9th-14th October 2010
A visit of twelve students from Fjölbrautaskólinn við Ármúla in Reykjavik, Iceland to II Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace in Grudziądz, Poland.
In October twelve students and two teachers went to Poland on an EEA grant in the project “Becoming human”. The student´s had participated in a course were they learned about human rights, Polish history and organized the reception of their fellow students from Grudziadz.
The trip started in Reykjavik on Saturday the 9th of October. The group took the bus from the main bus station to Keflavik airport were we flew to Krakow. When we arrived to Krakow we went straight to the Hostel were we got rid of our things and went straight to town. We were hungry and anxious to see what the city was like. So we took a short trip around the city center and had the most delicious kebab. If not the best one it was at least the cheapest one. After a wonderful evening in Krakow we went back to the Hostel and had a long waited sleep.
Waiting for a tram after the stay at the Hostel.
The
next morning the group woke up with a smile on their face but that was to
become a short lived smile. The reason for our short lived happiness that day was
because we were on our way to visit the inhuman place Auschwitz Birkinau. We cought
a tram on our way to the main bus station and of course we went in the wrong
direction, for a moment we were a bit worried because we thought maybe we would
have to circle around the city. But to our relief the tram arrived at the last
station after a short trip and then it turned around. With a little effort we
found the main bus station and got on to the bus to Auschwitz.
The execution wall
Everyone in the group was deeply touched by that awful place and stunned by the cruelness and extension of the KL Auschwitz Birkinau. The visit has marked us for the rest of our life and for the only time in the trip the group was silent on the bus trip from Auschwitz Birkinau. When we got to Krakow we found a nice restaurant and had a good meal in the city center. After that nice meal we went to the train station were we got on a night train that took us to Grudziadz. On the train everybody got a good night sleep and we were anxious to meet our Polish friends. The students from both countries met on Monday morning and we were shown around the school. The Polish students’ had put up an exhibition about how live was in the governance of the communism. After the exhibition we were shown around Grudziadz by the history teacher Bogdan. It was very educational and interesting in every way and we would like to thank Bogdan for his contribution.
Walking past Grudziadz granary´s.
Grudziadz lies next to the river Vistula that flows majestically alongside it. The first impression of the city was good but we were amazed of the entire roadwork end repairs that the city is undergoing. The origin of the city goes back to 12th century A.D. when it was a part of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. It is known as a former training center for the Polish Cavalry. There is a good museum about that part in Grudziadz´ history and we got to see it on Thursday after the project activities in school.
On Wednesday we got to school in the morning and got straight to work on the project. The Icelandic teacher Bryndís started group discussions using the methods of Lipman and the question concerned the concept “virtue”. It was a relevant discussion with a good participation of the whole group of Icelandic and Polish students. Around noon all the students were asked to assembly in the school gymnasium were there was a festival because of a teachers’ day the next day. The students had prepared an entertainment program in honor of their teachers, where some of them got awards for outstanding performance. Two of them got an award from the president of Poland because they had been teachers for half a century.
On teacher´s day in the gym of Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace
After
lunch we went to the city of Torun where the students got a “degree” in making gingerbread.
The beautiful city of Torun is known for its gingerbread and being the hometown
of Copernicus. After an excellent day with our Polish friends it was time to go
home to the Polish families and relax.
Copernicus
statue in Torun.
Thursday was our day off and we used it to go to Gdansk with our fellow students from Poland. What we saw was a beautiful city that was full of live, history, H&M and McDonalds! The trip was a success in every way and what we were told was that the city was equally as beautiful as Torun.
On Friday morning we woke up early in the morning for a long bus trip from Grudziadz to Berlin. The trip went well though we would have liked it to have been quicker because we were hoping to see the city center of Berlin. The reason for how slow our bus went was because of the enormous construction road work there are in Poland because of Euro 2012. So our conclusion was this: We must come back in 2012 and test the new roads… and of course go to some football matches. The trip home went well and when we landed in Keflavik there was a tired group but an extremely happy one.
We would like to thank our Polish families for their stunning hospitality and we were moved by their kindness and generosity. We would also like to thank the Polish students for a great time and we really would like to do this again. And of course, thank you Jolanta for making this happen! The trip was superb in every way.
Teachers and students disagreed about some things but one thing we did agree on. This trip was fantastic in every way. Our polish friends were extremely nice to us and we learnt a great deal from them and from this trip. The hospitality and the attitude towards us were in every way exceptional. We would like to thank our friends in Poland for their great hospitality and kindness.
Students and teachers from Ármúlaskóli in Reykjavík, Ísland:
Bryndís Valsdóttir & Sæþór Ólafsson – teachers,
Students: Agnieszka, Andri, Anna, Benedikt, Diana, Íris, Jón, Monika, María, Sara, Snæfríður, Tara, Vilhjálmur