Italy - Sasuolo
Saturday may 16th 2015
Our group gathered around school at ten o'clock in the morning. Everybody is rather exited about the trip to Sassuolo, some of the pupils have actually never flown in an airplane before... Once the group was complete, we went to Eindhoven Airport by bus. The bus driver totally trusted on his GPS, and mr. van den Ende and Mrs. van der Spoel started to get a little worried because we drove via the city of 's-Hertogenbosch, whilst we are accustomed to go via Tilburg. No worries, everything went smoothly.
At the desk we checked in an hour early, so we still had time to have a stroll at Eindhoven Airport (which is not too big fortunately). Then we gathered for the plane (HV 5309) to get to Bologna. In Bologna the busdriver was already present, and after a trip of half an hour we arrived at the 'Instituto Comprensivo Sassuolo 4 Ovest'.
The Italian pupils and parents received us with cheer and prepared excellent meals to 'brake the ice' (there was not any in fact). After an hour or so the Dutch pupils went home with their 'new parents' to have an exquisit weekend in the region of Emilia Romagna (one of the most beautiful regions of Italy to say the least).
Sunday may 17th 2015
Family day
Monday may 18th 2015
Today we started at school at eight; after the lively reception of Mrs. Cavani and Mrs. Pini, everything regarding this week has been explained by means of the little 'reader' (courtesy of Mrs. Pini). After three quarters of an hour we went for a guided walking tour through the city of Sassuolo and the Italian pupils explained all kinds of highlights regarding the rich History of Sassuolo and its region. At ten o'clock we were invited at the Townhall to get acquainted to the vice-mayor of Sassuolo. Then we moved on to the public Library, to work on the videogame for the future (Time warp -> 2018).
To be continued,
Courtesy of Mr. van den Ende
Daily report may 19th 2015
Today is our most fortunate day because we are about to visit a factory in which the world famous renowned Parmezan cheese is made. In Italian: 'Parmigiano Reggiano'.
But first, we went to school for a meeting with first grade students, to tell them about the Erasmus Exchange 2015. After this session, we had to get ready for the trip to Caseificio San Pietro di Montegibbio (the factory in which the cheese is produced).
Counting all students before take off is vitally important, because Nina and Samsiya told mrs. Van der Spoel that they had to go to the toilet. The bus however, already arrived and everyone got in really quick, and we took off. Sadly enough without Nina and Samsiya! So, we immediately returned to fetch them and from that moment on, the day started without any complication.
Once at the cheese factory, we learned the whole process of the Parmezan cheese and could talk to some of the workers. One Parmezan cheese (of 39 kg) costs about €300.- The older the cheese, the higher the price. We saw hundreds of cheese of the year 2011, 2012 and 2013, so there is a value of at least several millions.
After this visit, we went for a stroll to the Montegibbio Castle to do some of the traditional games of the region and the tasting of Balsamic Vinegar which is excellent by the way. You could not compare the vinegar one buys at Albert Heijn Ridderhof with this marvellous vinegar; there is even a sweet vinegar for use on icecream! Although there is not such a great similarity of cheese and vinegar, there is a similarity in price however. The best vinegar can be bought for €25.- (100 ml.), but most of them even exceed this price...good things cost money ;-)....
The Montegibbio Castle is also a nice place to have a picnic, so that is exactly what we did. Some of the parents and Mrs. Cavani prepared exquisit food the day before so we really enjoyed it.
The busdriver picked us up at a quarter to three for we had to go back to school again to get our 'Time Warp' / computergame perfected.
To be continued
Courtesy of Mr. van den Ende
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May 20th 2015
Our group assembled around school at eight in the morning. We went to the classroom of Mrs. Pini to listen to her explanation of the day, which was quite nice actually, because today we will visit the city of Modena.
Because one can absorb most information and do the best work in the morning, we have been working on the workshop of the 'game' of 2018 once more before leaving for Modena. At around a quarter to eleven the busdriver honked for us to get our gear and leave for Modena.
Modena is a nice place, full of architecture. The Cathedral for instance, is on the Unesco World Heritage list and gives one ample reason for inspiration. Not only architecture gives one inspiration, there are many other things to find. Such as the fact that Modena is renowned for the fact that it is also known as 'the capital of engines'. Carfactories such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati had their Headquarters near here.
After a treasure hunt throughout the city, we had a lunchtime break in the Ducal gardens of Giardini. Then we split up into two groups, the first went for a workshop at the 'Museo della Figurina' and the other was allowed to go shopping for an hour, but had to make sure that they had to be back for the workshop themselves and the ones that did the workshop could go for a stroll and shopping.
At around half past four we went back to school again, for tonight is -> dinner at the consolata (all together) and...disco!
May 21st 2015
Today we had to make sure be at school rather early, for today we are going to visit Venice. Venice is quite far, after a tiring bustrip of approximately two and a half hours, we then quickly had to walk to the ferryboat (which was already waiting for a while). The boattrip took a long time for the ferry could only reach the towering speed of three and a half noughts (that means not faster than 15 km/h). When we finally arrived in Venice, we immediately went to the San Marco square to make sure that every piece of culture sunk in our memory.
Since the weather in Venice can be quite variable, we dicided to be more safe than sorry, so we headed back for our ferry after an hour and a half. During this time it was rather crowded in Venice; during summer however, one can hardly move, so today we had the best opportunity. We got home rather late (at around a quarter past eight in the evening) but we have had the time of our life!
All things come to and end (exept for a circle), tomorrow is already the last day of the Erasmus+ project, and on this day, friday may 22nd, we will make sure to practically finish the most of the assignment and being sure to prepare an excellent evening party with the parents.
Courtesy of Mr. van den Ende