El pasado trimestre realizamos el intercambio con nuestros amigos de Banbridge Academy, en Irlanda del Norte, Reino Unido. Un grupo de 15 estudiantes convivieron con las familias de sus compañeros de intercambio durante 15 días, una semana en Zaragoza y la otra en Banbridge.
El intercambio es una experiencia de inmersión completa en el idioma, en la familia, en la cultura, las costumbres y la forma de vida de las dos culturas que nos enriquece como personas y nos anima a ver las diferencias y similitudes, a aprender el idioma, a cuestionarnos muchas cosas, pero también a compartir y abrirnos al mundo.
Os dejo con las palabras del alumnado y algunas imágenes que seguro transmiten mejor todos estos valores:
‘In Northern Ireland the family received me with open arms and a cake with my name on it’
‘I learned so much in this experience, to be more responsible and mature, as well as improving my English skills’
‘I was a bit nervous but as soon as I had dinner with my Irish friend I felt so relieved and I knew everything was going to be OK’
‘I met some lovely boys and girls at school’
‘We visited many different places and met different people like a charming man that owned a candy shop who told us that he was learning gaelic to read ancient Irish poetry’.
‘Another nice experience was the cooking class we took on Monday at Banbridge Academy, I met a lovely girl that taught us how to make apple crumble’.
‘We tasted fish and chips, scones and hot chocolate at a seaside village while it was raining’
‘It surprised me how amazed they were about things that I found so normal, like the architecture of the buildings here in Zaragoza or the nice weather’
‘When we had to say our goodbyes, it was a very sad moment, since we had made great bonds with our partners but we made promises to see each other again’
‘We learned how to appreciate Ireland and its green hills as much as we learned how to appreciate our homeland and language’ ‘We went back home when we were feeling most comfortable and when we were really bonding with our new friends, which made our hearts sink, but I think it was also the accurate time to keep with us a lovely memory’
Por último me gustaría agradecer a todas las personas involucradas en el intercambio, tanto al profesorado que ha ayudado a llevar a cabo las actividades propuestas aquí en nuestro centro y allí como al fantástico alumnado participante por sus ganas de aprender, disfrutar y exprimir esta experiencia.
Y esto no acaba aquí, las últimas noticias son que algunos de ellos van a pasar parte de sus vacaciones de verano con sus amigos de intercambio.
To be continued…(continuará…)
