The second meeting of Erasmus+ KA229 participants in a beautiful country
The team of Alytus Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas Gymnasium returned from Zaprešić, Croatia after a week of project activities. At the partner meeting of the project „New Teaching Methods” on European Cultural Heritage the school was represented by four pupils and two teachers: Snieguolė Valentukonienė and Meilė Platūkienė. Teachers from six countries shared their experiences on how to apply innovative ICT techniques and presented examples of their application in the lessons. Project partners from Croatia introduced the education system of the country. Teachers Meilė Platūkienė and Snieguolė Valentukonienė gave lessons to Croatian students, presenting the history and cultural heritage of our country, city and gymnasium.
We, the students, found new families for the week, new friends, got a lot of new experiences and created some invaluable memories. On the first day of the project, pupils from all countries got to know each other and compared their mother tongues, looking for similarities and differences between them. On the other days, project partners (Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Croatia and Lithuania) presented their homework – the most famous castles and traditional dishes in their countries, baked traditional biscuits and made souvenir hearts made of clay, which are very popular in Croatia, but this trip was way more than just working at the school. We visited the feudal estate Novi Dvori in Zaprešić and learned more about the history of this town. Another wonderful day was spent in the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb, where we learned more on the history of the city by performing team tasks and visiting some of the most popular sightsees. But the most memorable trip was to Plitvice Lakes National Park, where we admired the fascinating, enchanting views of nature.
After this visit I would describe the country as one that has hospitable and warm people, friendly environment at schools, enchanting nature and rich historical, cultural heritage. We cannot wait to meet our new friends again.