On Wednesday 24th April, Mrs Riley, Mr El-Sayed, Miss Glendinning and myself flew from Manchester to Budapest, Hungary before having a four hour car drive from Budapest to Michalovce, Slovakia, for the Slovakian hosting of the Comenius project. It was gone midnight as we arrived after nearly 12 hours of travelling and after quick greetings to our partners from Finland, Ireland, Slovakia and Birmingham, we staggered to our hotel and crashed into our beds!
We awoke the following morning to brilliant sunshine and a early morning warmth that is definitely missing in England. We all travelled by coach to Sobrance where our host school is located and was greeted by Jan, the headteacher and pupils dressed in traditional costume before heading inside for a tour. We greeted by a sea of fabulous artwork made from recyclable materials and later visited several classrooms, joining in with the children's work. We spent several hours there, before being taken to the Mayor's office for an official welcome and then onto the town of Humenne for a visit to a local castle which was being beautifully renovated inside.
The following day, we crossed over into Hungary and the small town of Satoraljaujhely to visit a school there. Again we were warmly welcomed, given a tour of the school and watched the pupils dance traditional Hungarian dances in beautiful Hungarian outfits. We then walked into the town and were amazed by the prettiness of it all. It was very beautiful in the gorgeous spring sunshine with not a cloud in the sky. Later we joined Jan and his staff at Sobrance school to celebrate Teacher's Day with their dining room decorated so beautifully that we thought it was a wedding! Their catering staff produced a 3 course meal and then laid out a buffet while we danced with several different nationalities!
The third day saw us travel across another border, this time into the Ukraine. Here we had to show our passports and change our Euros before stopping in the town of Uzhhorod, a couple of miles from the border. Igor, our Ukrainian guide, spoke excellent English and showed us around the town and the fortress, where a lovely lunch had been laid on in the catacombs underneath the building.
Our final day was spent relaxing before our epic journey back and the first day of cloud and showers, though the temperature was still an startling 24 degrees. It was a shock getting back in chilly Manchester.
Jan was the perfect host, with his amazing itineraries that kept us entertained throughout the day. We were well fed and watered and looked after very well. We were amazed by the children's work and have brought home many recycling ideas for our children to work on. The school's were bright and beautifully decorated with their displays, the children so keen to talk to us, show their work, busy peering out of the windows trying to catch sight of us as we wandered through their school in admiration. It was a wonderful trip, tasting the Slovakian, Hungarian and Ukrainian culture and way of life, Jan and his team's hospitality, connecting with our Comenius partners again and sharing our school's experiences and ideas.
We have all come home with very special memories.
The International School Council has also done a tremendous job, from leading a global conference of 220 children, working with schools near and far and being expert tour guides for the numerous international visitors we have had through the door. Keep up the great work team :-) Thank you Scott and all the other children for delivering an amazing assembly on the last day of term too. I now have my ticket to ride!
