Meeting in Slovakia
THE DIARY OF THE 7TH PROJECT MEETING IN ROŻNAVA, SLOVAKIA
13th-22nd April 2012
On April 13th, 14th, 15th, twenty-one project teachers and three Polish students arrived at Rożnava. Everybody was warmly welcomed in the comfortable and spacious Kras Hotel in the town centre. Rożnava is situated in the south eastern Slovakia. It is a 700 year old mining town with a population of about 20,000 inhabitants.
On April 17th an astonishing Opening Ceremony was held in the school gym and the Slovak students offered us some bread and salt, traditionally prepared for guests, and performed Slovak modern and traditional dances, ongs and a short play: “Little Red Riding Hood” in English. Everybody enjoyed the show.
Then the headmaster and the Slovak colleagues showed us the IT, language, physics and chemistry laboratories and we had the impression of a well organized and equipped school. During our work session the Turkish project coordinator Ceren Ugurlu Seyhan presented her option of a questionnaire to evaluate students’ degree of satisfaction of the entire project and the Bulgarian teachers presented theirs. All the partners agreed to the Turkish proposal which proved to be the most suitable for the students. Then the Coordinator distributed the paper and the CD version of the Peace Book to all partners. After lunch we had the meeting at the Town Hall with the Mayor who thanked us for the lively and interested participation in the project. Together we visited the town centre, the largest medieval square in Slovakia and we climbed up the Renaissance Watchtower with its breathtaking view of the town. On April 18th we went on a trip to the High Tatras with its snowy peaks, icy lakes, spectacular views and wildlife. On the way to the mountains we stopped at Gocovo to visit the typical Slovak house of a famous mathematician, Jur Hronec. In the High Tatras we walked around Strbske Pleso, a large glacial mountain lake. The lunch was wonderfully served in a n ice restaurant in Poprad. On April 19th we enjoyed a guided visit of the impressive, classicist and luxuriously furnished Chateau Betliar near Rożnava. We saw the historical library with 15,000 volumes, the collection of guns and the hunting trophies and exotic objects from Asia and Africa. The natural park surrounding the chateau welcomed us for a nice walk. After lunch at school we went to Ochtinskà Aragonitovàcave near Rożnava, we walked down to a unique aragonite cave with white branches and clusters of aragonite which shine like stars in the Milky Way.
An exciting and lively farewell dinner organized by our Slovak friends at school with delicious food and fascinating traditional dances ended our stay in Rożnava.
