Learning to Play Our European Role

Comenius meeting at IES Lloixa School, San Joan, Spain, March 11-17, 2012

Sunday (day 1)

When we first arrived at the airport in Alicante, our host family was there. The host family were quite little and very kind. There were only two family members – the mother, Olivia, and her daughter, Raquel. We already knew Raquel because in December 2010 she was in Denmark with the Comenius Project. Even though the mother didn't speak English, she always attempted to have a conversation going on with us.

From the airport we drove home to San Joan, which is about 15 km. from Alicante, and got introduced to the neighborhood where the host family lived, by walking at the beach. They drove Amir home to his host family as well since they lived down the street. 

     When the walk at the beach ended, we and our host family went to Raquel's grandparents' house. They were, as our family very kind, and lived in a house in San Juan. Here we ate the traditional Spanish dish – Paella. Paella  rice, meat consists of rice, balls, chicken wings and red pepper fruit. It was a very tasty dish and we had never tasted anything alike. After the Paella we had a lovely dessert,  which was fresh  fruit salad, even the juice was fresh and homemade. Even the oranges that were used to make the juice were some they had grown themselves. Amir got a birthday cake as well since it was his birthday. The Spanish are certainly hospitable!

     When we finished eating we thanked the grandparents a lot for letting us eat with them. Then we drove home at 4 o'clock and had siesta. But because that we spent the whole night traveling from Denmark to Spain we were very tired. That resulted in our sleeping for 4 ½ hours!

     When we woke again in the evening, we walked around in San Joan with Raquel, Amir, Sergio (Amir's Host) and a friend of his, Danny. We finished our walk at 12 o'clock and we went home to sleep again.

Monday (day 2
The second day in San Joan we woke up at 7 o'clock . When we woke up, the breakfast was prepared for us, we could either choose some bread that looked like big cookies or other cookies that were similar to “Mariekiks” in Denmark. The big cookies had a sweet taste because they were covered by a bit of sugar. Olivia recommended we put honey on the bread – so we did, and that was delicious. 

   When we were finished eating, Olivia drove us  to school, even though we lived a few hundred meters from the school. The school didn't look like any school in Denmark, it was walled out to the outside because the front door was locked until a few minutes the school started.     

On the other hand, it was opened up on the inside:  

When we came into the school we had to meet all the other students from other countries. Today was a day to get to know the other students. After a  while we got split up into groups of 15-20 persons which Spanish students, foreign students and teachers. The Spanish students showed us the school and their facilities both inside and outside. We were surprised that the facilities weren't as up-to-date as in Denmark. For example the computers were old and they didn't have many of them. We are pampered by having our own lap-tops! When we were done with the showing of the school we had other things on today's schedule: we had to paint T-shirts that said “Comenius 2012” with a green tree underneath. The tree had to be there because the point with the entire project was that we should discuss sustainable energy development. We also had to recycle paper and soap. When we  made all three things the school was over (at 3 o'clock)and we went home.

     On our way home we bought some food and snacks from the local supermarket. The food was very different from what we know from Denmark, which is part of the point with an exchange program.

In the evening, we, Raquel and Amir went to Alicante and looked around in stores and special places. We went to something called “The Poetry Wall”, which is a place where people can write about their feelings. Raquel told us that she and her mother both had written on the wall before, and we actually found what they wrote. We decided to set our mark on the wall too, so we all wrote a little message on it.

     Later we met some other Comenius people in Alicante, and together we took the bus home to San Joan. 

           

Tuesday (day 3) 
                

Today we went on a long trip to Valencia, the capital city of the region,  by bus. Our first visit was the Oceanographic Museum. Here we saw a lot of different fish and later a show with dolphins.


Water, the Mediterranean, the lack of fresh water and water conservation were central issues for our Spanish partners. 

When we moved on down the center to the Science Museum. The entire center shows beautiful architecture!  Unfortunately, due to cut-backs, it might only be open a few days a week. ! 


At 15:30 we all drove to Valencia City, and had a walk in the city while we looked at a lot of old monuments. 

The North Train Station, which is a World Heritage listed building with Art Nouveau from the turn of the last century.

And the Meat Market, likewise listed and in the same style. 

The city was getting ready for a festival, where they make these gorgeous decorations and then burn them. Each part of the city enters in the competition.

In the evening we and some of the other Comenius students went to Santa Barbara Castle in Alicante. When we reached the top, we experienced a gorgeous view over Alicante. 

At 11 o’clock we went home because we were tired because of the long trip to Valencia and the long walk up to the castle.

Wednesday (day 4)

Today we had to present the work we prepared from Denmark, about the new building at school ( with a zero carbon footprint) and the renovations in apartments here in Aarhus designed to save energy. The French and Polish groups had reports about their local activites as well. 

     Later we were divided into groups with other students from different countries. Here we had to make a product, which told something about what we had learned during the Comenius Project. Our project was about the new addition to our school, which is going to leave no carbon footprint. In addition we reported on the energy saving renovations in an apartment building in Aarhus. The other schools presented their projects, including a powerpoint about the last visit in Italy and a guide to good practice from France. These will all be included in the final reports. 

     Later that day, we met up in the gym to play some team building sports games. They were quite funny because no one really knew how to play the games. In the evening all students went to the beach in Alicante. Here we ate dinner and played a volleyball tournament

Thursday (day 5)

Today we went to the desalination plant. Here we learned about their system, which could turn saltwater into freshwater. That meant a lot of different processes had to be done before the water would be drinkable. Many of the processes were chemical, which means the cost of making freshwater from saltwater is very high. It provides mainly the wealthy tourists with fresh water because the cost is high for local farmers. You could see in the surrounding countryside that the area is turning into a desert. Today we went to the desalination plant. Here we learned about their system, which could turn saltwater into freshwater. That meant a lot of different processes had to be done before the water would be drinkable. Many of the processes were chemical, which means the cost of making freshwater from saltwater is very high. It required enormous quantities of electricity. The plant provides mainly the wealthy tourists with fresh water because the cost is high for local farmers. You could see in the surrounding countryside that the area is turning into a desert.

In the afternoon we went to Palmeral in Elx, which is a
 huge garden with a lot exotic plants and flowers.

Later we went to Elx old city and visited the cathedral which was more than 1000 years old, which also was beautifully decorated inside. While we were walking in the city we could see that decoration in the city was marked by Arabic culture:

At 7 o’clock in the evening we went home by bus to San Juan. When we came back we got a bag of gifts from the school. When we had gotten the gifts we went home to sleep.

Friday (day 6)

Today, we went for a bus trip to Font Roja. (National Park) Here we walked in the mountains while we also heard the stories of how they used to make chalk, charcoal and ice in the mountains in the beginning of the 20^th century. The center is to teach about the variety of plants that once populated this area in Spain.

                                                               

The trip to the mountain lasted all day, which meant we were finished at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. During a lunch break the Italians burst into a dance with their own singing. Pamella showed that she had an amazing voice echoing off the mountain stones. 

In the early evening we went to Alicante to watch a basketball game, where one of the players was a friend of our host.

Then we went back to San Joan where a party for all the Comenius students was held. When the party ended we said goodbye to all the other students by giving them hugs and kisses. We thanked all of them for a fantastic week, because we would go home to Denmark early in morning the next day.

Thanks to all of you for a wonderful stay in Spain! Amir, Alex and Zobaid