Sunday, 3rd November 2019
The students (Justin Schrapf 4it, Christoph Kiedl 4it, Beatrice Rieger 4a, Julia Glas 4a) had already met at school several times and established work groups. For example, Julia and Beatrice had already created a Kahoot- Quiz about the different school types in Italy, Cyprus and Austria. Further Justin and Christoph had also prepared a PPP about Italy and Julia and Beatrice about Cyprus. Moreover, to involve other students Mr. Zotter and I created a WebQuest (in German) about our first host country. The 4a, 4it, 3AS and the 2A completed the WebQuest successfully. The students got exceptional access to the school Wi-Fi and could answer in this way the questions of the WebQuest. This task was shared online with the other Erasmus+ participants. They had the possibility to translate it into their mother tongue and use it to their liking. The WebQuest received a positive reception and even students from the 5th grade asked me if we could include the History of Cyprus preparation for the “IWK” (History) the school leaving exam. The History of our host country is fascinating. Further, the students had also the possibility to stream different documentaries about Cyprus.
SUNDAY
Arrival – Check in at the hotel.
Their host families welcomed the Austrian and Italian students. Afterwards there was a short “meet and greet” to break the ice but that was not necessary because the students had already started to exchange messages via social media e.g. Instagram. A couple of students had already skyped with their host families on a daily basis.
MONDAY
The principal - Mr. Loizou – gave us a warm welcome. After a short introductory speech we met the Cypriot colleagues and were introduced to each other. We exchanged ideas and got a school tour. We could also taste a really strong traditional Cypriot coffee. Then we watched several interesting short films about the different schools. For example the Italian video had English and Greek subtitles ans the Cypriot principal guided us through the Greek version of the school film. At the end of the session, we played the Kahoot-Quiz prepared by the Austrian students.
Then the students from Cyprus, Italy and Austria did presentations about the other countries where they covered several topics such as stereotypes and basic knowledge about the countries, or famous people, flags. The students also discussed the historical and cultural aspects and gave attention to the geography of Cyprus. Our host teacher and project partner Michael Loizides sent us guidelines for this task:
- When you hear of Austria/Cyprus/Italy what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
- General information about Austria/Cyprus/Italy
- Can you point to Austria/Cyprus/Italy on a map without borders?
- Which local products of Austria/Cyprus/Italy do you know? How about local food?
- Famous people that have their origins in Austria/Cyprus/Italy?
- How about music and sports?
- It was very helpful, that Mr. Loizides sent also some survey questions our students worked on before the visit and then presented at the first day.
- Have they ever travelled to Austria/Cyprus/Italy (how many times 0,1,2, more)
- Do they plan to travel to Austria/Cyprus/Italy
- Can they point to Austria/Cyprus/Italy on a map (failed/succeeded)
- Can they pick Austria’s/Cyprus’s/Italy’s flag from a page full of flags?
- Ask them to name 3 famous people/brands/events related to Austria/Cyprus/Italy (failed/succeeded)
At a small reception, we got the chance to taste local products – meat, cheese and typical Cypriot sweets. Furthermore, the students had a brainstorming and discussed ideas. The students from Italy, Cyprus and Austria started to work on the multilingual glossary. During the translation process they found many similarities between their respective mother tongues and cultures. The students were really surprised by the fact how much Cypriots, Austrians and Italians have in common.
During the afternoon all the participating teachers had some time explore Cyprus and Nicosia. Mrs. Colantonio as a history teacher was especially interested in the history of Nicosia. Mr. Zotter was interested in technical aspects e.g., we visited the oldest power plant of Nicosia. Now it is an art centre. The other teachers also pursued their interests. Our students got the chance to meet their families again and to learn more about life in Cyprus. Some families had organized a sightseeing tour for our students and other students just had a good time with their host siblings.
In the evening the staff and students of the Archangelos Lyceum Apostolos Markos had organized a party for the exchange teachers and students. In this way, we had the possibility to get to know each other and taste local products and gastronomic speciality. We also had the chance to discuss our afternoon activities. They Cypriot teachers were helpful and answered patiently every question.
TUESDAY
Teachers had the possibility to “job shadow”. Due to our tight schedule, sadly only a few sessions were possible. On Tuesday our students attended the first periods before our departure to Atheniou Village. There we could visit and observe the local halloumi cheese production and bread baking/old mill. The students were enthusiastic about the mill and asked a lot of questions. The cheese factory was also a fantastic experience, because we were able to see the production of halloumi and could taste fresh halloumi for the first time in our lives. We did not know about those different types of cheese before and really liked tasting and talking about it. Fresh halloumi tastes much better than the halloumi they sell in Austria. For this reason, we were not able to visit the Kallinikion Municipal Museum.
After that, we drove south to Larnaca. After the guided visit at the Medieval Castle – Mrs. Colantonio told the students some interesting stories about the history of it – the teachers and students were able to explore Larnaca on their own and try local products. We also had the opportunity to visit the church of Saint Lazarus in Larnaca. This is one of the most important churches in Larnaca and dates back to the 9th century. This religious building was impressive.
Afterwards we drove back to Nicosia. After a short break at our hotel and host families, we headed out to Nicosia again to meet a local tavern to eat local foods and try local beverages. The local parents association was there to welcome us for a “tasty” “meet and greet” dinner. The evening and the food were amazing. We will miss the Cypriot gastronomic specialities sorely.
WEDNESDAY
Our students attended the first period - an art class. In the BHAK / BHAS Voitsberg (Young Business School) there are no creative subjects in the curriculum. For this reason, it was a great opportunity for our students and they really loved it. The teacher was very ambitious and used English as working language during this lesson.
The teachers met during the first period and discussed the progress and the difficulties of their students. We tried to support each other and our students in every possible way.
After that we had to leave for Kyperounta village, where we had the chance to visit Pitsilia, a local industry for cold cuts. On the bus, we updated each other on the progress of our students in the matter of cultural common grounds.
Our students had the opportunity to see how traditional Cypriot meat products are prepared and processed before they are sent to the next local store.
Afterwards we drove to a pastry workshop where students and teachers could taste traditional pies and sweets with sugar and/or honey. We also were able to see how some of these hand-crafted pastries produced there and could gain insight into this creative art. The pastry workshop was owned by the family of a Cypriot Greek student. For this reason, we had a warm welcome and the hospitality was amazing.
During the afternoon, the students of the Archangelos Lyceum “Apostolos Markos” organized an international soccer event. Some students played and others cheered. It was a fantastic and successful event. Especially the Italian students had a great time. There were only winners at the end of the day.
Thursday
In first period the students had a fun math class, where they compared functions and stuff. Also ALTRGRIECHISCH…
During the first period the students from Cyprus, Italy and Austria met and had the chance to revise and prepare short presentations related to the excursions of the previous days. They had already established international work groups. For example Christoph and Thomas (thoma) his host brother worked together, translated, and helped each other. English was as usual the working language and personal experience was a common ground. But also Greek, Spanish and Italian were spoken. Then we drove to Nicosia and enjoyed an interesting guided walking tour of Nicosia. This tour was offered by the Cyprus Tourist Organization. The students had the chance to leave the centre of Nicosia and to enjoy the afternoon with their new Cypriot friends and host families. The teachers had the chance to spend the rest of the day with colleagues from Cyprus and they exchanged and discussed ideas and daily challenges at school. The evening was also very interesting. Because the Cypriots surprised and delighted us with local products like sausages and Cypriot-style pizza. During this great evening we also had the chance to enjoy typical beverages from Cyprus. It was a memorable meeting for us and the Erasmus+ exchange programme.
Students met at night and had a very good time watching a soccer-game.
Friday
During the first two periods the students had the task to create a new logo for our project. The Cypriot Art teacher helped and encouraged them. At the beginning the students were reluctant to participate but then during the creative process they started to be become interested. At the end of the lesson we almost had to force them to stop. The results were amazing. The students created a great variety of logos to choose from. The staff of the Archangelos Lyceum Apostolos Markos invited us to have breakfast with them. We could savour typical Cypriot food like Halloumi, bread and pastries. Then we split the students into groups to speed up and finalize the project. Two groups created a Kahoot-Quiz, four other groups revised their presentations and the other groups worked on the glossary (100 words in 4 languages = 400 words). Then we had a very touching farewell/closing ceremony. The principal gave a very heart-warming farewell speech. Also Mr. Loizidis gave a short speech. At the end Mr. Zotter our project coordinator gave also a speech and thanked everyone for a successful project. warm and gastfreundlich.
We had a wonderful time. Thank you Cyprus.