Report from the activity

Spain_report.pdf

Erasmus+ KA229 - School Exchange Partnerships

Project Nr: 2019-1-CZ01-KA229-061106

Project „It´s our world - take care of it“
Fernán Núñez May 23 – 27, 2022 – Gender Equality

The fourth meeting of this project took place in Centro de Enseñanzas Greguerias Sociedad Cooperativa Andaluza, San Sebastian, Spain. The Czech Republic was represented by a group of 3 teachers and 8 students.

Monday 23rd May

On the first day of the meeting the headmistress of the Spanish school welcomed participants and introduced individual delegations. After that we had opportunity to see the school building. The headmistress showed us the school and explained us how it works. After that, it was the turn of the students who had prepared the presentations on the topic gender equality - women at work, law to protect women, gender-based violence, relevant facts related to women etc.

After the very interesting presentations and discussion, we tasted the local speciality churros, which was prepared for us by the parents of the pupils. All of us enjoyed this time and used it for introducing each other.  Then we left the school building to go to the town hall, where we were greeted by the deputy mayor. Seeing as gender equality is an integral part of Spanish politics even at the local level, his speech and subsequent debate brought a great deal.

In the second part of the day the students were divided into the mixed groups for the workshop. Participants had to solve different tasks, which were focused on dividing gender roles in families and society. This gave them the opportunity not only practise English and work in international teams, but mainly to think of traditional roles in families and changing them in future.

Tuesday 24th May

On the second day we went back to school, where were the students divided into the mixed groups. The groups of pupils toured the city and performed a variety of tasks within the rally. We ended this event in a local park by handing over gifts from the mayor, who was thrilled that the Erasmus+ project had reached his nine-thousand-person town. We moved from the park to the sports hall, where the self-defence workshop took place. As we found out, the self-defence course is very popular, especially with young people. It involves many students from the local school. The girls in particularly were shown how to easily defend themselves in such a case of an attack by a much stronger opponent.  After lunch, we took a bus to the village of Zuheros, about 50 kilometres away, near which we had a tour of the stalactite cave, and then we visited this picturesque village with its majestic castle.

Wednesday 25th May

On the third day we visited the city of Seville, a cultural centre, the capital of Andalusia and the fourth largest city in Spain. We started our tour of the city in the famous Plaza de España, which was established in 1929 as a base for the Ibero-American World's Fair and covers an area of 50,000 m2. Then we toured the cathedral. It is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, home to the tomb of Christopher Columbus. We also visited the Moorish fortress Alcázar, which is, together with the Cathedral of Seville, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The building combines elements of Gothic architecture with features of the Islamic style. During the day, students had the opportunity for discovering the beauties of local architecture, taste Spanish specialities and learn a lot about the history of Andalusia.

Thursday 26th May

On the fourth day we went on a trip to Cordoba, where we could walk through the picturesque streets in the old Jewish and Arab Quartier. Among other things we could see The Flower Street or the narrowest street in the city, which is as wide as one handkerchief spread out. Because we hit just two weeks in May, when many people open their backyards (patios), we could admire a beautiful flood of flowers of all colours. Then we visited the unique monument of Mosque-Cathedral. This cathedral was built in 785 by Emir Abd ar-Rahman I. We ended the day with a visit to the "Feria de Córdoba", where we could see typical Spanish dances, taste different kind of Spanish food and admire beautiful dresses of local women. This event is very famous and lots of people come there every year to enjoy the special atmosphere.

Friday 27th May

On the fifth day, the students went back to school, where the T-shirt workshop waited for them. They decorated their T-shirts with wax colours and then let their T-shirts singed by the others for remembering this amazing week, they enjoyed together. After the evaluation of the entire week, the certificate ceremony followed.

In the afternoon there was an informal celebration with music, dancing and a typical dish – paella, which one of the teachers cooked for us. Almost all the teachers from the school arrived at the meeting and the mayor came to greet us. Everyone had a great time. It was a nice afternoon, but at the end we had to say goodbye.

Feelings and opinions of Czech students participating in this activity:

Veronika: This project was the first opportunity to fly a plane for me. I have never flown, so I was a bit afraid of it, but everything was OK. The best day of the whole week for me was Friday because it was the free day and we didn’t have to walk so much. It’s a pity that the students from Spain weren’t so good at English. Our communication was sometimes complicated. On the other hand, it was funny. It was pretty good for being free. I didn’t expect much, but I liked the whole week and I really enjoyed it. The worst thing for me was walking, I don’t like it and we did to much more walking than I’m used to.

Jan: I think it was useful because I met new people and explored new places. I enjoyed the lunch at Antonio’s yard. It was nice because we talked and laughed with each other. I didn’t like the food because it’s different. In the beginning I was a little nervous to meet new friends but when I met them it was good. And all the week was very nice. But in the end of the week, when we had to say goodbye, I started feeling a little sad because maybe I saw some people last time in my life.

Vojtěch: This project was very useful for me because I practised my English. The most interesting thing was visiting of the cave but another program I enjoyed too. I met a lot of new friends and I saw many interesting places. And I flew by a plane at the first time. I am glad I could be there and I would like to participate in some project again.

Matěj: I really enjoyed the time in Spain. It was exciting to see new culture. Spain was my dream holiday destination, so I really enjoyed it. It is a beautiful country. The most I enjoyed Feria de Cordoba and all the historical buildings. I would come back sometimes. I really enjoyed everything, but the Gymkhana was a bit confusing. I enjoyed being in Spain and see some beautiful buildings and cities like Plaza de España and so on.

Martin: I think the best thing was the festival in Cordoba. I really enjoyed the whole day there. Cordoba is a very nice city, and we could see the Spanish culture everywhere. The worst thing we experienced was Gymkhana home tasks. It was boring and very confusing for me.
The whole week was very good but one and big disappointing thing was that Spanish and Italian students just don’t speak English very well.