The end of the last comenius trip began on the night of Wednesday May 28th. We came from different countries to Putj(Slovenia)and greetings and kisses were given using a shared language and we also asked for those who were not there as a two year project has brought about interesting bonds of friendship due to several meetings. There have been many talks in which ideas and reflections on how our schools work have been shared.
Next day, we visited the Slovenian school "Primary School of Videm", which is also responsible of a rural school , where students remain until they are fifteen years old and can get hotel industry training if they want to.
Classrooms are in good condition, with complete facilities, fifteen student classrooms and sometimes, there are two teachers in the classroom. Slovenia is a country which takes great interest on education and a good amount of money is invested in schools.
During those days, we had the chance of interacting with these students and their families in three different occasions.
We taught them about our own country, making use of activities which let them approach our language, our traditions, holidays and culture. Students watched all this with expectation and curiosity."What are they going to teach us?" And there were some surprises. We taught them how to dance "sevillanas" using music and explanations in English. It was really fun for all of us! One of the Slovenian teachers enjoyed the dancing very much!
We also looked at them curiously. Their laughters much quieter than ours, but with the same happiness and cheerfulness. Students were wearing special trainers, which are worn at school and are adapted to the weather conditions and facilities at their school but, which also made dancing difficult.
We had delicious ApfelStrudel( apple pies on puff pastry)made by the school families. We also enjoyed this experience in the "Subsidiary School Leskovec", where the students made the cakes themselves. They tasted really good!
Our second day at school, laughters were at the playground. Students, teachers, friendly parents and we, as guests, took part in different sport competitions. Slovenian affability caught our attention. They are quiet, tidy and kind people and they made us felt at home. The major represented all these features, who welcomed us this same day at the town hall. As Spain is full of topics, footbal was present in our talk with the major too. Slovenian people are interested in football and they asked us about how Barca was doing in the Spanish league. It was striking.
On those sunny days, they showed us about their food, traditional dances, how they live the carnival(which is so different from our carnival) wearing "kurentis", made from sheep leather, bull thorns, bells on their waists and a devilish mask.
We were also shown such marvellous places as the Bled lake, which is next to the Alps or the beautiful capital, Ljubliana(we could learn how to pronounce it easily three days after). There is a general feeling of peace and quietness , their green landscapes with their lakes and blue or turqueoise waterfalls...Their traditional architecture, with cozy houses always surrounded by colourful flowers, which were so charming in spring.
And last but not least important, we would like to highlight their impressive hospitality, specially that from the Slovenian Comenius teachers: efficient Petra, constant Robert, kind Istock, friendly Helen and cheerful Chanca. They shared their time and their country with us for four days, making us felt at home. We also share some wonderful moments of friendship thanks to this project,
We would like to thank you for all this.
Mari Paz Moreno.
