Germany by the Croatian students

 

In the morning, after breakfast, I went for a walk with my group and teachers to the

nearby school. We stopped for a group picture with the other students in front of the

school entrance and the principal directed us to the large classroom where most of

the planned activities of this project will take place. The principal of the school gave

us a speech and I learned that this is the last mobility of the We go green project. We

also met our mentor Philip Pawlowski. We started with ice breaking activities and I

got to know most of the other students through various fun activities. I also learned a

little about the history of the school and the town. After a short break, I attended a

German class and learned the basics of German such as introductions,

conversations, and questions like do you have petsquot; or do you have a brother or

sister;. After the lesson, I visited the City Hall with the rest of the students. We were

welcomed inside by the mayor Karin Welge. She gave a speech and I learned that

Gelsenkirchen has a very diverse population full of people from different parts of the

world, she also plans to build a new school because the city hasn't built one in 40

years. One of the more important topics she mentioned is the idea that

Gelsenkirchen will become climate neutral by 2035 at the latest. The next activity was

a sightseeing tour of Gelsenkirchen by bus, I liked the idea of ​​attracting students;

attention by implementing a Kahoot quiz about what we learned on the city tour. After

a delicious lunch, a Kahoot quiz was held at school and my roommate finished in

second place. Within the next hour, all groups of students presented a presentation

on the topic What has my school done to be more environmentally friendly?

After the presentation, we had an hour of free time, which I used to take a shower. I

consider bowling in the FIREBOWL bowling alley one of the best activities from this

project, during bowling I made friends with many students from other countries,

especially from Slovenia and Spain, and we had a conversation about traditions from

our countries.

I.J.

I started today with breakfast with my roommate and a walk to school accompanied by my

group. Our mentor showed us a short documentary video about smoking, cigarettes and the

possibility of recycling used cigarettes. The video mentions a company in Africa that uses

filters found in cigarettes to fill plush toys and the like. The video explained to us that

cigarettes are one of the most harmful types of waste that people throw into nature every day,

and listed many ways in which cigarettes harm not only us but also the environment. A few

years ago Gelsekirchen implemented a law on throwing away cigarettes, which stated that

throwing cigarettes on the street or in nature is punishable by a heavy fine. Within the next

hour, I attended an English class in a neighboring school where I participated in the learning

process and did school activities with other students. I was very excited for the next activity,

the Treasure hunt or the competition of which group can collect the most cigarette waste

within the city, We were divided into groups and given waste grabbers, gloves and bins to

collect waste. My group finished in second place and I think we helped the local environment

by cleaning the city of cigarettes. The German students then accompanied us to a local

restaurant where the other groups were waiting for us and we had lunch. Back at school, our

mentor divided us into groups for tomorrow's internship in separate companies, we were

given a list of questions to ask the owners of the companies and find out about their

environmental practices. After a short rest, we traveled by train to the city's football center

and the Veltins Arena. We got a detailed tour of the arena and an explanation of its system

and beer pipes. We also visited the football team museum inside the arena where we were

allowed to look around freely and the guide showed us the many trophies and awards that are

in the museum. We watched a short film about the environmental aspect and maintenance of

the arena and the football team. Before leaving, our guides gave us metal badges and football

scarves with which we took pictures in front of the arena. After returning to the hotel I rested

in my hotel room and later joined the rest of my group with whom I went to the school for a

barbecue and dinner, We tried currywurst, a German dish eaten at football games. I spent the

rest of the day talking to other students and my friends. I think that today I learned a lot about

German culture and customs related to football and sports, I also learned about the ecological

aspect of the city and helped the city's environment with the help of other students.

I.J.

In the morning, I came in front of the school and waited for the rest of my group to

join me and to start the journey to Zagreb Airport. On the way to the airport, I listened

to music and looked out the window. When we arrived, we immediately went through

the process of checking luggage and goods and scanned our tickets. We waited for

our flight and boarded it. The flight was calm and pleasant and we landed in

Düsseldorf at 16:00. We drove by van to Gelsenkirchen and checked in at the

reception of our hotel. I shared a room with my roommate Marko, and I have to admit

that the Monopol hotel was really nicely decorated. The whole way I was excitedly

thinking about all the fun activities that await me in the next couple of days. I am most

looking forward to internships in different companies because I think I will learn a lot

about business and environmentally friendly practices. We went to a nearby

restaurant for dinner and were pleasantly surprised to see students from Spain there.

After the evening, we went for a short walk in the nearby town and returned to the

hotel and ended this day.

In the morning, I went to the internship with my chosen group, a student from

Germany led my group to his workplace. I did an internship in the company SIRGES

egu. Which is engaged in the procurement, sale and supply of electronic equipment

and industrial materials such as cables, generators and switches. I took the train to

the company for half an hour from the station in front of the school and our hotel.

When we arrived, the owner of the company took us to the conference room, where

we were greeted with gifts such as a writing pad, sticky notes, pens and the like.

Within the next hour, the owner of the company explained their business plan to us

through a presentation and a short speech. He explained to us the method of

procuring their products, they do not produce their products but buy them and sell

them on. From an ecological point of view, this is good because, according to him,

they don't create much waste, they don+t use water during business, but only in the

office, and they use solar energy. During the internship, we were given a tour of their

office, warehouse and work sector. During my internship, I learned a lot about

ecological business and business rules in Germany. Back at school, I made a poster

with a group of students with whom I did an internship related to my internship

experience and about my company, and we later presented it as a related activity.

After a short rest, I walked with the rest of the students to the nearby recreation

center. I played badminton with the rest of my group and my teachers. We had an

hour of free time which I spent getting ready for the next activity. When we returned

to school our hosts called us to go with them and visit their family or a restaurant for

dinner. My host took me and two students from Norway by train to his favorite

pizzeria and we had dinner there. During dinner, I became good friends with students

from Norway and we talked about various topics such as school, traditions, mobility

and food. I am very glad that I had a great time with my group of newly created

friends and that we got to know each other so well and quickly. Before returning, we

went for a long walk around the city, on the train back we talked about football and

sports, and I learned that in addition to football, basketball is very popular in Germany

and Norway. When we got back to our station, I talked with my friends for a while,

and later they escorted me to my hotel, where I waited for my friends from Croatia for

a bit, and we went back to our rooms and went to sleep. Today was a very

exhausting but also fun day, I learned a lot about Germany, its business laws and

green entrepreneurship, I met many new people and made good friends with whom I

laughed and enjoyed a nice dinner.

Today morning, I and the rest of the group I interned with yesterday presented a

poster about the environmental impact and aspect of the company we worked for,

professors and students walked around the classroom, and the idea was to present

the posters as if we were in a art gallery. The next activity in which I participated was

the Second Hand Fair, before leaving for this mobility we were given the task of

bringing three things that we no longer use and which we would exchange with other

students. I chose a tote-bag, a mug and a necklace, through the exchange I got two

magnets and a pen. I am glad that I received a magnet from Slovenia because I

collect magnets from different countries. In the next activity, with the guidance of

employees of the German National Bank, we went through some of the ways in

which counterfeit money can be recognized, they introduced us to the main

characteristics of money and their features and protection measures against

counterfeiting and money printing. They also gave us examples of fake money to

study. Through this activity, I learned a lot about money and its safety and

justification. After a wonderful train ride we arrived at the ZOOM zoo, I learned that

this is the largest zoo in Europe. Before entering we all took pictures in front of the

entrance holding the flags of our countries. Inside the zoo, my group and I toured the

savanna section and we saw various animals in their natural habitats, such as lions,

raccoons, bears and giraffes. We got to the seals just in time for their feeding, the

zoo employees entered the enclosure and the seals started doing tricks to be fed

with fish, this was very fun and cute to watch. Later we went through an underwater

tunnel under their dwelling and saw them swimming and diving. Before returning to

the hotel, we quickly visited the entrance to the Asian part of the zoo and saw more

lions, fish and monkeys. During my free time, I was preparing for a dinner party at

school with my roommate, and I called my parents. At the farewell dinner, I socialized

with students from other countries and had dinner with them. It was time to present

our prepared performances, with the rest of my group I danced the Croatian folkloric

dance Diridika, after a lot of practice we practiced the dance excellently and

impressed the other students with our skills. Other students then presented their

performances, many sang and danced and some acted. Before the end of the dinner,

I sang the song Dancing queen with my friend for the end of the dinner. This was

definitely an evening that I will remember for a long time, it was wonderful to relax

and enjoy the party with my friends and other students, I created many beautiful

memories that evening.

Today is the day we fly back to Croatia, in the morning I had breakfast with my

roommate and the teachers told us what time we were leaving in front of the hotel. As

soon as I got back to the room I changed and packed my suitcase, I cleaned our

hotel room a bit. After some time, I went down to the reception with my roommate

where our teachers and the rest of the group were waiting for us. Our driver helped

us load our suitcases into the van and we headed to the airport, the drive was short

and pleasant, during the drive I looked out the window and observed the rain and

nature. At the airport, we slowly went through the baggage check process and

reached the room where we were waiting for our plane. While I was waiting I was

reading the book I bought earlier. It took us a long time to board the plane but once

we got into our seats I relaxed and continued reading my book. I fell asleep briefly

during the flight but woke up before landing. After we landed, we headed for Daruvar

by van. On the way, we stopped at McDonalds and had lunch there. We arrived in

Daruvar around 6 pm. This mobility was a wonderful experience and I am grateful

that I was given the opportunity to participate in such fun and educational activities, I

think that on this project I learned a lot about German culture, met many new people

and learned a lot about their countries and customs, expanded my knowledge about

the environment and nature and got to know the beautiful country of Germany. Some

of my favorite activities from this project were interning at the company, visiting the

FIREBOWL bowling alley and meeting new people throughout the project. I have

created many beautiful memories on this mobility and I consider this experience truly

unforgettable.

Mobility to Germany

On the 20th of March 2023 me and other students from my group arrived in Gelsenkirchen. I

was excited because it was my first Erasmus+ mobility. I had a lot of fun while I was there

and I also learned many new things about environment and how to protect it. I met a lot of

new people, everyone was kind and polite and we all had fun while we were together. There

were a lot of fun activities, like second hand fair and visit to the Veltins Arena, but my

favorite one was bowling at the bowling center Firebowl Gelsenkirchen. I never bowled

before so it was a new experience for me, but I was quite good at it. I talked with other

students and we had fun. While I was there, I ate a tasty pizza mozzarella with fresh

tomatoes and rucula. It was really good. On the last day, we went to the Zoo. I got to see

many interesting animals. My personal favourite were the seals. They were doing amazing

tricks, like waving to the visitors and catching fish with their mouth from a far distance. After

that, we had free time. I used it to go shopping for souvenirs, but sadly I didn't find many. In

the evening, we had farewell dinner at school and it was really fun and exciting. Every group

had a presentation of national acts, like dancing or singing. It was interesting to see cultures

from other countries. Quickly, it was time to say goodbye. I was a little bit sad because it was

already over, but I knew it had to come to the end.

The mobility to Gelsenkirchen, Germany was my favorite mobility so far. From the first day to the last

one I've had a lot of fun and met a lot of new people but also saw a few old friends. For the first day,

we were shown around the city of Gelsenkircehn. It's an industrial city with a very rich mining history

and is also home to the Schalke football club. After the tour we went bowling and even though I

wasn't the best at it, I've still had fun with my friends, pizzas and drinks. On the second day we were

on a treasure hunt to find the most cigarette butts around the city, and my team won! We also

visited the Veltins-Arena, home of Schalke. It's a huge stadium that can hold more than 50 000

people inside of it. It's also filled with history of the club and games. On the third day we had

internships in different companies. I visited Auto Gago, whose founder is actually from the Balkans.

He's been very excited to meet me and was very generous with us. In the evening we visited our

host's families. I visited the family from my old friend Paul, who I met when he was in Croatia for the

mobility. We've had a great time at his house and enjoyed his barbecue, which was amazing. On our

fourth and last day there we visited Zoom-Erlebniswelt. This was my favorite part of the whole trip.

It's a giant zoo made up of three different „worlds“ which are Alaska, Africa and Asia, all of which had

different animals to see. The ambient and the atmosphere there were fantastic. I could've felt like I

was in a cold Alaskan forest in one moment and then in a hot savannah of Africa the next.

Afterwards, we had a big farewell party which had us all singing, dancing and exchanging contacts.

The atmosphere was great as we were all stress-free and barely able to wait our turn on the

microphone. All in all, visiting Germany was an unforgetable experience and I'm definetly looking

forward to visiting it again one day.