Exchange in Hungary
MONDAY, April 8th
The first day in a foreign country is always a bit difficult. We were tired and a little nervous because we had the school presentation in the high school, like the other countries, and after the “Icebreakers”, which are games to get to know one another better, we played in two different groups and then alltogether.
After that, we had a photo scavenger hunt in which we were divided in mixed nationality groups around Százhalombatta to discover this beautiful place with nice people. When we finished, we were really tired so we had lunch in the school canteen and then we took part in a workshop where we completed a quiz about all the elements of digital citizenship covered during the project and then performed some scenarios acting them out by miming and using some drama techniques.
My favourite part of the day was the Archaeological park. It was a nice place where we started to become more familiar with the other students, which as I see it is the most important thing in this type of projects as well as improving our English. Also, the final activities in this place were great fun. We were in the group with the Italian girls, who are fantastic, so we enjoyed it a lot.
Finally, we had free afternoon and everyone did something different with their hosts.
We didn’t know that it was only the beginning of an amazing and unforgettable experience!
By Isabel Esteban Rosario
TUESDAY, April 9th
On Tuesday, the 9th of April the students participating in safe.netizens@eu took a trip to Budapest. We started our day at 7.40, when we drove off from the parking lot in Százhalombata, next to its high school. We all agreed that Budapest is beautiful and filled with interesting statues, buildings and historical sites.
We started our journey by driving across beautiful bridges that connect two sides of the city. We continued our way on foot until we reached one of the biggest Parliaments in the world. We had a guided tour around the magnificent building. The Parliament was bathing in gold and colourful rays of sunlight were lightening our path and the guide told us interesting facts about the royal crown the first rulers of Hungary, about the political regime of Hungary. We were as well presented the way it is voted and how the happening is recoreded in the parliament. Than we walked around the buildin to Kossuth square where we took a group photo.
Later in the day we had a short walk across the city where we found out more about the architecture and history of the city. After lunch we visited Buda hill where we all admired the view from the Statue of Liberty and the Royal Palace; we all learned a little bit more about its history. The next thing was a well deserved rest and free time. When we got out powers back we headed back to Szazhalombatta and our host families.
Maša, a Slovenian participant
Wednesday 10th April
-Lessons at school and Korda Film Studio-
We got up early in the morning because we had to be at school at 8:00. We had the choice to attend some different classes like Biology, IT and English. Some of us decided to take the science lesson from 8:00 to 8:45. A girl and the headmaster gave an introduction of a kidney and then the students dissected it. Others decided to attend the IT class instead of Biology. There they built a robot with the help of Hungarian guys and teachers. Later, from 9:00 to 9:45 we went to an English lesson where we played some games all together. For example we had to associate the emotions to the right visual expressions. From 10:00 to 12:00 we went to the conference hall where we were involved in an internet safety workshop with an expert. At 12:15 we had lunch in the school canteen and at 13:00 we left Százhalombatta to visit Korda Film Studio In Etyek. We arrived there about at 14:00 and we immediately started the visit. The studio was in a big open area in the middle of fields and the atmosphere was magic and amazing. We had badges and the best part was seeing sets of famous films and tv series that we had seen on tv. The visit took 2 hours and a half and at 16:30 we went back home. We had free afternoon and evening so some of us decided to go to a shopping mall and others had dinner with their hosts families. We went back home and straight went to bed because it was a bit late but we were really happy and ready for the day after. The italian group.
THURSDAY, April 11th
On Thursday we took a second trip to Budapest. We set out early in the morning so as to get to the theater on time. We started our day by watching the stage adaption of Mary Shelley's novel 'Frankenstein' performed by the American Drama Group. The performance was really interesting and spectacular with great acting.
We proceeded to the City park of Budapest, where the teachers and students were arranged in groups and were given a list of sights to visit. During the walk Hungarian students acted as guides and provided information related to the places the group visited. In addition to this, the groups needed to make a creative group picture in front of every sight forming a live statue connected to the given place. The groups were really creative and took wonderful pictures.
We had lunch in a nearby restaurant and continued our day with the visit to "Csodák Palotája" (The Palace of Wonders), which is a Science Museum with interactive exhibitions. At the end of the visit all the students created a big choir and jointly sang the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen accompanied on piano by an Italian student. It was the perfect end to this enjoyable day!
Written by the Hungarian team
FRIDAY, April 10th
On Friday I woke up at 7.00 because we had to be at school at 8.00. At the school we first did some kind of morning shake-up and after that we divided into groups. Two people from every country went to a debate group and the rest of the people were divided into small groups for a drama performance. We had 2 hours to finish them and at 11.00 we performed them.
After the performances we had lunch at school.
We had a lot of free time so after eating we went to a store to buy some Hungarian snacks. Our hosts also bought something because they were baking some food for the evening. We went to my host’s place so me and my friends were just talking and playing some card games while our hosts were baking. I also tried to pack my things so I could sleep longer in the morning. At 19.00 we went back to school where we had intercultural evening. We saw a Hungarian dance, which was very interesting and nice. Every country had "something old and something new"-program. Most of them were dances, songs or games. At the end we got some cake to celebrate the last night of the meeting.
We will miss you all!
Sonja, Finland
