The exchange trip with Roc van Twente or our wonderful week in Holland
from 30 March to 5 April 2009

Photoalbum

The best way how to improve  foreign language skills and at the same time to learn as much as possible about the way of life of people is a stay in a foreign country.
It has already been for the fifth time that our Business Academy has managed to organize a week´s exchange trip to Holland, in the town of Hengelo where ROC van Twente school, with whom we have had friendly contacts since 2003, is situated.
This school year the exchange trip has been different from the previous ones. The participants were the students of the third class not those of the language one. Except for the teacher of English Mrs. J. Gicová, who has been organizing such exchange trips since 2005, for the first time P. Kováčik, the headmaster of the school took part in it. For the first time we travelled by plane (from Vienna to Münster in Germany, then by bus to Hengelo), for the first time it was in April not in March, as years before, which may have caused we had a beautiful, almost summer weather, and nobody complained of a long, uncomfortable journey on the bus.
On Monday afternoon Mr.G. Stok, the Dutch teacher, welcomed us at the airport and after our arrival in Hengelo the Dutch students and their parents were waiting for us in the school staffroom. After a short refreshment and introducing each other, the host families took our students home and they spent the evening together. The programme, which looked as follows, started just the next day.

The exchange programme:

Tuesday morning – excursion to local broadcasting station RTV Oost, live radio broadcast

Tuesday afternoon – welcome by director Mr. F. Veenstra, his speech, students got the Internet assignments

Wednesday morning – visit to the nearby university city of Enschede, natural museum Twentse Welle, an exposition of the beautiful photographs of the natural beauties and animals from all over the world

Wednesday afternoon – excursion to royal brewery Grolsch, the third largest brewery in Holland, tasting their beer

Thursday morning – a short visit to Hengelo town hall, a guided tour, answers to the Slovak students´ questions, which they prepared on Tuesday afternoon at school, climbing a lot of stairs to the tower and a nice view of the town

Thursday afternoon – a short visit to the town museum Old Hengel, information about the town history, later on an excursion to the new imposing school building ROC Community Center, which received the prize of the Dutch architects in 2009, in the evening a bowling competition in Yip´s Bowling Centrum, dinner together, a walk through Hengelo at night, visit to famous pub Pleintje

Friday – an all day trip to the capital city of Amsterdam, lunch in Magna Plaza (former post office, now a luxurious shopping centre in the city), at 2 pm visit to the museum of wax figures of Madame Tussaud, similar to that in London, after that a canal tour by boat through sunny Amsterdam.

Saturday and Sunday were spent with the Dutch students and their families, doing shopping, visiting the town market, in the evening going to disco, e.g. famous Rootie Tootie.

On Sunday afternoon we were heading for FMO Münster, from here by plane to Vienna, transport to Bratislava, where the Slovak students´parents were waiting and then tired and full of experiences going home.

As far as I and Mr Kováčik are concerned, I can say that we both enjoyed this exchange trip a lot, the programme was really beautiful and well prepared, the Dutch partners hospitable, friendly and funny, the students well behaved, relaxed and communicative. We all Slovaks can envy them their new school building and a relaxed atmosphere that we could feel everywhere.

As I took part in the exchange trips for several times I can compare and have to say that this year it was one of the best, if not the best, exchange trip. Last but not least I just want to say as a lot of students did before: IK HOU VAN HOLLAND!

Also the students, participants of the exchange trip expressed their opinions:

Here they are:

• I improved my communication skills, I met new people and learnt something about a new country and its culture.

• My Dutch host family treated me as another member of their family.

• I did not like how the Slovak and Dutch students separated each other.

• I liked best the trip to Amsterdam. It is a pity we did not have more time for shopping there.

• I like the behaviour of Dutch people, they are not in a hurry anywhere and they are always in a good mood and smile a lot.

• Their country is so clean.

• The relation between Dutch teachers and students is different, friendlier, more relaxed, the teachers treat the students as their equals.

• We should not visit so many museums and teachers should let the students prepare their own programme.

• The exchange trip fulfilled my expectations, I improved my English, had a lot of fun.

• I do not like their eating habits and their food, e.g. croquettes, is quite unhealthy.

• I gained more confidence in English communication.

• I like their means of transport, especially bicycles.

• I did not like the excursion to RTV Oost, I was afraid of being asked a question by a guide.

• I liked best Thursday evening and the excursion to Grolsch brewery.

• All the activities were planned well and I liked that in the museum we could go on our own and tried ourselves what we wanted and liked most.

• I do not like the fact that a lot of Dutch people smoke.

• My best experience was a canal tour by boat in Amsterdam and discos in the evenings.

• The Dutch students and their parents were considerate and willing to explain what I did not understand.

Photoalbum