18 students with their teachers from Lithuania, Greece and Turkey came to Kladno in May 2022. Although the visitors had arrived on Sunday 8th, the children met for the first time on Monday morning. 18 students from the Czech Republic were waiting for their friends in front of the hotel. They walked together to school where they were welcomed by the headmaster. As the custom says, we shared bread and salt. Little majorettes did a small show for us and off we went to classes. Students and their teachers taught the Czechs about their countries, culture, and languages. In the afternoon visitors and their buddies went to the town centre to get to know the area. In the evening we danced and ate back at school. A simple banquet was prepared as a welcome for everybody.
Students/guests spent the next morning at school visiting regular lessons with their buddies. In the afternoon there was a small bowling competition in the local shopping centre. The bowling centre had been built in a retro style that remined us of industrial history of Kladno. In the evening, students were invited to host families for dinner.
The weather was extremely hot. Hotter than anyone could have possibly expected, and it made the next day a bit challenging. The bus took students to Prague. They learnt about Czech history and culture. A visit to Prague Castle was organised as well as a walk-through historical city centre. Students and their buddies spent the whole day in hot Prague. A short live organ concert in a bit cooler church in Kladno was a welcomed end to an exhausting day.
Thursday was full of work again. Students from abroad helped their buddies with organisation of an educational activity for small children from our school. A path with environmental tasks was prepared in a nearby forest. Older students guided smaller ones through the woods, cheered them up and counted the points. At the end we gathered in Sletiště (local sport area) and gave the small children their diplomas and sweet rewards. Teenagers continued their way to the local airport, where they learnt about small airplanes and their role in guarding forest in summer. Private pilots are used to keep in mind watching out for fires when practicing.
The next meeting was with birds of prey at a local breeder. He answered a lot of questions and let the children call birds on their arms. After a barbecue on a football pitch in Velká Dobrá the students went for a ride with a Humvee and for the last time the host families picked up international guests to invite them for private dinners.
Last day of the visit was meant to be more relaxing. We spent the morning in the forest creating art from everything you can find there. Then we went to the jump arena to have some fun. The Kladno Castel provided us with a cool shade and some information about Krteček, a famous Czech cartoon character and the last Czech astronaut 😊. The underground of the castle told us about the history of mining and its environmental consequences. In the afternoon we met back at school for a party! We had a farewell barbecue and there was dancing and music as well. The music group RiFive were amazing.
