Link to the Youtube video.
Category Archives: Contributions
Finns in Stratford-upon-Avon
Wednesday, 12th of September
Our day started with a bus drive from Tampere to Helsinki followed by a flight to Birmingham via Munich, Germany. The long journey took up nearly the whole day, from the early morning all the way to the evening. We arrived at the school and met our host families for the first time at 6pm. having already witnessed the scenery of English rural areas between Birmingham and Stratford. During the evening we chatted with our hosts and exchanged the unique feature of our cultures. The host families received various Finnish products, such as the world famous Fazer chocolate and the timeless vases of Alvar Aalto.
Thursday, 13th September
We headed for the school after eating an English breakfast. Stratfor-upon-Avon school seemed enormous from a Finnish perspective – with its 2,500 students it is way bigger than any Finnish schooö. We also met the other foreign guests for the first time. Representatives from Spanish, Italian, German, Polish and British schools had arrived the previous night just like us. We got to share stories from Finland with our fellow visitors.
The main quest for the guests was to initiate the planning process for a sports event that was to be held in Malaga, Spain, a few months later. The purpose of the event was to raise money for charity and train participants’ collaboration and leadership skills.
Both of us toured around the main sights of Stratford in the afternoon. The most notable sight was the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and the other spots also had something to do with the author. Along the “The Birthplace”, the homes of Anne Hathaway and Mary Arden as well as the Stratford-upon-Avon church nest known for the tomb of Shakespeare were included in the tour. To complete the English cultural experience, the dinner of the day was ordered from a genuine “fish and chips” restaurant.
Friday, 14th September
Friday morning was spent finishing the plans for the sports event and preparing a presentation containing useful tips for the foreigners visiting Tampere and their hosts. In the meantime, contact information was collected so that we could keep in touch with each other after the Stratford meeting.
The Finns parted for the Friday evening. Juuso spent the evening at school as his host partook in a sports leadership course involving coaching and playing. Giuliana, an Italian girls was also there with her host, which made further discussions possible. Maisa visited Warwick, a nearby town, with her host family, The time was well spent adoring the medieval castle and enjoying Indian food.
Saturday, 15th September
Saturday was dedicated to travelling as it was fairly accurately Wednesday reversed. Farewells to hosts were left in the the yard of a local hotel. As we came back home, British souvenirs, including lots of Shakespeare items were spread. The contact information gathered on Friday was immediately used as we both started online conversations with the European students we had met in Stratford.
By: Juuso Järviniemi & Maisa Borg
Finnish girls in Malaga
We made our way to the airport on Wednesday the 6th of March, also known as yet another cold winter day in Tampere. Naturally we were very excited to escape the pesky minus degrees, and so were eagerly awaiting the trip. Our first flight took us to Stansted airport, where we had six hours to kill before our next flight. Being an eager set of travellers, we jumped into a cab and drove to a little village called Bishops Stortford, located around half an hour away from the airport. We visited a lovely tea shop and enjoyed a traditional English lunch before we took a train back to the airport. It was definitely a privilege to catch a glimpse of England before we arrived at our final destination.
When finally setting foot on Spanish ground, it was nearly midnight and we felt exhausted after the long and tedious journey. However, excitement soon caught up with us as we reunited with our Spanish friends who previously visited Tampere. The excitement didn’t die down as we glued our noses to the car windows on the drive to our new temporary homes. It was as if all the fatigue had been drawn out of us and replaced with eager anticipation about the following days.
Thursday morning we woke up to pouring rain; so much for the long-awaited sunshine. After all, we certainly deserved some vitamin D after four months of utter darkness… Nevertheless, we made our way to school where we met up with all the people from the other countries. It was great fun talking to new people and everyone was very enthusiastic and open. We spent most of the morning in the assembly hall, listening to different presentations on employment that the Spanish had prepared. We also got the chance to play a game of role playing that involved employers and employees. Lunch was eaten after school at 3pm something we found unusual. The students, most likely with the help of their parents, had prepared us a buffet consisting of typical Spanish foods. It can be presumed no one left with an empty stomach. After lunch, we spent some time on the beach, playing games and getting acquainted. Someone brought the Spanish flag with them, which we attached to a branch and planted in the sand; where it remained until a game of capture the flag began.
Friday morning we woke up bright and early in order to catch the bus to El Morlaco park. In Finland, if the program says ‘bus to … at 8’, the bus actually leaves at 8, leaving any latecomers behind. This was not the case in Spain. We arrived at 8.05, only managing to enter the bus several minutes later. Latecomers were patiently waited for and certainly not scolded. We agreed this was quite obviously more pleasant than the Finnish version.
In El Morlaco we were split into pairs, offered a map, and given an alarmingly long speech on how to read said map. At the chance of sounding arrogant, us Finns did quite well, orienteering through the unfamiliar park. However, this may be because orienteering is an essential part of Finnish P.E. classes, so none of us were particularly new to the sport. The best part of the activity was probably getting to know our partners and the momentarily scorching sun (it became shy soon afterwards). Like the day before, we played some games on the beach, and this time the sun even graced us with its presence for a while. In the evening, we walked to the center and through the main street, seeing some of Malaga’s many attractions. An experience that was surely bizarre, was eating a Burger King burger on the lap of a statue portraying H. C. Andrersen, while the others sat around it. After having our interesting dinner, we proceeded to take a stroll by the port, illuminated by twinkling street lights. Although we were moving at a pace akin to that of a snail, we enjoyed ourselves immensely. There were some fun, interactive playground equipment for children (and immature adults) that we decided to try out as we unleashed our inner children. We even sprinted through a fountain.
For Saturday, ‘enjoying Malaga with your twin’ was on the schedule. This meant all but one pair spent the day roaming through Malaga, visiting a castle, a church, and a Roman amphitheater. The pair not present was one of us, who made a visit to Granada and Alhambra instead. Alhambra was astounding and the polar opposite of any type of palace or fortress found in Finland. The walls were decorated with intricate designs, reflecting years of hard labor and talent. Come evening, we were all reunited at one of our hosts’ place for a ‘party’. A game of truth or dare was played, a Harlem Shake was recorded, and tearful goodbyes were said to those leaving early the next morning. At 1 am we finally trudged our ways back home, exhausted but happy.
The last day, there was no official program but we saw some more of Malaga’s jewels. It was especially nice to see a view of the whole city while standing on the walls of the Gibralfaro castle. We also visited the Picasso museum, viewing unique Cubist paintings.
At 8, us Finns were to assemble at the ‘aeropuerto’ – the hilarious version of the English word airport. Embarrassingly enough, some of us supposedly tough Finns shed tears while hugging our equally tearful Spanish friends. It certainly was upsetting to be robbed from our new families and friendships, but fortunately we live in the 21st century where technology is easily available.
When we arrived in London, we immediately left to hit the hay. It was challenging to drag ourselves out of bed at 5 am the next morning, but us troopers pulled it off. It helped that we slept at the airport and on the flight back. The sleep did not guard us from the depression that hit once we landed though. Snow covered every surface and the air was bitingly cold, unlike the climate of Spain. Even the group of excited (and loud…) British students in front of us for passport check seemed dull. On the bright side, it was nice to sleep in our own beds once we made it home.
All in all, it was a memorable trip. The activities were fun, the food was simply amazing, and the Spanish were overwhelmingly welcoming and open. As well as acquiring a secondary family in Spain, we gained memories to cherish for a lifetime.
– Linnea & Majken
Ps. It was hard to pack a suitcase of merely 10kg for four days. We’re girls, we need to bring excess clothing, regardless of whether we wear them or not.Pps. We miss the Spanish hams and churros.
Spanish students at Gorowo
Here you can read how Sofía, Quino and Dani lived their experience at Gorowo.
Quino
I shall explain you a little bit about our amazing experience in Górowo Iławeckie, a small village near the Polish border. I spent such a wonderful and enriching trip with my mates Sofía and Daniel and my teachers Angela and Eloísa.
On Tuesday, we had to travel from Malaga to London, we stayed there for a night, and on Wednesday then we had to catch a plane from London to Gdánsk, an important coastal city. Finally, we landed in Gdánsk at the lunchtime, and we had to take a two-hour bus to Gorowo. At last, we arrived to Gorowo at 6 pm, which is their dinnertime, so Daniel and I went with our twins to a pizza restaurant.
On Thursday, I met up with the whole Comenius group in the highschool early in the morning to do some sightseeing around the school, which is greatly large, and around the village. Then I could notice that there in Poland there is a lot of admiration for Pope John Paul II.
In the afternoon, we went to Bezledy, which is one of the European border points with Russia, and we had the opportunity to manage some weapons, as the sniper rifle you can see here. We also went to Bartszyce, which is like the provincial city, to visit the fire department and the local newspaper. At night, we went out with the entire Comenius group to a disco and afterwards we walked around the village.
On Friday, we met at Barka, which is like a public building for social and cultural events, and we had to show our slideshows about employing and volunteering in our cities. Thereafter, we were doing some handicraft and workshop, as the same time as some of us were playing table tennis and even dancing. We had such a wonderful and funny time there, because we could get to know among us. At last, at night, I went to Daniel’s house to spend some time and afterwards we met up with the whole Comenius group in a typical Polish restaurant, where we could even make a party.
In the last day together, on Saturday, everybody went to Olzstyn, the capital city of the district, wich was an important region in medieval times, and we visited the Olsztyn Castle, where Nicholas Copernicus lived, and the Old Town, which was impressive. Thereafter we could go shopping and do some ice-skating. In the evening, we went to a farewell party outdoors, and we had the most wonderful time of the week, listening to some music, dancing, making loads of photos and talking around the fire.
On Sunday, I was awake so early in the morning, like 4 am, to take the bus to Gdánsk. It was bitterly cold, like -4º, so in the bus everyone was sleeping and dreaming. We arrived in Gdánsk at the morning, and there we spent our last time with the Comenius people. After the farewell, we were travelling from Poland to Spain the entire day, so we landed in Malaga around 10 pm.
From my point of view, the chance of travelling to Górowo has been blissful. Even if at the beginning of the trip I was quite nervous wondering what would I do there, the mighty kindness and welcoming of the Polish people made me enjoy the days I stayed there.
Even having met many people from several cultures and languages, I could get through and get along with everyone, meeting people with many common interests. I had such a great, amazing time with the entire Comenius group, singing, dancing and doing loads of things with them.
Sofía
My travel to Poland was amazing with Quino and Dani.
We sleept a little but it was worthy. I though that Poland was different, and the difference was a great surprise for me. My twin,Ewa, is a fantastic girl. She and her family took me in so good.
I was impresed by their frozen lake and their contrast between the cold outside and the heat inside the houses.I really like these landscape.
The first night we went to their park and the supermarket. I met a lot of people from other countries.We started dancing this night,with Spanish songs,Italian songs and Polish songs.I went to bed so early because I was so tired.
The second day we went to their highschool. There we could met another people and we visited their highschool. Then we visited to the firemen station and to the local newspapper. At night,we went to ate pizza in a pub.
The third day we went to Barka to explain our presentation and made handcraft.We danced too.These night we ate pizza again and dance again.This was a exciting night.
The fourth day we went to other town. We made sightseeing. Then we spent a funny time ice-skating.
The night of the fourth day was the best night for me.We celebrated our depart with a barbecue.We danced,talked,played,made a lot of photos… and we cried because we didn’t want to say goodbye.
Last day,we had to got up early to went to the airport. We were all less Italian girls. I huged everybody but especially Ewa.I miss her so much.
I really this travel because we were together all the time. We were always dancing and laughing ,we were happy.
My sourvenirs from this travel are the experience,English, as a way of comunication, and The unforgettable time together.
Dani
When we heard we had to travel from Malaga to London, from London to Gdansk, and finally, from Gdansk to Górowo, and that we had to travel during a good many of hours, we were surprised! Why travelling during lots of hours to visit a country which is not so well-known between people in Spain?
The answer to the question “why Poland?” is the following: it’s different.
The first day, I was so confused, and asking myself “How have I finished here? Why I’m here? Why is everything so different? Why it’s not just like Malaga?”.
But I realized that being different is not a blockage, it’s not an obstacle, it’s an opportunity to say “yes, I visited an unknown country, and I’m proud of it!”, it’s an opportunity to know more things about the habits in the north of Europe, the way of behaving of the people (we thought people’s behaving will be different, but they are so nice, so greatful!), and so on.
I liked so much Górowo because it’s a smallvillage with huge houses, with lots of gardens… I believe Górowo is like a way of represent the nature.
And I think everybody will ask themselves “and, what about the cold climate?”. And I have an answer to this! You only have to take a big jacket and enjoy of having a walk around Górowo: the Town Hall (where there were burnt witches 500 years ago), the ukrainian church (it was destroyed by Nazi people, but ukrainian rebuilt it and now it forms part of Europe history), the frozen lake (so beautiful!)…
But we didn’t stay in Górowo all the time. We visited Olsztyn and Bartoszyce (I think this two towns are written in this way!), the borders between Russia and Poland, a shopping center (cheaper than in Malaga!), an ice-skating floor…
I think they were several magic days. I learnt so much about polish culture, polish habits, polish music (strange, but I love polish music!)… And if somebody say me if I want to visit it again, I will smile, and I will say “yes, I will get back there”.
Achim in Górowo
Our mobility in Poland already started in the bus from the airport in Gdansk to Górowo. Seeing all the little villages from the bus was interesting. When having arrived at the school we were picked up by our lovely host families. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and met outside with all Comenius people to take a look around the pretty city of Górowo. The next day we met in the school and visited some interesting places in Górowo.
Later that evening we met to have a nice slice of pizza and some interesting conversations. We also went to the impressive border between Poland and Russia.
In the afternoon we visited two employers: the newspaper and the fire station close to Górowo. We spent the evening dancing and laughing in the restaurant. Another day we visited Olsztyn where we had a guided tour through the city and the museum of Copernicus. Later in the afternoon, after a long walk, we went ice-skating and shopping. It was great! The last evening we had a BBQ in the garden of one of our polish friends. The next day we were leaving, so we had to get up in the middle of the night to catch the bus to the airport in Gdansk. Then we discovered the old, beautiful city with all the famous sights. We also had a delicious lunch with the finish girls.
All in all our trip to Poland was a great experience because we got to know the polish culture and made a lot of new friends!
Málaga mobility summary
The theme of the mobility in Málaga was “Job opportunities for young people”
Basically the activities we carried through with the students were the folowing:
- “Role playing: employers and employees”: Students experienced how an unemployment benefit affects the average salary and the companies profits.
- “Presentations about opportunities of employment”: Spanish students showed their work on the theme
- “Modelling job opportunities research process”: Students modelled how to search job opportunties back at their schools
- “Sharing fundraising experiences”: Students showed what fundraising activities had carried out to get money for Charity in their schools.
- “Spanish lunch at school”: Spanish students brought meals made at home to share Spanish recipes with their twins.
- “Sports activities at the beach”: Fun games which were planned in previous mobilities.
- “Orienteering activity”: Organised by Club Coma (http://www.clubcoma.org/) at the Morlaco Park.
Also that friday some teachers visited the “San Miguel” brewery in Málaga. The folowing day all the teachers were in a trip to Seville. All the students were with their Spanish twins during their weekend doing activities planned in advanced.
As the coordinator of this project in Málaga I have to say that I could have never expected to find such a kind and collaborative group of young people. Even in the Economics experiment (normally is something boring for them) they tried their best and the outcome was excellent. They left an indelible mark in both the Spanish families and the teachers.
Also I am really grateful to all the foreign teachers for their cooperation in every moment and their superb work throughout the days we had the privilege to share with them. The activities that needed their collaboration, as the meetings at the library or the sports activities were an absolut success. Besides I always felt their support through their actions and continuous smiles. Our Comenius staff in Malaga thanked their friendliness and their wonderful attitude towards any activity we suggested.
