Izmenjava z Nizozemsko 2017
Nedelja, 19. marec 2017
V nedeljo smo že v popoldanskih urah odpravili izpred Srednje šole Veno Pilon. Po dveh urah vožnje smo prispeli na Beneško letališče. Po oddaji prtljage nas je pričakalo neprijetno presenečenje. Let je bil odpovedan, zato smo se po nekaj urnem tavanju po letališču odpravili v hotel. V poznih večernih urah smo izvedeli, da se naslednje jutro odpravljamo na Nizozemsko z avtobusom.
Torek, 21. marec 2017
V torek smo se polni pričakovanj, zbudili v sončno jutro okrog enajstih in se po dokaj kratki noči večinoma s kolesi odpravili v šolo, kjer smo se razdelili v skupine, sestavljene iz Nizozemcev, Špancev, Avstrijcev in seveda nas – Slovencev. V šoli smo eno uro delali na projektu, katerga glavna tema je voda, ob trinajstih pa smo se z vlakom odpravili v Haag, kjer smo morali opraviti poseben izziv, sestavljen iz zanimivih nalog – prevajali smo kitajščino, jedli pekočo hrano, pomagali starejšim čez cesto itd. Po končanem izzivu smo se odpravili nakupovat in kasneje na prečudovito peščeno plažo, kjer smo imeli čas za malico in fotografiranje, da se bomo čez nekaj let ob pogledu na fotografije ponovno spominjali vseh dogodivščin, preživetih na Nizozemskem. Ob šestnajstih smo se odpravili v bližnjo dvorano na discobowling kjer smo ostali do osemnajstih. Nato so se nekateri vrnili domov, spet drugi pa smo ostali v Haagu ter v raznih restavracijah pojedli večerjo in kasneje skupaj odšli na Kieranovo zabavo v Kitajsko četrt. Ostali smo do triindvajsetih ter se nato z vlakom vrnili do šole, od koder smo kolesarili domov. Približno okrog enih smo se po čudovitem dnevu zadovoljni in v pričakovanju Amsterdama odpravili spat.
Sreda, 22. marec 2017
Najprej smo s kolesi prišli v šolo in nato izlet nadaljevali z avtobusom v Amsterdam, kjer smo po sprehodu začeli ogled mesta po kanalih z ladjo, nato pa smo imeli proste tri ure za samostojen ogled Amsterdama in druženje z našimi partnerji. Po prostem času smo odšli na ogled Van Goghovega muzeja, ki je trajal eno uro. Zatem smo se odpravili nazaj proti Haagu. Na srečo je bilo tudi vreme zelo lepo in je bil tako dan zato še toliko lepši.
Četrtek, 23. marec 2017
Dan smo začeli s prihodom v šolo ob 8.30, kjer smo se zbrali in začeli s projektom, na katerem smo delali do enih popoldne. Za tem smo se razdelili v skupine s svojimi nizozemskimi partnerji in odsli na različne oglede. Same smo bile v skupini z osmimi dekleti. Odpravile smo se v majhno mestece Delft, ki je znano po tem, da spominja na Amsterdam. Tam smo se vozile s skiroji in se ustavile pri vsaki pomembni znamenitosti. Na trgu smo si privoscile se kavo in se posladkale z vaflji.
Druga skupina se je odpravila na ogled mlinov v blizini Rotterdama. Po ogledu mesta in mlinov smo odšli domov, kjer smo imeli družinsko večerjo. Zatem smo se vsi udeleženci izmenjave zbrali v klubu, kjer je Nizozemka praznovala svoj rojstni dan. Okrog polnoci smo se vsi utrujeni odpravili domov.
Petek, 24. marec 2017
Petek, naš zadnji dan, se je hitro približal. Po rojstnem dnevu ene izmed Nizozemk je bila noč kratka. Zjutraj smo se, kot že običajno, s kolesi odpravili v šolo, kjer smo štiri ure delali na projektu in ga izpopolnjevali. Ob 11.00 smo imeli zadnjo vajo, kjer smo predstavili svoje projekte profesorjem. Po vaji so profesorji zbrali dva najboljša projekta, ki sta bila kasneje predstavljena pred dijaki iz Španije in Avstrije. Popoldne smo imeli prosti čas, kjer smo se najprej družili na nogometnem igrišču, nato pa so dijaki večinoma obiskali Rotterdam, spet drugi pa so odšli na plažo, kjer so imeli piknik. Ob 7:00 pa je šlo za res. Svoje projekte smo takrat predstavili pred starši. Kasneje smo se vsi zbrali v osrednjem prostoru šole, kjer se je na velikem odru predstavilo najboljših šest. Sledile so še zahvale učiteljev in odhod k družinam. Nekateri so potem odšli na zabavo, drugi pa so se odločili, da bodo svoj zadnji večer preživeli z parterji in njihovimi družinami.
Exchange with Netherlands 2016
Day 1 – 23 October 2016
From the Netherlands to Slovenia…
Hi! We are Fleurentien Smittenaar and Sarah de Ruiter and we’re from the Netherlands. We are going to be writing a number of short articles about our experiences here in Slovenia during the exchange project. After having waited for months, we finally got to meet our Slovene friends! Our trip started at Schiphol, the biggest airport of the Netherlands, on the 23rd of October. Everybody was sooo excited! We said goodbye to our parents and we went through the security check. Luckily, no one was taking anything illegal with them, so we had enough time to stop at Starbucks. At 14.15 we boarded the plane and at 14.30 the plane took off. The flight was shorter than most of us had expected, but when we landed at 15.55 everyone was still glad they could get off the plane. After the flight there was a bus waiting for us. We got in and got even more excited. Everyone was talking about their exchange partners and their expectations. We tried to learn some Slovenian words but it did not work. Finally, we arrived in Ajdovščina, where we had a very warm welcome. We entered the school, where we met Samuel and all the other staff, they were very friendly! After the brief meeting, everyone split up and went home with their hosts. However, we, Fleurentien and Sarah, went to a restaurant with both of our hosts. At first, we were kind of scared that there would be awkward moments of silence, but we actually had lots of fun and very interesting conversations. Everyone else also had a great time with their partners, some were watching TV, others were playing videogames and others got to know their host families. After a busy day, with lots of travelling and meeting new people, we went to bed. Everyone seems great and we know it will be an amazing week.
Meanwhile in Slovenia…
After months of waiting, our Dutch friends have finally arrived to Slovenia! On Sunday, the 23rd of October, all the Slovene students that are part of the exchange gathered in front of our school to greet our Dutch partners. They were supposed to arrive at 18.00 but we had to wait for them a little bit longer. We all couldn’t wait for them to arrive but we were nervous at the same time. At 18.30 the bus finally arrived. As soon as the Dutch got off the bus, we all ran up to our exchange partners and started hugging. Everyone was happy and excited to finally meet each other and we were all looking forward to the upcoming week. After a quick speech from some of the Slovene and Dutch teachers, we were all quite hungry, so we took our exchange partners home or to a restaurant for dinner. We spent the evening mostly getting to know each other and our families, talking about their first impressions about Slovenia, our way of living, we watched some movies… The Dutch students also gave us some gifts that they brought from home. We were all very tired, so we went to bed early. I think all of the Dutch students are very nice and friendly and I can’t wait to see what this week will bring.
Day 2 – 24 October 2016
For most of us the day started with a bus ride, others were taken to school by their parents. Firstly, we were welcomed by the headmaster of the school and we did a tour of the school. Professor Samuel wanted to test our knowledge of Slovenia, so Pieter, Mees and Hannah participanted in the ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ quiz. They knew a lot about Slovenia (partly because they had been informed by the Dutch teachers), and they got all the questions right!
To break the ice between the Dutch and Slovene students we did some energizers, including the samurai game. After this we went to the cafeteria, where we received our food, which was unusual for us students, because we usually don’t eat warm meals in the morning in the Netherlands. Samuel explained us the schedule for the whole week. After this we formed groups and got started on our projects. The main project theme is migration. We are working on a video, in which we try to express different students’ experiences. We are also working on this webpage, which will include more articles like this one and some stunning impressions of all the groups. We worked on the project for half of the day. After the ‘hard’ work, some of us went for lunch in a really nice café (which has delicious waffles and baguettes). Our bellies were full, and we were in for a movie, so we went to Neja’s place together with Anja and Gaja. We watched a really nice movie and of course we ate a lot of chips and also some fruit. After the movie everyone went home and changed our clothes. A lot of people went to the Postojna cave instead, which was huge and beautiful. Some others even went to the Predjama castle and enjoyed exploring the antiques within one of the most well-known Slovene architectural buildings.
With some comfortable clothes on, we went to Timotej’s. There were a lot of other exchange students, most of them were boys but of course there were also some girls. Others went to Elena’s, where most of the girls played ‘truth or dare’. Without the truth, though. They all brought some food, most of which was eaten by the end of the evening. At Timotej’s we listened to music and talked with new students and got to know them a little more. At 10:30 we were very tired, so we went home and we immediately went to bed. We enjoyed the day a lot, and we are looking forward to the rest of the week!
Day 3 – 25 October 2016
The day started with working on our projects at school. We worked really hard for two hours and made some great progress. At 10.30 we had to meet in the auditorium, because one group of the students went on a tour around Nova Gorica while the other group went bowling. The tour consisted of visiting different locations in Nova Gorica. We first went to Kostanjevica and visited the church where the Bourbons are buried. The view from the hill was breathtaking, even though it was really foggy. After this we went to the border, where Slovenia and Italy meet. We could stand with one foot in Slovenia and the other foot in Italy, because the border goes through the middle of the Europe square. We also visited the EDA centre and looked at a model of the city plan. Afterwards we went to see the Solkan bridge, which has the longest arch span made of stone. The weather was really bad, so we couldn’t enjoy the view from the viewpoint.
That was the last stop of our tour, so we switched groups and went to the bowling hall. We made teams of 6 people. We were in a group with Neja, Gaja and Anja. At first, everybody missed the pins. After a while of trying, everybody was able to hit the cones and some even had some strikes. Of course, we had to eat something, so we all shared a pizza, which was delicious. When we finished the pizza, we could throw one more time and then we went to a shopping mall. We visited some shops and tried on some clothes. As we were really tired, we soon jumped on the bus again and went home. Not everyone went to the shopping centre, others went to Vipava and explored the town and its surroundings. Our group of friends (Gaja, Anja, Lara, Tjaša and their exchange partners) gathered in the evening and made pancakes. They were absolutely amazing. Again, our bellies were filled so we just laid down and listened to music. We really enjoyed the night with the other girls! Tomorrow we will work on the project for almost the whole day and we will present a bit of our project during the rehearsal. Maybe we will even do a photo orientation activity through the city.
Day 4 – 26 October 2016
When we came to school at 8.00, we gathered in the auditorium. After a short welcome we started working on the project again. Everyone worked really hard until 10.00, then we had a small break and got some food, spaghetti or fish with spinach and mashed potatoes. At 10.30 we had to get back to work, because the teacher asked us to show them what we had done so far in the afternoon. The teachers would look at our progress and give us feedback, so we could improve our presentation and know if the progress we made was good enough. We finished school at 13.45, so we could do some fun activities in the afternoon. As the weather had cleared up, we were even more exciting to explore Slovenia. We walked to the Hubelj river and its waterfalls from the school, after having stopped by a bakery to buy some lunch. A lot of people went to Piran, a very picturesque location, where we could take some stunning photographs. The boys went to the Postojna cave, because they hadn’t gone there yet. Some people also went to Vipava and took a look at the valley from one of the mountains. We (Gaja, Anja, Lara, Tjaša and their exchange partners) watched the sunset in Piran and had dinner there. Before we went to Piran, Fleurentien thought it was a good idea to climb on some rocks that lined up against the sea. At the exact moment that Anja’s dad told us a story about someone falling in the water, Fleurentien fell in the water as well. Her shoes were wet, so she borrowed some dry socks from Gaja. We had a delicious dinner in Piran and then, on our way home, we stopped by Tjaša’s house to have a drink and some snacks. Then it was time to go home and get some sleep, because we’re going to Ljubljana tomorrow.
Day 5 – 27 October 2016
Today our day started very early. We had to be at school at 7:10, so we could get our lunch packs. Some of us didn’t go to school first, but went straight to the smallest “city” in Slovenia, which is called Vipavski križ. When we got to Vipavski križ, Sarah and I ran directly towards Vera because it was her birthday. Here we had a tour through the church. After this we had another tour through the whole city, during which we were told about its history. The weather was great, so we took some stunning pictures. After the tour, we jumped on the bus and we went to the capital city: Ljubljana. This time we didn’t have any guides but our exchange partners were going to guide us through the city, so we split up in smaller groups.
Since it was Vera’s birthday, we planned a little surprise: she had to wear a dress which is a typical dress in Germany (the Germans wear this dress in October during the Oktoberfest). She had to wear the dress for the whole time spent in the capital, if she wanted to get her real present. To make it less embarrassing for Vera, we also wore some weird hats and scarfs. The exchange partners showed us some picturesque places and we had to do some tasks, for example taking a picture with only one shoe. We finished with all the tasks in about two hours, and then SHOPPINGGG. We went to some shops, did some more sightseeing and of course we went to a coffeeshop to get a cup of coffee or tea. After a great day, with a lot of walking, we went back to the school. At home we just laid down and relaxed for a while as we were really tired. Some weren’t that tired though, and spent their afternoon cooking. They made use of Jakob and Izak’s kitchen and prepared their meals there – the meals that we are going to eat tomorrow night after the presentations.
On the other hand, at 20:00 we had a big surprise for Vera, we went to Gaja’s home (the exchange partner of Vera) and we hid behind the couch. When Vera opened the door and turned on the light, we all jumped out and screamed “SURPRISE”. She was so surprised and extremely happy. We ate pizza together and cake for the dessert. After the big surprise we went to Elena’s house. Most of the exchange partners were there, so we all met some new people and had a really good time. After a wonderful day everybody was exhausted and went home to get some sleep.
DAY 6 – 28 October 2016
Today was the last day of our group project work, so we had to start early. Although we were all very tired, we had to work really hard. By 14.00 all of our work has to be finished and ready for the final presentation. Then we’re going to have a short break. Our rehearsal starts at 15:00. All of Slovene parents are going to attend the final presentation which starts at 17.00. We are going to present our project work and their products. Finally, our hard work will pay off!
The cooking group (The Foodies) have been making different snacks for the last two days and we’re going to be able to try it after the presentation. Today is Pieter’s (one of the Dutch students) birthday, so we have plans to all meet up and surprise him. We hope we’ll all get to hang out as long as possible and spend a great last night together.
Our group
Every day we wrote an article about the previous day for the school website. Our job was to design the webpage, where the articles were going to be presented. We also had to choose the pictures that we wanted to publish on the webpage. Our group really enjoyed our assignment. Although it was really stressful at times, it was the company that made it all better. We hope you enjoy the small recaps that we put together. Feel free to come back to this page and look back on the fun we had.
The articles and the wegpage were designed by Fleurentien Smittenaar, Lara Žvanut and Sarah de Ruiter. The pictures were taken by Anja Koglot and Lisette van Stigt. The videos were filmed by Gaja Podgornik and they were edited by Kieran Stokes and Miha Polanc.
