polnischen Schüler feuerten uns
lautstark an und hatten sogar Transparente gebastelt,
mit denen sie
uns unterstützten. Leider ließ der Schiri zu unserer
Überraschung 20 Sekunden nachspielen und in dieser
Zeit gelang unseren Gegnern das Ausgleichstor. Das
fanden wir zwar ein bisschen unfair, aber es war ja nur ein Spiel. Ich muss mich immer noch wundern,
wie schnell wir uns alle zu einem Team zusammen-gefunden haben, obwohl wir uns ja noch keine
Woche kannten. Es war eine interessante Erfahrung.
Nachmittags hatten wir eine Stadtführung in Torun.
Wir besichtigten diese alte, gotische Stadt mit ihren
dicken Stadtmauern, ihren Backsteinkirchen, der
Stadthalle und dem Koper-nikushaus.
Kopernikus ist nämlich der große Sohn der Stadt. Er
wur-de dort geboren und die Universität wurde nach
ihm be-nannt. Recht lustig war auch der schiefe Turm,
an dessen Mauem sich nur ehrbare Leute anlehnen
können. Alle, die das nicht schaffen, müssen wohl
etwas Un-ehrenhaftes getan haben - ich schaffte es
nicht und auch alle anderen nicht! Darüber sollten wir
nach-denken.
Ein weiterer Höhepunkt war am Abend die Disco in
der Lubiczer Schule. Ich war aufgeregt und hoffte, dass es lustig wird. Am Anfang wurde nur polnische
Musik gespielt, aber dann haben wir nach anderer Musik gefragt, und es wurde auch mal DJ Bobo
gespielt. Bei dem Lied stieg die Stimmung. Ich wurde von verschiedenen Schülern zum Tanzen
aufgefordert. Einer hat wie wild Discofox mit mir getanzt. Zum Glück hatte ich die Schritte schon für
eine Schulvorführung gelernt. Der Abend hat sehr viel Spaß gemacht und war sehr anstrengend. Er
war um 21:00 Uhr zu Ende und ich fiel müde ins Bett.
71
Thursday
Unfortunately, the last day of our trip had al-ready
come. We were at the school in Torun again and had
another match - Volleyball. Playing it we did not look as
good as during the handball match but that did not
affect our good mood.
Afterwards we got to know the school's own
swimming-pool. We were really impressed and enjoyed
the refreshment, because after the swimming one
more soccer game was to be played which was loudly
supported by the spectators.
In the afternoon we had a free time and I went to the
town with my host sister. There we met many students
from the Comenius group. It was not so easy to buy a
small surprise for our host brothers and sisters
unnoticed, but in the end we succeeded in surprising
them by using some tricks. We got along better and
better, talked to each other in English without any
problems, and if there was a lack of vocabulary, we
talked with our hand and feet. We had properly settled
down and liked each other very much. The worst thing
was to remember that in the evening the big farewell
party would be taking place. After a feast at the school
canteen there were some dances of the Polish students,
a polonaise and a polka, which we all took part in. That
was a lot of fun.
The Italians showed us a Tarantella and the Spaniards
also sang and danced. Everybody took part, even the
rather shy ones, and did not want to stop at all.
However, all good times come to an end. The teachers
thanked the host parents and colleagues and handed
them over some presents.
We also thanked the host parents, the host brothers
and sisters and the teachers for their affection and
kindness by giving them flowers. Then there came the
tearful farewell. The girls started to shed tears and also
some host parents were about to cry. Of course the
boys remained cool. Everybody embraced everybody
and we were well aware that we will not see each other for a long time. This made us very sad!
72
Donnerstag
Leider war schon der letzte Tag
unserer Reise gekommen. Wir
waren wieder an der Schule in
Torun und es stand wieder Sport
auf dem Programm. Beim
Volleyballspiel machten wir
nicht so eine gute Figur wie beim
Handball, aber das tat der
Stimmung keinen Abbruch.
Anschließend durften wir das
s c h u l e i ge n e S c hw i m m b a d
kennen lernen.
Wir waren sehr beeindruckt und
genossen die Erfrischung, denn
danach stand noch ein
Fußballspiel auf dem Programm,
das wieder lautstark ausgetragen wurde.
Am Nachmittag hatten wir frei und ich ging mit meiner
Gastschwester in die Stadt. Dort trafen wir noch viele aus
der Comenius-Gruppe. Es war gar nicht so leicht,
unbemerkt eine kleine Überraschung für un-sere
Gastgeschwister zu kaufen, aber mit vielen Tricks gelang es
uns dann doch, sie zu überraschen. Wir
verstanden uns immer besser, unterhielten uns ohne
Probleme in Englisch, und wenn der Wortschatz nicht
ausreichte, dann mit Händen und Füßen. Ja, wir hatten uns
richtig eingelebt und mochten uns sehr. Umso schlimmer
war der Gedanke, dass am Abend schon die große
Abschiedsfeier auf dem Programm stand. Nach einem
feierlichen Essen in der Schulmensa gab es noch Tänze von
den polni-schen Schülern, eine Polonaise und eine Polka,
wo-bei wir alle mitmachten. Das war ein großer Spaß.
Die Italiener zeigten uns eine Tarantella und auch die
Spanier sangen und tanzten. Alle machten mit, auch die
eher Schüchternen, und wollten gar nicht aufhören. Doch
alles Schöne hat einmal ein Ende. Dankesreden wurden von
den Lehrern gehalten und Geschenke überreicht. Wir
bedankten uns auch mit Blumen für die freundliche
Aufnahme bei den Eltern, den Gastgeschwistern und den
Lehrern und dann kam der tränenreiche Abschied. Bei den
Mädels flossen die Tränen und auch manche Gasteltern
hatten feuchte Augen. Nur die Jungs blieben natürlich cool.
Jeder umarmte jeden und wir waren uns bewusst, dass wir uns wohl lange nicht mehr sehen werden.
Das war sehr, sehr traurig!
73
Friday
At the day of our departure we had to get up at 5 am. The flight of our Italian friends went very early
and all of us had to take the same bus to the airport in Warsaw. Our host parents gave us a lot of snacks,
so that we would not have to starve. When we had to get into the bus there were more moving scenes.
During the journey it still became very amusing in the bus. Anna fell off her seat because of the bus
driver braking so hard and everybody laughed. Especially Alicia infected us with her laughter and it
lasted at least 10 minutes until we had calmed down again.
At the airport we immediately said goodbye to the Italians, who were in a hurry. Then we sat down in
the waiting room with the Spaniards, took the last photos and played some games together. It felt as
though we had known each other for ever and not only for one week.
In the airplane we still had a lot to talk and laugh about. When we came back home by train, we were
very glad, but also very sad when we thought of Poland and our new friends.
74
Freitag
Am Tag unserer Abreise mussten wir um 5 Uhr früh aufstehen! Das Flugzeug unserer italienischen
Freunde ging schon sehr früh und wir mussten alle gemeinsam mit dem Bus nach Warschau zum Flughafen fahren. Unsere Gasteltern versorgten uns noch mit Unmengen von Proviant für die Reise, damit
wir nicht verhungerten und dann gab es noch einmal rührende Abschiedsszenen am Bus. Im Bus war
es dann aber noch sehr lustig, denn Anna ist bei einer starken Bremsung vom Sitz gefallen und alle
lachten, besonders Alicia, die uns mit ihrem Lachen so ansteckte, dass wir mindestens 10 Minuten gelacht haben. Am Flughafen verabschiedeten wir uns gleich von den Italienern und dann saßen wir
noch mit den Spaniern im Aufenthaltsraum und machten Spiele und Fotos. Es war so, als würden wir
uns alle schon seit einer Ewigkeit kennen und nicht erst seit einer Woche.
Im Flugzeug hatten wir noch viel zu Lachen und als wir mit dem Zug zu Hause ankamen, waren wir froh,
wieder daheim zu sein, aber auch traurig, Polen und unsere neu gewonnen Freunde zu verlasse.
75