“ It’s my nature !”

October 22nd: 1st meeting of the Comenius project in Brilon-Germany!

Coordinated by Mme Dominique Chalansonnet who came from from France together with Sylvie and Marie-Pierre, the representatives of the partner institutions fromthe farthest countries in EU, Elvira, Antonio, Antonio and Miguel from Azores Islands, Nuray, Fatma, Ali Kenan from Turkey, Pina and Anna from Italy, and Maria and Agneszka from Poland moved towards the central Europe, Brilon in Germanyfor their first appointment.

OnTuesday 23rd, at9 in Marienschule courtyard the young delegations of the partner schools and their teachers were welcomed by the students and the school community of Brilon. In a sunny warm morning, unusual for that time of the year at that latitude, bright smiling faces looked trustingly at their guides, the teachers. The coordinator Dominique Chalansonnet and the other teachers at easy because of the familiar and informal atmosphere they found , expressed their greetings, theirfeelings and their thoughts regarding the aims of the project.All those people were gathered in that school to work together on the main theme of the project “protecting and saving our nature, in order to protect and save our future” and moreover to start workingin cooperation for the final goal, the education of the young generations trained to live and work in their common home, Europe, respectful of the same ideals of peace, friendship and prosperity.

The students, Cristiana, Chiara, Ester, Roberta and Francesco from the Italian Scuola “A:Balzico”; Stephane, Eliane, Sarah, Joachim, Arnofrom the French“Barnave” School , Rodrigo and Vítor from São Miguel island (EBIde Arrifes);Büşra, Mehmet ,Ebrar, Burak from Turkey; Klaudia, Agneszka,Artur and Tomek from Polandwere hosted by the families. Along with their host friends and other students from Marienschuletook part in several activities and workshops guided by the German teachers.

In their workshops teachersgave evidence of the real integration of the project in their schools and of the involvement of students and teachers. They tried to clarify some points of the planning and, day by day, they were able to build up a cohesive team, in which each participant gave his/her own contribute for the improvement of the project and took in the right consideration the others’ point of view.

During the visit to the town hall the guests were received by the Major Mr. Franz Schrewe who gave important information about the history of Brilon.

After the visit, the participants spent a nice afternoon through the quiet and clean streets of Brilon and discovered its history from the words of the students located near the buildings worth to be known for their historical value and their architectural importance. At the end of the tour,all of themcould enjoy a delicious ice-cream.

A guided tour was organized to know the historical buildings of Paderborn, the capital city of the region.

The second day of the visit ended with a German/ European dinner cooked in the school kitchen. Everybody gave his/her own contribute and in the end the results were simply amazing. We could taste delicious recipes from each partner country made according to the familiar style and then, the music and the songs of every tradition cheered our evening!

To feel completely integrated into the local community the guests went on a trekking tour in the park and reached a forest damaged by the storm, were they could give their contribute to the rebirth of the forest, planting little pine trees.

The day spent into the wild nature ended with a bonfire in which all of us could take part in a traditional experience cooking potatoes under the ashes of the bonfire and we spent the last night eating and singing along with the German teachers and the host families.

On Friday morning all the delegations left from the school while a great number of students gathered in the courtyard to say goodbye and….lots of tears were shed!

At the end of that meeting all the participants left Brilon with the heart full of positive feelings, conscious of having a great number of friends and the strong sensation of having a home town in Germany: Brilon and its community!

All the students have bridged an international net of friendship, remaining in touch through face-book and e-mails.

After the meeting they wrote:

Italian team

Dear Jurgen,Michael, Sarah, Brigitte, and all the other German friends, whose names I'm missing at the moment, but whose faces and words are deeply impressed in my mind, I wish to thank you for the unforgettable experience you planned for us in Brilon. You were able to let the sun shine on those days!!!!

All what you did for us was so familiar and friendly that all of us felt the comfortable sensation of being at home. The students were well accommodated, so I wish to thank their host families and friends for the warm hosting they reserved them.I went away with the pleasant sensation that we had built a great team thanks to the perfect organization of the meeting and that all of us will be eager to work well and look forward to meeting you again.

We sawa well organized school and a cooperative team ofvery professional teachers, so all the best to you and your school community!!!

Pina, Anna and the Italian students!

Azorean team

Dear friends,

We arrived well home and now we are back to our school much more motivated to work better and better in our project.

First of all we would like once again to thank to the German team (students and teachers) and to the host families the fantastic and warming hosting they prepared for all of us.

We also would like to say that this meeting changed and enlarged our points of view about “It’s my Nature!” and we learnt a lot with the PowerPoint’s presentations and with the workshops.

We will always remember the serenity and goodwill of the French team; we will always remember the eyes and the warm smiles of the Italian team; we will always remember the positive energy brought by the Polish team and the sympathy shown by the Turkish team.

Finally but not at least, we will always remember with love the friendship showed by the German team and all the attention and humour that always surrounded us.

Every experience is unique, but this one was unique and special ... this experience opened the window of Europe but especially the windows of our souls.

Thank you all and congratulations!

Turhish team

Dear friends,
We had a great experience in Brilon. Everything was well organized, great thanks to German Team (Teachers,students,families).
We completely agree with Italian, French and Azorean teams and we have the same feelings and sensations...
Now we have many friends...we are happy...
Lots of Love,
Nuray, Fatma, Ali Kenan,
Büşra, Hasan Burak, Mehmet and Ebrar

French Team

Dear Michael,Jürgen,Brigitte,Karl, Sarah, Paulo, Friedric, German team,teachers, students, staff and parents, and the town of Brilon,
Thank you so much for the wonderful and memorable moments spent together. You perfectly managed to reach the aims of creating links and friendships between us. Thanks to your warm hospitality and sense of organization, teachers and students from all over Europe know more about one another and want to keep in touch. Our hearts are filled with a deep feeling of joy and happiness. You managed to mix the necessary ingredients so that the first step of the meeting was a great success. Everyone has gone back home with strong and unforgettable memories. We can't wait for the next meeting now. So THANK YOU SO MUCH AND ALL THE BEST TO YOU ALL !!! Dominique and French team!

Dear Jürgen and all German team,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything what you did for us. We spent the best time in our life in Germany. I also would like to say thank you for your hospitality and for all what you have done for us during this days. Your students are wonderful, your parents and everything what we saw.

I think words can't explain everything what we feel.Thake care

Maria and Agnieszka with students Agnieszka, Klaudia , Tomek and Artur.

Thank yor all!

I wanna start to say hello to my lovely friend Doreen. I miss her so much. That was really good time with all friends in Germany. I’m thankful to who started The Comenius Project. This Project helped me to improve my friendships and of course my English too. If I were not be a part of it, I would miss lots of things, I think. The students who are in this Project were so kind, friendly and hospitable. And also the teachers. They really took care and helped us whenever we wanted. We enjoyed the Project and hope you all enjoyed too. We are missing you all until meeting again. Can I want just one thing? Could Doreen come here with you? This is my only wish. Please do that for me because I really want it with my all heart. Thanks 

Best wishes,

Ebrar

P.S. waiting for the meeting!

When we arrived in Brilon, the families came to train station and took us. Laura, her mum and I went home. Laura and her families are very nice people. They took good care of me. Our eating culture was different from theirs and they showed great respect to my culture and values . Our days were full and very amusing. At the end of the days we were tired but we did a lot of nice activities. In the school I did the nest box and I enjoyed it very much. My friends did different activities. We built good friendship there, we enjoyed every minute there.

Büşra

My first impression about Brilon is that is really impressive and amazing. I hadn’t expected such a beautiful place. If you like nature,Brilon offers you variety of activites. Beautiful landscapes from the top of Mountain.We had a lot of nice friendship.And I miss Brilon even now.

Hasan Burak

Anna’s experience ( from Italy)

Being involved in Comenius Project was a very satisfying and enriching experience.

“Dedication”, “team sprit”, “motivation”, self-confidence”, “hospitality” are just few words to describe the teachers I met in Brilon, a small and peaceful town in Germany.

From 22nd to 26th of October, I was at MARIESCHULE, a German school, for my first Comenius project.

Marieschule is a wonderful school full of great educators, who are trying to make their kids ready for a very tough future. They are doing their job in a way that every teacher should see and get something from them. The really LOVE what they do!!!.

Their motivation was so infectious. I felt very comfortable with them and with the other teams.

I must say, not only Jurgen, our German coordinator, but the teachers from our partner schools, were also very motivated and eager to work together. We were very excited to learn from each other.

I was amazed by what I have experienced there.

As a part of a team now, I’m ready to experience the new team spirit, working on a project to promote the beauty of poetry and nature

The project meetings will be of great importance as each school will exhibit its culture in as many aspects as possible during these meetings.

Francesco’s experience ( from Italy)

I was in a hurry to go to Germany and the trip didn't disappoint me! It was beautiful and very important to me, because it was the first time I'd flown and travelled by myself.

At the beginning, I was a little bit afraid because I didn’t know anything about Germany and I had some prejudice. But I was wrong. EVERYTHING WAS GREAT!!!

The family that hosted me was so kind and helpful. They felt me at home. The last day I received many beautiful gifts from them.

I also attended several classes in Marienschule and I noticed lessons there were much more relaxed than in Italy.

The Comenius project has allowed me to open up to a new culture and new habits. I’ve got to know new people and friends and I’ve visited new places. Moreover, I learnt new words in different languages.

I will keep fond memories of this short trip and I’m looking forward to doing this experience once again.

Cristiana experience ( from Italy)

I went to Germany from 22nd to 26th of October and stayed with Michele and her family in Brilon. I found this exchange really interesting and I will keep only fond memories of it.

The life in Germany is very calm and the atmosphere is pleasant. It's a jovial country where life is good. German people do a lot of interesting activities.

Thanks to this exchange, I was able to see that the pastimes of young Germans are similar to ours: listen to the music, going out with friends, shopping. However their lifestyle is a little different: the Germans have better transport facilities; they seem sportier and more concerned about the environment and mealtimes are very different to ours.

My partner's family was really great, ready to welcome me. They gave me everything I asked for and I felt at home.

Michele, my German partner, was pretty shy, maybe a little more reserved, but really kind.

Marienschule gave me a warm welcome as well. The teachers and the students were kind, friendly and qualified. They took all of us for a walk in Brilon and in Paderborn, a beautiful town not too far from Brilon, where we saw the main monuments and churches and then we went shopping!!! I was with Michele and I felt like a real German!!

I liked the school a lot. It has wide and clean classrooms, a pretty big garden, a cozy cafeteria, a huge gym with clean and neat changing room and last, but not the least many labs.

My favorite moment was the last day, when we hiked up a mountain to plant a tree. Then we headed toward a shelter and we had a nice party all together.

Finally, in conclusion I can say that participating in the Comenius project was a very satisfying and enriching experience, because exchanges between countries are really interesting. They allow us to visit other countries, meet other people, speak other languages, learn a lot and store up unforgettable memories.

Chiara experience( from Italy)

I am very thankful to Mrs Vitale for having invited me to take part in the meeting because I had a great experience in Brilon. First of all I could appreciate the familiar and friendly hospitality of the host family. I shared their lifestyle: waking up so early, taking part in the school days, having lunch at the school canteen, participating in the international group for the special activities, visiting the town and Paderborn and…going shopping!

I tasted the traditional German food and I made a lot of friends from all the other partner schools: the most exciting result is that I’m in touch with an international group of teanagers almost everyday by facebook and e-mails and we can share our school experience …and not only!

Roberta ( from Italy)

My Comenius journey in Brilon was a n unforgettable experience! It was my first time far from my family , but as soon as I arrived at the airport my host Mum and my German Sister were waiting for me! I got in their car and I felt at easy .We started speaking about me and in a very short time we were at home, where they had prepared aroom for me! It was very funny to show them the presents I had brought from Italy and they appreciated everything.

I tasted the traditional food, I shared their lifestyle ! At school I took part in several activities and al together we had a great fun. I hope to meet again all the friends from the partner schools ! By now we are in touch by e-mails and face book!

Ester( from Italy)

When my teacher invited me to go to Brilon, I was very excited but I was also worried about the new experience in an unknown family! And I had to speak English, and if they didn’t understand me?

But everything was very pleasnt and easy. At the airport I met my host family the “Klockenkamper”. They were very welcoming and hospitable to me. They treated me like a daughter and they were very helpful , they made me feel at home !

After four days full of activities I had to say goodbye to my new family and it was really sad!

On the day of our departure we went to school and it was very moving when we had to say goodbye: all the students were at the windows waving their hands and calling us again and again!

Before leaving Brilon I was already sad and I missed my new home town! But, after the meeting I have friends from all the partner schools and I am in touch with them all by e-mail and face book!

I wish to thank Marienschule, the German teachers for the pleasant activities they organized for us!