Die Schülerinnen und Schüler, die am Erasmus-Projekt „European cities“ teilnahmen, haben den ersten Mobilitätsaufenthalt des Projekts in den Niederlanden absolviert und ihre Austauschpartner*innen kennengelernt. Begleitet von Frau Josephine, Herrn Reppert und Herrn Vercruysse verbrachten die Schülerinnen und Schüler des Deutsch-Französischen Gymnasiums und des Antonius College, unserer Partnerschule, gemeinsam eine Woche voller Aktivitäten, Besichtigungen und Emotionen in Gouda und Umgebung. Hier berichten unsere Schülerinnen und Schüler von den ereignisreichen Tagen:
In the morning, we all gathered in front of the gymnasium and started our road trip to Gouda. We left Saarbrücken at 9:30 and were prepared for a 7-hour drive. We took breaks, crossed Luxembourg, Belgium, and then arrived in the Netherlands at around 5 pm. After that, we all met our exchange students when we got off the bus, chatted a bit with them, and then brought our luggage to their homes.
For some of us, they showed us the center of Gouda and then took us to the pancake restaurant where we were all supposed to meet at around 6 pm. We sat with our exchange students and some friends at a table, and then we had to order our food and drinks. We talked with the Dutch people, got to know them better, and had fun while eating delicious pancakes. Afterward, we all returned to our individual homes and met our families. And so, the day was already over!
On Tuesday morning, we were at school at 8:15 to receive a big WELCOME. Afterward, we had three different lessons: Chemistry, Biology, and Arts. It was pretty amusing because we could make our own biosustainable plastic.
At midday (11:45), just before we could go home, the teachers told us in which group we are for this afternoon. The group I was in had to be in the center of Gouda at 2 pm to visit the Stroopwafel factory. There, we received some phones that looked like old Nokias. With these phones, we could listen to the story from the idea to create the stroopwafel recipe and the waffle factory.
After the tour, our exchange buddies showed us a bit of Gouda center. At the end of our tour, we were free to go home and do what we wanted.
On Wednesday, we went to Amsterdam. First, we visited the Rijksmuseum, which contains a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a collection of Asian art, objects, and artifacts related to Dutch history. We saw paintings by famous artists such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, and Vermeer, a 36-carat diamond, and an old library. After spending an hour in the museum, we had two hours of free time to explore Amsterdam. We visited the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, the House of Anne Frank, and sat in a café in a small side street. Finally, we visited Zoo Artis in Amsterdam, which has a variety of different animals. We watched a lion eat some meat, observed otters, penguins, and more. We ended the day with a long bus drive back to Gouda.
On the 4th day of travel, we headed towards the island of Pampus: an artificial island built in the 19th century located in the IJsselmeer. In the center, there is a fort that was once used to protect the Dutch navy based in the port of Amsterdam. We explored the fort, visited all the rooms, and learned about their functions. The island is sustainable and produces its own energy with solar panels and turbines. We took a boat to get there and back, having a lot of fun with the big waves. It was truly impressive how we were shaken from side to side.
In the afternoon, everyone went home to prepare dinner with their exchange student. Some people made salads, pizzas, or baked cakes and many other things! We all ate together and enjoyed our last evening in Gouda. After dinner, some people went home, while others attended a birthday party, went to the city center, or simply hung out together!
On Friday, we started our day by watching each other’s vlogs for about an hour. All of them were great, and it was a lot of fun watching them. In the picture, you can see us watching Maxime’s vlog. After that, we took the bus to Gamecity in Zoetermeer, where we played an escape room. The escape room was more of a battle because it consisted of earning the most points possible in a limited amount of time. To earn points, you had to go into rooms where you had different tasks and riddles to solve. Each room contained 100 points that you had to earn in a limited time, usually about 2-5 minutes. Sometimes you had to accumulate the most points possible, and other times you had to solve a riddle to get all the points at once. It was a great experience, and we all loved it.
Next, we went to the airport to drop off the Spanish exchange students and say goodbye to our Dutch friends. It was a sad moment for every single one of us, and we were already looking forward to seeing our Dutch exchange partners in March. After that, we got on the bus and started our 7-hour, 30-minute drive back to Germany.
Dussing Pauline, Fritz Arthur, Philippe Thianna, Vogelsang Lucas, Greff Julie, Rebmann Maxime, Becker-Lo Grasso Nolan, Clasadonte Florent, Del Castillo Zoé, Durand Léon, Latz Amélie, Luczak Cléa, Muller Lou Han, Restelica Ensar, Rocher-Isenegger Fabian, Rohr Mathis, Schwartz Orlane, Stevens Emily, Zimmer Marvin, Ghobrial Claire, Porté Sandra.