day 1: heart-warming welcome

The Slovenian school welcomed the guests with drinks and traditional doughnuts of "fašenk". The students had already known each other from the social sites and greeted one another as friends. Eventually, hosts and guests met in person.

day 2: receptions and workshops

The guests were first welcomed by the whole school in the school gym, where students waved the flags of Spain, Hungary and Slovenia. At the reception, the project and the participant countries were introduced in the languages of the participants as well as in English. The countries were also presented through slides, posters and traditional songs performed by the school choir. 

Then the mayor welcomed the participants in the Municipality Hall giving everyone a gift bag. Not only did we get to know more about the region and its rich traditions but we had a really wonderful treat.

In the afternoon there were various workshops at the school such as wooden panel painting for beehive covers, flower making for "fašenk", and another one introducing its rituals, costumes, activities, characters. The two latter workshops were supported and presented by the Rural Women's Association of Markovci and the Ethnological Association of Markovci.

day 3: workshops 

Workshop activities continued and students and teachers could make use of not only their hand skills but also their musical and dance skills. There were workshops that focused on preparations for the fašenk procession and included singing, cardboard instrument making and dancing activities. We had the opportunity to learn traditional songs and dances, and the students tried various musical instruments too. They also prepared costumes for the Saturday procession using materials made from recycled plastic bottles.

day 4: sightseeing, museums, workshop

In the morning, we visited Ptuj, the oldest town in Slovenia. We went on a sightseeing tour and visited museums. At a photography exhibition we had a mini concert. We visited some art galleries and in one of them, connected to an art secondary school, we had a workshop on blue printing (cyanotype) where we created pictures using various materials such as plants, textile, paper, etc. We also visited the castle on the hilltop. Ptuj can also boast a graft of the oldest grape variety in the world donated by the city of Maribor, where they keep the oldest grapevine still bearing fruits.

In the afternoon, we visited Borl Castle. Not only was it interesting from cultural and architectural point, but the castle's interactive exhibition also offered a glimpse into the water-management techniques along with the protection of wildlife in and around the River Drava.

In the evening, the first "korants" (people dressed up in fur costumes) arrived, and started the traditional fašenk procession. 

day 5: the fašenk procession

The big day had arrived! It is the most important day of the year in the munincipality of Markovci, when all the fašenk carnival characters march along the streets and perform their traditional movements, dances, songs and rhymes. A huge crowd gathers, people even from abroad come to see this great event. Every household sets up tables in their garden with welcome drinks and food. The village of Markovci and its surroundings act as great hosts welcoming everyone - whether in costume or not - and invite them to taste their mouth-watering treats, free of charge of course. Sustainability is reflected in the preservation of their traditions which have been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (see: https://visitmarkovci.eu/story/).

Every year, Markovci School also participates in the procession. This year, it represented an orchestra for which we prepared both the instruments and the costumes, and our Spanish and Hungarian partners also took part in the parade. 

Words cannot describe the atmosphere. You simply have to come and see it!

day 6: farewell

All good things must come to an end. So did our meeting in Slovenia. Saying goodbye to each other was really hard. We had such a wonderful time! Thanks to our hosts, their hospitality and all the unforgettable experiences. Hugs, shedding tears, promises to keep in touch lighten our hearts a bit, with the hope of meeting soon. 

See you in Hungary in April!

day 1: teambuilding welcome

When both the Slovenian and the Spanish partners had arrived having eaten some snacks we started the first day with some fun games to gel. Many of the students had already known each other from Slovenia, but there were some who had only met online. Now it was the time to get moving and grooving. 

Before the host families arrived there was time for rehearsal and continue to find our rhythm in both senses. We practised the songs we were to sing during the festival. It was not easy to pronounce the lyrics in all the three languages but with the professional music teachers everything was made possible. 

day 2: workshop, reception, exhibition

We started the day with a short tuning into the week's activities. After the greeting words of the headmistress, two international prize holder brothers gave a short piano performance. Then we watched a video message from the future by a Time Traveller who warned us to take care of our earth before it's late. So we painted pictures of endangered species to put them on our 21st century Noah's ark for raising awareness the importance of biodiversity. 

In the afternoon the deputy mayor of Székesfehérvár welcomed us in the City Hall in the presence of the media. There we could also see the unique replica of the Hungarian crown jewels.

Going back to the school we opened the art exhibition called "Don't let Eden Sink to Grief". After a short performance prizes were given for the best pictures. 

Then we finished the day with a choir rehearsal.

day 3: Noah's ark, film, rehearsals, concerts

 In the morning we put the endangered species, or at least most of them on Noah's ark. Also, we watched a film by Vik Muniz that shows how people's life from the lowest society can change by the idea of Vik Muniz who used garbage for making pictures with the help of these people. The title of the film is Waste Land. We had a rehearsal for a short scene that expresses our concerns for the world. 

After the soundcheck for the evening concert we went to a natural preserve area by the football stadium where we had an open air concert and we also presented our scene. 

In the evening we took part in the opening ceremony of the national festival, organised by Kodály Zoltán School. We sang folksongs of each partner nation.  We chose to sing folksongs, because nature appears in them, and at the time these songs were born man lived in harmony with nature. Used it without misusing, exploiting it. They served each other mutually. 

day 4: green sightseeing, street concert

We had a sightseeing tour in the centre of Székesfehérvár and in small mixed nationality groups solved a sightseeing quiz in which we had to answer an environment related question at each sight. 

Saturday morning is the day for people in Székesfehérvár to have a little time in the city centre. So in the High Street at a monument we gave a street concert, played our scene and crowned the performance with energetic Spanish dances of Sevillanas and Flamenco.

Then, in the afternoon host families spent free time together, taking the guests to various places of interest. 

In the evening students could take part in the church concerts watching some of their hosts performing in their choir. After the concert there was a stirring folk dance house as part of the festival programme. Folk dance house as such is a great tradition in Hungary. People learn the basic steps of Hungarian folk dances. Now the participants also could experience and enjoy this unique event. 

day 5: visiting Budapest

On Sunday we travelled to Budapest where we first went to the House of Music Hungary to see an amazing exhibition, the Dimensions of Sound - Musical Journey Through Space and Time. We spent a lot of times discovering the history of music from the sounds of the ancient times to the very modern music equipment. 

Then in the afternoon we visited the Hungarian Parliament and in our guided tour we got to know a lot of interesting facts about the building itself and its function. We also saw the Hungarian crown jewels. With them were all Hungarian kings crowned mainly in Székesfehérvár, the host city of the project. 

After that we went on a river cruise on the Danube and saw the beautiful sights of Budapest from the boat.

Coming back to Székesfehérvár we said goodbye to the Spanish group, who were to travel back to Spain early in the morning. We had a spontaneous mini farewell concert in front of the railway station. Again, tears were shed, friendly hugs showed how good it was to be together during these days.

day 6: farewell again

In the morning we said goodbye to the Slovenian team as well. In the school lounge we sang our folk songs, hugged each other, cried a little bit, but with the hope that we can keep in touch and hopefully meet again. Unfortunately, the Slovenian students who came to Hungary cannot come to Spain, so we won't meet them there.

day 1: welcome

From autumn we arrived in summer as we landed in Alicante. From there a coach took both the Hungarians and the Slovenians to Rojales. At the IES La Encanta School we were greeted by the percussion band of the school funding the vibrant atmosphere of our staying here. And students were welcomed by their host families.

day 2: welcome, workshops

In the morning we were welcomed by another band, the wind instrument band. The head of the Spanish Erasmus team greeted the participants with a short speech. 

Then students participated in various workshops such as "Creative stone illustration", "Sustainable fashion", "Botanical printing", and "Musical instruments". Workshops were organised in two phases and in between we had a delicious, beautifully arranged brunch decorated with the flags of the participant countries in the nice, quiet "park area" of the school. Here we also discovered the school has  a so called "Emotional corner" made with simple painted pallets, where teachers and students can meet to talk about problems, questions. 

In the workshops students made pictures with different techniques such as using pebbles as the main element of the picures. Also, they made printed pictures by using plants and hammered them on paper. They redesign used pieces of clothes and created new ones from them. There was a musical workshop where we could try how the percussion band play music on various rhythm instruments and on simple object such as buckets in various sizes.