Z początkiem maja przedstawicielki naszej szkolnej społeczności pojechały na rewizytę do Barcelony w ramach wymiany uczniowskiej między szkołami współpracującymi w naszym modelu edukacji spersonalizowanej.

To był czas wspaniałej przygody, ćwiczenia języków obcych, poznawania kultury, zabytków i tradycji oraz odkrywania nowych przestrzeni, ale także samego siebie – jak odnajduję się w trudnych sytuacjach? Jak radzę sobie z wyzwaniami? Czy potrafię być elastyczna, komunikatywna, wyjść z własnej strefy komfortu? Poczytajcie, co o tym doświadczeniu napisały uczestniczki wymiany. Już wkrótce rekrutacja na przyszłoroczną wymianę – tym razem podejmiemy współpracę ze szkołą koedukacyjną.

Zobaczcie jaki mamy feedback od uczestniczek:

Hello! I’m writting the short feedback you asked for. For me the trip to Spain was really good experience, I found out spanish culture, food… my host family cared about me and gave me possibility to try their spanish lifestyle. They were feeding me with typical spanish dishes and whatever I asked to taste, they were organizing possibility for me. When it comes to sightseeing, I liked that we weren’t in a hurry, there was always time to see everything, enjoy the place we were in. The only one thing I didn’t like was the Barcelona history museum – it was quite boring for me. But apart of that I found interesting every place I could visit. And I think it was good that we had so much time to spend with out host families, because it was an opportunity to get to know their real life.

My experience during an exchange

Hi, my name is Janka and I’d like to share with you my exchange experience. First of all, what is an exchange? When yu sign up for an exchange, firstly you have to fill some documents up, not only your data is important, but also your hobbies, your views on different matters, your values and expectations. Then you get matched with one of the people from another country you wanna go to. It can be a girl your age, maybe a little bit younger or older, you never know. The most  important thing is being open. Even if the person they choose for you is two years younger or older or maybe likes the subjects you hate the most – don’t panic, you will have things to talk about, just be open for conversation. And then you go to their home and then (after you come back to Poland) they come to you house, so you guest each other. But we’re gonna focus on being the one who goes to another family.

You go there with your friends and teachers but at the airport you are picked up by your host families. And that’s when it all starts. For many people, maybe even for the bravest of us, it’s not easy. Of course they are strangers, another country, new culture, of course it can be not so comfortable at times, but even though it seems scary it can be a great lesson in your life. It was hard for me, stepping out of my comfort zone, talking in other languages, not having my favorite food I eat at home, being in the centre of attention when the whole family would ask me questions at the table during a meal. And honestly, because I had to step out of my comfort zone I improved myself so much. I felt really proud of myself for being out there in another country with another family, being open to them and trying new things, I thought „This is what life is really about”. It’s about doing things like that. Trying new things, gaining experience. Maybe it’s not something for you – but you’ll see. At least you will know if it is something for you or not. Maybe if you like travelling but don’t feel capable of taking part in an exchange, don’t put pressure on yourself. You can find something that will be for you, sign for a school trip to another country, it will still be a challenge and a new great experience. Just no pressure, you go there to of course learn new things and make great memories but also to just simply have fun.

 But back to my experience. I had to speak spanish to my host mum and people in the street – my spanish is not as good as my english so it was a challenge! So also language skills improved!!! I met a lot of nice people, I really loved spending time with my host family and of course there’s no guarantee your host family will be great, but if you’re willing to be open, patient and optimistic you can still have a very good time. I know people whose families weren’t as welcoming as mine, but they still managed to have a great time. People are very different and if they are willing to invite you to their house – that was their choice and they are gonna treat you well. You are gonna be safe, because teachers who look for exchange families know to whose house they are sending you to. You are gonna be taken care of, sometimes you may not become best friends with your hosts but it’s like with everyone in life. You don’t get along with everyone, but you can still be nice to each other and learn to live together if you are OPEN. That is a key word, yes. Remember, not everything will be perfect and there will be harder moments. It’s normal. AND get ready for seeing beautiful places, spending time with your friends – usually, that is how It was in my case, during the day we were doing things with my friends from Poland and our teachers with a guide and then in the afternoons we were picked up by our spanish families. And during the weekend we were with our host families.

 Summing everything up, this exchange made me grow as a person, taught me how to be with many different people even though they are not only your friends and family. My perspective on many things has changed, now I’m more excited for what is waiting for me there in the future and I stopped being so scared of what is new. I know new isn’t always gonna be good for me, but at least I won’t regret not trying. After this exchange personally I know I want to travel more and live somewhere (hopefully in Spain) for sometime one day 🙂 Just remember – don’t do anything you don’t want to do, but if you’re a little bit scared and you’re debating wether you can manage it, you will manage it

FEEDBACK WORDS – EXCHANGE WITH LA VALL

ADVANTAGES

~ seeing new places, visiting museums, sightseeing

~ speaking English, as you don’t have other option, you have to somehow brake the language barrier

~ getting to know new cultures and traditions

~ meeting new people

~ making new memories and experience

DISADVANTAGES

~ your mate usually is not the person you dreamed of. Sometimes you might feel the other person’s reluctance. I don’t understand why people like that want to have you in their home, but it happens

~ for me, at first it was hard to get used to their habits ( for example dinner at 9pm)

~ you are addicted to the group, you have to take part in everything what is on the plan

YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR

~ Spanish people are more direct, they can tell you they don’t want you somewhere. You shouldn’t get offended

~ you should be aware of the fact that the life of the host family won’t revolve around you. They have their own life, they won’t be focusing only on you

~ If you want something ask

~ you have to be prepared for small talks, be open and willing to talk

~ in my case, to see something after the part with sightseeing Barcelona with polish girls, I had to organize my free time, and manage to come home safe ( first I had to ask my host family if they are okay with me walking alone)