Italian e-journal

Turkish e-journal - Sebnem writes about Poland

From 4th to 11th of May, we were in Poland to work on our project with great people from four different countries. We had the oppurtunity to get to know about new cultures and also represent ours. We’ve been to Warsaw, Suwalki, Augustow and many other places in Poland and filmed our commercials which was both fun and teaching to do. We also had a chance to see the natural beauties in Poland. I want to thank everyone who made this project possible and also my amazing host family who made this trip unforgettible for me. This was an amazing exprience that I’ve learnt a lot from.

Czech e-journal - students write about their Polish experience

Cyril: In Poland it was for me as good as in Turkey, so super. I really enjoyed the trips even though we usually did not have very good weather. Probably the most I liked the boat trip. I also liked the idea of ​​tasting dishes from different countries. In our filming groups, the work went very well, not only because we had to shoot the topic of the Czech Republic, but also because we had a group of really nice people. Also, I was glad I met with my Turkish friend there, with whom I was staying in Turkey. Overall, this exchange visit and the entire project is my greatest experience so far with a foreign language. I would like to thank all the teachers for organizing this project, because I think it was a wonderful experience, I enjoyed it and found a lot of new friends. Jenda: I have very good memories from Poland because from the beginning we knew who I would stay with. Luckily for me it was a boy from Poland, with whom I have enjoyed our time in Prague. Next to Facebook we wrote emails before the project in Poland and we talked about the Programme, before our arrival. Departure day was very complicated and difficult. Not only that we got up at around 4 o'clock in the morning, but after arriving at the airport we learned that our flight was canceled and we had to wait six hours for another plane. After another five hours on the bus, we finally arrived in Suwalki and we went to the families where there were really nice people waiting for me. Really a nice family. It was super. With my friend from Poland was fun because he is a little crazy as I am, we rode the bike and met with other people. In our free time, we spent every afternoon in a super bunch of guys and I always had a great time. For example, we played basketball at their new pitch and it was great pleasurable time. Comenius project gave me a great experience and time with great people.

Polish e-journal by Ola and Jan

The project is over so after a week we spent with our friends from Italy, Turkey and Czech we had to come back to our everyday activities. At the end of April we were waiting with impatience for arrival of our guests. It was hard to believe that it’s our last meeting and we would have to say goodbye soon. That made us very sad. Every day of our international exchange was filled with different activities - that's why it's difficult to choose only one to describe the best one. If we had to talk about things which went wrong, we would have to lie. The only one obstacle to live up to our plans was the weather, which was very variable. For us and our friends the most enjoyable experience was for sure learning how to dance our traditional dance- Polonaise. The thing that we will remember for a long time, except our normal activities in groups, was going out together and integration campfires when we forgot about divisions in languages or cultures and we could talk together and know each other better. For all of us the end of the project came too quickly. We had so many ideas and planned a lot things to do. We hope we’ll keep in touch and be friends despite the long distance among us. Perhaps someday we’ll meet together again and put through all our plans. Aleksandra Glinska & Jan Wisniewski

Polish e-journal about Turkey

The trip to Turkey for all us was great adventure. Our journey took 14 hours and it was long and tiresome. We were pleased that we arrived happily at the destination. The families with whom we supposed to live greeted us very warmly. The Turkish school friends made a great impression on us. We enjoyed all the tasks we were involved in. The workshops at school were great, we still remember some Turkish words! During our stay, we had a lot of opportunities to make friends with people from various countries. In our opinion the trips to Pergamon and Ephesus were fascinating and expanded our cultural horizons. We'll never forget filming the legends - everyone had a lot of fun then. Below are some photos you can have a look at: And one more thing - the Turkish food was delicious- especially sweets! We were glad that we could spend a whole week in Turkey with such a great team. It was awesome experience that we'll remember for a long time.

Turkish students wrote about their experience with international visit

The time we spent in İzmir with our Comenius friends was a week to remember. Before hosting my friend at my house, as I’ve experienced some Exchange programs before, I knew that it was going to be so much fun to spend a week with a foreign-friendthat I’ve never met before. As I was the host, I showed İzmir and tried to introduce Turkish culture to my Polish friend and recognizing the big differences between our cultures ( especially hometowns) was very amusing. I’m looking forward to visiting Poland back, as it is going to be a very strange experience for me. DENİZ ALKAN

Hi!I am Simge and I am one of the student of Comenius Project.First of all I want to tell about my experience. Last year I went to Prague with my 6 friends and a teacher.We visited lots of places,we ate special things there and all of these things helped me improve, for example, I have more friends than I had last year or I have learnt some historical and interesting information. And the most important experience in Prague(form me) was learning how to be a teenager there. Now I can compare different countries. After a week we came back to Turkey we waited for 7 months until our friends came from Prague , Sicily and Poland. When they arrived İzmir we went to eat some special Turkish food like Döner and I guess our friends liked it. The following days we visited historical places in İzmir.for example Bergama and Ephesus (which were popular in the antigue ages) then we visited Şirince which has really good atmosphere and special jam,soap…while we were visiting them we had a responsibilty about the Project. OUR FILMS! We took some of our films in these places and after the shooting we editted our films in the school. I want to say something special about this projetct; this Project made me better in every way.I improved myself and I learnt that everyone can have real friends who are not from the same country. With Veronika, Iva ,Linn, Matlyda, Pavel, Cyril, Iga… I understood that I am so happy to have known these people and having friendships with them  SİMGE ASLAN

Veronica from the Czech Republic wrote about her experience in Turkey

On the week of 10.10-17.10.2014 we went to Turkey. The closer was our meeting with the family, the more nervous we were. But now I see our nervousness was ultimately unnecessary. Our Turkish parents welcomed us very nicely. I would say that all my friends who came with me to Turkey would agree with me when I say that our Turkish "foster parents" were very friendly, helpful, kind and included us as a family member. They asked us if everything was okay all the time and were willing to help us with every problem. Likewise, I loved the sights we visited and worked at, thanks to the Turkish teachers. All places were magical and very beautiful, whenever we had a question we could ask any of our Turkish friend who answered it to us. I also loved the filming of movies in groups. Children from Turkey always told us their ideas and we approved these good ideas, or we rearranged them a bit, and then we started filming. We always had one teacher in the group, who helped us and advised what to do. I think the most fun we enjoyed was in Ephesus, where we were finishing our films. On the last day, when we all said goodbye to each other, a couple of kids from Turkey said they would like to come back to Prague, we reassured them that we would love to welcome and see them here. I hope to continue to be in contact with children from Comenius. Many thanks from Veronika from Prague!

Italian students wrote about their Turkey experience

As time was getting closer we were looking forward to the moment of our departure, but mostly to seeing again our partners. This experience was very important for us. The best tour was the one to Alsancak, where we visited the clock tower, we loved it. We walked around the city market, and we stepped inside the mosque. After, we have visited Bergama, where we shot the videos about the legends we performed that came from different countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey and Italy. It is a very different city from where we were with our friends in Izmir. Some Bergama's places are older and they aren't as beautiful as Izmir's places but we liked it. Then we went to Ephesus; we shot there as well our films each one with its own international group, and we visited the small bazaar of the city. We enjoyed it very much, and during the week we spent in Turkey, we also made new acquaintances with guys from Poland and the Czech Republic. The school was giant and there were different classes, different laboratories, there was the canteen, and many other things. The school in Izmir is more beautiful, interesting and bigger than our school at San Cataldo. We loved it! In the evening, we went many different places with our partners, laughing and having a beautiful time the days flew away. We took the ferry and we visited for second time Alsancak. We talked a lot. During the week we went to the waterfront. It was a great week! The families we stayed with were great and they made all the possible to make us feel at home. We tasted a lot of different food. Some was very tasty and delicious, but sometimes too spicy. All the people we met were very friendly and they helped us whenever we had any need. We love them!!! We can't wait to see them again. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. Annamaria, Alexia, Alessia.

Italian students wrote about their Czech experience

We went to Prague in April thanks to a Comenius project called “e.Motion Pictures” where students from different countries (Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic and Poland) took part. The journey was very long because we left Catania airport early in the morning and after two stops, one in Rome and one in Paris, we finally arrived in Prague at about 10 o’clock in the evening. Our host families were all waiting for us in front of the school and when we at last reached them we almost felt at home. The objective of this project is to make a film about Italian, Turkish, Czech and Polish’s traditions and differences between them. There we met a lot of new people and we learnt something about Czech’s culture. Our partners (Natalie and Jakub) hosted us and had a lot of fun with us. During this week we noticed the differences between our home countries: school, food, personality of people, work, streets and so on. We started school at about 9 a.m, but our partners told us that they usually started school at 8 a.m. At school we followed different workshops divided into groups where there were boys and girls from all countries. The workshops were about typical Czech dancing, Fimo working and drama. It was a great fun! There we shot some videos which we recorded around Prague with our International groups and we had lunch with other Czech students. The typical Czech food is “gulasch”, some of us didn’t like it, even if we ate it, but other ones liked it a bit. The families we stayed with were fantastic and they tried to make us feel at home and did all the best for us. We really miss them. Students usually start their daily work really early, at about 7 a.m, and they finish at about 6 p.m, so they have less time to stay with their families. Prague is very different from our hometown, from public transports to houses. In Prague a lot of people use public transports to go everywhere, while in San Cataldo we usually use our cars. During those days we saw some important places, for example: Prague’s Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge, Golden Lane, St. Vitus Cathedral, the Changing of the guard at the Castle and so on. When we were leaving Prague we were very sad, because we knew that we wouldn’t see our new friends again even if we still keep in touch with them and the thing we enjoyed the most was exchanging our own ideas. It was a beautiful experience because with this project we’ve learnt that the differences of traditions aren’t important, but the most important thing is to get on well with everyone and don’t judge them just for their nationality because we are all the same. Written by Annamaria Mogavero, Veronica Sardo and Marta Vullo

Tomek from Suwalki wrote a diary in the Czech Republic

4th April (Friday) In accordance with previously set term we left our school at 2 o’clock. During the journey we talked and listened to music. At 7 o’clock we arrived at the airport in Warsaw, where we checked-in. Then we took off at 9 o’clock. The flight was a quite pleasurable experience. At half past ten we were already in Prague, but we had to wait until 1 p.m. for Turks. After that we went to school for lunch, which, like every other school meal was at most eatable. Then came the moment to meet families. Fortunately, my Czech parents turned out to be very nice people, just like my host – Ben. In the afternoon, we went with Adrian, his host and Ben for ice cream. After coming back home, we arranged a session in front of the computer. During the supper I started first conversation with my Czech parents. I was tired of new impressions, so I went to bed quite early. 5th April (Saturday) Fortunately I lived near the school so I didn't to have get up early. After breakfast we went to school. There were waiting integration activities for us. Then we were divided into six groups. Each of them consisted of three Czechs, a Turk, an Italian and a Pole. We were supposed to work in these groups until the end of our stay in Prague. At first we had to choose a topic of the film, which we would accomplish through seven days. We decided to make a romantic comedy. After eating lunch with Ben, Jan and Adrian and their hosts we went to a shop for people interested in metal music. The shop was named “Nosferatu”. It’s a pity that we don’t have one in Suwalki. The next destination of our trip was a climbing wall. It was really fun! I climbed onto few of them. The night was coming, so we came back home. The supper was waiting for us and after it we went to bed. 6th April (Sunday) That day we went to see a castle. At first we saw guard’s change. Then we visited The Golden Lane, museum of torture, throne room and saw royal insignia. In the meantime we shot a few scenes of our film. We finished sightseeing at 5 p.m. and then we went to the pizzeria with Ben, Vojte and Jan. That’s how another day in Prague ended. 7th April (Monday) On that day we went to classes of three types: drama classes, plastic classes and dancing classes. We were divided into three groups , and each of them had different classes simultaneously. We started from drama ones, where we were learning how to play different scenes and in the end we had to prepare a horror one. Next were dancing lessons , and although I’m not into dancing, I enjoyed these classes. We learned three different types of dance. The last were art classes. We were making lemons with quite an interesting technique – by using a knife and plasticine. At the end there was lunch waiting for us at school, which couldn’t compare to our Czech parents’ meals. After leaving the school we went on a laser game. It’s like paintball, but instead of balls with paint lasers are used. It’s definitely great fun, although very exhausting. We ended the day by eating ice cream in the shopping centre. 8th April (Tuesday) This time we were taken to a TV studio. I admit I was surprised by the amount of world class films which were shot there. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see too much because of the ongoing works. We were only shown the warehouses, although it was still an impressive view. In the afternoon we went to a department store to shoot another scenes. After that we had some free time in the shopping mall. 9th April (Wednesday) In the morning we went to a market, but the staff on many stalls was the same. Certainly the viewpoint, from which the sight of Prague was fabulous. After the dinner we watched movies made by certain countries , then we started making initial setup of what we managed to shoot. We spent the rest of the day with Ben, at home. 10th April (Thursday) From the sunrise we started making the setup. It was a long process. After that we watched the effects of each group’s work. The last point of our trip was visiting the Visegrad Castle and it’s casemates . We took a lot of photos. In the evening we had an official “goodbye” supper with families. Then we went back home to pack ourselves. We we going to have a flight on Friday morning. 11th April (Friday) Unfortunately it was the last day in Prague. In the morning we had to say goodbye to our families. The Italians took off much earlier, so we had to say them goodbye the previous evening. At the airport the said goodbye to Turks and Czechs who were waiting for us at the airpoirt. Luckily we will meet some of them next year in Poland. That’s how our short trip to Czech Republic has ended. Tomek

Turkish report from the Czech Republic mobility

Our group arrived to Prague Airport on the 4th of April 2014 on a Friday noon and we were taken to the school by the coordinator. At school met with the host families around 2 pm. On the next day Saturday morning the students got together at school and started to meet with the other groups. First we had a warming up activity day and after that we watched all the videos from the Sicily project. We were given ideas about what and how we could shoot. Then we were divided into international groups and we had to come up with an idea our filming. Every group had a presentation of their day in their country and the way of life to the other students. On Sunday we went to the Prague Castle and with their theme the students started to shoot film in various parts of the castle. All students worked in their international groups and started to work. On Monday we had our official invitation by the headmaster and we had workshops the whole day at school. The workshops were on Fimo, Drama and Dancing. On Tuesday we visited the Barrandov Film Studios and we had the chance to see costumes and film studios for acting and also we saw some furniture which are used in films. And in the afternoon we spent time at a shopping mall where we had our further shooting. On Wednesday we went to the Old Square in order to shoot our further film, got on the Tower and we had a beautiful view of Prague, and we watched the Astronomical Watch Tower and spent time at the Easter Market. After that we went back to school and finished the other country’s presentations. On the Thursday we met at the school and spent the whole morning putting our film together. And we edited our films, added some music and if there was a missing part we tried to shoot some parts again. And after that all the groups showed their video. On Friday we met at the school and we went to the airport with our hosting friends. During the project the Czech students prepared language booklet and we got a beautiful t-shirts from the Czech school.

Iva talks about our Comenius week in Prague

After school, on a hot and sunny afternoon, we, with the girls decided to go for ice cream despite the fact that our Polish and Turkish guests were on the way to school. Our plan failed and we ran up the street to meet our new friends. We managed to come just in the last minute and we managed to introduce ourselves and welcome our guests. A few times I looked around at the new faces. They were all strangers to me. Suddenly I thought it would be really hard to be friends with them. And that it will be hard to speak English all the time. We took them for lunch, where we did not talk much and there is no wonder, after such a long journey they were all exhausted. So we took them home to the families and their first day in Prague ended. The next day at school we did all sorts of different activities to get to know each other and to say something about ourselves. Some of us already knew each other from Sicily but most of us, like me, did not know anyone. Our main task was to shoot a video, which we then had to get together and create a film about Prague. During our activities we all got to know each other. We had a lot of fun and it was as if we had known each other forever. We did not speak only English, but we also learned a few words in Italian, Polish and Turkish. We walked around the monuments and made legendary SELFIES. We visited Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge, the ZOO but we also walked around shopping malls and the markets in Prague centre. Everybody liked something else. After school, we mostly walked around in groups, where our friends know each other. We showed them the beautiful faces of Prague seen via our eyes, but we also took our friends wherever they wanted to go. A day before their departure, we met for dinner at a pizzeria and thereby ended a week full of fun, adventure and, mainly, we made some new friends. Friday, the departing day and the last day with us, was the hardest. Just imagine. The whole week we were together, we had only one week to become friends and everything went by so fast and suddenly, when we finally made friends, they had to leave. I regretted that I had not spoken to all of our international guests more. I realized this too late. We hugged for the last time and said goodbye and the worst feeling was, that I will never see some of them again. It was very sad at the airport. I'm really glad I signed up for the Comenius project even though I could not accommodate. I'm glad I had the opportunity to participate in it. I appreciate I have really good friends that I respect and even now when the project work in Prague has finished, I keep writing with some of the friends. I learned a new things and most importantly, I experienced a lot of experiences that I will never forget and to think about our time together, it will always make me smile.

Nataly from the Czech Republic talks about her Sicilian experience:

In February we visited Italy, specifically Sicily. I've had there a really great time. Everyone in Sicily were acting very kind and nice to me, actually to all of us. Before I went to the plane, I was really curious and full of expectations. This exchange trip met all of them. From first day, when I met my host and her family, I knew that I don't have to be worried anymore and that everything is gonna be awesome. We saw a lot of very interesting things, like the mount Etna or Agrigento and I met there a lot of new people, which were adorable by the way :) We had to do some video recordings too and that was very funny, because we had to speak English and we had a couple of spoiled shots. I really enjoyed the food there, because I love pasta, I love pizza and everything tasted delicious there. I liked even the teachers there, because they were all very friendly (unlike some of our teachers :D) and they were helping us and chatting with us. But the thing which I liked most was definitely the school orchestra concert, which was just awesome. I remember one thing, that was a lot different from the Czech Rep. And that was how chilled out were all people there. I was very suprised, when I saw, how kids are crossing the street out of the zebra crossing and every drivers were like "Yeah, just go I have time enough." You can't do that here in Prague :D People in Italy are laughing or at least smiling all the time and that is one thing that I miss here in the Czech Rep. But I'm really excited to show Italian, Polish and Turkish people this country anyway.

Comenius Sicily Report from Turkey

Our group arrived to Italy at 23:00 to Catania Airport and reached to San Cataldo at about 24:00 and met with the hosting families. On Monday the students got together at school and started to meet with the other groups. The teachers at the same time had a small meeting with the Headmaster and the other teachers in the school. In the afternoon all the group had a nice walk through the city. In the evening the students were in circle and they introduced themselves to whole group. Then they were divided into international groups and they were given the task for their filming the other day. Every group had a presentation of their day in their country and the way of life to the other students. On Tuesday the group went to Palermo and with their theme the students started to shoot film in various parts of the city. All students worked in their international groups and started to work. On Wednesday the students started to work together in the IT room to edit their film, they added some music and if there was a missing part they tried to shoot some parts again. In the evening the host families made a very nice gathering and the students met at a shopping centre and they all played bowling. On Thursday there was a trip to Mount Etna and Taormina where they were given the topic ‘Lost in Italy’. The students worked in their international groups and made up a story about the theme. On Friday, the students worked on their second film, they edited and finalised their video. On Friday all the groups showed their video and there was a small talk afterwards. On Saturday the hosting and the guest students shared and talked about their experiences. The teachers also got together and talked about the procedure and set up a plan for the mobility to Prague. The students were given a Language booklet and the Italian group prepared a small quiz about the simple Italian language and the other students tried to say the same words in Turkish, Polish and Czech as well.

Ola's Diary - Sicily

24.02.2014 (Monday)- trip to Italy At 6:30 we left for Warsaw by a mini bus. About 12:30 we were at the airport- at the same time Polish fast skaters arrived from Sochi- they had done a good job there. Unfortunatelly I didn't see them because I had to check-in, but the other girls went to see them. Next, security check and then boarding. Flight wasn't as amazing as I expected- it was my first flight so I had thought it would be something special. We flew only 2 hours 20 minutes. During the flight, we got a snack and a drink. After we landed in Rome, we had to wait for some time again and there was another flihgt from Rome to Catania, which lasted an hour and 15 minutes. At the airport we took our luggage and we waited for the bus (which was a little bit late) then we drove to San Cataldo. There Italian families were waiting for us and welcoming us cordially. They took us home, where during the dinner I met Sanem- Turk. 25.02.2014 (Tuesday)- Palermo We woke up early, ate breakfast- mainly cookies and we drove to Palermo. First we visited the Cappella Palatina (the Palatine Chapel) - a small, compact masterpiece hidden away inside the Royal Palace. Everything was so beautiful - the Byzantine mosaics and the wooden Arabic honeycombed ceiling. Later we went to a garden, which was also very pretty- the best thing there- for me was mandarin tree. Next we went to a place, where view of a garden was enchanting. After it we had a big dinner and we went to visit the best place in Palermo- the theatre Massimo It is not only the largest theatre in Italy, but also one of the largest in Europe. Our last destination in Palermo was beach, where we made our videos in internacional groups with Turk Sanem, Czech Lukas, me and Italians: Domenico, Marta and Marika. After we did our 'job' we went for an ice cream and we drove back home. 26.02.2014 (Wednesday)- school Lessons started at 9:30. First our Italian hosts took us on normal lessons, It was about Italian constitution. Later some students came and took us to IT class to show our presentations. Next we went home for a lunch and and after the meal we came back to school. There we worked in international groups again and we had to edit our videos. My group's movie was about lifestyle in Sicily and we made it as a local news. When we ended we came back home, but only for a short time because our families took us on bowling! Unfortunately I lost (like always). After fun we ate a pizza and we went home. 27.02.2014 (Thursday)- Etna and Taormina We left San Cataldo early to visit Etna! When we got there, we could see small, black stones everywhere- it was dried lava. We were making second video- the subject was 'Lost in Italy'. Then part of our group went higher by a rollercoaster. Two hours later we droved to Taormina for dinner. The weather changed and it started to rain! We had some time to visit shops and make photos for our videos. Then we drove home. 28.02.2014 (Friday)- school and Agrigento Until lunch we were at school and we were editing our videos. We came back home and for lunch, we also had some free time at home. Then we drove to Agrigento to see one of Sicily’s most famous historical attractions - the Valley of the Temples . We also could see beautiful views there! In the evening we drove back to San Cataldo. 01.03.2014 (Saturday)- school and free time In the morning we went to school, because summary of the project took place there. Participiants of the project expressed their opinions about the time we spent there. Everybody enjoyed the time in Sicily, both visitors and hosts. We said goodbye to our new friends and we took photos with them. We went home, ate dinner and we spend rest of the afternoon there. In the evening we went to restaurant- Gusto for pizza. We couldn't stay late there, because we had to left San Cataldo very early in the morning. 02.03.2014 (Sunday)- trip to Poland (by Alexandra) And we were giong to Poland :( We left San Cataldo at 4:30 in the morning. During saying goodbye with my family I cried a lot, I didn't want to go home. Rest of the journey wasn't complicated- bus to Catania, then plane to Rome, plane to Warsaw and bus to Suwalki.