COMENIUS 2013

Castilla-La Mancha, Spain · Alcázar de San Juan · Ruidera · · VALDEPEÑAS · Almagro · Toledo ·

mgr Joanna Fornal, mgr Paulina Jankowska – Łukasiewicz, Mateusz Zawada, Gabriela Góral, Karolina Kupis

Monday 25/02/2013

After breakfast in our hosts’ homes we went to the local school to meet the other exchange members. We participated in various ice breaking activities planned for both us and our teachers. Everything was sprinkled with a friendly atmosphere and volleys of laughter. From the first moments at Clara Campoamor in La Solana we became a big international family. A while later we were graced with the presence of the school headmaster, Mr Luis Toribo, who taught us all about the local customs and the school rules. Afterwards, with the help of Comenius project members, he showed us all around the school building. We were welcomed very warmly by the students, who eagerly let us in the classrooms and answered all our questions. Any language barriers that we might have had at first were quickly forgotten. The next point on our Monday checklist were multimedia presentations. First to present was the team led by the project coordinator Blass Villalta Bellón and his students, with a project called ‘Presentation about

our region, La Mancha and The Importance of wine culture’. During the break, our Spanish friends treated us with a delicious appetizer - sweet tubes dipped in hot chocolate. This also gave us a chance to look at how the school canteen in La Solana looks like. We went back to the presentation room for the next Spanish presentation: ‘Documentary about traditional and modern methods of wine production’, which was the prelude to the presentation of the partner countries, including our own. As we were ready and prepared, we presented as the first ones with our material titled ‘Mead - yesterday and today’. After the presentations we were surprised with a dinner consisting of traditional Spanish dishes prepared by our host parents. Shortly after the tables were set we were flooded by the Spanish families who were eager to meet us. Spanish regional dishes are insanely delicious! After lunch we went to the main square in La Solana to visit Plaza Mayor and the local church. In the City Hall we were greeted by the mayor himself. After sightseeing we had some free time so instead of departing home, we went to the well known pizzeria Gondola, where we

continued our integration.

Tuesday 26/02/2013 A day full of attractions - at 8:30 we met with everyone at school, and then went to San Carlos del Valle with its charming town square and monumental church bathed in the morning sun. We took our time to thoroughly look at the sights, and then we headed to Valdepeñas, known as the city of

wine. Valdepeñas is a municipality in the province of , in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha.

We took a tour around the the city, Dionisos Bodega winery (teachers had a chance to try some of their for products, while the youth had to console themselves with a delicious grape juice – we didn’t complain) as well as the museum of wine. When it was time for lunch - our Spanish friends laid down altogether on the pavement in front of the church, ordering a siesta. We, tired travellers - after a brief moment of

hesitation – joyfully joined them! As the last place we visited Almagro, where we did some more sightseeing (Corral de Comedias, historical open-air auditorium). It was all a lot of fun, we did a lot of photos, so

we could go back to La Solana to recover to recover for the next day.

Wednesday 27/02/2013

We started with attending the rest of the presentation on the wine production in all the partners’ countries. Then we went to the winery Romero del Avilla in La Solana, where we were shown the process of wine production itself. As there are a lot of wineries around La Solana, we also had a chance to visited the Cooperative Santa Catalina. After lunch we had free time planned but the project coordinator offered us a trip to the Ruidera.

The views were breathtaking!

Thursday 28/02/2012

Day started with a trip to Alcazar de San Juan where we visited La Mancha D.O facilities and historical windmills. We also visited the regional Ministry of Education, where we were greeted very warmly and shown the scope of their work - we noticed a lot of differences between the Polish and the Spanish educational system.

Then came a moment of the long-awaited trip to Toledo. Suffice to say the city welcomed us with a beautiful panoramic view, but on top of that we visited the museum, cathedral and stopped at some colourful souvenir shops where we threw ourselves into a shopping frenzy and came back to La Solana with our backpacks full of gifts for our loved ones. Thursday was also a day of a great unplanned attraction. While going

back from Toledo, Spain experienced heavy snow, which was a big surprise for the Spaniards, Portuguese, kb Greeks and Turks, because most of them did not have the opportunity to touch the snow before in their 18 years of life. Needless to say – this resulted in a huge snowball fight, right after leaving the coach! In the evening, our hosts took us to a place where, in the company of some die-hard fans, we watched the football match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which was conveniently taking place that day. Watching this epic match between two of the most popular teams in the world with native Spaniards was an amazing experience

regardless of one’s interest in the sport.

Friday 01/03/2012

The only day of our stay in Spain, which can be classified as having anything to do with sadness. First, we were divided into nationally diverse groups and we were

asked to prepare projects, presentations, videos and slideshows summarizing our week in La Solana. These flashbacks - pictures, funny situations, important and less important events in conjunction with music stamped with almost all participants in tears; even teachers did not hide their emotions. It was the most beautiful, yet saddest moment of the whole trip - we realized how difficult it would be to go back to grim reality. That we could only see our foreign friends through video-chats and social networking. This realisation seemed unbearable. Comenius gave us friends for life - friends thousands of miles away, and yet so close to our hearts. After the presentations we had to say goodbye to the school, the teachers of the Clara Campoamor, whom we had a chance to meet during the stay. After this official conclusion of the project the parents of our partners treated us with their goodies again – first the tables and then our stomachs were bursting at the seams. At last, a farewell party was held at the school, where we organized the karaoke, taught each other national dances, took photos, cried in each other’s cuffs and cried through a laugh, because it's like the end of our joint adventure, but really - it's just the beginning of a beautiful future ...