On
8. April we said goodbye to our families and started to travel. From
Rožňava to Budapest we went by car and from Budapest we flew by plane to
Alicante. Our journey continued to Gandia. When the bus arrived there were a
lot of people. Our "new families". They took us home and gave us a
dinner. We were very tired and it was about 10 PM. So we went to our new beds.
On the second day we met each other at school Abad Sola. The headmaster
showed us the whole building. It's different like in Slovakia. The school is
visited by pupils from 3 to 16. After we moved to the historical centre of
Gandia. There are situated the most of Gandia's historical buildings. We could
see for example the Town hall, Ducal Palace or Archaeological Museum of
Gandia. In the afternoon we travelled to the beach to see the port and sea food
market.
The
next day was special for us. We were welcomed by the mayor of Gandia. We could
take a view of the Town hall and we listened to the speech of the mayor. After
we took photos and got presents. The following day those photos were
in Gandia's newspaper. The second part of they we spent in the Ducal Palace. In
the past it served like a royal family residence and power centre.
On 11. April we had really good weather so we packed the towels, sun
creams and some food and set out to the beach. We were there for the whole day.
The water wasn't very warm but for us it wasn't a problem. We were sunbathing,
trying the sea, playing voleyball or cards. The beach is long 3km and it's
devided to three parts. One for young people and sport, the second for children
with attractions and one for recreation.
On Friday we traveled to Valencia.
It's city near Gandia (about one hour of travel by car). There we visited the marketplace,
churches or temple. In the afternoon we were on boats. It was really
interesting and for lot of us a new experience.
Next week on Monday we returned to Valencia. Our plan was to visit the oceanographic.
A lot of type of fish swam around us. We could see a dolphin show also.
There was a part with birds which live close to seas, lakes or rivers. We had
lunch and went to the area of the Scientific museum. The building is white,
modern and symetrical. In front of it is a basin full of water and an exhibition
of new cars. Some tourists used bicycles
to move from one place to another.
16. April was one of most difficult days. At first we visited the ruins
of the castle Almansa. After we continued with Xativa. On one hand the castle
is huge and it's difficult to get there but on the other hand the view of this
castle is gorgeous!
On
17. April we traveled by bus to towns Javea and Altea. We enjoyed the
view in both of them. In Altea everywhere are narrow streets and the
houses are white. Artists sitting on stairs were painting different
perspectives. Right there happened something special. One of Slovak students
got lost. Fortunately there were policemen and they helped her to find our
bus.
The Thursday we spent at school. We presented our country, region, town
and also our school to Spanish friends. We showed them our national food the
most famous castles or caves. In Abad Sola they have a special wall where
students of the last years paint a picture on it. We had the honor to paint
there, too. We chose to draw the characters of Slovak fairy tale Kubko and
Maťko.
Friday was very similar. In the evening the school and parents prepared a
goodbye party. Parents prepared snacks and cakes to eat. During the party we
were watching a presentation with our photos and we realized that our trip is
at the end. Our teacher and the teachers from Abad Sola had a speech about the
project and our experiences in Spain. We got a present and certificate and gave
a plant to "our mothers". We took a lot of photos and everybody was
huging each other. At the weekend we had a separate program, which was organized by
families.
Monday was our last day in Gandia so we went to the shopping centre to
waste the rest of our money. After the
farewell with our new families we travelled home.
Our Spanish friends arrived in Slovakia on Friday of thirteenth. We welcomed them in late night hours in front of the Tesco in Rožňava. At the weekend we had individual programmes with families. Some of us visited Aggtelek in Hungary. Others went to watch and cheer on the football match. The teachers had an extra programme together. On Monday the Spanish students attended our school for the first time. After school they had a walk on the square. They visited the Watch tower, the Cathedral and finally the Miner´s museum on Šafárikova street. Tuesday started with the presentations about Gandia and Spain for our students. Then they were welcomed by the mayor of Rožňava in the Town Hall. Our day continued with playing games in the gym. The next day they visited some great monuments around Rožňava like the Manor house in Betliar, Mausoleum in Krásnohorské Podhradie and the Gombasek cave. Between the visits they had a break for a picnic. On Thursday we went hiking to Dedinky-Slovak Paradise to see Geravy and the dam. The next day was a little bit boring because the Spanish people had classes with us all day long. At the weekend we had free time and all of us spent it with families. On Monday we wanted to travel to the High Tatras but because of bad weather the trip was cancelled. On Tuesday we went to Košice, the second biggest city of Slovakia. We were very happy because we could go shopping. The next day they tasted some traditional Slovak food, a goulash. We visited a very special cave in Krásnohorská Dlhá Lúka, where we needed to wear special clothes for cave climbing. The first half of Thursday was boring because we had to work on a project and prepare some presentations but we were excited for the farewell evening party. All families came to school and we watched all our photos together and had fun with each other. Friday was the last common day with the Spanish students. We travelled with them to Budapest to say goodbye and thank them for this nice time.
The Thursday we spent at school. We presented our country, region, town
and also our school to Spanish friends. We showed them our national food the
most famous castles or caves. In Abad Sola they have a special wall where
students of the last years paint a picture on it. We had the honor to paint
there, too. We chose to draw the characters of Slovak fairy tale Kubko and
Maťko.
Friday was very similar. In the evening the school and parents prepared a
goodbye party. Parents prepared snacks and cakes to eat. During the party we
were watching a presentation with our photos and we realized that our trip is
at the end. Our teacher and the teachers from Abad Sola had a speech about the
project and our experiences in Spain. We got a present and certificate and gave
a plant to "our mothers". We took a lot of photos and everybody was
huging each other. At the weekend we had a separate program, which was organized by
families. 
