CLIL – Environmental Studies – group mobility

A Poli egy nyelvi előkészítős csapatával 2023. február 18. és 26. között Litvánia második legnagyobb városába, Kaunasba látogattunk. A Kauno „Varpo” Gimnázium diákjaival és tanáraival karöltve a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) jegyében angolul ismerkedtünk különböző témákkal a fenntarthatósághoz és környezetvédelemhez kapcsolódva. Az angolul tartott szakórákon és workshopokon való részvétel mellett jutott idő korcsolyázásra, uszoda- és múzeumlátogatásra is. Polis diákjaink vendéglátóik segítségével bepillantást nyerhettek a litván kávéházi kultúrába. Egy egész napot szenteltünk az ország fővárosa, Vilnius feltérképezésére.

Zöld utazással jutottunk el Kaunasba, majd vissza Budapestre: két-két napot töltöttünk vonaton és buszon. Egy-egy éjszakát töltöttünk közben Varsóban, amibe egy rövid éjszakai városnézés fért bele.

A polis diákok és tanáraik: Csikós Panni, Haás Anna, Havas-Kállay Anna, Kaucsek Szonja, Maros Rozália, Rácz Anna Panna, Róka Péter, Rónai Natasa, Vámos Nóra, Várady Domonkos, Weiner Dániel, Nádasdi Zsuzsa, Szabó Attila.

Between February 18 and 26, 2023, we visited Lithuania’s second largest city, Kaunas, with a group of 11 students. Together with the students and teachers of the Kauno “Varpo” Gymnasium, we learned about various topics related to sustainability and environmental protection in English in the context of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning). In addition to participating in special classes and workshops held in English, there was also time for ice-skating, swimming pool and museum visits. With the help of their hosts, our students were able to get a glimpse of Lithuanian coffee house culture. We dedicated a whole day to exploring the capital city, Vilnius.

We got to Kaunas and back to Budapest with green travel. We spent 4 long days traveling by train and bus. Only one short night sightseeing in Warsaw could fit into the tight schedule. The Polish capital still made a strong impression on our team.

Poli’s students and teachers: Panni Csikós, Anna Haás, Anna Havas-Kállay, Szonja Kaucsek, Rozália Maros, Anna Panna Rácz, Péter Róka, Natasa Rónai, Nóra Vámos, Domonkos Várady, Dániel Weiner, Zsuzsa Nádasdi, Attila Szabó.

Havas-Kállay Anna

I had the opportunity to participate in an Erasmus project in Lithuania, specifically in the city of Kaunas. Despite the cold weather, I was eager to explore this new place. The train ride to Kaunas was quite lengthy, but I found it enjoyable as I got to meet new people.

Upon my arrival, I was warmly welcomed by my host who showed me around the city. The city’s architecture was a mixture of modern and traditional styles, which I found fascinating.

One of the highlights of my trip was the opportunity to taste the local cuisine. The food was exceptional, and I got to try some delicious traditional dishes, such as potato pancakes and sweet dumplings.

During my stay in Kaunas, I attended various cultural events and visited famous landmarks. E.g: The Old Town, with its cobblestone streets and colorful buildings, was charming and beautiful.

Overall, my experience in Kaunas was unforgettable. I made new friends, learned about a different culture, and had the opportunity to explore a beautiful city. I would highly recommend anyone who has the chance to participate in an Erasmus project to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

Csikós Panni

For me, this was my first Erasmus opportunity and I think this trip to Lithuania was good for trying it out.

We were travelling to Lithuania for 2 days, slept on the way and had dinner in Warsaw.

Unfortunately, my host was at a tournament, so I had to join a Lithuanian with another Hungarian, but I think I enjoyed it even more that way.

There were many programs, my favorite was the trip to Vilnius, we were in many cafes and restaurants, we got to know delicious food. It was a very good opportunity for Hungarians to learn and practise English and to travel.

Haás Anna

Our trip to Lithuania was by far one of the most interesting things I have experienced this year. Although our journey there was long and tiring, we got to use a more sustainable means of transport, than a plane (12h train, 8h bus). When we got to Lithuania we were instantly greeted with warmth and understanding from the locals, and even though we were all pretty tired the day we arrived, we went for a miniature sight seeing tour of Kaunas. The next day we saw their school and played a few icebreakers, then in the afternoon enjoyed a more thorough tour of the city. On the second day we watched a few videos about sustainability, that the Lithuanian school created, and did quizzes on the knowledge we gained. After trying some traditional Lithuanian food, we were fortunate enough to take part in their spring welcoming festival, where there was music, dancing and they burned their mannequin Morè very ceremonially. On Wednesday we had one of our most exciting and intriguing tasks: to make our own fashion show out of some everyday waste (like trash bags, newspapers, old shoelaces, tinfoil, old cardboard bits). After that in our free time we visited their towns huge ice rink where we spent a few hours. On the fourth day we travelled to Lithuania’s capital city, Vilnius, where were shown around by a professional tour guide. We ate a delicious and savoury meal at a traditional Lithuanian restaurant, and afterwards we walked around with our Lithuanian friends and even visited their contemporary art gallery which had a really interesting display. On the last day we made posters of Lithuania and of the two towns we had visited on this trip, and had a very long kahoot with questions about Lithuania. After that we visited a swimming pool where we spent our afternoon. 

Kaucsek Szonja

I’m extremely grateful to participate in this Erasmus. I think the theme of the project is very important and I happily work on it, with our team. The program’s agenda was great. The tasks we did were varied. I liked all of them, they were delightsome and important at the same time. Overall, I really enjoyed the trip to Lithuania. The culture was new to me, and I was open to try out new foods, things and also learn more about the country. I’m glad we really explored both Kaunas and Vilnius. We went to walks and sightseeings together. The Lithuanians were really kind to us, and we both worked on making everyones time pleasent there. With some compromises and open conversations we could really make that happen. I really feel like we got out the most we could from that week, and I didn’t regret one minute I spent there.

Vámos Nóra

Apart from this trip to Lithuania, I have only participated in one Erasmus programme before, but in that one, we all lived together for one week, not wtih families. It was a very new experience, to live in someone elses home for 5 days, and get some insight on the way they live thir lives. I enjoyed all parts of the trip, the long train rides, the tasks we did at their school in Kaunas. These small projects were diverse, interesting, and well planned. I think we all have learned more about pollution, our environment, and and about how we can live in a more sustainable way.  What was also very interesting in my opinion, is how we were paired with one person for five days, with whom we were together day and night. That is how I met my partner Ieva, and we got really close in those few days. I think its because spending so much time together sped up ther process of getting to know eachother. As we saw more and more of their country, I realized Lithuania and Hungary are similar in many ways, but still very different. These are just a few reasons of the many, why joining Erasmus is a life long experience.

Rónai Natasa

Me and some of the kids in my year got to participate in an Erasmus program where we had the chance to travel to Lithuania. The trip started off with 2 days of traveling, a 12 hour train ride and an 8 hour bus ride on the next day. When we finally got to Lithuania everyone was exhausted but we were really happy to be there. On the next few days we went to school, participated in some tasks and had a great learning experience overall. I particularly enjoyed the recycled-fashion task, where we had to make clothes out of materials that otherwise would have gone to waste. In most afternoons everyone got together and we walked around in the center of the town. On Thursday we went to the capital city Vilnius, where we had a tour guide help us explore everything that was there to see. After the guiding ended we had some freetime where we went to an art museum and then to a thrift shop. On Friday, we had a last task, where we had to make a poster about our week in Lithuania and we also did a kahoot. On Saturday we said our goodbye’s and began our 2 day trip back to Budapest. I am really happy with my experience and i feel really lucky that I had the chance to go to Kaunas.

Várady Domonkos

This winter me and Some Poli students got the chance to go to Lithuania. On a Saturday, we got on a twelve-hour train ride to Warsaw, where we stayed one night in a hostel. On the next day we continued our trip by bus to Kaunas: the second biggest city in Lithuania. When we arrived our hosts were waiting for us at the bus station, we all were excited to finally meet each other. Then we went to our hosts place, our temporary home.

The theme of the Erasmus was climate change, so we got to learn a lot about recycling and sustainability, we also watched a lot of presentations about the subject presented by Lithuanian students. We learned how to make clothes from recycled materials. The Lithuanians even held a clothe making contest, where we had to make clothes out of the materials we were given.

Our host have shown us many parts of Kaunas for example the old town, the Kaunas castle and many more things. On Thursday we went to Vilnius, where we saw the Vilnius castle and the Jewish town, where we visited the Mo Museum. On the last day of the program, we made posters about our week in Lithuania in groups. The Lithuanians held a quiz for us, where we could prove how much we learned about their country.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Lithuania. I made a lot of new friends, experienced new things, and made countless unforgettable memories. I did not regret it that I joined the program, and I would recommend it to everyone to try an Erasmus him or herself.

Rácz Anna Panna

The Erasmus project to Lithuania was a great experience for me. We had the opportunity to learn about Lithuanian culture, history, and traditions. Lithuania has a rich cultural heritage, which has been shaped by its unique history, geography, and language.

One of the highlights of the trip was the visit to Vilnius Old Town, where we learned about the history of Vilnius, which dates back to the 14th century. During the trip, we also had the opportunity to try traditional Lithuanian food. We tried cepelinai, a traditional Lithuanian dish made from potatoes and stuffed with meat, cheese, or mushrooms. 

In conclusion, the Erasmus to Lithuania was not only an educational experience on environmental studies, but also a cultural experience that allowed us to learn about the country. We were able to appreciate it’s unique beauty and it’s people, and gained a better understanding of the Lithuanian way of life.

Weiner Dániel

As part of CLIL Erasmus project I had the oppurtunity to travel to Lithunia. We traveled to Kaunas. Kaunas is a 2. biggest city in Lithuania has a population aroun 250 thousand.  We traveled 30 hours to Kaunas and it was tiring, but worth it. In Kaunas my favorite programs were the after school progam, because that was the time when get it to know each other. I think my favorite day was Wednesday because in the school, we did this fashion show it was incredible good, after we the students went to ice skating and it was really fun too. We did lot of diffent type of thing once went to a pool, went to snowballing, we went to a dozen coffee shops, etc. I learned lot of things in this Erasmus, about Oceans, Lithuania, speaking English, international friendship, so the program was worth it. 

Róka Péter

I participated in an Erasmus program in Lithuania and had an amazing experience. The journey to Kaunas was long, but it was worth it. We traveled for 19 hours by train and bus, including a stop in Warsaw. Our hosts warmly welcomed us and made us feel at home. We experienced local culture, tried traditional Lithuanian food, and explored the city. Visiting Akropolis, the only mall in Kaunas, was a highlight, and we also visited our hosts’ school. The program focused on climate change, so we learned about recycling and sustainability. We participated in a recycled-fashion task, making clothes out of waste materials. We visited Vilnius and saw landmarks like Vilnius castle and the Jewish town. The Lithuanians were kind, and we learned a lot about their country and culture. Overall, the Erasmus program was life-changing, and I learned about myself and the importance of sustainability.

 Maros Rozália

My favorite activities were the after-school programs. We went to a lot of coffee shops, because the Lithuanians head teacher owns a café network. I think we had spent approximately five hours total in different Vero Cafés (this is the name of it) because there was at least one in every street. 

We also went to other places, like thrift shops, we played pool, we saw a lot of interesting and famous buildings, churches, squares and streets. One of my favorite programs was when we rented an iceskating stadium for one hour, it was such a great experience. 

About the school…my host lives five minutes from school by walk, so it was really comfortable for me. We had spent a lot of time in the school, participated in different programs, like quizes, icebreaker games, and once we had to make a fashion show, which was incredibly good. Our team won, but that’s not why I enjoyed itt he most. I enjoyed it, because it wasn’t a everyday thing to make an outfit out of trash.

Overall, there were some difficulties to make compromises, but I tried to enjoy every part of it.