Twenty students from Veszprém, Hungary, not only took part in activities prepared in the school building. They visited a local ceramics factory, discovered the history of Bolesławiec with scouts, and toured the region with the families hosting them. They also went on a trip to Dresden.
“The Polish-Hungarian exchange at our secondary school began in 2009,” says one of the coordinators, German teacher Marcin Ostrowski. “This spring, we were in Hungary during the Polish-Hungarian Culture Days. Now twenty students have come here on a return visit, and we are trying to welcome them properly. We prepared the rich six-day programme together with Ceramika Artystyczna, which I thank for the excellently organised visit to the painting workshop and tour of the factory, and with the scouts, who prepared an appealing outdoor game for our guests. The parents hosting the Hungarians also provided valuable help. They looked after the young people as if they were their own children, and on the last day of the visit each family took its guest on an enjoyable trip. The Hungarians visited Wrocław, Szklarska Poręba, Karpacz and the area around Bolesławiec. A home-cooked dinner organised by the parents was also a special farewell. One of the mothers, Agnieszka Mancewicz, who runs Agma, helped us greatly with the organisation,” adds the teacher in charge.
Two teachers from Veszprém, a town located 11 km from Lake Balaton, took part in the project. Balázs Csikòs and Bèla Csuta spoke very highly of their stay in Bolesławiec. They compared their school with the one in Bolesławiec. They paid attention to the appearance of the second secondary school.
“I like the amount of space you have here,” said Csikòs. “There is room here for meetings, conversations, entertainment, exhibitions and other events. The school is bright, clean and welcoming. During breaks, teachers are not often found in the staff room, but in classrooms or corridors—with the students. The students do not run out of the classroom immediately after the bell either. For us, the bell is sacred: a student disappears as soon as it rings,” the Hungarian teacher added with a smile.
The Hungarians’ six-day visit to II LO included special activities at the school. The students took part in science classes, played logic games and had a special English lesson. Each time, the Polish students translated into English the teacher’s lecture or the presentation by a classmate demonstrating a task or experiment.
“What is the most valuable aspect of this exchange? Above all, it is the new interpersonal relationships; it is always an interesting experience to meet someone from a different cultural background,” says the project coordinator, Agnieszka Niedźwiecka. “For me, the fundamental value is communication and the practical use of what a student has learned in class. The students speak English and German, sometimes mixing the two languages, because they are so eager simply to understand one another. The guests from Hungary are staying with families; the young people were meant to spend time together, exchanging experiences and talking,” adds Agnieszka Niedźwiecka.
The scouts’ city game helped with integration and improved communication. Because of the rain, only some of the young people took part, but the participants both had fun and surprised the residents of Bolesławiec with their knowledge of the city.
“The participants in the game had to answer questions related to the history of Bolesławiec and its monuments,” explains the game’s organiser, Beniamin Marek. “The Hungarians were unable to answer only the question of how long our viaduct is; they answered the other questions correctly.”
One of the attractions during the Hungarians’ visit was a tour of Ceramika Artystyczna and a workshop in the painting studio, where everyone could create their own design on a plate or mug. The painted vessels were fired, and a mini-exhibition of the works was organised on the day of the farewell. The Hungarian secondary-school students could take their works home as gifts.
The Polish-Hungarian group also went to Dresden, where they toured the city and learned about their shared Polish-Hungarian-German history. One of the attractions was a visit to the Hygiene Museum.
“Such an exchange is an interesting experience for students and teachers,” said the Hungarian educator. “We see ourselves in different roles, in a different dimension. We learn from one another. We open ourselves up to others, to a foreign culture and to unfamiliar experiences, but also to one another. We arrive with certain ideas about a given country, then verify and change them and gain new ones. It is as if we had a special suitcase that we fill with experiences from Poland,” the teacher added.
The parents were deeply moved as they said goodbye to their young guests. One mother promised a young Hungarian girl that she would learn English for her, so that they could contact each other in the future.
“What worried me most was whether she would like what I cooked,” said another mother. “We hosted a young girl, and I was very afraid that she would not eat. I tried very hard to adapt and guess what she might like, and I think I succeeded,” the mother said with satisfaction.
At the end of the visit, the teachers exchanged gifts. The Hungarian partners thanked the principal, Mirosławowi Sakowskiemu, and their friends Agnieszka Niedźwiecka and Marcin Ostrowski for their hospitality, the experience gained and the excellently prepared visit.