Monday May 2nd

Finally, after postponing the exchange for 2 years, we could host children and teachers from the 4 partnerschools in our town.

The Romanian team arrived very early in the morning and visited Brussels before taking the train to Oudenaarde. They realy enjoyed the walk in the capital.

In the evening, the children of the 6th grade who will travel to Romania, welcome all the teachers and pupils in a beautiful and big holiday-house in the Flemish Ardennes.

After everyone was installed, we had our first meal together. Everybody felt that it was going to be an exceptional week.

 

Tuesday May 3rd

After breakfast, taxi’s drove all the guests to Oudenaarde. Together with all the 6th graders they had a meeting with the major in the beautiful city hall.

And then it was time to visit the school. All the flags were hanging on the wall, there was a red carpet and children welcomed everybody. Assisted by two drummers all the guests entered the school. After a short dance-demonstration it was time for a guided tour in the school.

The children of Turkey couldn’t attend the exchange, but for them we organized an online meeting in one of the classes. Every partner introduced their own school, the Turkish children in Ankara also did a presentation.

After lunch the children and teachers were working in mixed groups. They played Kubb, did a parcourse, got a language lesson in Dutch, made friendships dolls….  All countries enjoyed the activities.

Back in the house everybody joined an evening walk in the beautiful neighborhood.

 

Wednesday May 4th

In the morning it was for our 4th graders to work together with the children of the other schools. Together they went on a walking quest along the most beautiful places of Oudenaarde. At the same moment the children from the 5th grade sang two songs together with the Turkish children in Ankara.

The Belgian partner had arranged a private train compartment for the whole group to travel to Ghent, the historical capital of the province.

There they visited the medieval castle, had an ice-cream and joined a guided boat trip on the canals of the city.  The weather was splendid, the city very crowded, the views spectacular.

 

Thursday May 5th

Playing together without prejudice was clearly the topic of this LTT. Today the guests and the children of the 5th and 4th grade played together in the playground and in the meadow across the street. Everybody had a great time, even though there were children from 9 till 15 years old. Also the teachers joined the activities. People laughed a lot, helped each other, explained in English or with sign language, supported every individual…. 

Time flies too fast. Everybody walked to the theatre, were we held our final meeting. A lot of parents showed up, despite the early hour in the afternoon. The show all the partners brought on stage was a success. Belgium children showed the audience an overview of the week. Romania danced and sang ‘Imagine’. Portugal played the European anthem on the flute. Spain brought a poem and a song in 5 different languages.

The show was streamed, so the children in Turkey could follow everything. They also had recorded a beautiful dance which was projected on stage.

At the end of the show all the visitors and the Belgian children performed the song ‘Singing all together’ on stage. It was a very touching moment that summed up the whole project perfectly.

It was time to say goodbye. It has been a wonderful week for everybody. Now we see how important our project is for every individual. The Belgian partner thanks every child and teacher for these unforgettable days.

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Next stop in June: Romania.

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