Where do cultures meet?

1. GRUP ŞCOLAR „CONSTANTIN BRÂNCUŞI” Satu Mare, strada Crişan nr. 1 Telefon – fax: 0261 730 517; 0261 731 805 e-mail: forestier.sm@clicknet.ro Where do cultures meet? "Where do cultures meet?"11-PM-1042-SM-TR is the title of the Comenius Multilateral Project that Grup Scolar "Constantin Brancusi", Satu Mare, Romania has together with 5 other schools from Turkey, Poland, Greece, Croatia and Italy. It is part of the Long Life Learning Programme and will unfold between 2011 - 2013.The overall rationale of the project is the need felt in all the involved institutions to develop cultural awareness among students and encourage them to learn foreign languages. Simply: "go, see, communicate and understand", to broaden the concepts of "cultural diversity and cultural heritage" via this project. It is crucial to develop students appreciation of cultural heritage and cultural diversity with emphasis in the daily life and architecture in their hometown and their partners' cities as well. Moreover we need to encourage our pupils to understand, accept, and be tolerant to the others and the idea of living together. We would like to pull down the cultural and lingual barriers in front of our students with the help of this project.

2. All Roads Lead to Rome Authors: Roxana BALOG, Cristina BLAGA, Roland FODOR, David HALASZ, Andrea MARIAN, Melitta PAPP Supervised by teacher Monica STÎNEA, coordinator for GrupScolar “Constantin Brancusi”, Satu Mare, Romania

3. Introduction Between the 13th and the 18th of November 2011, 6 pupils (Roxana BALOG, Cristina BLAGA, Roland FODOR, David HALASZ, Andrea MARIAN, Melitta PAPP) and 5 teachers (Monica STINEA, Tiberiu LORINCZ, Viorica BOBOLOT, Adela OROS, Daniela SIMON) from GrupScolar “Constantin Brancusi”, Satu Mare, Romania, were in Rome, meeting their new project partners from Turkey, Croatia, Greece, Poland and of course Italy. The project title is “Where Do Cultures Meet?” and its aims are to motivate pupils to learn foreign languages, encourage tolerance and understanding, make them aware of the differences and similitudes between cultures, as well as tear down the linguistic and cultural barriers between people. Alongside the visits in the historical centre of Rome, Ostia Antica and the Vatican, the timetable included workshops in the Italian school, field research as well as a traditional dinner in Italian families.

4. Day one On Monday morning we were at school, where everyone presented their country, their school, traditions and customs. We sampled food (especially sweets) from all over Europe and we were each assigned to international work groups. Each group made a poster of their country with pictures and cards. Later on, after lunch, we visited on foot the historic centre of Rome: Trevi fountain, Trajan’s Markets, the Spanish steps and filled in as much as possible in the Italy Treasure Hunt questionnaire. We ended the day with dinner all together and the famous Italian icecream.

5. At School

6. Posters

7. Rome

8. Day two We woke up pretty early and headed together for Ostia Antica, the best preserved Roman city in the world. We each joined their workgroups (orange, black, blue, yellow, green and red) and tried to finish first the Ostia Antica treasure hunt questionnaire. We stopped at the Roman theatre to take pictures, have lunch and have a laugh. After that we headed for the Mediterranean Sea, where we had the courage to take off our shoes and enjoy the beautiful weather and the waves. In the evening, we all gathered at the hotel where we learnt traditional dances and again had a good laugh. Little by little friendships were formed.

9. Ostia Antica

10. The evening party the Mediterranean

11. Day three Wednesday started early in school, with creating questionnaires in the computer lab, on various topics like friendship, lifestyles, sports. After lunch, we visited the Coliseum, which is huge and amazing, went for icecream (again) and then hurried home to get ready for the family dinner. It was different for everyone of us but at the same time a wonderful experience. We ate: spaghetti, lasagna, tiramisu and many other things and we decided that Italian cuisine is very rich in dishes and we like it.

12. Where are they? Having fun with their new friends, of course…

13. Day four Due to the transportation strike our usual schedule was changed but that gave us the chance to discover Rome by ourselves and it was intriguing. We walked all day on the narrow winding streets full of charm in Rome and reached Navone Square, which was buzzing with life, and were able to experience a nice afternoon Italian style. After the Pantheon we hurried to the hotel to get ready for the ‘pizza good bye party’. We felt happy all together, we played games, laughed a lot and took tons of pictures, but we also shed tears knowing that the next day we would all go home.

14. The Pantheon, Navone Square and the goodbye party…

15. Day five We wished for this day never to come, but it did. We filled in the questionnaires, got our diplomas and then visited the Vatican. We were impressed to see live the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Cathedral, Saint Angelo’s Castle and the beautiful angel statue bridge. And then we went to the hotel, packed and flew back home.

16. The Vatican and its surroundings

17. Conclusion All good things must come to an end. Everything was wonderful! We met very nice, open and funny people. We managed to make friends very fast and promised to keep in touch. Language, culture, customs, they weren’t a barrier; it brought us closer and made us understand and appreciate each other even more so. We’re happy to have taken part in this first project meeting in Rome, it was a unique experience in our lives that we will never forget. See you all in Poland in 2012!

18. Extra More to come 