The trip to Hungary

Here I am again on a trip to Hungary for the second P&R meeting in Budapest from 06.03 to 09. 03. 2014. Mrs Stanka Dimitrova, the deputy head teacher, and Mrs Kalayddzhieva, our coordinator, are accompanying me. The flight to Budapest was short and pleasant.

The Three Corners Hotel Art turned out to be a wonderful location for exploring the beauty of Budapest. All Mascots except for the Turkish and the British ones were here and enjoyed meeting again and sharing what we have gone through during the First Semester.

Our Hungarian hosts took us all to Vajda Peter School, where they had prepared rather active and challenging sports games for the teachers, which helped them make very good teams. Unfortunately, my companions were too old to take part, but the games needed audience to watch and cheer, after all.

After the games the guests were treated with a Typical Hungarian dinner, cooked by the male teachers at the school. Believe me or not, but that was really delicious. I could notice that there is a lot in common between Bulgarian and Hungarian cuisine.

The next morning we were officially welcomed at the school. The impressive old building was once designed to be a school for boys and girls in two separate sections. The Vajda Peter students had prepared a short performance all in our honour. We were delighted to hear the talented boys and girls play the pipes and sing wonderful Hungarian folk songs.

Then we visited classes. My teachers chose to see Garth, the UK coordinator, teach English and a lesson of Hungarian language. I could notice that there were only fifteen pupils in class, much fewer than in our school, and discipline was good both during classes and breaks. During the Hungarian lesson there were two assistant teachers to help children with difficulties.

Sports at Vajda Peter School is a priority. We could see the wonderful handball playground, very conveniently situated next to the school and covered with a tent so that it can be used all the year round.

In the afternoon we , the Mascots had fee time, while the teachers  shared the presentations on the First Semester activities and the ten-minute films about the Partner schools.

Saturday, the 8^th of March, was a beautiful day. Our hosts took us on a trip to Skanzen, an open-air museum in the vicinity of Budapest. The sun and the nice company made the visit a wonderful experience of the 18^th and 19^th century life in a traditional Hungarian village. Of course, I was most impressed by the old Hungarian breeds of sheep and cattle.

The afternoon was busy for the teachers. They had to plan the activities for the next Semester and I hope there will be plenty of exciting things to do together.

Sunday was the day of departure. We all said goodbye and promised to meet again in Italy and the Czech Republic.