Anche quest’anno si è svolto lo scambio linguistico-culturale tra la nostra scuola ed il Sint Pieter Instituut di Turnhout in Belgio. Protagonisti sono stati gli studenti della classe 3BL che, accompagnati da due insegnanti, hanno trascorso una settimana in Belgio a Febbraio, mentre gli studenti stranieri con i loro insegnanti sono stati accolti a Maggio.
Lo scambio è nato dall’esigenza di promuovere la formazione umana e culturale dei ragazzi attraverso realtà diverse dalle proprie.
Grande entusiasmo ha caratterizzato questi due momenti: sono state svolte lezioni in classe ed escursioni nel territorio così che la conoscenza reciproca non fosse limitata solo all’ambito scolastico ma estesa anche alla cultura del paese ospitante e naturalmente alla realtà quotidiana. Sia gli studenti che gli insegnanti si sono impegnati affinché tutto si svolgesse con competenza e un pizzico di allegria. Gli studenti partecipanti hanno acquisito una maggiore padronanza linguistica ed anche sicurezza e senso di responsabilità.
Un grazie di cuore va perciò ai ragazzi, sia italiani che belgi, alle rispettive famiglie, ospitali ed accoglienti e a tutti quelli che si sono impegnati in questa attività.
Di seguito alcune testimonianze degli studenti italiani e stranieri.

A fantastic Experience!  By Silvia Collina
Exchange in Belgium is an important opportunity for you and for your friends to learn English better and meet new friends. In my school you can do it on the third year, usually in February. It is not very expensive so all the students have the opportunity to participate. You go to Belgium by plane so I think that it is really nice and funny, especially if it is the first time that you have travelled by it.  You stay one week with the family of your exchange partner and you do a lot of things with her and her family.
 Sometimes it is a bit  embarrassing because you have not met them before, but I’m sure that the family and of course your exchange partner will help you!
During the week you have to go to school, but you have the opportunuty to visit cities, buildings and a lot of beautiful places. If you don’t like visiting cities and churches don’t worry: you can do a lot of other funny activities!
So, if you like travelling, meeting new people, even if you don’t like English much (like me) this is your chance!. It is a great experience and I’m looking forward to seeing them again in Italy in May.
Enjoy your week!

The Exchange by Alberta Vallese
An exchange is a good experience for everyone who wants to learn a language or to make new friends abroad or to meet people who have different behaviour and culture. You’ll keep its memory for the rest of your life.
I came back home from an exchange experience and I keep on thinking about the lovely people that I met. We had a lot of fun when we visited other cities and went shopping there and to some parties. The host family did everything to make me feel at ease. I really enjoyed that experience and the atmoshere was everyday cosy and warm (except for the weather!)
The evening before our departure my partner’s family organised a party with all the students to celebrate our staying and at the end we cried like fountains! The worst moment was when we had to leave, but we’ll see again in two months!
I recommend this experience to people that should grow up and be more responsible, to those who want to understand a different culture.
If you want to become indipendent and mature, enjoy the exchanges!

The Italian Experience by Belgian students
After two months of waiting finally we met up again with the Italian students. We have spent a fantastic week in Italy. One day we went to Ascoli Piceno and another to Rome, which we find the most beautiful city we have seen in Italy! Of course we liked the Italian food very much!
There are a lot of differences between Italian and Belgian people. Italian people are very open-hearted and very loud and they go to sleep later than we do. The Italian parents are much more anxiuos than our parents, but they are very friendly.
We really enjoyed the beach, because in Belgium it isn’t so near and the weather isn’t so good for sun-bathing. The last evening was very nice and we enjoyed our Italian dinner. We also had a chance to see how good the Italian people are as dancers. We loved this  experience and we hope that we can come back soon.

Memories by  Belgian Students
This week has been absolutely amazing and funny. We have visited Ascoli Piceno, Rome and of course San Benedetto. I  hope to see you again. I’ll miss you!

The things we liked most about this week have been: the beach, the market, Rome and the farewell dinner. We loved the beach because of the good weather. The market was also a lot of fun.  We did shopping and everything was cheaper than in Belgium. We liked the food and we had a great time dancing and singing!