Of Six Brave Individuals Who Set Out to Do an Erasmus Plus Mobility in Poland
When someone goes on a journey, they have stories to tell. When six people travel together, they have even more stories to share – just like us.
On January 12th, we – Franziska and Hazar, Adriano and Pascal, Mr. Bosnjak, and Ms. Kandler – met at 3:30 PM at Vienna Airport to fly to Poland together as part of an Erasmus Plus mobility program.
Upon arriving in Warsaw, we were greeted by freezing cold temperatures, which remained our constant companion in the following days.
We quickly exchanged Euros for Zloty, and with the help of buses and trams, we reached our hotel in no time. After a delicious dinner, the young participants could relax while the teachers attended a meeting with educators from the other participating countries.
13th January: Getting to know one another
Today was our first day at the Polish school. At first we met our Polish coordinater and the Polish students and then we had to write stories after being given only one headline. We toured the school and afterwards discussed the Polish school system as well as how English lessons are conducted. Then we had lunch at the school canteen. In the afternoon went to the Old Town of Warsaw. There, we explored the historic part of the city. It was beautiful, and we took some time to simply enjoy the sights. Later, we met with other students from Germany and Turkey and a Polish student, who showed us the Old Town again and told us the legend of the city. In the evening, we went to Pizza Hut for dinner. The food was very delicious. (Written by Pascal)
14th January: Shakespeare and soccer
Today at school the Polish pupils acted out a Turkish legend for us. They did two versions with a break in between. It was funny and interesting to hear about the legend of the hodja. We also created presentations about Shakespeare and his work. After school we went to the Polish stadium that not only hosts a range of sports activities but also music festivals. Only seven or eight soccer matches are being played there per year. Later on we went to a shopping center where we could choose what we wanted to eat. Afterwards we were allowed to roam around freely in the shopping center. It was a very interesting and eventful day to say the least. (Written by Franziska)
15th January: Krakow
Today we went to Krakow. We left realy early, 5:30 am, and it was a four-hour-drive by bus. Once we arrived we rushed to the old town to catch a guided tour. The tour guide was really compelling and used legends and historic facts to explain buildings and churches. There is one church where you can hear a trumpet player every hour on the hour. After the really interesting tour we had lunch with the other students and some time to explore the city without our teachers. At five pm the bus picked us up and brought us safely back to Warsaw. I think Krakow is a beautiful city and I would definitely go there again. (Written by Hazar)
16th January: Acting – Dancing & Farewell
Today I really enjoyed that we could make our own films. Before that we had to prove our acting skills by expressing terms in different feelings. We also invented a short story we seven words which were given to us and then we had to act it out in front of the class. After lunch we received a certificate for participating in the Erasmus+ project. Then we had lunch at school and danced the Polonaise with the school principal. We had to say good-bye to our new Polish friends and headed to the Polin museum where we learned about the history of the Polish jews. To end the day we had dinner. (Written by Adriano)
17th January:
Uprising Museum
Our last day – how sad – after a hearty breakfast we put our luggage in one room and went to the Polish Uprising museum. It was very interesting to learn something about Polish history, culture and life in general. We still needed some souvenirs, so we spent our last Polish Zloty in a shopping center. Then we returned to the hotel and picked up our luggage and took the tram and the bus to the airport. There we had our last dinner together as an Austrian delegation. Thanks to Austrian Airlines we arrived in Vienna safely. Dziekuje! Thank you, Poland – we will be back.
