Exchange for Catherine, Merel, Nanda, Nienke, Rianne, Wissal, Boudewijn, Erik, Germen, Guus, Jack, Mijndert and Seán with students from the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor in Erd.
Monday, 25 May:
We had a pleasant flight from Eindhoven to Budapest. At the airport was the deputy headmaster Katalin Kincses already waiting for us. She took us to school by bus, where we met our hostfamilies.
Tuesday, 26 May:
Just like each normal day we arrived at the school at 7.55. Here we started with the sports program. The pupils from the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor primary school have a PE lesson every day!
As the students where waiting for the bus, the teachers had a meeting with the headmaster and his deputy and learned about the identity of the school and the subjects that get extra attention.
At 9.45 the bus took us to Budapest. There we started at the Gellért Hill, where we enjoyed the perfect views over the city, than we visited the Castle of Buda and we watched the changing of the gards at the president’s residence and also visited the Mattias church and fishermen bastion. After visiting the St. Stephen's Basilica we got some free shopping time.
We arrived back at school about 6 pm, filled with many impressions of the visit to Budapest.
Wednesday, 27 May:
First we got a lesson at school about typically Hungarian stuf which ended with a quiz. Then we went into the towncentre to meet the mayor of Erd. He told us a lot about the city of Erd, about his ambitions and the plans to install a junior mayor and counsil who are to be chosen in September at the three secondary schools in Erd. They can make own decisions and get their own budget to spend for the citizens of this city.
At 11.15 we visited the Hungarian Geography Museum where we learned that Kőrösi Csoma Sándor was a famous Hungarian explorer, who got as far as Tibet in his search for the origin of his ancestors the Magyar. He wrote the first Tibettan-English dictionary.
From 12.30 until 13.30 we had free time at the Stop Shop mall.
At 14.00 we visited to the Czabai-garden and from 15.15 until 16.15 we had Geography and Chemistry classes at the laboratory in Vörösmarty Mihály High School.
Thursday, 28 May:
This was the day of the excursion to the Balaton Lake. We had hoped for nice weather so many pupils were in shorts, but the wind was quite fierce. Therefore the sightseeing in Balatonfüred in a little open train was cold. After some freetime the bus took us to the monastery of Tihany where we learned about the great Hungarian empire and its faith after the first world war. We made some walks on the peninsula and went back to Erd around 14.30.
At night we did another tour to the big city a so called Budapest by night bus tour.
Friday, 29 May:
Again we started with a PE lesson and this time both the Hungarian and the Dutch teams wanted to win. So it were hard but also sporting games.
After that the students had a Arts and crafts lesson while the teachers had another meeting with the directoe of the school to make some plans for the future.
After a lunch with goulash soup and typical Hungarian breadroles a minibus took us to the airport.
At the airport in Eindhoven parents were waiting and happy to take everyone home.
Pictures can be seen in the photo gallery