Bulgaria

Bulgaria… For some of us this word reminds of Bulgarian roses, while for others it is associated with summer resorts. For five students from Lithuania and their teachers Ieva Ivanauskaitė and Gintarė Daubarienė this from now on will always remind them of their adventurous trip and amazing experience. This is how we could describe Erasmus+ “Smart classrooms, smart students” project.

It was a long trip to get to the small Bulgaria’s town Berkovitsa, but we weren’t bored. On Sunday, in the afternoon, we were already in Bulgaria, but it took us a few hours to reach Berkovitsa and the families that had welcomed us. All the way to our final destination we were surrounded by mountains, forests, rocks and a fog – it was beautiful and magical scenery.

On the first day the opening ceremony was hold, we have also visited the school and met students from other countries. In the early morning students from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Lithuania and Italy gathered to the cafe. We enjoyed listening to traditional Bulgarian songs and students orchestra’s pieces. Later on, we went to the Berkovitsa’s forestry professional school. School Principal presented us some historical facts about the country and education program. Each of five countries introduced themselves. Our evening was spent in Bulgarian families.

During the third day we made the most of the work. Students from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Lithuania and Italy presented their themes based on literature lessons. Firstly, Turkish delegation came. They introduced us to Turkish epics and told the most famous ones. Students from Lithuania compared two writers – Vincas Krėvė and William Shakespeare. They also presented the difference between their books. Bulgarian group told about the play-writer Ivan Vazov and a story of “Gramada”. Italian delegation made a cheerful video film called “Chichibio and the crane”. Students from Macedonia made a presentation by ther chosen theme, which was “Patched life”. All students had the opportunity to choose the program, which fits for them the most. This time students were using “Powtoon” or “Moovly”. After very interesting presentations we were divided into groups and had to make posters. Before that, we had to read the stories and then paint some scenes according to the fairy-tales. This is how we had reached one of the main aims of the project – we were generating ideas with students from different countries, working together and helping each other. These posters were presented on the fourth day of the project.

In the second and fourth days we had excursions to get to know Bulgaria better. We had visited “Ledenika’s cave” in Vratsa and also unforgettable impression was made by “Klisurski” monastery.

In the fifth day we said goodbye to the students and their families, which have accepted us during this project. It was hard to leave them – that tiny city was very cozyand also hospitable Bulgarians made our trip even more wonderful. We moved to the capital city of Bulgaria – Sofia and it impressed us with the amazing architecture, museum and the Cathedral. We had spent there only one day, but we managed to see lots of things. However, we would like to visit Sofia again. The week in Bulgaria, during the project Erasmus+ “Smart classrooms, smart students” passed really fast. We had met lots of interesting people from different countries, we got some new experience. We promised to each other to keep in touch, no matter if there is a  big distance between us. However, we shouldn’t be upset as we are going to meet each other in Italy in just a few months!

 Julija Dikčiūtė ir Ieva Pocytė 3E

Erasmus+ in Berkovitsa, Bulgaria

2018-11-05

We marked the start of this project in Berkovitsa with the Bulgaria, Lithuania, Italy, Turkey and Macedonia’s presentations of their schools and countries. Even if there were some technical difficulties here and there, but we can agree that presentations overall were great! 
Also, we ate lunch, which was traditional Bulgarian dish “Musaka”. 
We hope for even more learning to come.

 

2018-11-06

Today we went to Ledenika cave and Vratsa. The narrow, slippery paths in the cave were unforgettable as well as the beautiful mountain near Vratsa.

 

2018-11-07

Today we taught eachother our countries’ literature by analysing or even comparing two books. Countries mostly used powtoon, but there were people that used moovly and socrative for evaluation.
Then came the exciting part of the day where we learned different folklore songs and dances as well as we had an opportunity to participate in a dance together!
Also we worked in groups, analysed different pieces by drawing. I can’t wait for the drawing results tomorrow!

 

2018-11-08

Today is the last day in Berkovitsa. We showed our drawings and matched the names of books to the groups, that analysed those texts yesterday. After that we went to Klisurki Monastery and saw how christening is done in Bulgaria.
Lastly we had a closing ceremony, where we got our certificates, ate lots of great food, danced and of course had lots of fun.

 

 

Last Day of project “Erasmus+” in Lithuania

The last day felt  different from other project days.  On the same day students had a chance not to just learn some historical facts, but also had a wonderful time during the closing ceremony.

The fifth day started in the Vilnius City center. Students from different areas of Europe had an excursion in “Palace of Grand Dukes” .They had a chance to get in touch with the most famous, exciting Lithuanian heritage. It was time-consuming , but at the same time interesting excursion for all the students.

 After the lunch, students went  to the “Genocide victims” museum. They got lots of information, which is sure to be useful in the future in their schools. As half of the day passed, the students got some free time to prepare for the closing ceremony, which was held in the “Belmontas” restaurant. There came Lithuanian students with their friends from the project countries(Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia).

The closing ceremony was started from the speech of our school principal Virginija Emilija Navickienė. She wanted to thank for all the participants and their teachers. Later on, the coordinator of the project Ieva Ivanauskaitė, also had a chance to give a speech. Gintarė Daubarienė, our school psychologist and the coordinator of the project “Erasmus+“, gave certificate for all the participants for attending  this project. Afterwards, students and their teachers had an unforgettable dinner, where Lithuanian traditional food was served.

As it was our last day of the project, we wanted to get some feedback from the foreign students and we asked them a few questions about the trip to Lithuania.

 Stefanija form Bulgaria said that doesn’t see a big difference between Lithuania and Bulgaria. Stefanija assured that she definitely would like to visit Lithuania again, especially Vilnius. She is impressed about Vilnius Užupis gymnasium students and her Lithuanian family.

 Bojana from Macedonia  said that she really liked the museums, which we visited throughout this week. Bojana also mentioned that she had tried to taste one of the Lithuanian traditional food- ,,šaltibarščiai”. She was impressed that it not only looked appetizing, but it tasted that way too.

Simona from Bulgaria enjoyed spending her free time with her Lithuanian family and other friends. Simona liked the picnic, which she and her friends organized. She’s delighted to make so many good friends during this time.

Jovana from Macedonia said that she was impressed about Lithuanian traditional food, especially about ,,kibinai”, as we had a chance to not only  eat them, but also we could bake it ourselves.  Jovana would love to make them for her family in Macedonia. She also enjoyed the trips to Trakai and Anykščiai.

After the interview, our IT teacher, another of our important coordinators of this project, Andrius Chmieliauskas prepared music for the dances. Spontaneously , each of the country showed and taught others their traditional dances. It was invaluable opportunity to learn Italian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Macedonian and Turkish dances.

For sure, this week passed extremely fast. It was an unbelievable experience for each of us. Everyone had learned something useful, which you don’t learn in your normal classes. We expect to see each other again, because the past week has changed us. We can bravely say that over this week we became one huge family.  We will be impatiently anticipating for the trips to Bulgaria and Italy, because the ‘’Erasmus +” project won’t end. We won’t say “goodbye”, though we will “see you soon”!

P.S.  Thank you every single interviewee, who willingly answered our questions not just on Friday, but on Tuesday as well! If you want to share your experience about coming to Lithuania and we didn’t take an interview from you, you can share it in the comment section of this blog post!

Second day of “Erasmus+”. Presentations

The second day has just begun and we were all excited about what is going to happen next. The students came to school to show their presentations. Everyone came to the hall and the event  started with the main coordinators of Lithuania: our wonderful English teacher Ieva Ivanauskaitė, helpful psychologist Gintarė Daubarienė and IT master Andrius Chmieliauskas. They all introduced the schedule of the day and wished the best for our students from different areas of Europe.

The first came on the stage the Italian group. They presented the topic, called: “Meaning of the angular coefficient and it‘s determination“.  

After a good and full of examples presentation, on the stage came the Bulgarian group. They talked about:“Graph of square function“.

Later on, it was very nice to listen to Macedonian presentation, which was called: “Area of geometric shapes“.

Later on, we had a coffee break. The students had a chance to taste traditional Lithuanian dessert called “Šakotis“. Relaxed and full of energy, students came back to the hall, to listen to the last presentations.

To the stage had came Turkish delegation. They showed us an informative video about: “Statistics and probability“.

Last, but not least came Lithuanians to present their theme:“Symmetry in Lithuanian folk ornaments“.

 

We took an interview from  several people of the project participants.

Firstly, we talked with Martina from Italy. She was suprised about the rules in Lithuania, which are different from Italy’s. Martina is joyful about staying with the Lithuanian family. She describes them as kind and welcoming people.

Ivona from Macedonia was satisfied about Lithuanian architecture. She was surprised about the fast-changing Lithuanian weather. Ivona said that: “During the day it‘s sunny, during the night-it‘s thunderstorm“. She was happy to have the opportunity to taste “Šakotis“.

Nikol from Bulgaria said that she wasn‘t surprised about the weather changes, as it was the same as in her country. Nikol came here without knowing, what Lithuania is. Although, she was impressed about Lithuania Nikol said, that her Lithuanian family made her feel like home.

Ifan from Turkey mentioned that he likes his Lithuanian family a lot. Also, he said that the very first information about our country he got was from his host.

Every student from various countries were surprised about our nature: they really enjoyed the nature’s beauty, that was full of green nature, for example, green trees . Each of them enjoyed the time they spend with their project family.

Although, this day was full of hard work, on which each of the project participants had to show their best in the math lessons., but we think that students had a wonderful time while listening to presentations or making them. We are extremely happy that our country is being visited by such great students from Italy, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Turkey!

First Day of the project “Erasmus+”. Opening Ceremony

Sveiki! Ciao! Merhaba! Здравейте! Здраво!

The Project “Erasmus +“ finally had started and we can‘t wait to tell you all the news about our students from different countries. Let‘s start!

On Monday all the students came to school with their friends from various parts of Europe. Some of them were a bit shy, but everyone‘s faces were filled with joy. There were some beautiful pictures taken near the photo wall, for us to remember the day.

The opening ceremony started by a speech from the school‘s headmistress Virginija Emilija Navickienė. Also, Gabrielius Landsbergis from Seimas sent everyone his wishes so that the Project would be successful. In the audience, you could see Abdulhakim Altunkaya, the Third Secretary of Turkey Embassy in Republic of Lithuania. Afterwards,  a speech was spoken by Jurgita Sviderskienė, a representative of the institute of Italian culture. Later on, the teachers from Italy, Macedonia, Turkey and Bulgaria introduced their homeland by showing us some films.

Also, a big impression was left by Lithuanian students, who sang, played with an instrument called Baltic Psaltery and our wonderful teachers, who sang a traditional Lithuanian folk song.

After presentations of the countries, we had some free time to explore Vilnius Užupis gymnasium building and we could see a marvellous panoramic view from the Bekešas hill.

Later on, we had a delicious lunch at the school canteen as well as a tour around Užupis and Vilnius Old Town. It was a warm and sunny day.  Students from separate places of Europe could see lovely areas of Vilnius, such as: “The Užupis Arts incubator“, “The Gates of  Dawn“, “Vilnius University“, “Presidential Palace“, “The Cathedral“ and many more.

Although,  some students felt tired, but all of them got some good experience, learned a lot and were happy about the opportunity to visit our country. We can‘t wait to see, what‘s awaiting for us!