Poland
On October 3rd the Erasmus project started in our school. We began the meeting with integration. Firstly, we red e-mails which we wrote to eachother. Then, we watched presentations about our countries and our schools. However, the most important point of the day was the presentations based on the topic of the project – about the situation of the elderly and the disabled in our and our partners’ countries (legal acts, situations and implementation of these people’s rights in our countries). And finally we played kahoots about our countries. We got to know each other and had a lot of fun. In the afternoon we went on a sightseeing trip around our city, Lubliniec. We saw Stein’s Square, St.Anna’s wooden Church and Lubliniec Castle. Unfortunately the weather surprised us with the rain, so we couldn’t finish the trip. Nevertheless,it was a good chance to visit Lublinec Castle.
On Tuesday, October 4th we visited Cracow and the Wieliczkasalt mine. We were greeted by a guide who showed us all the attractions in Cracow and told us about the history and interesting facts of the sights in this city. We visited SmokWawelski (Wawel Dragon), which greeted us with a breathing flame of fire out of its mouth. All of us walked to the Royal Castle, then we saw the "Pope's Window" and also we went to the oldest building of the Cracow Academy. In the end, we went to the Market Square where we saw the sculpture "Eros Bendato", as well as St. Mary's Basilica, where we could see the Altarpiece by Veit Stoss. Then we went to the Wieliczka, where we visited an old salt mine. Later, we were divided into two groups, each one with its own guide. We were shown the place where the salt was mined and the guide told us about its origin. In the end, in order to leave the mine we took an elevator to the exit. We enjoyed the tour very much and thanks to it we were able to establish new relationships and have a nice time together. We also hope that we will have the opportunity to see each other again someday.
We started the third day with a visit to Edith Stein Museum which is located in our town. In the morning we learnt about her life and how she died with great attention. We also got to know the most important events in the life of Saint Edith Stein, the patron of our town and Europe.The topic of World War II and the Holocaust was also discussed. We were shown around the museum by a guide and the students from Poland. We liked the lecture very much, thanks to it we know a little more about Lubliniec and Poland.
On Wednesday, October 5th 2022 at 10.30 am Erazmus students participated in the lectures by Mrs Anita Naczyńska and Mrs Bogna Konfisz. The first lecture by Mrs Naczyńska was about Kombatant Nursing Home in Lubliniec. As a part of volunteer work she conducts regular English language classes for seniors there. MrsNaczyńska presented the students a video showing how she teaches them English using music and singing. They are elderly people, most of them have no family and there is nobody to visit them, that is why the classes give them a lot of joy. The second lecture given by Mrs Bogna Konfisz concerned the activities of the University of the Third Age in Lubliniec. There are several public lectures organized each semester and the topics are really diverse. They even managed to invite some famous personalities. There are also language and geography courses, computer courses and first aid courses. Some educational trips both in Poland and abroad are also organized. These trips help the seniors get to know each other better and visit beautiful places. Both lecturers broaden the students’ knowledge about the seniors in our town.
The visit to Edith Stein Museum was not the last in the program of the day however. We also visited the Senior Club. We learnt how it works and how people who need support due to their age can spend their time there. We had an opportunity to meet some of the supervisors and talk to them. We had a good time playing various games with seniors like checkers and billiards. As a souvenir we got some gifts hand-made by the seniors.
On October 6th, together with a group of foreign guests from Turkey, Germany and Iceland, we made a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau which is a mass extermination camp in Oświęcim. This is an important place not only in the history of Poland, but also of the whole Europe. A visit to the concentration camp is also a teaching history lesson that makes you think. With our own eyes we saw the places where only 80 years ago, people were mass murdered, mainly because of their nationality. The guide told us about the places we visited and daily life in the campin detail. We also learned some camp stories for example about St. Maksymilian Maria Kolbe who sacrificed his own life for another prisoner. This place really made us think. Each of us kept asking ourselves how people could give other people hell on earth. From our perspective, it is very important to remember these events. We have to know that we are the ones who make history nowadays, and it is our responsibility to make sure that such tragedy will never happen again.
On Friday, October 7th the time came to say goodbye to all our friends from the Erazmus mobility held in our school. In the morning we welcomed everyone with the dance workshop. We taught them how to dance the polonaise and the chapelloise. All of our guests had a great time and that was our main purpose. After the workshop it was time to evaluate the mobility, theteachers and the students. Each country said a few words about their stay in our country. It was alsothe time when the Icelandic team played football with the team of our school. We will never forget the visit of our foreign friends and we hope to see them again in the future.
