Report from revisit in Poland

Sunday - 4th May

 

    At 7:45 am the train from Berlin arrived at the main station in Warsaw, with 14 Belgian pupils and two Belgian teachers inside. We had been waiting for them for half a year. And now that wonderful moment came, at last we could say hello to our friends whom we had met last year in November. After the greeting there was a short city walk in Warsaw. Sightseeing,  Belgians saw the most important places and monuments in the Polish capital. For example: the Old Town, the Monument to a Small Insurgent, the Palace of Culture and Science, the Tomb of an Unknown Soldier etc.

City walk in Warsaw.

    After that, we went to Przysucha. The headmasters and our parents had been already waiting for us. There was a short official reception in our school. Then, we went home, ate dinner with families and in the afternoon we met together at the lake to talk a bit.

 Official reception in our school.

    The weather was beautiful so we were sunbathing, playing volleyball, laughing and boating. Unfortunately, one pedal boat drowned with 3 people on the deck. Later, there was a short Disco Polo concert in the Pub at the lake. Belgiums enjoy that type of music. We were singing and dancing. There was a lot of fun!!!

After the concert we decided to come back home along the way through the forest. It was dark and we lost the way. We were walking to and fro half an hour but in the end we saw the lights of civilization... It was a day full of adventures!!! Everybody was tired but very very happy!

 

Monday - 5th May

    

   At 10 o clock in the morning we started the city walk in Przysucha. Polish pupils were telling about the most interesting places in our town. First, we visited the Oskar Kolberg Museum.

City walk in Przysucha.

     Thanks to that, Belgians could get to know some history of Przysucha.Then we went to the Jewish Synagogue, the parish  church, the catholic cementary. They saw 3 market squares in Przysucha.

    Then, there was an official reception at the County Starosty.

Official meeting at the County Starosty.

    During the meeting the Starost Mr Marek Modrzecki officially welcomed the Belgian group and said a few words about County Przysucha. One of the Belgium pupils Axel thanked for the invitation to Poland. At the end of the meeting everybody got commemorative gadgets – T-shirts and pendants with the coat of arms (symbol) of Przysucha.

After the meeting we ate dinner and then we went to Topornia . Some people were swimming and the others were sunbathing – sweet laziness .

    At 4 pm we met at ZS2 at the classes in the computer lab. Belgium pupils started writing their diaries. In the evening we met in the pub to play pool, talk, drink and have a good time!

: )

 

Tuesday 6th May

 

    The main point of that day was a long excursion to Cracow and Auschwitz.

    First, we visited the concentration camp in Auschwitz, which was horrible experience. We saw piles of shoes, clothes and pairs of glasses which belonged to the people who were murdered in Auschwitz. We came into the cell of death, crematorium and gas chamber, where thousands of Jewish people were killed. It was shocking! Nobody belived that it really happened.

 Auschwitz-Birkenau.

    After that, we went to visit Cracow. We had very little time so Belgians saw only a small part of Cracow – the Old Town, the Main Market Square, St. Mary’s Church and they listened to the melody from St. Mary’s tower. Then, we had some free time to eat something and buy souvenirs. When we were leaving Cracow it was about 8 pm.

Visiting Cracow.

    On the bus Jeroen and Tom sang a song specially for Frederic ( their teacher) and his new wife. In that way the song contest started. Polish and Belgian people in turns sang songs in Polish and Flemish, trying really hard to do their best. It was really funny!

    We arrived in Przysucha after midnight.

 

Wednesday 7th May

 

    At 10 am cross country walk in the forest near Przysucha started. First, there was a short game. People were divided into two groups – the blue and red one.

Game in the forest.

    Each group was supposed to hide the flag. The aim of that game was to steal the opponent’s flag. The game finished with a draw. After  half an hour break the first group set out. During the run we had 5 tasks to solve (from Mathematics, Geography, the world literature and the knowledge of English speaking countries). We had to put down the words which we noticed along the way, make the question using them and finally answer that question.

 ; )

    When we arrived at Topornia we were very tired. We ate dinner in the bar and went swimming. Then, we were playing volleyball.

Volleyball game at the lake.

    In the evening there was a bonfire. We roasted sausages above it, which was a little bit strange for the Belgians but they enjoyed it.

Bonfire at the lake.

 

Thursday  8th May

 

    That day we went on an excursion to Kazimierz. First we heard some information about that old town and saw the most important things there - tenements with beautiful ornaments, the old well in the center of the market square, the catholic church. Next, we climbed the Mount of Three Crosses where we could admire wonderful views on the town and the Vistula river. After that, we had some free time to eat something. Later, the Belgians went on a boat trip down the Vistula and admired the landscape surrounding them.

Boat trip down the Vistula.

    We came back to Przysucha at 5 pm. We spent a nice evening in the company of the headmaster Mr. Verplancke and the teachers, talking and drinking in the pub by the lake.

  Meeting with Mr. Verplancke.

 

Friday 9th May

 

    At 9 o clock in the morning there was an official meeting in the Przysucha Commune and Town Office. The Headmaster of Sintamands-instituut Mr Franz Verplancke thanked for the warm reception, hospitality and family like atmosphere during the visit. After that, there was a small treat and then we went to our school. At school pupils from class III c with the Geography teacher Ms Anna Wysmolińska (in cooperation with Ms Wioletta Pomykała) prepared the European Quiz. Quiz Leaders: Barbara Zagora and Piotr Wilk.

Enjoying the quiz.

    Four teams were competing and struggling with difficult questions. We had to demonstrate our knowledge of the European Union history, the European Union countries and their culture. We had to guess the names of different kind of dance and those who had enough courage could show how to dance them.

Quiz leaders.

    The winners of the European Quiz got diplomas and congratulations from the chairperson of the jury – Ms Wioletta Pomykała. After the quiz we had classes in the computer lab where Belgium pupils answered the questions concerning their visit in Poland. Then, we ate dinner together at school. In the afternoon sport competitions started. First, we were playing volleyball and Poles won 3:0 in sets.

           

Sport competition.

    Next, we were playing football, which was really nice but nobody knew who won. We spent the evening in the pub in Topornia.

 

Saturday 10th May

 

    We met together at 9 o’clock in the morning. All Belgians took part in the run “Along the Trail of Hubal Soldiers” on the distance of 2 km. The best guy of all Belgian people was Jeroen Hugelier who was the seventh. He  was really especially good because of the fact that 174 runners took part in that age category.  Jeroen got a diploma and congratulations from the organizers of that run.

The Run “Along the Trail of Hubal Soldiers”.

 The best runner in Belgium team - Jeroen Hugelier.

    After the run we went to the pub to drink something and then we went for dinner to ZS2. We had some classes in the school number 2 and an official meeting with the headmasters and parents. Mr. Verplanke thanked for taking care of his pupils and said good bye.

Official good bye.

    Again there was a bonfire with sausages in the afternoon during which we were playing the guitar and singing songs. Boys were playing football. In the evening we went to the disco, and we were dancing all night.

 

 Sunday 11th May

 

    That was the day which each person from the exchange program spent in a different way. Some people went canoeing, some visited Polish sport and recreation centre in Spała, some people stayed at home and slept till midday, some took part in the family festivities such as the First Communion .

Free time.

    In the evening we met together in the pub to talk about the things we had been doing that day. But this evening was not funny. Nobody laughed and everybody was sad. It was the last evening together...

 

Monday 12th May

 

    It was the last day spent by the Belgians in Poland. In the morning Belgians said good bye to our parents and we went to Warsaw. All day we spent doing shopping. Then, we went together for dinner to recollect the funniest moments of the visit.

:'(

   At 7:30 in the evening the train arrived and we had to part. Everybody (not only girls) was crying... But we promised each other to send e-mails, write letters and to be friends forever. We also agreed to meet as soon as possible. We hope that our friendship will be much greater than the distance dividing us.

 

 

                                                                                               Written by Natalia Karkoszka

                                                            `                       Consultation: Wioletta Pomykała