#EXCHANGES
Learning from each other on an exchange
By Atie le Sage
In September, T2f participated in an exchange with students from the Gymnasium school in Korschenbroich, Germany and then welcomed them back to the Netherlands in February. This exchange program consisted of interactive activities that helped the Dutch and German students explore their shared connections through culture, history (Romans and Rivers), and government. On March and May T2c participated in an exchange with the Sacre Coeur school in Lamballe, France. This exchange included activities surrounding heritage and nature for a sustainable future.
Many times students are nervous about the idea of going on an exchange (“What will the food be like? Will the host family be kind? Where am I going to sleep?”), but Melvin Smedes (t2f), Bo van Collenburg (t2c) and Lieve Coolen (t2c) hope to ease these feelings by sharing their experiences and fun.
Melvin Smedes
Exchange with Gymnasium school in Korschenbroich, Germany
Melvin
When you heard about the exchange to Germany, what were you excited about the most?
I knew my buddy played guitar. So I was interested to meet Felix, because I play the guitar as well. We do learn English in school, but we all speak Dutch as well. Therefore I was curious about meeting someone I could only speak English with.
Was there anything you were a little nervous about?
Not really, if speaking in English would be a problem, I could try to switch to German which I only know a little. I always like different kinds of food, so I was looking forward to it. I got on pretty nice with his parents, his brother and sister. So there wasn’t really anything I was worried about.
Did you see any similarities between your way of living and his?
It was mostly the same. He lives not far from the German-Dutch border, so that’s maybe why. He also has a pet. He had a dog and I have a cat.
Was anything they did there different to what you are used to?
They travel by bus to school. Their school is a lot older, smaller and with different sections. I prefer our school, especially the spaciousness. I always did, but now even more!
Can you mention something you were surprised about?
I found it a big advantage that he lives really close to his classmates. We often met up with them after school on a football field close by, which was fun to do. I have to cycle 30 minutes to my nearest classmate.
What did you learn most about the exchange?
I learned more German words than English 😊 and I learned to understand them better.
The exchange was organised by Erasmus+. Should exchanges be part of the programme for future students?
I think it was fun. I didn’t know what to expect at first. After the exchange I do look back on it as a good thing. Communicating in English, learning German, meeting up with other people and countries.
Lieve
Lieve Coolen and Bo van Collenburg
Exchange with Sacre Coeur school in Lamballe, France
Bo
When you heard about the exchange to Germany, what were you excited about the most?
Lieve: I was already in touch by phone with Iris, my exchange partner. She was really sweet. I was kind of excited to meet her.
Bo: Perrine, my exchange partner, came to our school first. So I already knew her, when I visited her in France. I was really excited to see the place where she lived.
Was there anything you were a little nervous about?
Lieve: I was a little scared about how to communicate because I heard their English wasn’t as good as ours. But when we met she and her whole family were really good at English.
Bo: When I asked her whether she liked pasta or tacos, she answered yes. I noticed her level of English was a little less, so I was worried about the language barrier.
Did you see any similarities between your way of living and hers?
Lieve: There was something they introduced as typical French, but it was just like our grilled cheese & ham sandwich except they left out the crust.
Bo: I have two brothers and she had a brother and sister, so I saw similarities about how we act with each other.
Was there anything they do there that was different to what you are used to?
Lieve: We had diner at eight and they sat really long at the table eating and talking and again eating and talking till about 11 o’clock. That was kind of late for me every day. At my home we have diner pretty early and it doesn’t last that long.
Bo: They finished every diner with baguette and cheese. I’m used to cutting the bread with my knife, but they said just break it or tear it. I found that weird because of the germs on our hands.
Can you mention something that was special or peculiar?
Lieve: It was my birthday when I was there. They decorated the whole house with birthday stuff and I got presents. That was really sweet.
A school day starts at 08:00 and finishes at 17:00, so they have really long school days, except on Wednesday they finish at 12:00.
Bo: France is known for fresh baguettes and croissants. Therefore I was surprised that we got long lasting pre-packed chocolate croissants. But the family looked after me very well and were really sweet to me.
How was chatting to each other?
Bo: It was difficult to have a conversation in English as her level was lower than mine, but luckily we found other ways to communicate, such as using our hands and google translate.
Lieve: My host family was really good at speaking English. We had many conversations and we asked each other questions both ways round. She made sure I was okay all the time.
What did you learn most about the exchange?
Bo: When we went on a trip they always had a booklet with them with questions in it. There was always an element of studying.
Lieve: I learned that the level of concentration of French people is way longer than of Dutch people. They were really good in listening even after long days, while we were sighing/groaning and tired. It was a private school. The teachers were kind of strict. Talking during the lessons is not allowed, parents are asked to come to school if you do. I believe that’s why the students can concentrate that long.
The exchange was organised by Erasmus+. Should exchanges be part of the programme for future students?
Lieve: I think so yes! But maybe they could change the subject. We had climate change, the class of my best friend had sports. They went to NEC and laser gaming and that’s much more fun 😊.